Travel by road to Legendary Lodge
Accommodation Set in lush tropical gardens on a working coffee farm just outside Arusha, the Legendary Lodge features ten beautiful garden cottages and two family cottages, each with an inspiring view of Mount Meru from its own private veranda.
Designed with a unique blend of colonial heritage and electic accents from local artisans and craftsmen, the cottages offer king sized beds, a separate lounge with fireplace and ensuite bathrooms with bath tubs and refreshing showers.
Meals are served in the gracious Old Farmhouse, while the Legendary Therapies Spa offers rejuvenating treatments in the elegant therapy room or in the privacy of the guest cottages. Gym, sauna and swimming pool are located at a nearby Members Club.
The Lodge is located on the western outskirts of Arusha, Arusha Airport is only 15 minutes’ drive from Legendary Lodge.
Arusha has grown quite rapidly in the past few years and is now home to some 650’000 people. Most visitors spend one night here after arriving on their international flight before beginning their safari the next day. Kilimanjaro International Airport is located approximately one hours’ drive from Arusha on the road to Moshi. The closest safari area is Arusha National Park, which is only a short distance away but we hardly visit the park due to a lack of animal. Arusha National Park’s most famous landmark is Mount Meru, a dormant volcano that rises more than 4500 m out of the ground in the west. The Ngurdoto Crater is located on the other side of the park, and the Momella Lakes sit between.
Travel by road to Arusha Local Airport
Flight to Lake Manyara Airstrip
The comfortable Toyota LandCruiser 4 x 4 vehicles usually have six seats, a fridge with drinking water and a socket for charging camera equipment. The roof can be opened for game viewing - the classic safari in Tanzania.
Travel by road to Lemala Osonjoi
Accommodation
Located on a hill just back from the Crater rim, Lemala Osonjoi is named for the trees that characterize the area. Osonjoi trees have both symbolic and medicinal significance for the Maasai.
Scheduled to open in March 2025
The lodge will feature 16 standard suites and two 2-bedroom suites for families.
The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera with 19km in diameter and walls 600m high. Its floor covers 260 square kilometres and acts like a natural zoo, providing food for a high resident animal population.
The crater is well known for its high concentration of predators. Powerful lion prides and their archenemy, the hyena, are permanently at home here, and can often be seen snatching prey from each other. With a bit of luck, it’s also possible to spot cheetah and leopard, or even one of the rare rhino. There is a small number of elephant here too, but not a single giraffe in sight, perhaps because the journey to the crater is too difficult for them. With this in mind, it is quite amazing then that several hippos live here! The crater is diverse and forms a closed ecosystem comprising grassy plains, wooded areas (such as the Lerai Forest), various marshlands, natural springs and Lake Magadi at its centre, which supports flamingo and pelican.
The Ngorongoro Crater is a three-hour drive from Arusha. The road leads through the Serengeti via the Karatu Highlands to the rim of the crater. There are three entrances in and out of the crater, which are partly very steep and difficult to access in a vehicle. There are no places to stay within the crater itself, but there are some lodges situated on the rim, the cheapest option, however, is to drive back to the Karatu region. The abundance of wildlife and the crater’s natural beauty attracts a large number of tourists. This can lead to the crater being overrun by vehicles – which means you will be disappointed if you’re looking for a solitary experience. Nevertheless, it is still well worth a visit as it can be quite spectacular during off-peak hours.
It is thought that a huge volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself some two or three million years ago. The massive emission of ash settled in a thick and densely compacted layer over the southern Serengeti, stopping any trees from growing. The undulating grass plains of the Serengeti are a result of the volcanic activity of the Ngorongoro and its neighbouring volcanoes, Olmoti, Empakaai and Ol Doinyo Lengai.
The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera with 19km in diameter and walls 600m high. Its floor covers 260 square kilometres and acts like a natural zoo, providing food for a high resident animal population.
The mineral-rich crater floor is covered with nutritious grass and attracts large herds of animals. Up to 25’000 mammals, primarily herbivores can be found at any one time in the Ngorongoro Crater. The list includes wildebeest, eland, hartebeest, zebra, gazelle, buffalo, rhinos and warthog. Moors and forests provide food for hippo, elephant, baboon, waterbuck and bushbuck. Big cat such as lion, cheetah, leopard and serval find rich pickings here. Large packs of hyena also roam the crater, hunting or pinching the prey of other predators.
