Road to Zanzibar
Road to Zanzibar
Road to Zanzibar
12 Days Starting in Nairobi and ending in Zanzibar
Visiting: Nairobi, Mto wa Mbu, Ngorongoro Crater / Serengeti National Park, Serengeti National Park, Serengeti National Park / Mto wa Mbu, Usambara Mountains, Dar es Salaam, Stone Town, Zanzibar Northern Beaches
Tour operator:
Tour code:
YXODC
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Group size:
1 - 22
Age range:
15-99 years
Tour operated in:
EnglishInterests:
Tour Overview
Travel overland on a 12-day eastern Africa experience all the way to Zanzibar. Whether you’re spotting lions deep in the Serengeti, hiking a lush mountain trail in the Usambara Mountains, cruising on a traditional dhow in the Indian Ocean’s azure waters or interacting with local communities near Mto wa Mbu, you’re set to learn a thing or two about the wonders of these lands and its people. Travel with an expert local leader and a group of likeminded adventurers keen to scour every inch of the Ngorongoro Crater for the Big Five and share travel stories over a seafood meal in Zanzibar.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1: Nairobi
Location: Nairobi
Accommodation: Hotel
Jambo! Welcome to Kenya. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm. You can arrive at any time as there are no activities planned until this important meeting. If you arrive early, perhaps head out and explore the National Museum of Kenya, the Karen Blixen Museum or the highly recommended Bomas of Kenya, where traditional homesteads of several Kenyan tribes are displayed in an outdoor village.
Optional Activities:
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Day 2: Mto Wa Mbu
Location: Mto wa Mbu
Accommodation: Camping (with facilities)
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Depart early for Mto wa Mbu in your overland truck. The trip includes a border crossing from Kenya into Tanzania, so be sure to have your passport handy. While you're on the road, there will be a stop at an ATM and a market or shop to stock up on any supplies you might need for the coming days. Arrive in Mto wa Mbu and acquaint yourself with this delightful small village – it's a fascinating snapshot of small-town African life, situated well off the tourist trail.
Day 3: Ngorongoro Crater / Serengeti National Park
Location: Ngorongoro Crater / Serengeti National Park
Accommodation: Camping (with basic facilities)
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Get up early, put your camping and personal gear into a six-person jeep and head out for an excursion into the Serengeti via the Ngorongoro Crater. Enjoy a safari in the crater, spending 3 to 4 hours exploring this incredible, perfectly intact volcanic caldera. Watch for black rhinos, lions, leopards, elephants, impalas, zebras and hippos. The crater floor offers excellent game viewing all year round (some 30,000 animals live here) and the photo opportunities are unrivalled. Next, it's on to the wide-open plains of the Serengeti. Green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry season, this is perhaps the quintessential image of Africa – the home of thousands of hoofed animals and fierce predators. Your campsite is within the Serengeti itself, so listen out for the sounds of nocturnal animals as you drift off to sleep.
Included Activities:
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Day 4: Serengeti National Park
Location: Serengeti National Park
Accommodation: Camping (with basic facilities)
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Awake at dawn and embark on a game drive. You will head out while the animals are at their most active, then head back to camp for brunch at around 11 am. After spending the middle of the day relaxing, just like the animals do, head out again as the day begins to cool. You'll return from this second game drive in time for dinner. There's also the option of a balloon ride over the park this morning – in place of some of today’s game drives. If you have pre-booked this activity, you will be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site. After a safety briefing, glide through the dawn, sometimes at tree height, getting some amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you will ascend, getting an overview of the enormity of the plains and the early morning movements of the teeming herds. After landing, indulge in a five-star bush breakfast, then be returned to camp.
Included Activities:
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Optional Activities:
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Day 5: Serengeti National Park / Mto Wa Mbu
Location: Serengeti National Park / Mto wa Mbu
Accommodation: Camping (with facilities)
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Rise with the sun and enjoy another game drive as you leave the Serengeti in your dust. Jump back into your overland vehicle and head for Mto wa Mbu.
After setting up camp, we'll take a guided stroll through the farming areas, local homes and farmlands, getting to know the local community and their way of life. Later, we'll enjoy a scrumptious local dinner in town.
Included Activities:
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Day 6: Usambara Mountains
Location: Usambara Mountains
Accommodation: Camping (with facilities)
Meals Included: breaksfast, dinner
Prepare yourself for a long travel day heading for the Usambara Mountains. Stretch your legs during a brief supply stop in Arusha, then jump back in the vehicle and watch the ever-changing scenery, read your favourite book or get to really know your fellow travellers. Your base will be Lushoto – an old German colony and home to the Wasambaa people. This highland town sits at approximately 1400 metres and this evening you'll camp in the grounds of one of the oldest hotels in Africa.
Day 7: Usambara Mountains
Location: Usambara Mountains
Accommodation: Camping (with facilities)
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Explore the beautiful Usambara Mountains today – a lovely unspoilt area of Tanzania. Unlike the coast and the north, very few tourists visit this part of the country, so it has a freshness that can be hard to find elsewhere. As beautiful as the surrounding mountains and rainforests are, however, the real jewels here are the local people and villages. You'll experience some hospitality on a visit to some of the small local communities. From your base, you will take a walk out to the gorgeous Irente viewpoint. It's best to pack some water and snacks in a day pack for this trip. On your way back, visit a local cultural project where you enjoy a prepared lunch.
Included Activities:
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Day 8: Dar Es Salaam
Location: Dar es Salaam
Accommodation: Camping (with facilities)
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Leaving the mountains behind, travel further south to the coastal town of Kipepeo Beach in Dar es Salaam. Your camp is by the beach, so make the most of it – perhaps take a stroll along the shore after you arrive and settle in.
Day 9: Stone Town
Location: Stone Town
Meals Included: breaksfast
Rise and shine to catch a ferry to Zanzibar. Filled with pristine white-sand beaches, winding cobblestone alleyways and fragrant bazaars, Zanzibar has had a colourful history – everything from slave traders to Arabian sultans and fruit exporters. The sight of traditional dhows sailing along the coast evokes what the island must have been like in centuries ago. Explore the many charms of Stone Town, the historic part of Zanzibar's main city, with a local guide. Taste the local delicacies and gain insight into daily local life living on Zanzibar.
Included Activities:
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Day 10: Zanzibar Northern Beaches
Location: Zanzibar Northern Beaches
Accommodation: Bungalow
Meals Included: breaksfast
Once checked out of your Stone Town accommodation, consider booking in to an optional guided tour of the island's spice plantations, learning all about the history of this town's spice trade. You will have the opportunity to smell and taste various spices, such as cinnamon, vanilla and ginger, plus sample some teas made with these spices too. After lunch, head to the Northern Beaches, where white sands and sparkling blue seas await. This is the Indian Ocean at its best.
Optional Activities:
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Day 11: Zanzibar Northern Beaches
Location: Zanzibar Northern Beaches
Accommodation: Bungalow
Meals Included: breaksfast
Enjoy free time in this beautiful archipelago today. There are many ways you can spend your day – perhaps talk to your leader for any recommendations they might have. Snorkelling in search of exotic fish is an excellent option, or you could take a traditional dhow boat on the water. You might also like to feast on a sumptuous lunch of grilled local seafood, or just relax in a hammock underneath a coconut tree with a good book. It's totally up to you!
Optional Activities:
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Day 12: Stone Town
Location: Stone Town
Meals Included: breaksfast
After checking out of your accommodation this morning, you will make your way back to Stone Town, arriving at a centrally-located hotel around 12 pm. With no activities planned for today, you are free to leave at any time. That doesn't mean your adventure has to come to an end! If you wish to stay on in Zanzibar, either at the Northern Beaches beach resort or in Stone Town, we'll be happy to organise additional accommodation (subject to availability).
