african safari

Visiting the great game reserves of Tanzania:
the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara
plus a stay in Dubai, the “Disney World” of the Middle East
October 1 – 14, 2022

Perched on the edge of the African Continent and facing the Indian Ocean, Tanzania is a traveler’s dream destination with people and tribes whose varied cultures and traditions make up the country’s rich tapestry and the place to experience the best wildlife of an African Safari.

Nothing can top the romance and magic of a safari in Tanzania. This East African country has a remarkable diversity of wildlife, seen up close in the stunning Ngorongoro Crater, home to some 25,000 species; in the Serengeti National Park, renowned for its migration of nearly two million wildebeest; and Tarangire National Park, where many of the “Big Five” (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo) can be seen.  RMC has combined a traditional safari game-viewing itinerary along with cultural expeditions as well. Your “down time” will allow you to relax at some of the most civilized and luxurious camps on the continent.

Then onto Dubai, a city that is Dubai constantly competing with itself into a dream-like world of attractions. This will be clearly visible in its landmarks, shopping centers parks and attractions that we will be visiting.  Dubai has emerged as a cosmopolitan metropolis that has grown steadily to become a global melting pot as well as a tourist Mecca.

Come join RMC on this remarkable once-in-a-lifetime journey.

TOUR INCLUDES

• Roundtrip transportation from Montauk to JFK
• Air Transportation to Tanzania and Dubai
• Airport transfers
• 5 nights in Luxury Boutique Lodges
• 3 nights in a deluxe Hemingway Style Safari Camp
• 1 night at the deluxe Hyatt Dar Es Saalam in Tanzania’s capital
• 3 nights deluxe accommodations in Dubai at the 5* Luxury TAJ hotel
• All service charges and taxes
• Breakfast every day
• All lunches and dinners while in Safari
• Additional lunches and dinners as per itinerary
• Transportation by large deluxe Safari vehicles
• Sightseeing as per itinerary
• Sightseeing entrance fees

SPECIAL FEATURES IN TANZANIA

• Visit Arusha National Park at the base of stunning Mt. Meru, Mt Kilimanjaro’s little sister
• Visit the new Jane Goodall Chimp Museum and Explore the African Cultural Heritage Center
• Safari Tarangire National Park with its large herds of elephants
• Take a thrilling Jungle Treetop Walk
• Search for the tree climbing lions of Lake Manyara National Park
• Learn the ancient ways of the Masai Warriors
• Have a cultural walk and lunch with a local Masai family
• 3 Exciting days in the fabled Serengeti, one of the 7 Wonders of Africa
• Visit the famous archaeological site & the oldest human fossils on earth, Olduvai Gorge
• Experience the “Great Migration,” one of the greatest shows on Earth!
• See the Lion King Rock (made famous by the Disney movie, The Lion King)
• See the greatest concentration of game at Ngorongoro Crater
• Enjoy exquisite Bush Dinners under enticing African skies

 

SPECIAL FEATURES IN DUBAI

• Visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque with its 1,000 domes and 24 carat gold chandeliers
• See the famous Emirate Palace
• Visit the iconic Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum
• Enjoy a special dinner cruise in Dubai
• A Dubai Shopping excursion with a visit to the world’s tallest office building
• Desert camel ride
• Desert Farewell dinner evening with entertainment

ITINERARY

Day 1, Saturday: October 1: Depart for Africa
We depart Montauk for JFK to board our Emirates Air flight to Dubai.

Day 2, Sunday, October 2: Arrive Arusha Tanzania (D)
Morning arrival in Dubai where we transit to our flight to Dar Es Salaam and then onto Kilimanjaro Airport in Arusha Tanzania. After clearing Immigration and Customs, we will transfer to our boutique safari lodge to relax and refresh after our long flights. Dinner at our Lodge and afterwards our driver & guides will go over your upcoming African adventure. Overnight in Arusha.

Day 3, Monday, October 3:  In Arusha: (B/L/D)
After an early breakfast, we will visit Arusha National Park at the base of the beautiful Mt. Meru. This is a perfect “introduction” to game viewing as this park is a smaller multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safari goers. The entrance gate leads into shadowy forest inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey. In the midst of the forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep rocky cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor that is dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog.
Further north, rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil beauty of the Momela Lakes, each one having a different hue of green or blue. There are shallows sometimes tinged pink with thousands of flamingos. Giraffes glide across the grassy hills in between grazing zebra herds, while pairs of wide-eyed dik-dik dart into scrubby bush like overgrown hares on spindly legs. We return to our Lodge for lunch followed by a visit to the Arusha Heritage Cultural Center with its new Jane Goodall Chimp museum to learn more about her study of wild chimpanzees in what was a breakthrough in primate research. This evening we’ve prepared a special African style BBQ with a live performance by a famous Tanzanian entertainment troupe.  Overnight in Arusha.

Day 4, Tuesday, October 4: To the Tarangire National Park Safari (B/L/D)
Today you’ll travel to Tarangire National Park for a full day safari. Named after the river that crosses through it, this 1,100-square-mile park is sometimes sadly missed by those heading for the more well-known national parks in Tanzania. The landscape here is diverse, with a mix of habitats that are unique to the area: hilly landscapes are dotted with baobab trees, dense bush and high grasses. Tarangire has herds of up to 300 elephants that scratch the dry river bed for underground streams while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, and gazelle crowd the shrinking lagoons with the accompanying predators following along behind. It’s the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem. Overnight Tarangire.

Day 5, Wednesday, October 5: Lake Manyara National Park Safari (B/L/D)
After breakfast enjoy a morning safari at Lake Manyara National Park including a Tree Top Walk high above the jungle floor. Lake Manyara stretches for 30 miles along the base of the rusty-gold 1,800 ft. high Rift Valley escarpment and is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa.” Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy flood plain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. The Park is known for the tree climbing lions and the soda ash lake with its flamingos. Additionally, you will see a large number of elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and the small, shy Kik’s dik dik dashing about the ramps of the escarpment. Lake Manyara has Africa’s largest herds of baboons. Overnight at Lake Manyara.

Day 6, Thursday, October 6: At Lake Manyara – Maasai Warrior & Village Experience (B/L/D)
This morning enjoy local cultural walk/tour through the local village with a traditional African lunch. This afternoon you’ll experience what it’s like to live as a Maasai Warrior when you visit a traditional Maasai Bhoma for one exciting day…this will be an once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially when the evening comes and you’re sitting under the stars, around the campfire with this proud tribe and listening to their ancient stories while watching the mighty dancers compete. Overnight Enscarpment Luxury Lodge or similar.

Day 7, Sunday, October 7: In the Serengeti (B/L/D)
Today’s special game drive will be to the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is one of the 3 Tanzanian Seven Wonders of Africa! The Crater shelters one of the most beautiful wildlife havens anywhere. A permanent population of more than 25,000 animals inhabit a mere 100 square miles in the 2,000 ft deep crater, making this one of the few places in Africa where you have a chance of seeing the entire Big Five in the course of a single game drive. It is also one of the last remaining places in Tanzania where we can still see the endangered Black Rhino. After lunch, we travel to what some believe to be the birth place of mankind, the Olduvai Gorge. Olduvai is internationally recognized for Louis and Mary Leakey’s famous discoveries of early humans and magnificent antiquities documenting the two million year evolutionary history of our stone tool-using ancestors. Return to our safari campsite for our overnight.

Day 8, Friday, October 8: To the Serengeti (B/L/D)
Today you’ll have another full day of exciting safaris as you travel North in search of the Great Migration. The Serengeti has come to symbolize paradise to many of us. The Maasai, who had grazed their cattle on the vast grassy plains for millennia had always thought so, to them it was Siringitu – “the place where the land moves on forever.” Two World Heritage Sites and two Biosphere Reserves have been established within the region. Its unique ecosystem has inspired writers from Ernest Hemingway to Peter Mattheissen, filmmakers like Hugo von Lawick and Alan Root as well as numerous photographers and scientists. Overnight at Serengeti Luxury Heritage Camp or Acacia Central Luxury Camp.

