Tanzania Junior Ranger Safari –  This Tanzania family safari is great for the kids with cultural and wildlife activities. With your own safari vehicle to explore the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara plus more.

Operates daily on request

The Junior Ranger Safari provides families with quality time together. Travel is in exclusive use 4x4 with a specially selected driver-guide. More time is spent in the properties selected so time is not spent packing and unpacking between lodges and camps. The main focus, however, is on activities. Children have chances to visit Maasai, Iraqw, Hadzabe and Datoga tribesmen. They also have splendid game viewing in Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and three full days in Serengeti National Park.

There are 2 family safari offerings. The only difference is the accommodation chosen - both of which are of very good standard.

	Option A	Option B
Day 1	Arusha Hotel	Karama Lodge
Day 2 - 4	Gibb’s Farm	Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge

For your ease of reference, we have provided a bit of detail on these hotels/lodges in order to help you decide which one to choose.

Day 01
Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport by scheduled international flight (not included).  After clearing immigration and customs formalities, you are met by our representative and assisted to the transfer vehicle.  You are transferred to your hotel for time at leisure and overnight on bed and breakfast basis.

Option A: Overnight Arusha Hotel (standard room) on bed and breakfast basis
Option B: Overnight Karama Lodge on bed and breakfast basis

Arusha Hotel
Arusha town grew up around The Arusha Hotel, which still stands amidst its own private tropical gardens. Beautifully landscaped, the rolling lawns, abundant trees and exotic plants are home to many of East Africa’s rich birdlife.

The Arusha boasts 86 elegantly appointed rooms including 4 suites, 25 executive rooms and 57 standard rooms.

Amenities featured in guestrooms include air conditioning, coffee/tea makers, and minibars.

Karama Lodge & Spa
Karama Lodge & Spa is an eco-friendly lodge located in Arusha, Tanzania.

Twenty-two stilted log cabins offer comfortable en-suite accommodation with a natural design – an excellent combination of unique comfort and style. Constructed with local materials, the cabins allow close proximity to the surrounding forest flora and fauna. Each cabin has its own wooden balcony with comfortable chairs where you can relax and admire the spectacular views of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Meru, the Maasai steppes beyond, and the surrounding lush vegetation and birdlife.

Special emphasis is placed on your comfort – hot showers are available for 24 hours and every cabin is equipped with a mosquito net.

The bar is open all day for a cool beer, a glass of wine, spirits, or a healthy fresh fruit juice. Sit on the spacious open deck and enjoy your drink with the breath-taking views of Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Meru and the wooded valleys below. A refreshing breeze will keep you cool even during the hot summer months.

Day 02
After an early breakfast in Arusha, you drive to the village of Mto wa Mbu.  The drive takes you through the Rift Valley and past small villages and arid land where you may find young Maasai tending their cattle.  As you approach Mto wa Mbu, the sparse vegetation begins to give way to more lush green patches with banana and other fruit tries predominant.  You have a guided tour of the village and an opportunity to interact with the local people.  The tour includes the marketplace, shops, a local church and other places of importance to village life in Africa.  You then proceed to Lake Manyara Serena Lodge for lunch.

After lunch, you descend to the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment and game view in Lake Manyara National Park.  The park is best known for its large population of baboons and no doubt you will encounter families of them even before the park gate.  There are also other primates in the park as well as hippopotamus and hundreds of species of birds.  You may also come across lions while in Lake Manyara National Park.  There was once a reputation for the park’s tree climbing lions.  In truth, all lions climb trees and they might be seen here and elsewhere during your safari.

In the late afternoon, you depart the park and drive 25 kilometres to Karatu.  Here you head to your lodge for dinner and overnight. 

Option A: Overnight Gibb’s Farm in Farm Cottage Rooms (B, L, D)
Option B: Overnight Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge (B, L, D)

Gibb’s Farm
Gibb’s Farm hugs nearly a mile of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, part of a 3,200 square mile reserve.  Ideally located, the Farm lies half way between Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater, near the village of Karatu.

Set among formal English gardens, the Farmhouse and 20 ensuite cottages are the heart of a working farm. Built in 1929, the Farmhouse has hardly changed, retaining the charm of a well looked-after private house. Cozy living rooms and reading corners are just steps away from the dining room, bar and gift shop.