What's Included
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Accommodation
Camping (with basic facilities) (2 nights), Camping (with facilities) (5 nights), Hotel (2 nights), Bungalow (2 nights) -
Mto Wa Mbu - Village walk & local dinner
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Ngorongoro Crater - 4x4 Game Drive
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Serengeti National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
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Irente - Lushoto hike
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Irente - Local lunch
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Stone Town - Street Food Tour
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Meals
11 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners
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Stone Town - Walking Tour & Local Food
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Serengeti National Park - Morning 4WD Safari
What's Not Included
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International Travel
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Tipping and Gratuities
Included Activities
- Ngorongoro Crater - 4x4 Game Drive
- Serengeti National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
- Serengeti National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
- Serengeti National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
- Mto Wa Mbu - Village walk & local dinner
- Irente - Lushoto hike
- Irente - Local lunch
Transport
- Our trucks are purpose-built, self contained safari vehicles. Our fleet of vehicles varies depending on your group size, trip route and style. Your vehicle type may differ from those listed above. It is also important to note that our overland vehicles are not air-conditioned, but all vehicles have windows that can be opened to allow for fresh air. Each seat will have access to a power socket to charge your devices. This outlet will use a UK/Kenyan 3 pronged outlet.
- There are many early starts with long hours spent driving on rough roads on all African itineraries. While most people love the chance to watch the changing landscape and daily village life, feedback shows that long periods of inactivity does not appeal to all clients. We provide the approximate distance covered each day and how many hours this normally takes to drive so that you can choose the safari experience that is right for you.
- African conditions are extremely tough on vehicles. While we fastidiously maintain our vehicles at our workshops, you should not expect Africa to be your traditional touring experience. While it's certainly our aim to avoid them, it's important that you set off on your trip knowing that the occasional breakdown can happen and are best treated as part of the African adventure. Due to wet weather there may be times when we have to take an alternative route which will mean longer travel times.
Accommodation
- Accommodation on this trip is mainly in two-person canvas dome tents with camping mattresses supplied.
- The type and variety of accommodation are determined by conditions on each of our routes. Each route is different - on some, we use a mixture of campsites and wild camps; on others, we also use hotels. In Africa, it's not usually practical to camp when staying in towns and cities, so we use hotel accommodations and eat out in local restaurants.
- There may be the occasional night stop when we stay on the grounds of a hotel or at a campsite, which may also have rooms/cabins available. In this case, there may be a choice of camping or upgrading to a room. Rooms cost approximately USD 40-100 per room per night for a twin room and cannot be pre-booked. Standards of these rooms vary greatly, and we recommend viewing the room before purchasing the night's accommodation. The day-by-day itinerary advises when upgrades may be possible (subject to availability).
- Keep in mind that if we are staying in dormitory accommodation, you may have to share with other passengers or be split into same-sex rooms.
- Campsites do have facilities, but they usually aren't to the same standard you would find in Western countries. For example, the bathroom facilities can be very basic. Toilet paper is rarely provided, and shower facilities can be as simple as a hose pipe spurting out cold water. Wild camps have no facilities at all.
- At times, there may be spare tents in the vehicles. Unfortunately, these cannot be used without the purchase of a single supplement. This is to ensure the tents avoid wear and tear or are clean and ready for the customers arriving on the next section of the trip.
Important Information
- 1. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights of your trip and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
- 2. An optional sunrise balloon ride in the Serengeti National Park is possible on this itinerary. Please see the itinerary above for full details of this activity. As the balloon only holds 16 people, places are limited, and we recommend you book in advance. Please inquire when booking your trip to book this optional activity.
- 3. This trip is a combination of YXON and YXOP of our most popular itineraries. As such the make up of your group and your leader may change on Day 9.
- 4. The Zanzibar portion of your itinerary may have a few more passengers than the maximum group size of 22 as we have a crossover of trips starting and finishing in Zanzibar.
- 5. This trip starts in Nairobi on Day 1 at 6pm. This allows time after the welcome meeting to explore the National Museum of Kenya, the Karen Blixen Museum or the Bomas of Kenya. This trip finishes upon arrival in Stone Town on Day 12. Please do not book any flights until after 12 pm this afternoon.
Mode of Transport
- Our trucks are purpose-built, self contained safari vehicles. Our fleet of vehicles varies depending on your group size, trip route and style. Your vehicle type may differ from those listed above. It is also important to note that our overland vehicles are not air-conditioned, but all vehicles have windows that can be opened to allow for fresh air. Each seat will have access to a power socket to charge your devices. This outlet will use a UK/Kenyan 3 pronged outlet.
