The Ultimate Northern Safari with Auberge

Fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), where a private transfer included in your lodge rate will bring you to Legendary Lodge in approximately one hour. If you fly via Arusha Airport, the journey is shorter, with a transfer of around 15 minutes. Your garden cottage opens onto sprawling lawns and coffee trees, offering an easy transition after a long journey. The remainder of the day is yours to settle in and find your bearings. You might stroll the estate’s walking trails, take a bicycle out along the quieter paths, or spend the afternoon beside the garden pool. If you want to learn more about the property and its history, guided coffee estate tours are available, while a private garden offers another way to spend the afternoon. Come evening, dinner on the property provides a relaxed first taste of your Tanzanian journey ahead.

The idea is simple: give yourself time to be present, without feeling the need to fill every hour.

After breakfast at Legendary Lodge, depart by road or air to Chem Chem Lodge. Your SmartFlyer travel advisor will coordinate a chartered twenty-minute flight on a Miracle Air-operated, state‑of‑the‑art turboprop Cessna Grand Caravan from Arusha Airport (fifteen minutes from Legendary Lodge) to Chem Chem’s airstrip. There is also an option to stay on land and take a private, two-hour drive to Chem Chem. For either version of the transfer, you’ll watch the landscape shift from cultivated highlands to open savannah and woodland. The journey takes you into the exclusive-use Burunge Wildlife Management Area between Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Park; only Auberge Safari guests have access, so you won’t see tour vehicles or groups from other lodges. This protects the land from overtourism and gives you unparalleled access to true wilderness. On arrival, you’re welcomed into Chem Chem Lodge, the birthplace of the Slow Safari philosophy. The idea is simple: give yourself time to be present, without feeling the need to fill every hour. The afternoon is yours to have lunch and settle into the Slow Safari rhythm, which will set the tone for your days ahead. After lunch, you might opt to swim, spend time at the spa, or simply sit on your private deck and watch the landscape.

Come late afternoon, you’ll experience your first of many sacred safari rituals. Typically, afternoon tea and coffee (or something stronger, if you wish) is served around four o’clock. From there, you’ll sync up with your guide for your first of many game drives. Take in the beauty of spotting wildlife as the sun goes down. As evening arrives, your guide will bring you to the shores of the lake for sundowners. A G&T is certainly in order to celebrate this first night of safari magic before heading back to the lodge for dinner knowing tomorrow brings your first full day of exploring the area. Gear up for the chance to begin your search for the Burunge’s celebrated Big Tuskers.

Start your morning with coffee in your suite before heading out with your private guide and vehicle, an inclusion you’ll be sure to take advantage of throughout your stay at Chem Chem. Today’s focus is the region’s celebrated Big Tuskers. Tracking them is as much about noticing the landscape as it is about searching the animals themselves. Your knowledgeable guide will help you follow signs through open plains and acacia woodland, explaining the tracks, plants, and behavior that reveal what has passed through the area. Keep watch in the trees, too: this part of Tanzania is known for its tree-climbing lions, which you can sometimes spot resting in the branches.

The beauty of the Slow Safari is that you always have time to stop for photos and quiet observation, rather than rushing from one sighting to the next. After the morning game drive, return to the lodge for breakfast and a relaxed afternoon. Take a swim, visit the gym, get a massage, or retreat to your suite during the heat of the day. Later, head out back out for your evening game drive and sundowners as the escarpment catches the last light. Return to Chem Chem for dinner beneath the stars, with the day’s sightings sure to steal the show as you recount your first full day in Tanzania.

Today begins on foot. A silent walking safari takes you into the bush with a guide, where the focus shifts from the big picture to the details around you: tracks pressed into the earth, birdsong, movement in the grasses, and the textures of the landscape. Without the barrier of a vehicle, you’ll become more attuned to the nuanced details that can easily go unnoticed. A very special bush breakfast follows beneath an ancient baobab tree, giving you the opportunity to pause and reflect.

Later this afternoon, you can visit a nearby Maasai or Barabaig community to learn about local traditions, daily life, and these communities’ relationship with the surrounding land. Chem Chem works closely with local tribes, ensuring that if you choose to engage with the Maasai or Barabaig, the experience is a genuine cultural exchange rather than a staged encounter. If you’d like to make the afternoon more active, you can also arrange a run in the bush alongside Maasai guides. The remainder of the day is yours to rest. Spend time taking in the landscape around the lodge and finally crack open that book you’ve been toting around. An evening game drive provides one final chance to connect with the Burunge land before your departure for the Serengeti tomorrow.

After a final relaxed morning at Chem Chem Lodge, transfer to the airstrip for a bush plane to the remote Nyasirori region in the Serengeti’s western corridor. From the air, the scale of northern Tanzania reveals itself, and the journey becomes even more vivid. You’ll land at Grumeti Airstrip, then continue by land transfer for about an hour to Mila, a tented camp on the edge of the plains.

The western corridor of the Serengeti is considered one of its most remote corners, with fewer vehicles and a strong reputation for lion sightings.

The western corridor of the Serengeti is considered one of its most remote corners, with fewer vehicles and a strong reputation for lion sightings. So much so that you’ll likely have sightings on the transfer before you arrive at Mila. Once you settle in, you can take your time settling into camp. If you’re eager to begin exploring, head out with your private guide for an afternoon game drive for a first look at the surrounding plains. Alternatively, stay at camp and ease into this fresh setting before dinner beneath canvas.