Travel by road to Lake Manyara AirstripFlight to Mara River Camp
Accommodation
Described by Singita as a bush camp, Mara River Tented Camp is as tastefully appointed as any Singita lodge and run to the same exacting standards. Its relaxing and luxurious ‘bohemian chic’ atmosphere is apparent throughout the whole camp. Natural colours, elegant fabrics and handpicked materials create a wonderful atmosphere of luxury & adventure in the African bush.
The camp offers four double rooms and two family rooms, each with two bedrooms and a shared veranda. The rooms are in actual fact safari tents with a large double bed, en-suite bathroom and an additional outdoor area to sit and enjoy the view of the Mara River.
The main building comprises a dining tent, a lounge and an outdoor bar with large deck and open fireplace. A beautiful swimming pool is located just around the corner. The lodge is situated just 80 m from the edge of the river.
We recall Bernhard Grzimek’s television series and his descriptions of the wildlife paradise that is the Serengeti. The endless grassy plains are deeply impressive and the Serengeti is without doubt one of the most attractive safari destinations in the world.If you’re in the right place at the right time, it is possible to experience the huge herds of wildebeest (up to two million), with some half-a-million zebra and a couple of hundred thousand Thompson’s gazelle, impala etc… in tow – accompanied by a couple of hungry lion, hyena and cheetah. The spectacle reaches its pinnacle in the north of the Serengeti, when the herds cross the Mara River.
The Serengeti ecosystem includes the actual national park (approx. 15’000 km²) and the bordering protected areas; chief among them is the Maswa Game Reserve in the southwest, the Grumeti and Ikorongo game reserves in the northwest, the Maasai Mara in the north, and Loliondo and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the east. The plains in the south comprise for the most part treeless flatlands that stretch out to the horizon. Typically, the plains of the Serengeti are punctuated by tree-covered granite outcrops known as ‘kopjes’, which provide the perfect resting place and observation post for predators. The northern part of the Serengeti is hillier with more vegetation.
The majority of guests travel to the camps that are located in the area where the migrating animals happen to be. If you wish to be alone, then look for a camp where the migration is NOT currently passing through, or combine several camps. There is an abundance of wildlife everywhere, mainly cheetah, hyena, jackal, lion and leopard, which are somewhat more difficult to find. In addition to wildebeest and zebra, there is a good concentration of topi, Grant and Thompson’s gazelle, eland and kudu etc… Elephant and buffalo are also present, but not in great numbers. Rhino also live in the Serengeti, but are naturally very shy creatures and therefore difficult to find.
Flight to Sabora Tented Camp
Accommodation
Sabora Tented Camp is set in 350,000 acres of protected wilderness in Singita Grumeti, which provides guests with a front-row seat to some of the most prized game viewing on the continent – including the Great Migration.
Singita Sabora is an elegant tented camp, light & modern in style. Each of the nine suite includes a private meditation deck, an outdoor sala with daybeds and a lifestyle unit with a perfectly curated in-room pantry and dining space. Each of the tented suites have beautiful views of one of Sabora’s two waterholes, where game regularly gather to drink.
The main area consists of the restaurant, lounge, large outside sitting areas and a fire pit in front of camp. There is also a swimming pool, a fitness centre, a wellness treatment tent and a safari boutique. The unique ‘Guest Deli’ featuring wicker baskets and fridges filled with gourmet delights allows guests to pick and choose treats to enjoy in the privacy of their suites or picnic spots around the camp.
The camp is accessed by air via Sasakwa Airstrip. The journey from airstrip to Sabora Tented Camp takes approximately 50 minutes.
The reserve was created by the Tanzanian government in 1994 in order to protect the path of the annual wildebeest migration and the indigenous biodiversity of this vast and important ecosystem. In 2002, the Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund (now known as the Grumeti Fund), a not-for-profit organisation, was granted the right to manage and conserve these 350,000 acres, for the benefit of Tanzania, Africa and the world. Four years later, Singita took over the management of the property to enhance low impact, luxury tourism, at the request of the concessionaire.
