Today, enjoy morning and afternoon game drives in search of Oryx, wildebeest, and zebra as well as the park’s large elephant population. Your local expert driver-guide draws on years of experience in the bush to locate the best wildlife viewing opportunities right as they happen. Later, this afternoon, drive back to the lodge.

This morning, descend into the crater, arriving ahead of most visitors — thanks to the closer proximity of your ideally-located accommodations — to view the resident wildlife at its most active time of day. This afternoon, visit with an elder at a Maasai village, where you learn about the tribe’s traditional, nomadic lifestyle and coexistence with wildlife. Later, witness a dance performance at your lodge. Sense the incomparable spirit of this pastoral, nomadic people who have kept their tribal traditions alive through countless generations of life in East Africa.

After breakfast at Marera Valley Lodge, you drive to Lake Manyara, one of the Rift Valley’s most famous lakes and home to impressive concentrations of birds and large mammals. There is time for the morning drive in Lake Manyara National Park. The weather is always great here. Your lodge suite is large enough to hold a double bed and luggage racks, and each has its own private bathroom attached. This day is spent in the national park, beginning with a morning walk along the lakeshore, followed by a treetop canopy walk, your opportunity to look for seldom-seen wildlife in the tops of forest trees, especially monkeys, tree squirrels, and birds. You then arrive at Mto wa Mbu traditional village for a walking or biking tour before driving back to Arusha or Airport for your next destination.

End of 3 Days: Tarangire Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater