Self-Launched Tanzania Big 5 Safari Circuit — Arusha, Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengeti & Lake Natron

Land at Kilimanjaro (JRO) or Arusha airport and take a local shuttle or dala-dala into Arusha town (JRO–Arusha shared shuttle roughly £8–12, ~1.5 hrs). Drop bags at a hostel in the Njiro or city centre area. In the afternoon, book a shared day safari into Arusha National Park through your hostel or a local operator on the spot (entry gate is only ~40 min away) — a half-day shared game drive and canoe trip on Momella Lakes costs roughly £70–90 per person including park fees. Look for colobus monkeys, giraffe, buffalo and flamingos; the Ngurdoto Crater viewpoint is on the way out. Eat dinner at a local 'hoteli' in town for £3–5.

🚌Airport shuttle JRO–Arusha ~£8–12; shared day-safari jeep to Arusha NP and back

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Arusha, dorm or twin (~£12–18)

• →Arusha National Park shared game drive
• →Momella Lakes canoe trip
• →Ngurdoto Crater viewpoint

Leave Arusha early via a shared safari jeep or matatu to Tarangire gate (~2 hrs). The cheapest reliable approach is to join a one-day shared Tarangire safari departing Arusha — most Arusha hostels and tour desks sell these for £110–140 pp including park fees, jeep, driver-guide and picnic lunch. Spend the day on game drives along the Tarangire River looking for elephant herds, baobabs, lion and the park's huge buffalo concentrations. Return to Arusha or, if your company allows, get dropped at Mto wa Mbu/Karatu (ask when booking and expect a small supplement) to cut tomorrow's travel.

🚌Shared safari jeep Arusha–Tarangire–Arusha ~2 hrs each way; or matatu Arusha–Mto wa Mbu ~£2

🛏Back in Arusha hostel or Karatu/Mto wa Mbu guesthouse (~£12–20)

• →Full-day shared Tarangire game drive
• →Tarangire River picnic lunch

Take a matatu or shared shuttle from Arusha to Mto wa Mbu (~2 hrs, £2–3), a busy market town right at the gate to Lake Manyara. Check into a guesthouse and arrange a shared afternoon game drive into Lake Manyara NP through your host or the town's tour desks (~£80–100 pp with park fees). The park is compact, lush and famous for tree-climbing lions, flamingos along the lake shore, and huge baboon troops. Alternatively, do a self-guided cycle or walk around the Mto wa Mbu rice paddies and banana plantations (£3–5 bike hire) and save the park for a full half-day tomorrow.

🚌Matatu/shared shuttle Arusha–Mto wa Mbu ~£2–3; shared jeep to Lake Manyara gate

🛏Guesthouse in Mto wa Mbu, twin room (~£12–20)

• →Lake Manyara shared game drive
• →Mto wa Mbu market and plantation walk

Arrange a shared day trip to Lake Eyasi through your Mto wa Mbu guesthouse the evening before (the road is rough, so a 4x4 with a driver is essential; typically £60–80 pp shared between 4–6 people, plus modest community fees of ~£10–15). Leave before dawn — the Hadzabe bushmen hunt and forage in the early morning, and you'll join a demonstration and walk with them. Later visit a Datoga blacksmith homestead. Be conscious this is a cultural visit — pay community fees directly, ask before photographing, and avoid buying trinkets unless you genuinely want them. Return to Mto wa Mbu or push on to Karatu for the night.

🚌Shared 4x4 to Lake Eyasi and back (~3 hrs each way on rough roads)

🛏Guesthouse in Karatu or back in Mto wa Mbu (~£15–22)

• →Hadzabe early-morning hunting/foraging demonstration
• →Datoga homestead and blacksmith visit
• →Lake Eyasi shoreline drive

Base yourself in Karatu and join a scheduled shared crater day tour — these run daily and are sold by Karatu guesthouses and Arusha operators for £150–190 pp including Ngorongoro Conservation Area fees, the crater service fee, jeep and picnic lunch (fees alone are ~£60 + £25, so this is not a place to try to DIY without a vehicle). Descend the 600 m crater wall at dawn for the best light and wildlife: black rhino, lion, elephant, flamingo and hippo. Eat your picnic at Ngoitokitok Springs. Back up the rim by late afternoon, then overnight in Karatu. Book your crater day at least 2–3 days ahead in high season.