Day 9: Saturday, October 9: In the Serengeti (B/L/D)

Today will be another action-packed day as you travel to the Mara River for the famous Wildebeest river crossing as thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra try their luck at crossing these crocodile infested rivers. It’s the migration for which the Serengeti is perhaps most famous for. Over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebras flow south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains and then swirl west and north after the long rains. So strong is the ancient instinct to move that no drought, gorge or crocodile infested river can hold them back. Overnight at Serengeti Luxury Heritage Camp or Acacia Central Luxury Camp.

Day 10, Monday, October 10: Return to Arusha and on to Dar Es Salaam (B/L/D)
This morning we’ll travel back to Arusha with a stop for lunch before boarding our short flight to the capital of Tanzania, Dar Es Salaam. Upon arrival, we will transfer to our hotel and have dinner at their famed Oriental restaurant. Overnight in Dar Es Salaam.

Day 11: Tuesday, October 11: To Dubai (B/D)
After a leisurely breakfast, we have time to relax by the pool before we transfer to the airport for our flight to Dubai and say “Karibu Sana Tanzania”. On arrival (very late) in Dubai, we will be met and escorted to our accommodations.

Day 12: Wednesday, October 12: In Dubai – Excursion to Abu Dhabi (B/L/D)
We start our day touring Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It’s an architectural work of art, with a capacity for an astonishing 40,000 worshippers. It features 82 domes, over 1,000 columns, 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers (one of which, weighs twelve tons) and the world’s largest hand knotted carpet. Next we visit the Heritage Village to experience traditional aspects of the desert way of life and immerse ourselves in a time capsule that brings to life a souk, a mosque and an encampment from pre-modernized Abu Dhabi. From the Heritage Village we drive along the corniche of Abu Dhabi with a photo stop at the famous Emirate Palace before arriving at the iconic Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Pritzker-prize winning architect Jean Nouvel. Motivated by ancient Arabian engineering, he designed a falaj-inspired water system that runs through the museum, along with a lace dome that borrows inspiration from the palm leaves (traditionally used as roofing material in many parts of the country) resulting in an enchanting play of light.  After our museum visit, we will have a lunch that offers a unique dining experience of the best in Mediterranean seafood with a Lebanese twist while enjoying uninterrupted panoramic views of the Arabian Gulf.  We return to our hotel for some time to rest before departing for our Welcome to Dubai dinner cruise, an ideal way to create a lasting view of the city from the deck of a traditional wooden dhow boat.

Day 13: Thursday, October 13: In Dubai (B/D)
A very special day…
After breakfast we will start our tour with a remarkable visit to the tallest building in the world. Burj Khalifa, is a must do for every tourist to experience the amazing panoramic view of the Dubai city skyline from the 124th floor ‘Observation Deck’. The marvelous journey will take you through the vision and construction of Burj Khalifa and also let us shop ‘At The Top’ and take home a souvenir.  Presently Burj Khalifa tops the list for the tallest skyscraper in the world at a height of 2,717 ft and the elevator ride to the top is an experience in itself. Afterwards our guide will escort us to some of the great local shopping areas before we return to our hotel for lunch on our own.  In the late afternoon, we will get set for our Desert Camp Evening We start with a drive to a Bedouin camp in the middle of the Arabian desert. Our Bedouin guide will take us for a stunning 30 minute journey through the desert on a traditional camel convoy. This is the most authentic way to trace the footsteps of Bedouin travelers.
Note: For those who do not want to take the camel ride, there will be vehicles to take us to the evening desert camp for some relaxing drinks before the rest of the “camel-riders” join the group.
We then proceed to our desert dining camp, where after the sunset,  we will have drinks and then be seated at low tables and cushions for a traditional Arabian buffet dinner while being entertained by a belly dancers. This will be followed by a Darwish show before we return to our hotel in the late evening.

Day 14: Friday, October 14: To New York (B/D)
Early morning transfer to the airport for our non-stop Emirate Air flight to JFK. After Immigration and Customs, it’s back east to Montauk.

HOTELS, LODGES and LUXURY TENTED CAMPS

 

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Travel Insurance
RMC Travel highly recommends the purchase of Trip Cancellation/Interruption Travel Insurance, and we therefore provide you with an easy way to contact RMC’s preferred insurance provider, Allianz Global Assistance. If you need additional information or have questions, please call Allianz directly at 800-284-8300, and refer to code F025323.