You’ll schedule your flight to arrive on February 28 and that often means leaving the U.S. on February 27 or 26th.

The best airline to fly, in our opinion, is Qatar. Delta/KLM/Air France (they’re all code shares with KLM) is our second choice.

We’ll give you more specifics on flights after you register.

Because of the time change, most flights arrive in Tanzania at night (5pm, 8pm, or after midnight). Our amazing team will pick you up at the airport and transport you to your first hotel.

This first hotel is an oasis outside of the city. The grounds are covered in rich vegetation and there are plants and flowers, everywhere. It’s stunning and more beautiful than most hotels in the U.S.

They have wifi and a restaurant but you’ll likely go straight to sleep. If you arrive any earlier than the 28th, the cost per night is around $250/person. Lunches and dinners are around $20/person.

In the morning after breakfast, we’ll transfer to the Serengeti.

When we arrive, we’ll check in, freshen up, and rest. The entire camp is just for us so everything runs on our schedule.

You’ll be amazed how many modern comforts they can squeeze into your tent — king beds with fine linens, fully-enclosed, private toilets, a shower… even double vanity sinks with the most amazing views.

This camp is used by other tours who charge $13,000 and up for their safaris.

You’ll also be surprised by how divine the meals are when prepared in such a small space!

At 4pm, just as the light starts to turn, we’ll head out for our first game drive and enjoy cocktails under the evening stars.

It’s estimated that more than 1.5 million wildebeest, 400,000 zebra, and 200,000 gazelles will make their way through the Serengeti this time of year making it the largest migration of land mammals on the planet. It’s easily the greatest show on earth.

Our guides are all born and raised in Tanzania. Not flown in from South Africa like some other companies.

They’re friendly, fun… and they’re excellent drivers and expert animal spotters.

They know the best roads for spotting big cats like lions and leopard and they’ll take us there. These places are only known by locals and not often traveled by tourist groups so they’re GREAT for photography and the authentic experiences I’m always looking for on my tours.

Bonus: I always add this third day here to make sure we get the most from this area and in case it rains one of the other days.

You won’t feel rushed like a typical tourist tour.

One of the unique things I’d like to be known for is building a focus on getting beautiful and creative images while also absorbing this country’s wonderful culture.

In addition to wildlife on this trip, I took the time to find us truly authentic tribes.

Maasai families (tribe 1) are currently being moved out of the crater. It’s a fight between the government, conservationists and the tribes themselves who have grown so vast in number that animals can no longer pass freely between the parks. If we can meet a Maasai family here, we will.

If we can’t, you’ll definitely meet a Maasai man every night when he escorts you to your glamping “tent” in the bush. Maasai warriors are hired by all the camps I’ve chosen to escort you safely to your room. This is not Disney World after all. The rustle in the grass is not a singing warthog.

Maasai men are trained from birth to be warriors and experts in animal behaviors. They are given the task of protecting their family’s goats, sheep and cows from age 4. You’ll be safe in their hands.

In the evening we’ll make our way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to get some rest and prepare for our descent into the crater the next morning.

Before dawn, we’ll descend onto the crater floor for a chance to see the nearly-extinct black rhino.

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Ngorongoro Crater is known for its dense population of wild animals, making it one of the best spots in Tanzania for rhino sightings. This 10-mile wide volcano top with 2,000 feet high walls is one of the most spectacular places imaginable.

Commonly referred to as the 8th wonder of the world, it’s a natural amphitheater for the circle of life. The short grass plains here are rich in nutritious grasses, providing the herds with the best conditions to eat and raise their young — which is why it’s so densely populated.

The game viewing here is among the very best Africa has to offer, and the light feels like you’re driving through a painting.

In the late afternoon, after the park has closed, we’ll make our way out of the park and head deeper into the bush where the Hadzabes and Datogas live. Other tours make this a day trip which means a very early wake up call and a lot of driving. But we’ll over night near the tribes for added comfort and time to work on our images.

We’ll start the day on this morning with a hunt with the Hadzabe tribe. You’ll see where they live, what they eat, how they communicate and try your hand at some archery (it’s surprisingly difficult).

Our photographs here are usually among my favorites and the tribes are incredibly generous with us. From there, we’ll visit the Datogas, the blacksmiths. The Datogas make the metal arrowsheads for the Hadzabe and are among the best-dressed of all tribes.

We’ll overnight in the remote lodge again to save us from long drives and add much-needed rest.

In the morning, we’ll pack up and head for Tarangire — one of my favorite parks because it contains the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti, yet it’s often overlooked by tourists.

Most known for its abundant population of elephants, it’s also unique for its burnt orange mud that makes the elephants and zebra turn red in color and its giant baobab trees (the trees used as a model for the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom).

We’ll game drive into the park (meaning: stop for animals we spot along the way) and then check into our luxury tent camp — again, reserved just for our group.

On past trips we’ve always had to stay outside the park. But now, there’s this new camp that’s already in the park on the most beautiful side. Staying here means we’ll sleep in luxury AND be close to where we want to be before the sun comes up.

It’s a prime location with an amazing staff and awesome food.

You’ll unwind at night with drinks around a campfire, plush blankets across your lap if you get cold, your dinner exquisitely prepared, and your laundry taken and returned freshly pressed the next day.

Early in the morning, we’ll head out looking for lions and cheetahs who might be on the hunt. Every trip is different, but because it’s migration season, it’s also birthing and calving time and a time of feast for big cats. We usually see a lot.

It’s also not uncommon in this park to see 30-50 elephants at one time, hundreds of zebra and wildebeest and prides of 8-15 lions with their cubs.

Along the way you’ll meet with exotic birds, hyenas, giraffes, gazelles, and impalas, too.

In the late afternoon we’ll head back to camp and rest up after a gourmet lunch. Then do it all over again for sunset.

Life doesn’t get much better than this.

In the morning we’ll head out for our final game drive and drive back to Arusha.

You can schedule a flight home in the afternoon on this day or overnight and catch a flight out in the morning.

If you’d like to extend your stay and see more of Tanzania, you have a few options. You can make your way to Zanzibar (an island on the East Coast of Africa, best known as the spice capital of the world)… or Climb Mount Kilimanjaro or Mt. Meru. You can also stay close to Arusha and tour a coffee plantation.

If you like any of these options, we can put you directly in touch with our guides for trip planning, pricing and special requests. You MUST book these options at least 3 months in advance as this is peak season.

If you need a hotel room on this day, room rates are $90 for the day or $250 for overnight.