6-Day Zanzibar Beach & Serengeti Big Five Safari

This 6 day Zanzibar & Serengeti safari puts the beach first and the bush second. You spend three days on Zanzibar, with a spice farm, a sunset dhow cruise and snorkelling around Prison Island, then fly to the Serengeti for evening and morning game drives and a stop at Ngorongoro Crater on the way to Arusha. Flights between the island and the park, full board and park fees are included, and we can reshape the plan on request.

The island days are slow on purpose. On day two you walk a spice plantation among cinnamon, clove and vanilla and take a traditional dhow along the coast at sunset, with fresh seafood on deck. On day three a boat takes you to Prison Island to snorkel and swim, with an open afternoon for a spa or a walk in the old town. Our guide to visiting Zanzibar and the page about dhow cruising help you plan.

On day four you fly to the Serengeti and go straight out for a game drive, with giraffes, elephants and, with luck, lions in the evening light. Day five starts with a dawn drive when predators are on patrol and then heads toward Ngorongoro and Arusha. See our guide to the Serengeti, the page about game drives and the Tanzania destination page.

Easy to moderate. You get relaxed beach days and full safari drives, so a reasonable level of mobility helps, but no hiking is needed. Day five is long: after a dawn game drive you travel by road via Ngorongoro to Arusha, so expect many hours in the vehicle.

June to October is the driest period in both the Serengeti and Zanzibar, so it is the best window for this trip. From December to February Zanzibar is hot and humid and the southern Serengeti is good for calving. The long rains of April and May are the quietest and wettest period. Our Great Migration guide helps you pick dates.

This trip suits couples and friends who want a compact beach and safari holiday and do not mind a travel day at the end. For more safari days see the 8-day Tanzania safari and Zanzibar holiday, and for a longer island stay the 5-day Zanzibar vacation.

We can recraft this tour to your interests on request: more beach days, a longer safari or a different order. Use our Tanzania packing list to prepare.

If you are also weighing a trip with conservation and community visits built in, see our Signature Journeys in Rwanda.

Planning this trip? Our guides on where to see the Big Five in Tanzania and what a Big Five safari in Tanzania costs cover the main questions to settle before you book.