Kilimanjaro, Serengeti & Zanzibar — Self-Launched

Fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) and take a pre-arranged airport transfer or local taxi (~£12 shared) into Moshi town, about 45 minutes away. Use today to meet your trek operator for a briefing and gear check — if you're renting kit (sleeping bag, poles, down jacket) arrange it now at one of the many rental shops on Chagga Street. Buy a Tanzanian SIM card (Vodacom or Airtel, ~£2 plus data), withdraw cash (ATMs in Moshi are reliable), and eat an early dinner. Sleep low, rest well.

🚌Shared airport taxi JRO–Moshi (~£12)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Moshi town, twin/dorm room (~£12)

• →Airport transfer to Moshi
• →Trek briefing and gear rental check
• →Buy local SIM card and cash
• →Overnight acclimatisation rest

Your trek begins. Park fees are paid today (the biggest single cost of the whole trip — see cost breakdown), then you walk through misty montane rainforest from the Machame Gate (~1,800m) to Machame Camp (~2,835m). Around 5-6 hours of gentle uphill walking on a muddy forest trail. Guides, porters and cooks will set up camp and cook dinner for you — on the Machame route camping is mandatory, so this is essentially full-service camping just like the group tour, but arranged directly with a local operator at a lower margin.

🚌Transfer to Machame Gate by 4x4 (~40 min)

🛏Trekking camp — tented (Machame Camp, ~2,835m)

• →Machame Gate registration and park fees
• →Rainforest trek to Machame Camp (5-6 hrs)
• →Full-service camp set up by guide/porter team

Leave the forest behind and cross into the moorland zone, climbing to Shira 2 Camp (~3,900m) in around 4-5 hours. You'll walk past the Shira Caves and emerge onto the wide Shira Plateau with your first clear views of Kibo. 'Pole pole' — slowly, slowly — is the rule of the day. Drink 3+ litres of water, eat even if you're not hungry, and tell your guide immediately if you get a headache.

🚌On foot

🛏Trekking camp — tented (Shira 2 Camp, ~3,900m)

• →Moorland zone trek to Shira 2 Camp (4-5 hrs)
• →First views of Kibo summit
• →Altitude acclimatisation walk

The classic acclimatisation day: climb high to Lava Tower (~4,600m), have lunch, then descend to Barranco Camp (~3,950m). This 'climb high, sleep low' pattern is what makes the Machame route safer than a straight ascent. The route gets steeper and rockier, and some hikers start feeling short of breath at altitude — go slowly. Total walking time around 6-7 hours. You'll arrive at Barranco in time for the famous view up at the Barranco Wall you climb tomorrow.

🚌On foot

🛏Trekking camp — tented (Barranco Camp, ~3,950m)

• →Climb to Lava Tower (~4,600m)
• →Climb-high-sleep-low acclimatisation
• →Trek down to Barranco Camp (6-7 hrs)

A short but dramatic day: scramble up the Barranco Wall (a hands-on rock section, no technical climbing but a fun one) and then contour across to Karanga Camp (~4,000m) in around 4-5 hours. The afternoon is deliberately short so you can rest and acclimatise before summit day. Refill water, sort your summit layers, and get an early night.

🚌On foot

🛏Trekking camp — tented (Karanga Camp, ~4,000m)

• →Scramble up the Barranco Wall
• →Contour trek to Karanga Camp (4-5 hrs)
• →Summit-day gear prep and briefing

Trek up to Barafu Camp (~4,650m) in around 3-4 hours, arriving early afternoon. Eat an early dinner and try to sleep from about 6pm — you'll be woken around 11pm to start the summit push. This is the highest camp on the route and the wind and cold are real: layer up, keep your water bottle inside your sleeping bag so it doesn't freeze, and get your head torch ready.

🚌On foot

🛏Trekking camp — tented (Barafu Camp, ~4,650m)

• →Short climb to Barafu Camp (3-4 hrs)
• →Early dinner and pre-summit rest
• →Head torch and layer check

The big one. Rise before midnight, snack and drink warm tea, then start the ascent in the dark up the northwest scree. Go slowly — the terrain is rocky and difficult — passing between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers before reaching Stella Point (~5,756m) at sunrise on the crater rim. From Stella Point it's roughly another hour along the rim to Uhuru Peak (5,895m), the highest point in Africa. Photos, then a long descent: 2-3 hours back to Barafu, a quick rest and lunch, then 4-5 hours down to Mweka Camp (~3,100m) through the forest. This is the hardest day of the trip by far.