Fireplaces fill the Farmhouse with warmth and historical charm. Just outside, a sprawling verandah and floral garden invite sweeping views of the valley below the Farm. Organic Coffee is grown, processed and roasted on the Farm, and a vast 10-acre organic fruit and vegetable garden provides 90% of the ingredients needed for fresh, home-cooked meals.

Gibb’s Farm provides a welcome stay on any safari, and a base from which to enjoy the many activities available in the foothills of the Ngorongoro Forest, The Ngorongoro Crater and Manyara National Park. 

Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge
Rhotia Valley is a project, completely embedded in the community of Rhotia in Tanzania. It's aim is to give support to the people of the Rhotia area, especially to the children. Rhotia Valley consists of Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge on one hill and Rhotia Valley Children's Home on the opposite hill. The camp is located in the very heart of the Northern Tanzanian safari circuit - Rhotia Valley has it all!

At the lodge you can enjoy every comfort in a typical African atmosphere. With only fifteen en-suite tented houses it offers intimate charm and personal service. By staying at Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, you directly contribute to the wellbeing of the children of the adjacent Children's Home.

It is only half an hour's drive to the gate of the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area or to the gate of Lake Manyara National Park. While you can drive to Lake Eyasi and Tarangire National Park in little more than one hour and to the Serengeti within half a day!

Situated on top of that hill - at 1700 m, well above malaria risk! -  the lodge offers breathtaking views of the adjacent Ngorongoro Conservation Area forest, nearby villages and the terraced fields of the local farmers, with in the background Lake Manyara. At night the twinkling lights of Karatu can be seen in the distance, in the morning you can enjoy the sun rising over  Mount Meru and with some luck even over Mount Kilimanjaro.

The lodge is built with indigenous hardwood and in traditional African style. It is in complete harmony with its surroundings. Yet, its spacious set up, personal and friendly service and its finishing touches, such as cosy sofas around the fireplace and warm decorative details, provide a perfectly balanced luxury.

With only fifteen individual tents, Rhotia Valley has an intimate charm. Each of the comfortable tented houses has its own veranda and a bathroom with hot and cold running water, shower and flush toilet.

From dawn till dusk the big veranda all around the lodge offers you lots of "room with a view". Our veranda bar is fully stocked and in the open dining area wonderful meals are served at your table. Of course any dietary wishes can be taken into account. Rhotia Valley's experienced chefs use the very best and only fresh products. Most of the vegetables and all herbs are grown in our own vegetable garden.

Day 03
You depart after breakfast and drive to the Lake Eyasi area.  Here, you have the chance to observe and interact with the bushmen of the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes.  These fascinating tribesmen are part of a culture that has endured for generations and though used to contact with the modern world, prefer their ways and customs.

A picnic lunch is served near Lake Eyasi followed by a return to Karatu.  In Karatu, you visit a children’s centre where your children have an opportunity to interact with local Tanzanian children.  Evening return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Option A: Overnight Gibb’s Farm in Farm Cottage Rooms (B, PL, D)
Option B: Overnight Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge (B, PL, D)
 
Day 04
After an early breakfast you drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and after travelling along the rim of the crater for a few kilometres, you descend to the crater floor and game view on the floor of this extinct volcano.  Formed more than twenty five million years ago by the collapse of a massive volcano, the remaining caldera is the world’s largest that remains intact and unflooded.  The total area of the floor is 102 square miles with a small soda lake at the centre.  The rich soil resulting from the volcanic ash has provided a variety of vegetation areas and in turn, a vast salad bowl feeding a host of resident herbivores.  It is possible to see all of the big five in the crater and with more than 30,000 mammals present, game viewing is almost always great.  

A picnic lunch is served near a small pond populated with hippopotamus.  Among the sites you may see during your visit to the crater’s floor are massive bull elephants who come into the crater for the rich minerals found there.  It is also for the benefits of the soda lake that Maasai warriors bring their herds of cattle down the 2000 slope of the embankment allow them to graze on the crater’s floor.
In the afternoon, we return to the rim of the crater and return to Karatu arriving for dinner and overnight.

Option A: Overnight Gibb’s Farm in Farm Cottage Rooms (B, PL, D)
Option B: Overnight Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge (B, PL, D)

Day 5
After breakfast, we say farewell to the lodge and head to Serengeti National Park.  En route, we stop at Olduvai Gorge for a chance so view the Cradle of Mankind and visit the museum related to the many discoveries of the Leaky family.  We also visit a Maasai village called a Manyatta. 