- There are many early starts with long hours spent driving on rough roads on all African itineraries. While most people love the chance to watch the changing landscape and daily village life, feedback shows that long periods of inactivity does not appeal to all clients. We provide the approximate distance covered each day and how many hours this normally takes to drive so that you can choose the safari experience that is right for you.
- African conditions are extremely tough on vehicles. While we fastidiously maintain our vehicles at our workshops, you should not expect Africa to be your traditional touring experience. While it's certainly our aim to avoid them, it's important that you set off on your trip knowing that the occasional breakdown can happen and are best treated as part of the African adventure. Due to wet weather there may be times when we have to take an alternative route which will mean longer travel times.
Accommodation
- Accommodation on this trip is mainly in two-person canvas dome tents with camping mattresses supplied.
- The type and variety of accommodation is determined by conditions on each of our routes. Each route is different - on some we use a mixture of campsites and wild camps; on others we also use hotels. In Africa it's not usually practical to camp when staying in towns and cities so we use hotel accommodation and eat out in local restaurants.
- There may be the occasional night stop, when we stay in the grounds of a hotel or at a campsite which may also have rooms/cabins available. In this case there may be a choice of camping or upgrading to a room. Rooms cost approximately USD60-120 per room per night for a twin room and cannot be pre-booked. Standards of these rooms vary greatly and we recommend viewing the room before purchasing the nights accommodation. The day by day itinerary advises when upgrades may be possible (subject to availability).
- Keep in mind that if we are staying in dormitory accommodation, you may have to share with other passengers or be split into same sex rooms.
- Campsites do have facilities but they usually aren't to the same standard you would find in western countries. For example the bathroom facilities can be very basic. There is rarely toilet paper provided and shower facilities can be as simple as a hose pipe spurting out cold water. Wild camps have no facilities at all.
- At times there may be spare tents in the vehicles. Unfortunately these cannot be used without purchase of a single supplement. This is to ensure the tents avoid wear and tear, or are clean and ready for the customers arriving on the next section of the trip.
Check out our Q&As
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Is this trip right for you
This is an overland trip. That means you’ll be travelling with a group in a purpose-built vehicle, visiting remote communities, setting up your own tent, occasionally roughing it in the bush with no facilities, and getting the best possible views of the Big Five. While the trucks don’t have air conditioning, they do have sliding windows which let in the breeze and make it even easier to take spectacular snaps of the local wildlife. The drive days can be long, but it’s as much about the journey as the destination, and half the fun is the camaraderie. For more info on this style of travel, see our Africa overland page: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/africa/overland
Camp in the Serengeti National Park itself without fences between you and the animals. Your leader will brief you on the safety measures the group will need to take for the two nights spent in the park.
As the early bird catches the worm, the early camper sights the animals. There will be many early starts either to make use of the better safari time or to beat the morning traffic on long travel days. -
What policies are in place for Covid-19?
Please contact us for latest COVID-19 policies
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How long has the tour company been trading?
Intrepid Travel has been taking travellers around the world for over 30 years
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Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?
Yes
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What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?
Since 2002, The Intrepid Foundation has supported over 130 organisations across the world. We’re creating positive impact through the joy of travel, community and connection.
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Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?
Over 50% of traveller travel solo with Intrepid. You can choose to share a room with another solo travelle of the same sex for no additional charge, or choose to pay a single supplement if you’d like your own room. Please request this when booking, and we will secure you a single supplement wherever possible. Please note, if you are booking a last-minute trip, it may be harder for us to secure a single room
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Free Date Changes
Intrepid Travel allows you to make 10 free date changes, as long as the change is made at least 56 days before the start of the tour.
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Transfer as credit to Future Tours
Intrepid Travel allows you to transfer existing payments to a future tour to avoid cancellation fees if you can't travel and inform intrepid travel, 56 days before departure.
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Low Deposit
Intrepid Travel requires a minimum deposit of 400 USD per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 56 days before departure.
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of intrepid travel charges.
Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.
At 55 days before tour starts: Forfeit 30% of booking price.
At 30 days before tour starts: Forfeit 60% of booking price.
At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.
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Terms and Conditions