In Transit: Board your overnight flight to Africa.

Evening: Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport. After clearing Immigrations and Customs, please look for the Road Scholar representative who will be waiting outside the secured arrivals area with an Road Scholar sign (applies to group flights).

Transfer to Arusha.
Arrive at the lodge and check-in.

Lodging: Arumeru River Lodge

Arusha-
Program Orientation/Field Trip to Arusha National Park.

Breakfast: Breakfast at lodge.

Morning: Program Orientation.

Field trip to the Arusha National Park. This small park has open savanna, forest, lakes, a volcanic crater and the impressive Mt. Meru, the smaller sibling of Kilimanjaro. The park is a wonderful preview of the game viewing to come. Be on the lookout for colobus monkeys and flamingos and the great photo opportunities afforded by these two species.

Lunch: Boxed lunch in the park.

Afternoon: Return to the lodge.

Time at leisure to enjoy the beautiful gardens of the lodge. Swim, bird watch, photograph the small resident antelope, or just relax.

Lecture: History and Current Issues. Tanzania's Unique Role in East Africa.

Dinner: Dinner at lodge.

Lodging: Arumeru River Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel.

Morning: Flight from Arusha to Serengeti.

Arrive in Serengeti and transfer to tented camp.

Lunch: Lunch at camp.

Afternoon: Time at leisure.
Afternoon game drive.

During June and July the lush grass plains of the Western Serengeti will quickly become denuded as the Western flank of the migration moves through this area. The concentration of both adult and juvenile wildebeest, zebra and gazelle is a breathtaking sight. For the wildebeest this is the end of their mating season and the loud calls of the males adds to the excitement of the game drives in this region in what is known as a migration hotspot.

Return to the camp.

Dinner: Dinner at camp.

Evening: Lecture: The Great Migration

Lodging: Olerai Tented Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Western Serengeti -
Game drives - Focus on Hippos, Crocodiles, and Birds

Breakfast: Breakfast at camp.

Morning: Morning game drive.

The Grumeti River cuts across the northern boundary of the Western Serengeti and is the first major obstacle facing the animals as they make their way to the promised land of the Masai Mara. With good rains, crossing of the Grumeti River becomes a risky business with large Nile crocodiles submerged in the murky waters. To experience the frenzy of a crossing is one of nature’s rare events and should be celebrated if you are fortunate enough to be at the right place, at the right time to witness this spectacle.

Return to the camp.

Lunch: Lunch at camp.

Afternoon: Time at leisure.

Afternoon game drive with a focus on the resident hippos and crocodiles that frequent the two rivers and the pools in this region. Birds are attracted to the riverine areas and offer a welcome respite from the concentration on the large animals of the migration.

Return to the camp.

Dinner: Dinner at camp.

Evening: Presentation: Is the Future of the Migration in Jeopardy?

Lodging: Olerai Tented Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Central Serengeti -
Game Drives/Monitoring and Protecting Wildlife

Breakfast: Breakfast at camp.

Morning: Transfer south with a game drive to the Serengeti Education Center where a short self-guided walking trail is lined with exhibits of the Serengeti’s history, ecology, peoples and conservation.

Lecture: The Role of the Rangers and Staff of the Serengeti National Park in Monitoring and Protecting the Wildlife of the Park

Lunch: Box lunch at the Serengeti Education Center.

Afternoon: Continue with game drive to the Central camp where the open grasslands are interspersed with small rocky outcrops, home to small mammals and reptiles that are not touched by the migration. This is also hyena country which brings into focus the scavengers of the migration and their role as the ‘waste management specialists’ of the migration.

Time at leisure.
Pre-dinner presentation of the wildebeest and their adaptation mechanisms

Dinner: Dinner at Camp.

Lodging: Oltepesi Central Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Early morning breakfast at camp.

Morning: Game drive in search of the big cats (lion and cheetah,) with site lecture, "Do the lion follow the migration, fact or fiction?"

Lunch: Lunch at camp.

Afternoon: Time at leisure.

Game drive in search of the unsung little creatures of the Serengeti (for example the dung beetle) and the vital role they play the overall ecology of the migration.

Dinner: Dinner at camp.

Lodging: Oltepesi Central Camp

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Ngorongoro -
Olduvai Gorge Archeological Site/Ngorongoro Crater

Breakfast: Early morning breakfast at camp.

Morning: Transfer with game drive from the Serengeti National Park to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Stop at the "Cradle of Mankind" for a field trip to Olduvai Gorge's famous archeological site. Site lecture: Louis and Mary Leakey and the Discovery of Homo Habilis

Lunch: Picnic lunch at Olduvai Gorge.

Afternoon: Transfer to lodge with your first view of the Ngorongoro Crater. The view of the crater from the rim is truly one of nature's great spectacles -- thousands of animals choreographed on a 360 degree "stage" 12 miles in diameter that is the crater floor.

Pre-dinner presentation on the Ngorongoro Conservation area and the formation of the crater.

Dinner: Dinner at lodge.

Lodging: Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Descend into the crater in the 4x4 vehicles for a full morning game drive among one of the most unique concentrations of wildlife on earth. Viewing animals from so close with a backdrop of the wall of the crater provides outstanding photo opportunities.


Lunch: Box lunch.

Afternoon: Ascend from the crater floor to the rim - drive through highland forest before descending the wall of the Great African Rift Valley.

Arrive at the lodge, built in a style reminiscent of a Maasai village, situated on a high ridge with beautiful views of Lake Manyara.

Dinner: Dinner at lodge.

Lodging: Rift Valley Photographic Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at lodge.

Morning: Presentation: Rural Tanzania the Old and the New, Retaining the Traditional Lifestyle in a Modern Village.

Visit to a local school for interaction with the students followed by walking orientation of Mto Wa Mbu Village to meet a variety of the village folk as they go about their daily tasks.

Lunch: Lunch in village with local family.

Afternoon: Time at leisure.

Late afternoon visit to a Maasai village to experience the simple and uncluttered lifestyle of the Maasai.

Dinner: Dinner at lodge.

Lodging: Rift Valley Photographic Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lake Manyara -
In Search of Tree Climbing Lions/Interaction with Locals

Breakfast: Breakfast at lodge.

Morning: Game drive in Lake Manyara National Park in search of the famous tree climbing lions.


Lunch: Lunch at lodge.

Afternoon: Time at leisure.

Late afternoon return to the village to interact with the locals at the end of their working day.


Dinner: Farewell dinner at lodge with a Maasai flavor!

Lodging: Rift Valley Photographic Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at lodge.


Morning: Depart for Arusha.

Excursion to Shanga Beads: learn about their mission and visit their gallery.

Lunch: Lunch at Shanga Beads.

Afternoon: Transfer to hotel for day room accommodations. Participants will be able to rest, finish packing luggage, or freshen up before catching a night flight to the U.S.
Lecture and snacks at the hotel.


Evening: Transfer to the Kilimanjaro International Airport and check-in for flight to the U.S.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Arrive To: Arrive to the USA.