TANZANIA AND ZANZIBAR

Meet at Thessaloniki/Athens airport and fly to legendary Zanzibar via a connecting airport. Arrival at Zanzibar airport on day 2. On arrival we transfer to our luxury beachfront hotel. In the afternoon we will enjoy the waters of the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Africa that was united with the mainland – the former Tanganyika – and together they now form the modern state of Tanzania. Zanzibar lies on the old sea routes and was influenced early on by Arab
traders, with the result that today its culture, architecture and customs are a blend of African and Arab traditions. Dinner and overnight stay.

In the morning we will begin getting to know Zanzibar and the south-western part of the island. Transfer to the small coastal settlement of Fumba, from where we will explore part of Menai Bay. This is the largest marine conservation area in Zanzibar, created with the help of the WWF in the 1990s. We will go on a sea safari aboard a traditional dhow. Here we will be able to relax, enjoying the vegetation of the mangrove forests, and then we will have the chance to go snorkelling to admire the colourful underwater world of corals and tropical fish, and it is not unusual to spot Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins too. Our day will end with lunch on the beach (weather permitting), with exotic fruit and a traditional Swahili barbecue. We recommend bringing beach shoes, sunscreen, a beach towel and a swimsuit, and wearing light clothing that comes above the knee. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

In the morning we will set off to see the spice farm; spices reached Zanzibar in the 12th century. We will stop for lunch to taste local dishes before leaving to discover the capital of Zanzibar, the famous Stone Town, the most fascinating town on the east coast of Africa. It has remained unchanged for at least two centuries and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known for its picturesque narrow lanes, its stone houses, many built of coral, and its ornate
Arab doors, Stone Town will capture our full attention. We will walk through the alleys, see colourful markets with tropical fruit, seafood and mounds of spices, and buy fine handicrafts made by
local artists. We will lose ourselves in the labyrinth of cobbled courtyards, winding alleys and mansions whose towering carved wooden doors make your head spin. This will be followed by a visit to Jozani Forest,
a small national park and the only one on Zanzibar's soil. Jozani Forest has remarkable biodiversity, home to many species of wildlife such as the famous red colobus monkeys,
Sykes' monkeys and various species of antelope, such as the diminutive duiker. Return to the hotel. Rest of the time at leisure. Dinner and overnight stay.

A trip to exotic Zanzibar would not be complete without at least one day devoted to its beaches. So today we will have a whole free day to enjoy the island's unique sandy beaches, which offer unique photo opportunities with their street vendors and fishermen. At the hotel we can choose, at extra cost, from a range of activities such as diving, windsurfing, sailing, kayaking, swimming with dolphins, deep-sea fishing etc. We can also take an excursion to another magical beach on the Indian Ocean. If you love the sea, visit the marine park on the small island of Mafia, south of Zanzibar. It is surrounded by a coral reef and is home to more than 460 species of fish and 5 species of sea turtle. Snorkelling on the reef, you will see scenes of rare beauty and swim alongside the ocean's wonderful creatures. Dinner and overnight stay.

Early in the morning we bid farewell to Zanzibar and transfer to the airport for our flight to the mainland, into the heart of Serengeti National Park, a protected wildlife park, the second largest in the country and one of
the most important and spectacular in the whole of Africa. Serengeti in the local Swahili language means "endless plain": the park covers almost 15,000 square kilometres and includes plains, savannah, riverine forest and
woodland. The experienced driver/guide communicates by radio with the other safari vehicles, so he constantly knows where to find an animal. It is estimated that more than 3,000,000 large mammals live here. A tour of the area with an experienced driver and a full day observing around 25 different species of animal. We will see antelopes, zebras, lions, elephants and giraffes and, with a little luck, rhinos too. Arrival at the lodge, dinner and overnight stay.

Today we continue exploring this global natural treasure and move into the Seronera area, full of impressively large rock outcrops (kopjes), each of which has its own ecosystem. The park is also known for its mass animal migrations, in which more than 1,000,000 wildebeest and around 200,000 zebras migrate,
mainly in July, from the northern to the southern plateaus. Their instinct is so strong that neither a gorge nor even a crocodile-filled river can stop them. Dinner and overnight stay.

Morning drive to Ngorongoro, one of the best-known wildlife conservation areas in the world. Ngorongoro park is the great surprise for anyone on safari. It is a combination of craters inside which animals survived even during the Ice Age, a period when they had disappeared from everywhere else on earth, apart from a very few geologically similar areas. The variety of species today is unique, and the number of animals impressive (around 30,000). It is also considered one of the natural wonders of the world. Arrival in the Karatu area, dinner and overnight stay.

After breakfast we will go on safari in Lake Manyara National Park, which is known for its variety of bird species, its lions and its elephants. Stop for a picnic lunch. We bid farewell to the park and transfer to a Maasai village to get to know this unique tribe, who live on the fringes of the parks of East Africa. Then transfer
to Kilimanjaro airport. Return flight via connecting airports to Athens/Thessaloniki. Arrival on day 10.

Arrival in Athens and Thessaloniki at midday.