🚌On foot

🛏Trekking camp — tented (Mweka Camp, ~3,100m)

• →Midnight summit ascent via Stella Point
• →Reach Uhuru Peak (5,895m) at sunrise
• →Descend to Barafu then Mweka Camp

A 3-4 hour downhill hike through beautiful forest to Mweka Gate, where you collect your summit certificate. Transfer back to Moshi by 4x4 for a long shower and a well-earned celebratory meal. In the afternoon, visit the Moshi Women's Cooperative — supported by Planeterra and G Adventures — which supports women and girls who are often the first to be pulled out of school in Tanzania. Buy some of their crafts and chat with the makers: you can arrange a visit directly or via your trek operator, and entrance is usually free with purchases supporting the project.

🚌Transfer from Mweka Gate to Moshi by 4x4 (included in trek package)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Moshi, twin/dorm room (~£12)

• →Descend to Mweka Gate and collect summit certificate
• →Transfer back to Moshi
• →Visit Moshi Women's Cooperative
• →Celebration dinner and rest

A genuine recovery day — sleep in, get a massage if you like (hotel spa massages run from about £20-35, versus the tour's optional $45 spa add-on), and let your legs come back to life. If you're feeling energetic, take a shared taxi to Kikuletwa Hot Springs near Boma Ng'ombe (~£10-15 for a group, £5 entry) for a swim in the warm turquoise water, or hike to Materuni Waterfalls and a coffee farm. Either is easy to arrange locally through your guesthouse the day before.

🚌Shared taxi or dala-dala to attractions (~£5-10)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Moshi, twin/dorm room (~£12)

• →Massage or spa recovery (optional, from ~£25)
• →Kikuletwa Hot Springs day trip (optional)
• →Materuni Waterfalls and coffee tour (optional)

Join a shared camping safari today. You'll travel west from Moshi towards the Serengeti in a 4x4 safari vehicle, usually with a lunch stop and a game drive en route through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (crater rim views are included in the park permit). Afternoon entry into the Serengeti for your first game drive — buffalo, elephants, giraffe and, if you're lucky, lions on the move before sunset. Camp is set up before you arrive, so dinner is waiting.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle with driver-guide

🛏Full-service safari camp — tented, Serengeti (shared, included in safari package)

• →Overland transfer to the Serengeti
• →Ngorongoro Conservation Area transit and rim viewpoint
• →Afternoon game drive in the Serengeti

A full day of game drives in the Serengeti, timed to the best times of day — early morning and late afternoon when wildlife is most active. Your driver-guide knows the seasonal whereabouts of the wildebeest migration and the resident big-cat prides. Optional add-on: a hot-air balloon safari over the plains with a champagne breakfast, bookable directly with Serengeti Balloon Safaris from about £450-560 per person (the operator's $599 optional is roughly the same, so there's little saving here — it's a fixed-price activity). Back to camp for dinner under the stars, with animals often audible nearby.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle with driver-guide

🛏Full-service safari camp — tented, Serengeti (shared, included in safari package)

• →Full-day game drives in the Serengeti
• →Optional hot-air balloon safari (from ~£450, book direct)
• →Night at a full-service safari camp

Wake early for a final Serengeti game drive en route to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, then descend in the 4x4 into the Ngorongoro Crater — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best places in Africa to see black rhino alongside lions, elephants, flamingos and hippos. Picnic lunch on the crater floor, then climb back out and overnight at a camp or lodge on the crater rim. Costs here (crater entry, vehicle permit) are bundled into a good shared safari package.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle with driver-guide

🛏Safari camp or guesthouse on the Ngorongoro rim (shared, included in safari package)

• →Morning Serengeti game drive
• →Descent into Ngorongoro Crater
• →Crater-floor wildlife viewing and picnic lunch

Drive back towards Arusha, stopping at a Maasai village in the Monduli District. Several community-run villages in this area host visitors and demonstrate the benefits of clean-burning cookstove projects, which dramatically reduce smoke exposure for women cooking indoors. You'll pay a modest community fee directly (~£15-25) and can buy beadwork and crafts. Continue to Arusha for the night, with a proper bed and a restaurant dinner.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle continuing to Arusha