As the custodian of more than 350,000 acres of the world-renowned Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania, the Grumeti Fund is responsible for the reintroduction and recovery of stable wildlife populations, while ensuring that neighbouring rural communities benefit tangibly from these natural areas.
Faced with challenges including uncontrolled illegal hunting, rampant wildfires and spreading strands of invasive alien vegetation when they took over the management of the area in 2003, the Fund dedicated itself to transform severely depleted wildlife numbers into thriving populations once more.
Restoring this once barren and highly degraded region to a flourishing wilderness, their successes include the remarkable recovery of many species – including buffalo, wildebeest and elephant populations, and in 2019, the Fund carried out the largest single relocation and reintroduction of 9 critically endangered Eastern Black Rhino.
The Trust also manages an onsite Environmental Education Centre for school teachers and children to immerse themselves in Outdoor Education and fieldwork, and a world-class culinary school.
Flight to Chem Chem
Accommodation Chem Chem Safari Lodge offers eight stylishly elegant suites, each with a spacious bedroom, en-suite bathroom and outdoor shower. The earthy tones, stone floors and natural materials used throughout merge to create an inherently organic and harmonious whole.
The walls are adorned with spectacular black & white photographs of Tanzania and the rooms are so beautiful that guests could quite easily spend the whole day indoors. The outdoor area features an additional small lounge with a day bed where guests can simply lay back, relax and read a book.
Each room is protected by several shade-giving trees and positioned a good distance from the next to ensure maximum privacy. Wooden walkways lead out from the main building before turning into pathways made of large pebbles, which guests must follow to reach their respective room. Please request a room close to the main building if you are unsteady on your feet.
The main building itself sits in a romantic palm grove. The curio shop can be found near the entrance from where a wooden walkway leads into the lounge, the dining wing and the library. Here the view opens out over the plain to the front of the lodge and to the well-frequented water hole. The best view of all, however, can seen from a kind of platform integrated into the building, which allows visitors to take in Lake Manyara and from where the silhouette of the Great Rift Valley can be made out through the haze of the African heat.
Chem Chem also features a spa and swimming pool. The pool is tucked away in a private corner of the lodge and is truly beautiful – well worth the short walk.
Chem Chem's portfolio also includes: Little Chem Chem & Forest Chem Chem
Tarangire National Park is located on the other side of the road, the entrance gate to which can be reached in approximately 30 minutes. However, Chem Chem guests often prefer to do game drives in the private concession of Little Chem Chem which borders Tarangire National Park.
Today, the area is widely known for its large buffalo population that moves in and out of Tarangire. The presence of Lake Burunge in the WMA attracts the migration of water birds such as greater and lesser flamingoes and a range of ducks and shore birds. The Chem Chem camps provide access to Lake Manyara, Lake Burunge and Tarangire National Park. It is one of the few places in Tanzania where guests have access to a private area. You can get very close to wildlife as off-roading is permitted in the private concession, as well as night drives and walking safaris.
You can expect to see the Big-5 and during the dry months from July to October and some of the highest concentration of wildlife of any park in Tanzania.
Travel by road to Arusha
Basic Information
Individual journey. The journey will be planned on your preferred dates.
Duration 12 nights. Min 2 guests. Minimum age 8 years. Weight limit of luggage 20 kg. Luggage in one soft bag only.
Includes all transfers from Arusha to the hotels/camps to Arusha
- Legendary Lodge: Double Room. Dinner, breakfast.
- Lemala Osonjoi: Double Room. All meals, drinks (except premier brands), laundry service.
- Mara River Camp: Double Room. All meals, drinks (including wines from the cellar, only french champagne exlcluded), laundry service, twice daily shared activities with one of the camp guides.
- Sabora Tented Camp: Double Room. All meals, drinks (including wines from the cellar, only french champagne exlcluded), laundry service, twice daily shared activities with one of the camp guides.
- Chem Chem: Double Room. All meals, drinks (except premier brands), laundry service, private vehicle / guide provided by the lodge.
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