Ngorongoro Crater Day Safari from Arusha

The Ngorongoro Crater is a collapsed volcanic caldera about twenty kilometres across, with its own permanent population of wildlife on the floor. It is the one place in Northern Tanzania where a single day genuinely delivers a full safari, because the animals do not have to be found across a hundred kilometres of bush. They are down there.

This is a long day and we do not pretend otherwise. We leave Arusha in the dark and you are back after it. What you get for it is the crater floor in the good light of the morning, before the vehicles that came from the closer lodges arrive.

If you can spare two days instead, an overnight near the rim turns this into a much gentler trip. Look at our Tanzania safaris or tell us your dates.

We collect you from your hotel, guesthouse or Airbnb anywhere in Arusha town, and from Usa River and the Kilimanjaro Airport road on request. Give us the property name when you book and we confirm the pickup time the evening before. Drop-off is at the same address unless you tell us otherwise. This trip starts before dawn, so we confirm the exact time with you the day before and ask your hotel to arrange an early breakfast or a packed one.

Warm layers for the rim, which is at over two thousand metres and cold in the early morning, and lighter clothes for the floor. Binoculars if you have them. Sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. A camera with more battery than you think you need. Dust gets everywhere, so a bag for your lenses.

You travel in a maintained 4x4 with a licensed Tanzanian driver-guide. Seat belts are fitted in every seat. We carry a first aid kit and drinking water, and the guide stays contactable through the day. Travel insurance is not included and we recommend you arrange it before you come. You stay in the vehicle on the crater floor except at the designated picnic site and toilet stops, which is a conservation area rule and not ours.