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in Arusha, twin/dorm room (~£14)

• →Visit a Maasai village in the Monduli District
• →Learn about clean cookstove community projects
• →Overnight in Arusha

Take the short domestic flight from Arusha (ARK) or Kilimanjaro (JRO) to Zanzibar (ZNZ) — around 1.5 hours, and often the single biggest transport saving if you book early. Budget carriers on this route regularly price from £60-90 one-way, versus the higher fares bundled into group tours. Land at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport and take a taxi or daladala into Stone Town (~£8-12). Check into a guesthouse in the old town and wander to Forodhani Gardens for the famous evening street-food market — Zanzibar pizza, grilled seafood skewers and sugarcane juice for a few pounds.

🚌Domestic flight (~£75); airport taxi to Stone Town (~£10)

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Stone Town, twin/dorm room (~£18)

• →Domestic flight Arusha to Zanzibar
• →Transfer into Stone Town
• →Forodhani Gardens night food market

Explore Stone Town on foot — the old town is compact, entirely walkable, and best discovered without a guide. Highlights include the Old Fort, the House of Wonders, the former slave market and Anglican cathedral, the Darajani spice market, and the tangled alleys of carved doors and crumbling merchant houses. In the afternoon, take a spice farm tour just outside town (bookable locally or via GetYourGuide, ~£20) to smell, taste and understand why Zanzibar was the world's clove capital. Sunset at a rooftop bar overlooking the harbour.

🚌On foot; local taxi for the spice farm (~£8 return)

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Stone Town, twin/dorm room (~£18)

• →Self-guided Stone Town walking tour
• →Spice farm tour (bookable locally, ~£20)
• →Darajani Market visit
• →Sunset at the harbour

Move north to the beaches. A shared taxi or daladala from Stone Town to Nungwi takes about 1.5-2 hours (~£5-8 per person shared; a private taxi is ~£25). Nungwi and neighbouring Kendwa have the best swimming beaches on the island — no big tides, white sand, turquoise water. Settle into a beach guesthouse or hostel and spend the afternoon doing absolutely nothing. Book snorkelling or diving for tomorrow while you're here.

🚌Shared taxi/daladala Stone Town to Nungwi (~£6)

🛏Beach guesthouse or hostel in Nungwi, twin/dorm room (~£20)

• →Shared transfer to northern beaches
• →Beach afternoon at Nungwi/Kendwa
• →Book snorkelling or dhow cruise for next day

Take a snorkelling or diving trip out to Mnemba Atoll — one of the best reef sites in East Africa, with turtles, reef fish and dolphins often seen from the boat. Half-day trips run from about £25-35 including equipment, lunch and a dhow sail; book directly at the beach or through GetYourGuide/Klook the day before. Afternoon back on the sand, with an optional sunset dhow cruise (~£15-20). If you'd rather dive, Nungwi has several PADI centres and intro dives from around £50.

🚌Boat trip (included in snorkelling excursion)

🛏Beach guesthouse or hostel in Nungwi, twin/dorm room (~£20)

• →Mnemba Atoll snorkelling trip (from ~£30)
• →Optional scuba intro dive (from ~£50)
• →Optional sunset dhow cruise (~£18)

A flexible final full day. Stay put and swim, or take a trip south to Jozani Forest to see the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey (~£25 with a shared taxi and guide), or hop across to Prison Island to see giant Aldabra tortoises (~£20-25 including boat). Eat one last seafood dinner on the beach and pack — tomorrow you fly home.

🚌Shared taxi for optional trips (~£10)

🛏Beach guesthouse or hostel in Nungwi, twin/dorm room (~£20)

• →Optional Jozani Forest and red colobus monkeys (~£25)
• →Optional Prison Island tortoise trip (~£25)
• →Final beach afternoon and seafood dinner

Transfer back to Zanzibar airport for your flight home. Allow plenty of time — the drive from Nungwi to ZNZ airport is around 1.5-2 hours, so leave at least 4 hours before an international departure. If your flight leaves later in the day, you can stop in Stone Town for a last coffee and a final wander through the alleys before check-in.

🚌Taxi Nungwi to ZNZ airport (~£25 private, ~£10 shared)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Transfer to Zanzibar International Airport
• →Departure