Serengeti for families, in northern Tanzania

The road south to Tarangire

Where to eat: Ripe bananas and oranges from a roadside fruit stand at Makuyuni.

Leave Arusha after breakfast in your safari vehicle, a high-roofed four-by-four with a pop-up roof and a driver who knows the animals and the tracks. The road runs south through farmland and acacia country past Makuyuni, where Maasai herders walk cattle along the verge in red and blue shukas. Children can watch for the first giraffe browsing near the road, and the driver stops at the gate while the park permits are checked.

Elephants on the Tarangire River

Where to eat: Lunch on the terrace at Tarangire Safari Lodge, above the river.

Spend the first game drive along the Tarangire River, where family herds of elephants dig in the sandy riverbed for water, babies tucked under their mothers. The driver will cut the engine when a herd crosses close by, and the pop-up roof lets children stand and watch safely. Look for zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck and impala along the banks, and lions resting in the shade during the heat of the day.

Baobab trees and termite mounds

In the afternoon, drive among the baobab trees that give Tarangire its look, some of them many centuries old, with fat grey trunks that elephants scar while stripping the bark for moisture. Children can measure how many of them it would take to hug one. Tall red termite mounds stand among the grass, and dwarf mongooses often live in the old ones; ask the driver to stop and wait quietly to see them peek out.

Sundown on the lodge terrace

Where to eat: Grilled tilapia with coconut rice at Tarangire Safari Lodge.

Return to the lodge before the park closes at dusk and sit on the long terrace above the river as the light turns gold. Elephants and buffalo often walk down to the water below, and the children can use binoculars to count them while the adults rest. After dinner, a staff member walks you back to the tent with a torch, since animals pass through the grounds at night.

Where to eat and stop

• Breakfast · Arusha Coffee Lodge — Plantation dining room, from 6:30 am Why here: A slow, hearty breakfast before the first drive, with the coffee from the bushes outside.
• Lunch · Tarangire Safari Lodge — Terrace above the Tarangire River Why here: A long lunch with elephants in view below, and a pool for the children in the heat of the day.
• Dinner · Tarangire Safari Lodge — Main dining room Why here: Swahili-style lake fish and coconut rice, simple enough for children to share.
• Quick stop (snack): Makuyuni roadside fruit stands — On the main road south of Arusha Why here: A cheap, fresh snack for the vehicle before the park gate.

Tarangire's main gate is about one hundred and twenty kilometres southwest of Arusha, roughly two hours by safari vehicle on a paved road through Makuyuni. Tarangire Safari Lodge sits inside the park about fifteen minutes from the gate.

Where to stay

• Tarangire Safari Lodge — Tented rooms and bungalows on a ridge inside the park, with a long terrace above the Tarangire River where elephants come down to drink in the afternoon, and a pool for a midday swim.
• A tented camp outside the park — Several tented camps sit on the conservancy land just outside Tarangire's gate, quieter and often cheaper, with family tents and campfire evenings before an early return to the park.

Dinner: Grilled tilapia with coconut rice at Tarangire Safari Lodge, above the river.

Tomorrow: Take an early game drive, then climb the Rift Valley wall through the banana market town of Mto wa Mbu to the green farm country around Karatu.

Bad-weather plan

Tarangire is driest from June to October; in January and February an afternoon shower can turn tracks to mud, so drive in the morning and spend the afternoon by the lodge pool and terrace.

The road through Makuyuni · Elephants on the Tarangire River · Baobab trees · Sundown on the terrace

Good to know: Tsetse flies live in parts of Tarangire and bite through thin clothes; dress children in light, pale colours and avoid dark blue and black.

Down the crater wall at dawn

Where to eat: Hot chocolate and a muffin from the packed breakfast box from Gibb's Farm.

Leave Gibb's Farm at first light and drive about an hour to the Lodoare gate, then up through the misty forest to the crater rim. Stop at the viewpoint on the rim to look down into the bowl, often filled with morning cloud, before the descent road winds down the steep inner wall. The children will see the grassland and the lake open out below like a map.

Lions, zebra and black rhino

On the crater floor, the driver follows the tracks across the grassland where zebra, wildebeest and buffalo graze in big herds. Lions often rest close to the road, and spotted hyenas trot through the grass. Black rhino are rare and shy, so bring binoculars and look for grey shapes near the Lerai Forest edge. Children can keep a tally of the animals on a checklist card from the gate.

Flamingos on Lake Magadi

Drive toward Lake Magadi, the shallow soda lake in the middle of the crater, where flocks of flamingos feed in the pink shallows. Golden jackals and hyenas patrol the shore, and crowned cranes walk in the grass nearby. It is one of the most colourful sights of the trip, and the reflections in the still morning water are a lovely photo for the children.

Picnic by the hippo pool

Where to eat: A packed lunch from Gibb's Farm at the Ngoitokitok Springs picnic site.

Lunch at Ngoitokitok Springs, the picnic site on the eastern side of the crater floor, where hippos snort and wallow in the pool. Eat inside the vehicle or close to it, because black kites swoop down to steal food from hands. After lunch, take a slow drive back past the Lerai Forest of yellow fever trees, where elephants browse, before the climb up the wall in the afternoon.

