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.
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 cmoing in from Moshi.
Arusha's most famous landmark is Mount Meru, a dormant volcano that rises more than 4,500 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.
Arusha itself has grown considerably in recent years and there are probably around 650,000 people living in the city. The population has increased tenfold since the 1970s! In addition to tourism, Arusha lives from the trade in coffee and agricultural products and also increasingly from the export of cut flowers. Arusha lies at an altitude of 1,400 meters above sea level and the climate is quite pleasant with an average temperature of around 25° Celsius.
Travel by road to Arusha Local Airport
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.
Flight to One Nature Mara River
Accommodation
Each of the seven villas at One Nature Mara River offers unobstructed views of the magnificent Serengeti, allowing guests to observe any passing animals from the comfort of their guest bedrooms or private veranda.
All rooms have en-suite bathrooms, both indoor and outdoor shower, a freestanding copper bathtub, solar-powered air conditioner, a private heated pool with sunbeds, an outdoor lounge area, an in-room wood-burning fire stove, mini bar, fridge and personalized butler service. Sliding panoramic glass windows open to extensive outdoor living and dining areas.
One of the seven villas is a two-bedroom family villa with ample 291m² space for up to six guests. A large living & dinging area separates the two en-suite bedrooms. Large outside decks, the heated swimming pool and a boma area complement this unique villa.
The main area accommodates restaurant, bar, lounge and also includes a gym, a photography room and a trading post for unique finds.
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 Mnemba Private Island
Accommodation
Mnemba Island Lodge is set on a private island and comprises twelve romantic bandas (including one family banda) nestled under the shade of elegant trees on a pristine white beach. Read, relax, enjoy - either from the comfort of your own private veranda, in your beach lounge or at the beach front on your private sun loungers. The sound of the sea mingles with the chirping of crickets - a hypnotic tapestry of sound that, combined with fine food and personalized service, will bring the 5* Robinson Crusoe to life in you.
The rooms are quite rustic and luxurious at the same time. The use of natural building materials creates a very warm and sympathetic atmosphere and the open architecture allows interaction with the outside world. The bedroom with dressing room is connected to the separate bathroom via a covered passage. A huge thatched roof protects the bedroom and the veranda, where you can sit and read comfortably during the day.
The central area consists of the restaurant and the bar/lounge and a bit hidden lies the library, the curio shop and the water sports center. Service and food are of high quality, leaving no wish unfulfilled. In the evening, dinner is usually served under the stars, either at the main area or in the privacy of your room.
Surrounded by coral reefs and thus ideal for snorkelling and diving, the island has a circumference of approx 1.5 km. The spectacular beach gives way to a crystal clear ocean that invites guests to swim and snorkel all year round. At low tide a walk around the island is easily doable as wide sandbanks are exposed on the eastern side of the island. In front of the lodge swimming is always possible, even at low tide.
Travel by road to Stone Town
Basic Information
Individual journey. The journey will be planned on your preferred dates.
Duration 14 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 Zanzibar
- Legendary Lodge: Standard Room. Dinner, breakfast.
- Chem Chem: Standard Room. All meals, drinks (except premier brands), laundry service, private vehicle / guide provided by the lodge.
- One Nature Mara River: Standard Room. All meals, drinks (except premier brands), laundry service, twice daily shared activities with one of the camp guides.
- Sabora Tented Camp: Standard 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.
- Mnemba Private Island: Standard Room. All meals, drinks (soft drinks, wine, local spirits, tea, coffee), laundry service. Rate includes two dives per day, snorkelling, kayaking, SUP, fly fishing, dhow trips. Includes transfers from Zanzibar airport to Mnemba Island return.
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