TAUCK BRIDGES FAMILY TRAVEL
EARTH JOURNEYS | WITH BBC EARTH
Wake up to views of Mt. Kilimanjaro from your African lodge… and discover who lives on the slopes of this mighty mountain. Experience the real life home of Maasai warriors and Africa’s Big Five. Get a true taste of daily life in the African bush when you learn how to make beaded jewelry and throw a spear, and go inside a village school. You may see lions resting under enormous baobab trees… wildebeest making their way past herds of elephants and gazelles… elephants, up close. Travel aboard our open-top Africa safari vehicles where everyone has a great view of Tanzania’s amazing wildlife during morning and afternoon game drives. Your Tauck Director provides a window into an unknown, unseen world that introduces Tanzania’s nocturnal society, revealing what would normally be hidden in darkness… And from your tented camp in “the place where life began”…. to your lodge next to Africa’s “Garden of Eden”… to your safari lodge in the Serengeti, your family becomes part of the unbelievable wilderness pageant that comes alive right outside your door!
Only With Tauck
On-tour film vignettes custom-made for Tauck by BBC Earth natural history experts plus other select BBC Earth touches Small group departures are limited to 30 guests for a more intimate safari experience.
Tour prices are per person. All safari expenses and adventures, local guides, entertainment, land transportation, porterage, admission fees, the services of the Tauck Director and one on-tour flight are included. Transportation from Kilimanjaro International Airport to the Arumeru River Lodge in Arusha is included, regardless of the time you check in to the hotel, provided you have furnished us with accurate flight or train arrival information at least three weeks prior to the start of your tour. Transportation from Arumeru River Lodge to Kilimanjaro International Airport is also included when you check out of the hotel. Transportation to and from airports and train stations may be shared with other Tauck guests.
If you do not provide your flight arrival information in time, or choose to transfer on your own, you are responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation, which currently costs approximately $50 USD per vehicle. If you choose to arrive on Day 3 or later, after the group has already departed for Tarangire, you are responsible for your own transportation, which costs approximately $500 USD per vehicle from Arusha to the Tarangire Safari Lodge.
Age Recommendations – Children 8 years of age or older at the time of travel are welcome on this Tauck journey. Based upon our experience with family travelers, we have a minimum recommended age for each journey to encourage comfort and enjoyment for all of our guests. All children must be accompanied on activities by a parent or guardian. At least one guest in the traveling party must be 21 years of age or older in order to make a reservation.
Rates and schedules are not guaranteed until booked and will vary based on departure date.
Tour begins: Kilimanjaro International Airport. A transfer is included from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Meliá Arusha in Arusha. Your new 5-star luxury resort is located adjacent to a traditional coffee plantation. Your family’s Africa safari adventure begins in the morning!
A choice of adventures awaits to kick off Tauck Bridges’ family safari today! You can choose to hike with us in Kilimanjaro National Park – home to Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the world’s highest mountains. While you won’t be going all the way to the top, you’ll take an exciting walk up (and down) Kilimanjaro’s Merengu Trail, keeping an eye out for inquisitive monkeys, doe- eyed antelopes and abundant birdlife; you’ll also visit the traditional home of a member of the Chagga tribe. Or, your family can join an experienced local guide on a full-day game drive in Arusha National Park (the first of many on your journey) to look for gentle giraffes, boisterous baboons, colorful flamingoes and big buffalo. Later, everybody meets back at the resort for a welcome reception and dinner tonight to share stories of the fun you’ll have on your family’s Africa adventure.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Head to Tarangire National Park today – the place where life began, according to Maasai legend, and immortalized in many movies about Africa. Marvel at the classic African savannah stretching out all around you, the wildlife-rich plains studded with baobob trees. Hop aboard our open-topped safari vehicles for an afternoon game drive; look for big cats lounging under baobab trees or elephants cooling off at a watering hole. Enjoy dinner and the evening at Tarangire Safari Lodge.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
An up-close look at wildlife in Tarangire today begins with a morning game drive to Silale Swamp. After returning to the lodge for lunch and and some hands-on learning of Maasai crafts, head back out into the bush for an afternoon game drive and even more experiences guaranteed to create shared memories that will last lifetimes. Following dinner back at camp, learn some Swahili around the campfire, perhaps including such words as jambo (hello), kwa heri (goodbye), simba (lion) and ninafurahia (I am having a great time)!
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Make your way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area today. En route, you’ll stop for lunch in Lake Manyara National Park, a bird-lover’s paradise; meet the students and teacher at a new primary school that Tauck helps support; and visit a Maasai boma (a traditional hut village preserving Maasai cultural customs). Arrive late afternoon at your colonial lodge in Karatu, where your cottage-style accommodations for the next two nights overlook a coffee plantation and the eastern wall of the remarkable Ngorongoro Crater.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
One of the best places on this Africa tour to spot the Big Five – elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo and the rare black rhinoceros – ancient Ngorongoro Crater, often called Africa’s “Garden of Eden,” is home to almost every species in Africa… except the giraffe, which can’t negotiate the steep incline down into the caldera. Game drives and a unique picnic lunch on the crater floor offer ample opportunities to spot lions, cheetahs, hippos and lots of birds. Then it’s back to your lodge in Karatu for the evening.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today, you’ll depart Tloma Lodge and hop a morning flight from Lake Manyara to the Seronera airstrip in Serengeti National Park. As you do, you’ll fly over Oldupai Gorge, where, over 50 years ago, archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the fossilized remains of some of the earliest known human species, an estimated 1.8 million years old. Arrive late morning at the Meliá Serengeti Lodge, where you’ll begin a three-night stay in the heart of the vast Serengeti plains. After lunch, embark on a late-afternoon game drive in Serengeti National Park, in search of animals that make their homes here; perhaps you’ll see lions, antelopes, elephants and zebras in their daily rituals. Return to camp for a briefing on tomorrow’s hot air balloon flight across the Serengeti, followed by dinner at the lodge.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Rise early for a whole new angle on the landscapes and wildlife of Serengeti National Park – an unforgettable ride over the vast Serengeti plains in a hot air balloon* – followed by a champagne breakfast in the bush and some game viewing later in the morning. After lunch at the lodge, look for zebras, hyenas, leopards and more on an afternoon game drive with your local guide. Back at your lodge tonight, enjoy a special dinner, where you’ll have more stories to share.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Your lodge in the Serengeti enables you to savor the African landscape, view even more wildlife, and discover local Maasai traditionsanddailylifeonthelastfulldayofyourfamily’sfun-filledAfricatour. ThewholefamilywilllearnaboutMaasaicrafts and local conservation projects, and enjoy walks with the lodge’s Maasai staff. After lunch, enjoy a farewell game drive in Serengeti National Park, where you can often see wildebeest and large numbers of lions and cheetahs, as well as herds of giraffe and zebra – an unforgettable spectacle of Africa’s circle of life, right before your eyes! Equally impressive are Tanzania’s magical sunsets, which you’ll enjoy during a farewell reception on the terrace of your lodge on your final night on safari, followed by a festive farewell dinner and some authentic Maasai fun.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tour ends: Kilimanjaro International Airport. Tour concludes after a flight back to the city of Arusha, a visit to the Shanga community project, and lunch at the Cultural Heritage Center. Flights departing Africa leave late tonight; we have reserved a day room for you at the Meliá Arusha so that you can repack and relax as you wish. A transfer is included from the Meliá Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport this evening.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
