Northern Tanzania Self-Launched Safari Circuit: Manyara, Eyasi, Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Tarangire

Start early in Moshi and take a public bus or shared shuttle to Arusha (roughly 1.5–2 hours, £3–5) — the Kilimanjaro Express and several local companies run this route hourly. From Arusha's bus stand, catch a bus or shared minivan toward Mto wa Mbu / Lake Manyara (about 1.5 hours, £2–3). Base yourself in Mto wa Mbu, the lively market town at the park gate, and book your Lake Manyara park entry and a guide directly at the gate or through your guesthouse. Spend the late afternoon on a game drive along the lakeshore forest tracks — monkeys, elephants, zebras, impalas, giraffes, buffalo and hippos, with the Rift Valley escarpment looming behind. Picnic lunch en route, dinner at a local guesthouse or one of Mto wa Mbu's cheap eateries.

🚌Public bus Moshi–Arusha (~£4) + bus Arusha–Mto wa Mbu (~£3); shared 4x4 or guide vehicle for the park drive arranged locally

🛏Budget guesthouse in Mto wa Mbu (e.g. simple en-suite rooms £12–18/night) or public campsite bandas

• →Lake Manyara National Park late-afternoon game drive (entry fee ~£40 + vehicle/guide share ~£25)
• →Rift Valley escarpment viewpoints
• →Mto wa Mbu market wander

Take a local bus or shared taxi from Mto wa Mbu toward Karatu and on to Lake Eyasi (about 2 hours each way, £6–8 return shared). Arrange a community-guided visit with a Hadzabe (Hadza) hunting-gathering community and a Datoga blacksmith village through a licensed local guide in Karatu or Mto wa Mbu — insist on community-benefit arrangements and pay directly. The lake basin is bird-rich (flamingoes, storks, pelicans) and the meadows and acacia forest hold monkeys, hippos and the odd leopard at dawn and dusk. Return to Mto wa Mbu for dinner and a second night.

🚌Shared bus/minivan Mto wa Mbu–Karatu–Lake Eyasi (~£7 return) plus short boda-boda hops

🛏Same Mto wa Mbu budget guesthouse (£12–18)

• →Community-guided Hadzabe visit (~£30–40 including community fee)
• →Datoga village visit (~£10)
• →Lake Eyasi birdwatching and forest walk

The long transfer day. Most independent travellers join a shared camping safari jeep from Mto wa Mbu or Karatu for the Serengeti–Ngorongoro leg (3 days, shared with 4–6 people, roughly £300–380 per seat including park fees, camping and meals) — book this a few days ahead through a Moshi/Arusha operator or your guesthouse. Drive up through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, stopping at Olduvai Gorge for the museum and the famous Leakey-site viewpoints (£8–10 entry plus guide tip). Continue onto the Serengeti plains for an evening game drive en route to camp. Sleep at a public campsite (Nyani or Simba) with a basic bandas/tent setup and dinner cooked by the safari cook.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari jeep Mto wa Mbu–Olduvai–Serengeti (included in safari seat)

🛏Public campsite in Serengeti (included in shared safari seat price; tents and bedding provided)

• →Olduvai Gorge museum and viewpoint (~£10)
• →Evening game drive into the Serengeti

Up at dawn for the best light and predator activity. Drive the Seronera Valley and surrounding plains for lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and — depending on season — the great migration herds in the western corridor or northern Serengeti. Picnic lunch at a designated site, then an afternoon drive back toward camp. Your shared safari cook handles breakfast, lunch and dinner; bring your own water and snacks from Mto wa Mbu to save money. Second night at the public campsite.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari jeep (included)

🛏Public campsite in Serengeti (included in shared safari seat)

• →Full-day Serengeti game drives
• →Seronera Valley and picnic-site lunch

Leave camp early and descend the 600m into the Ngorongoro Crater as soon as the gate opens — this is the best chance of black rhino, plus lions, flamingoes and water birds on the soda lake, hyena, cheetah and huge antelope herds. Crater descent fees are steep (roughly £50–60 per person per day plus vehicle fee) and are covered by the shared safari seat. Picnic lunch at Ngoitokitok Springs (watch the black kites). Climb out in the early afternoon, drop other travellers in Karatu if needed, and continue back to Mto wa Mbu for a guesthouse night.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari jeep out of the crater and back to Mto wa Mbu (included in safari seat)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Mto wa Mbu (£12–18)

• →Ngorongoro Crater floor game drive
• →Ngoitokitok Springs picnic lunch

Book a half-day Tarangire trip from Mto wa Mbu (shared day-tour seat £60–80 including entry and vehicle) or, if you have a couple of travel companions, hire a 4x4 with driver-guide for the day and split it. Tarangire's baobabs and the river valley are famous for elephant herds, wildebeest, zebras, elands and oryx. Head back in the early afternoon, catch a bus or shuttle from Mto wa Mbu/Arusha to Moshi (£4–6), and arrive by early evening. Overnight in a Moshi hostel or budget hotel near the clock tower, and toast the trip with a Kilimanjaro beer.

🚌Shared day-tour 4x4 to Tarangire (~£15 share) + bus Mto wa Mbu–Moshi (~£5)

🛏Moshi hostel dorm or budget hotel (£10–16)

• →Tarangire National Park game drive
• →Tarangire River elephant viewing