14 DAYS | 13 NIGHTS Tanzania Birding Odyssey
Tour Overview
This 14-day journey through Tanzania’s Northern Circuit is crafted for photographers and birding enthusiasts seeking an immersive experience in one of the world’s most biodiverse landscapes. From the misty highland forests of Arusha to the golden plains of Tarangire, the wetlands of Lake Manyara, the dramatic Serengeti, the unique ecosystems of Lake Eyasi, the surreal Natron region, and the iconic Ngorongoro Crater, each day presents a wealth of photographic opportunities.
Alongside avian subjects, the safari also offers dynamic wildlife compositions and environmental portraits of local cultures, allowing photographers to create images rich in narrative, color, and depth. With careful attention to light, perspective, and seasonal bird behavior, this safari is designed to leave your portfolio filled with extraordinary images and lasting memories.
Duration: 14 Days
When to go: All Year Round
FULL ITINERARY
DAY 1:
Arrival in Arusha
Arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be transferred to your lodge in Arusha, a tranquil base amid the highland scenery. Late afternoon offers a gentle introduction to Tanzanian birdlife at Lake Duluti, where African jacanas walk elegantly across floating lilies, herons mirror themselves in calm waters, and kingfishers flash electric blues. The soft evening light creates a contemplative ambiance, perfect for your first photographic compositions and for setting the tone of your visual journey.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Lodge / Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Full Board
Day 2:
Arusha Forests and Waterfalls
After breakfast, explore the verdant forests and waterfalls around Arusha with a local guide. Along forest trails, you can photograph sunbirds, turacos, and colorful weavers flitting among lush foliage.
The cascading waterfalls provide an atmospheric backdrop for long-exposure photography, capturing the motion of water in harmony with the surrounding vegetation. Villages along the trail offer opportunities for environmental portraits of local life amid natural scenery, providing cultural depth to your photographic collection.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Lodge / Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Full Board
Day 3:
Tarangire National Park
Drive approximately two hours to Tarangire National Park, famous for its ancient baobab trees and rich birdlife. Morning light bathes the savannah in golden hues, ideal for photographing secretary birds walking gracefully across the plains, hornbills perched against open skies, and raptors gliding overhead.
Elephant herds beneath towering baobabs provide dramatic scale, while smaller birds add vibrant accents to your compositions. Focus on creating both sweeping landscapes and detailed wildlife shots, capturing the park’s layered textures and depth.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 4:
Tarangire Birding and Landscape Photography
Spend a full day photographing the unique avian diversity and landscapes of Tarangire. Early morning provides the best light for capturing large flocks of weavers, starlings, and egrets against golden savannah backdrops.
Explore the Tarangire River area, where birds congregate amid hippos and elephants, creating dynamic multi-species compositions. Afternoon light illuminates the intricate bark textures of baobabs, offering contrast with colorful birds perched in the branches. This day is designed for photographers to explore multiple perspectives and creative compositions in one of Tanzania’s richest wildlife habitats.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 5:
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara’s wetlands and forests offer striking photographic opportunities. Dense flocks of flamingos mirror themselves in calm waters, while fish eagles and kingfishers dominate the tree canopies with vibrant colors. Walking trails through the forest allow close-up shots of colobus monkeys, turacos, and sunbirds in filtered light.
The park’s unique combination of wetland, forest, and woodland habitats encourages both landscape and wildlife photography. Photographers can experiment with reflections, depth of field, and layered compositions for visually compelling images.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Lodge / Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Full Board
Day 6:
Mto wa Mbu and Village Birding
Visit Mto wa Mbu and surrounding villages for a day of cultural and avian photography. Capture local life against the backdrop of rice and banana plantations, where colorful weavers, sunbirds, and hornbills are abundant.
Environmental portraits of farmers and children in natural light offer a unique narrative layer to your birding images. This day provides a mix of wildlife, birdlife, and human-interest photography, emphasizing storytelling through composition and context.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Lodge / Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Full Board
Day 7:
Lake Eyasi (Hadzabe and Datoga Tribes)
After breakfast, travel to Lake Eyasi, a shallow lake in the Rift Valley. Observe seasonal flocks of flamingos and pelicans along the shoreline, capturing reflections in the soft morning light. Interact with the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers and Datoga pastoralists, photographing daily activities in natural settings.
This unique cultural encounter provides opportunities for environmental portraiture, highlighting people’s lives in harmony with their environment, while also photographing birds and small mammals in the surrounding bush.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Lodge / Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Full Board
Day 8:
Serengeti National Park
Journey into the Serengeti, where open plains, kopjes, and riverine areas provide endless photographic opportunities. Focus on migratory and resident birds hornbills, starlings, vultures, and raptors while also framing larger mammals to create scale and context.