🚌Shared 4x4 with driver-guide; descent and ascent of the crater road

🛏Guesthouse in Karatu (~£15–22)

• →Ngorongoro Crater full-day shared game drive
• →Ngoitokitok Springs picnic

Arrange an armed-ranger-accompanied hike down to Empakai Lake through a Karatu operator or directly with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (ranger fees plus conservation fees and a 4x4 transfer typically total £120–160 pp shared). It's a steep but manageable 1.5–2 hr descent through forest to a green crater lake ringed by fig trees, with views across to Ol Doinyo Lengai and, on clear days, Kilimanjaro. Flamingos and buffalo are common. Picnic by the lake, then climb back out. Guides are mandatory here — don't attempt it self-guided. Return to Karatu for a proper meal and early night before the Serengeti transfer.

🚌Shared 4x4 to Empakai trailhead on the Ngorongoro rim (~1.5 hrs)

🛏Guesthouse in Karatu (~£15–22)

• →Ranger-guided Empakai Crater hike
• →Empakai Lake picnic and wildlife viewing

The cheapest practical route into the Serengeti is to join a 2-day shared Serengeti safari that includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area transit and Naabi Hill gate fees (roughly £230–280 pp including one night of basic camping, jeep, fees and meals). Drive up through the Ngorongoro highlands with a stop at Oldupai Gorge Museum (~£5 entry) to see the Laetoli footprints and Cradle of Mankind exhibits, then game-drive into the Serengeti for the late afternoon. Optional Maasai boma visit en route (~£10–15). Camp inside or just outside the park (public campsites like Seronera are basic: shared ablutions, bring a sleeping bag liner).

🚌Shared safari jeep Karatu–Ngorongoro transit–Oldupai–Naabi Hill–Serengeti (~5–6 hrs with stops)

🛏Public campsite tent or basic safari camp near Seronera (~£20–30 incl. camping fee)

• →Oldupai Gorge Museum
• →Afternoon Serengeti game drive
• →Optional Maasai boma visit

If you're on a 2-day shared safari, this is your full game-drive day: out at sunrise from camp, tracking leopard in the Seronera riverine woodland and cheetah on the plains, picnic lunch at a Serengeti picnic area, and back to camp by late afternoon. If you've booked a 3-day version, you get an extra dawn drive and a night at a second campsite. Wildlife density peaks June–October (dry season, when the migration herds are in the north) and Jan–March (calving in the southern plains).

🚌Shared safari jeep, full-day game driving

🛏Public campsite tent or basic safari camp in the Serengeti (~£20–30)

• →Sunrise game drive
• →Full-day Serengeti game drive
• →Picnic lunch at Serengeti picnic area

Return with your shared safari to Karatu/Mto wa Mbu or Arusha, then take the public/shared shuttle up the Rift Valley to Lake Natron (Engaresero village) — a rough 3–4 hr 4x4 road, with shared seats typically £25–40 pp. Alternatively many Natron guesthouses in Engaresero will arrange pickup from Mto wa Mbu for a similar price. Afternoon at leisure: walk to the lake shore at sunset to see the flamingo flocks and the bizarre red soda water, and swim in the natural hot springs nearby (£2–3 entry). Simple guesthouses in Engaresero run £15–25.

🚌Shared safari back to Mto wa Mbu/Karatu, then shared 4x4 shuttle to Lake Natron (~£30–40)

🛏Guesthouse in Engaresero village (~£15–25)

• →Lake Natron sunset walk and flamingo viewing
• →Natural hot springs swim

Climb Ol Doinyo Lengai, the only active sodium-carbonate volcano on Earth, with a local Maasai guide arranged the day before through your guesthouse (guide fee £40–60 pp shared, plus a small village/climbing permit). The classic route starts around midnight so you're on the summit for sunrise — 5–6 hrs up a steep, loose, extremely exposed scree slope, then 3–4 hrs down. It is genuinely tough and not for anyone with vertigo or weak knees; check current volcanic activity levels before committing. Afterwards, shower, eat, and take the afternoon shared shuttle back to Arusha (~£30–40, 4–5 hrs) for your onward flight or a final hostel night.

🚌Guided climb on foot; afternoon shared 4x4/shuttle Lake Natron–Arusha (~£30–40)

🛏Arusha hostel or guesthouse before departure (~£12–18)

• →Ol Doinyo Lengai sunrise summit climb with Maasai guide