Day 1: Arrive Dar es Salaam; Fly to Ruaha (Jabali Ridge Camp)
Arrive Dar es Salaam early morning on the overnight flight from London. You will be met by your driver on clearing customs and transferred to the nearby domestic airport for your flight to Ruaha, departing late morning (10:30 / 13:30).
Your safari guide and driver will be waiting at the Ruaha airstrip to greet you with a picnic lunch, so that you may start your safari as soon as you land.
Ruaha is the second largest game park in Tanzania, and offers a game-viewing experience equal to its size. It has one of the largest populations of elephant in any park in Africa and the dry open hillsides also encourage antelope, giraffe and buffalo to gather in sizeable herds. The terrain, with its relatively sparse vegetation, is particularly good for sighting predators, including lion, occasionally leopard, and very occasionally African wild dog.
After enjoying a short afternoon drive in Ruaha, continue to Jabali Ridge Camp, your home for the next 6 nights (booked fully-inclusive, including safari activities).
Opened in Sept. 2017, Jabali Ridge accommodates its guests in 8 luxury suites, hidden amid granite boulders on a high rocky ridge in north-eastern Ruaha. From this secluded location, it provides easy access to the prime game-viewing areas around the Mwagusi River (the focus of game drives at the lodge), while also serving as an ideal base for walking safaris on the comparatively quieter eastern perimeter of the park.
Day 2-6: Ruaha National Park (Jabali Ridge Camp)
The next 5 days are free for you to explore Ruaha National Park at your own pace. Activities available at Jabali Ridge Lodge include morning and afternoon game drives (focused on the Mwagusi River area), as well as night drives and walking safaris in the eastern Ruaha.
Full-day game drives with picnic lunch and bush breakfasts can also be arranged.
Day 7-11: Fly Pangani (The Tides Lodge)
Breakfast and morning game activity at Jabali, then transfer to the airstrip for afternoon flight to Pangani via Dar (13:45 / 17:20). On arrival, meet with your driver and transfer to the Tides Lodge (5 nights, Beach Cottage on full-board basis).
The Tides is a remote, low-key beach resort situated some 10km south of Pangani, on Ushongo Beach, Tanzania's unspoilt northern coastline. Ushongo has been rated one of the Top Secret Beaches of the World by the Sunday Times travel magazine, and the Tides was the first and, to this day, the best lodge to open in the area.
The Tides offers just seven makuti-thatch chalets and two suites. The rooms are decorated in a fresh and simple manner, and cooled by the ocean breezes. The standard rooms are spacious, featuring twin/double bedrooms with Swahili carved furnishings, large en-suite bathrooms, and private verandahs.
Activities available at the Tides include snorkelling and diving, kayaking, fishing, beach walks and cycling.
Day 12: Departure
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before transferring to the airstrip for the late afternoon flight to Dar es Salaam (14:45 / 15:50), where you connect with your international flight home.
Ruaha and Pangani Family Safari
12-day beach and safari family holiday
Ruaha and Pangani Family Safari
Ideal for families, this 12-day beach and safari itinerary visits the newly-opened Jabali Ridge Camp in often-overlooked Ruaha National Park, before seeing you jet to Tanzania's mainland coast for 5 nights on Ushongo Beach at the fabulous Tides Lodge.
Outline Itinerary
Price guide
Please see itinerary PDF (via download itinerary button) for detailed rates, including child rates.
Pricing
12 days from £4780pp
Hottest Classroom Special Schools Group
Just a quick note to say thank you for one of the most memorable expeditions I have ever been on.
Self-drive holiday in South Africa
Thank you for organising such a wonderful holiday. From the start to the finish it exceeded all expectations.