Where to eat and stop

• Breakfast · Gibb's Farm — Picked up at reception before dawn Why here: An early start for the crater, eaten on the rim with the view below.
• Lunch · Gibb's Farm — Eaten at the Ngoitokitok Springs picnic site Why here: A filling lunch by the hippo pool on the crater floor.
• Dinner · Gibb's Farm — Farmhouse dining room Why here: A warming dinner by the fire after a long, dusty day in the crater.
• Quick stop (coffee): Gibb's Farm coffee — On the veranda in the afternoon Why here: A short rest on the return before the children head to the gardens.

The Lodoare gate of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is about thirty minutes from Karatu; the crater rim and the descent road are about another forty minutes. The Ngoitokitok Springs picnic site is on the eastern side of the crater floor.

Where to stay

• Gibb's Farm — A working coffee farm on the green slopes above Karatu, with cottages in the gardens, a vegetable garden the kitchen cooks from, and an easy hour's drive to the Ngorongoro Crater gate.
• A lodge on the Ngorongoro Crater rim — Lodges such as Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge sit right on the rim with views straight down into the crater, so you reach the descent road first thing in the morning; nights at altitude are cold.

Dinner: Tanzanian chicken curry with coconut rice by the fire at Gibb's Farm.

Tomorrow: Drive across the Ngorongoro highlands past Olduvai Gorge, where early humans left their bones, and down onto the open Serengeti plains to Seronera.

Bad-weather plan

The crater is open in rain, but the descent road can be slippery; if the morning is wet, go down later, spend more time near the hippo pool and Lake Magadi, and keep the day shorter.

The crater rim at dawn · Lions and black rhino · Flamingos on Lake Magadi · Ngoitokitok Springs

Good to know: Crater fees are paid per vehicle and per person to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority; children's rates are lower, and fees change, so check the tariff page.

A dawn drive for big cats

Where to eat: A picnic breakfast in the vehicle, packed by Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge.

Set out at sunrise, when the plains are cool and the cats are moving. Lions often walk the tracks around Seronera at first light, and cheetahs hunt in the open grass while it is still cool. The driver listens to the radio for sightings from other vehicles and knows the trees where leopards rest. Children can use binoculars and a camera with a long lens, and everyone stays inside the vehicle.

The Retima Hippo Pool

Drive north to the Retima Hippo Pool, where the Seronera and Grumeti rivers meet and dozens of hippos crowd the water, grunting, splashing and yawning wide. It is one of the few places where you can step out of the vehicle at a marked spot, and the children will hear and smell the hippos before they see them. Crocodiles lie on the banks, so stay well back from the water's edge.

A midday rest and the visitor centre

Where to eat: Picnic lunch at the Serengeti Visitor Centre tables, packed by the lodge.

Return through Seronera at midday, stopping at the Serengeti Visitor Centre, where a short walking trail over a kopje has signs about the park's history, animals and the migration, and rock hyraxes and colourful lizards sun themselves on the rocks. Then rest at the lodge through the heat of the day, with a swim in the pool overlooking the plains while the animals rest too.

Afternoon at the Moru Kopjes

Where to eat: Ugali with grilled beef nyama choma at the lodge's barbecue night.

In the afternoon, drive south to the Moru Kopjes, a cluster of huge granite boulders rising from the grass, home to lions and a few rare black rhino. Look for the Gong Rock, which rings when struck, and the old Maasai paintings on a rock shelter nearby. Watch the sun drop behind the boulders before heading back to the lodge, and look for owls and nightjars on the track.

Where to eat and stop

• Breakfast · Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge — Packed the night before, eaten in the vehicle Why here: Lets the family stay out on the plains through the soft early-morning light.
• Lunch · Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge — Eaten at the Serengeti Visitor Centre picnic tables Why here: A shaded lunch stop with hyraxes on the rocks and toilets nearby.
• Dinner · Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge — Barbecue night on the terrace, when offered Why here: Tanzania's grilled meat with maize ugali, eaten with your hands as families do here.
• Quick stop (drink): Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge pool bar — During the midday rest Why here: A cool drink by the pool while the plains shimmer in the heat.

The Retima Hippo Pool is about thirty minutes north of the Seronera Valley. The Serengeti Visitor Centre is in Seronera itself, and the Moru Kopjes are about an hour south. Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge is about forty minutes west of Seronera.

Where to stay

• Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge — Round thatched rooms built to look like a Maasai village on a hill in central Serengeti, with family rooms, a pool facing the plains and about forty minutes to the Seronera Valley.
• A tented camp near Seronera — Several seasonal and permanent tented camps sit among the kopjes around Seronera, with family tents, hot bucket showers and the sounds of lions and hyenas carrying across the plains at night.

Dinner: Nyama choma grilled beef with ugali on the terrace at Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge.

Tomorrow: Take a last short game drive, then hop on a small plane from Seronera Airstrip back to Arusha for a slow last afternoon before the flight home.

Bad-weather plan

Short storms in January and February pass quickly, so wait them out in the vehicle or at the visitor centre; animals are often active right after the rain and the light is clear.

A dawn drive for cats · The Retima Hippo Pool · The Serengeti Visitor Centre · The Moru Kopjes

Good to know: A hot-air balloon flight over the Seronera plains at dawn is possible for older children; most operators set a minimum age, so check before you plan it.