Following a picnic lunch, we continue to the plains of Serengeti and spend the afternoon game viewing, arriving at our camp in the late afternoon.  Dinner and overnight are at the camp.

Option A & B: Overnight Serengeti Explorer Camp (B, PL, D)*

Day 6
Using the camp as your base, you spend the day game viewing in Serengeti National Park.

Option A & B: Overnight Serengeti Explorer Camp (B, PL, D)*

Day 7
Using the camp as your base, you spend the day game viewing in Serengeti National Park.

Option A & B: Overnight Serengeti Explorer Camp (B, PL, D)*

Day 8
After breakfast, you have a final game drive en route to the airstrip.  Here, you fly by scheduled flight (flight booked by us) to Arusha Airport (using light aircraft).  The flight departs at 1100 and arrives at 1215.  Upon arrival, you are transferred to Arusha for your onward connection.

*Serengeti Explorer Camp changes location three times during the year to be near the best game viewing.  The camp does not operate between 15 March and 31 May and again between 31 October and 15 December.  During these months, an exclusive mobile tented camp will be provided (same quality of tents and service)

Please note: These rates are to be used as a guide only as there are often reductions which arise during the course of the year.

Costs - Option A	16 Dec 11 to 31 Mar 12		01 Apr 12 to 24 May 12		25 May 12 to 31 Oct 12		01 Nov 12 to 15 Dec 12
	Per adult	Per child	Per adult	Per child	Per adult	Per child	Per adult	Per child
Two adults with one child in 1 room:	4726	2909	4617	2838	4726	2909	4617	2838
Two adults with 2 children in 2 rooms	4545	3546	4436	3453	4545	3546	4436	3453
3rd adult or child in own room	Supplement of $935		Supplement of $835		Supplement of $935		Supplement of $835

           

Costs - Option B	16 Dec 11 to 31 Mar 12 & 25 Jun 12 to 31 Oct 12		01 Apr 12 to 24 May 12		25 May 12 to 24 Jun 12		01 Nov 12 to 15 Dec 12
	Per adult	Per child	Per adult	Per child	Per adult	Per child	Per adult	Per child
Two adults with one child in 1 room:	$3888	$2364	$3910	$2378	$3759	$2280	$3828	$2325
Two adults with 2 children in 2 rooms	$3707	$2834	$3728	$2852	$3578	$2724	$3647	$2783
3rd adult or child in own room	Supplement of $615		Supplement of $501		Supplement of $524		Supplement of $524

Based on children aged under 12 years. Please contact us for other family sizes or older children

Cost Includes
Meet and greet services
Transfers as specified
Exclusive 4x4 for the safari sector  
Game drives and crater tour as specified
Services of an experienced English speaking driver guide
Accommodations and meals as indicated
Park fees and government taxes
Internal flight as shown including taxes and airport fees
One bottle of mineral water per day whilst on game drives
During stay at Serengeti Explorer Camp cost includes mineral water, soft drinks, juices, house wine and local beers (all other drinks are excluded, but available to be purchased direct)
 
Cost Excludes
International Flights & Regional Flights
Visas
Airport tax on flights not booked and ticketed by us
Travel/medical/baggage insurance
Driver/guide gratuities
Drinks/laundry (unless specified)
Dining room tips
Porterage
Telephone bills
Any other items of a personal nature
 
Additional Remarks
We may have to reroute the itinerary or accommodate in similar lodges in the case of non-availability.

Park fees and airline prices may be changed without prior notice.  This is beyond our control and any increase levied will be passed on to you.

Prices quoted are based on the dates shown.  Changes in dates may lead to a change in the safari price.
 
Passenger Information
Passengers should bring only soft sided bags on safaris.
Identification may be required when boarding all flights including domestic and charter flights.  
Passengers should keep their passport in their carry-on bag to avoid delays.
Passengers arriving to East Africa may be required to present a valid certificate for yellow fever vaccination.

Domestic flights within the itinerary (including airline / fuel surcharges)
* Once itinerary is confirmed flight bookings are made immediately to ensure space is confirmed.  Any amendment to flights will incur $50 per person airline amendment fee. Cancellation of the flight will incur 100% cancellation fees for the sectors within the itinerary.

Book your Tanzania Family Safari now.

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