Today is devoted to exploring the western corridor, with your private guide and vehicle giving you the freedom to decide where the day will take you. Set out early just before sunrise, when the landscape is cooler, and wildlife is often at its most active. You might see a pride of lions moving between hunting grounds, or, if you’re lucky, watch adults interact with cubs. As temperatures rise, the pace tends to slow, giving you a natural opportunity to return to camp for breakfast and a break. Depending on the season, the western corridor can also see migration activity during the rutting months of June and July, adding another layer to your experience. Later, head back out for an afternoon game drive and sundowners. Return to camp for dinner beneath the stars, with another full day on foot awaiting you tomorrow. 

Today, if you’re up for it, you’ll leave the vehicle behind and experience the Serengeti on foot. Led by an experienced guide trained to read the landscape at ground level, a walking safari offers a different perspective on the Serengeti, focusing on details that can be easy to miss from a game vehicle. You’ll build on your ability to spot animal tracks from your first walking safari, with the chance to identify birdlife and notice the plants and smaller movements that reveal how the interdependent ecosystem works and is further supported by Mila’s conservation efforts. After the walk, return to camp for an unhurried morning. Read on your private deck, relax with a coffee, or simply watch the plains. 

In the afternoon, head out once more with your guide for a leisurely game drive. One of the most unique parts about a safari in the Serengeti is just how flat the plains are, allowing you to see far and wide; depending on what time of year you visit, the height of the grass will vary, with the tallest grasses at the end of the rainy season in May and June and the shortest at the late dry season from October to November. Grass height will affect visibility, but luckily, your guide is a pro spotter no matter how tall the bush may be. As the sun begins to fall, stop for your final sundowner with the Mila team and watch the grassland change color around you. Back at camp, your final dinner at this camp is served beneath canvas. Be sure to go to sleep early so you can get some solid R&R before tomorrow’s travel.  

Settle into your tented suite, take a swim, spend time in the jacuzzi…

This morning, head back to the Grumeti Airstrip for your flight to Mwiba. This flight will bring you from the Serengeti to the exclusive-use Greater Mwiba Protected Wildlife Area, where you’ll land at Mwiba Airstrip before a short drive to Mwiba Lodge. The landscape changes as you arrive—Mwiba sits atop a granite outcrop overlooking the Arugusinyai River gorge, with rolling hills, granite formations, and candelabra trees creating a setting unlike the plains of the Serengeti. With your arrival timed for the afternoon, you don’t need to fill the rest of the day. Settle into your tented suite, take a swim, spend time in the jacuzzi, or visit the spa and gym after several days on the move. You can also simply find a quiet spot and take in the setting from the lodge.

If you’re ready to explore, head out for an afternoon game drive through the reserve. The ancient calving grounds are protected, and the limited number of people who can access the area supports Auberge’s conservation of more than 800 square miles of land. Alternatively, enjoy sundowners at the lodge itself, where the elevated position gives you a broad perspective across the protected area. The change of scenery is part of what makes Mwiba such a poignant final destination on this Tanzania itinerary. After the open grasslands of the western Serengeti, you have arrived somewhere more rugged and rooted in its fascinating geological history.

Culture takes center stage today, with two distinctive ways to connect with communities who have long called this region home. You can spend time with the Datoga, whose traditions include skilled metalworking, or join a foraging walk with the Hadzabe, one of Africa’s last remaining hunter-gatherer communities. Notably, the Hadzabe experience is exclusive to guests staying at Mwiba Lodge. These encounters are orchestrated with care, creating space for genuine exchange and conversation rather than a staged performance. They offer a chance to learn about traditions, livelihoods and relationships with the land that differ considerably from your own.

Return to the lodge for an afternoon at leisure. You might opt to swim, spend time in the jacuzzi, get a massage, or simply rest before heading back into the reserve. As daylight fades, set out for sundowners followed by a spotlight-led night game drive. After dark, the reserve changes character, revealing nocturnal species that are rarely seen during daylight hours. Genets and leopards are among the possibilities, along with the sounds and movements of the bush at night. Back at Mwiba, dinner is followed by a stargazing experience, giving you a chance to look beyond the landscape and into the clear southern African sky.

With tomorrow marking your departure, your final full day at Mwiba is left deliberately open. Begin with coffee on your private deck as the sun rises over the landscape below, then decide how much—or how little—you want to do. You could start with a workout in the gym, take a swim in the pool, or indulge in a botanic-infused oil massage at the spa.

If you’re not quite ready to put the camera away, your private guide is available for another game drive. Plenty remains to discover across the reserve, and an additional outing gives you the chance to follow up on a sighting or explore another part of the protected area. Later, choose between sundowners at the lodge or heading back into the bush for one final drink in the wilderness. A celebratory final dinner follows, marking your last evening in Tanzania and a chance to reflect on the memories made on this trip.

After your final breakfast at Mwiba Lodge, you’ll transfer to the Mwiba Airstrip for a flight back to Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha Airport, connecting onward to your international departure. The morning has no fixed check-out time. Instead, timing will be built around your flight schedule, so you can enjoy one final coffee on the deck, take in the landscape, or simply linger over breakfast before leaving the lodge.

The flight home offers one last perspective on the terrain you’ve traveled through over the past eleven days. From above, the granite outcrops, open plains, and wildlife corridors become part of a much larger picture, connecting the individual places you’ve experienced along the way. It’s also a chance to appreciate the journey’s scale—from the coffee estate outside Arusha, through Burunge and the western Serengeti, to the protected wilderness of Mwiba.