Sunrise and sunset light enhance textures across the savannah, perfect for panoramic compositions. Explore areas of high bird activity, capturing flocks, hunting sequences, and interactions among species.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 9:
Serengeti Full-Day Birding and Wildlife
Spend a full day in the Serengeti photographing both birds and wildlife. The morning is ideal for action shots of large flocks and predatory sequences, while the afternoon provides soft, diffused light for detailed portraits of hornbills, vultures, rollers, and small passerines.
Rivers and acacia groves provide natural framing and depth for compositions that combine flora, fauna, and landscape. This day maximizes the variety of photographic perspectives within one of Africa’s most iconic ecosystems.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 10:
Lake Natron
Lake Natron’s alkaline shores create a surreal setting for photography. Lesser flamingos, sometimes numbering in the thousands, create dynamic patterns across reflective waters. The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano provides a dramatic backdrop, emphasizing scale and contrast.
This location is ideal for experimenting with wide-angle landscape shots, telephoto bird portraits, and abstract compositions using reflections, patterns, and movement. The light at sunrise and sunset enhances the lake’s unique palette of pinks, oranges, and reds, producing cinematic-quality images.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 11:
Ngorongoro Crater
Descending into the Ngorongoro Crater, photographers are presented with a natural amphitheater of wildlife and bird species. Capture flamingos, storks, and sunbirds alongside zebras, buffaloes, elephants, and lions.
Misty mornings provide depth for dramatic wide-angle shots, while midday light allows for detailed compositions of individual birds or mammals within the crater’s lush habitats. Rare sightings such as black rhinos or leopards can add extraordinary highlights to your portfolio.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 12:
Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara Birding
Spend the morning photographing lesser-known areas of Ngorongoro and revisiting Lake Manyara for additional birding. Early light accentuates plumage colors and reflections, perfect for macro and telephoto photography. This day allows you to refine compositions, revisit favorite spots, and capture any species missed earlier, ensuring a comprehensive collection of Northern Tanzania’s avian diversity.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 13:
Arusha Highlands Birding
Venture into the Arusha Highlands for final photographic sessions. Misty forests, highland lakes, and small streams provide opportunities for forest bird photography sunbirds, turacos, hornbills, and endemic species are abundant. Use the day to capture last creative shots, experiment with lighting, framing, and background selection, and create layered images combining landscape and wildlife elements.
Where to Stay
Mid - Range: Tulia Boutique Hotel
Luxury: Mount Meru Hotel
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Where to Stay
Overnight: Tented Camp / Lodge
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Day 14:
Departure from Arusha
After breakfast, transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward journey. Reflect on a journey that combines world-class birding, iconic wildlife, and dramatic landscapes, leaving your portfolio enriched with rare and memorable photographic compositions from one of Africa’s most diverse regions.
MEAL PLAN
Breakfast, Lunch
Tour Inclusion
- Pick up and drop in Arusha as per the itinerary
- Park entrance fee
- Full board accommodation while on safari
- Service of an English speaking driver guide
- Transport based on a 4WD Vehicle with open roof for game viewing
- Driver’s allowances and park fees for vehicle and driver
- Game drives as per the Itinerary
Tour Exclusion
- Pick up and drop in Arusha as per the itinerary
- Park entrance fee
- Full board accommodation while on safari
- Service of an English speaking driver guide
- Transport based on a 4WD Vehicle with open roof for game viewing
- Driver’s allowances and park fees for vehicle and driver
- Game drives as per the Itinerary
Price Per Person
|
Number of Person
|
Price per Person
|
|---|---|
|
PAX 2 |
$ 480 |
|
PAX 3 |
$ 460 |
|
PAX 4 |
$ 440 |
|
PAX 5+ |
$567 |
|
PAX 5+ |
$567 |
Tour Inclusion
- Pick up and drop in Arusha as per the itinerary
- Park entrance fee
- Full board accommodation while on safari
- Service of an English speaking driver guide
- Transport based on a 4WD Vehicle with open roof for game viewing
- Driver’s allowances and park fees for vehicle and driver
- Game drives as per the Itinerary
Tour Exclusion
- Pick up and drop in Arusha as per the itinerary
- Park entrance fee
- Full board accommodation while on safari
- Service of an English speaking driver guide
- Transport based on a 4WD Vehicle with open roof for game viewing
- Driver’s allowances and park fees for vehicle and driver
- Game drives as per the Itinerary
YOUR NEXT JOURNEY
Make this itinerary yours