safari

The Serengeti Riding Safari

"9 days of riding through the endless and wild landscapes of Tanzania"
Price 8,585 USD
Country
Tanzania
Duration
8 Nights
Safari Type
Camping, Fly camping, Mobile Safari
Location
Arusha, Northern Tanzania
Kaskazi Horse Safari 1

The Serengeti National Park is one almost everyone has heard of and seen in a nature documentary about wild Africa. It is one of Africa’s most famous nature areas, in part due to its vast size. The Serengeti National Park is one of the largest in Africa at 14,763km² in size. Despite its popularity, about 75% of the park is still completely untouched by tourism.

Travelling on horseback gives you the chance to explore a whole new and untouched side of Tanzania. Here you will experience nothing but unbridled wilderness and pure untouched nature.

The most common animals you will see here are wildebeest, zebra and some gazelle species. The Serengeti is also known for hosting the largest natural spectacle in the world, the great migration. Every year, over a million wildebeest and thousands of zebra and Thomson’s gazelles travel through the Serengeti on their annual migration to the Maasai Mara in their search for water and fresh grazing land.

Of course, the Serengeti also has much more to offer. As one of East Africa’s largest parks, the Serengeti is home to an unimaginable abundance of flora and fauna and unimaginably vast expanses of wilderness.
The abundance of herbivores that the Serengeti houses attract large numbers of predators. Besides lions, leopards and different hyaena species there are also rare African wild dog and the African golden wolf are found. This makes this riding safari a true adventure. The ‘Big 5 ‘of African animals are also found here. Even today, the very rare black rhino can be found with a little luck.

The Serengeti’s endless golden steppes that merge seamlessly into the horizon embody exactly what you imagine when you think of Africa. Boundless freedom and pure wilderness.

It is hard to describe what it feels like to ride in the middle of this breathtakingly beautiful landscape, the best way to know is to experience it for yourself!

highlights

  • Exploring ‘off the beaten track’ in one of Africa’s largest nature reserves.
  • Experiencing the wildlife in an incredibly close and relaxed way on horseback and thus become one with nature.
  • Witnessing the wildebeest migration one of the greatest natural spectacles in the world!
  • Sleeping in the middle of one of the wildest regions of Africa.

map and overview

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport a transfer will bring you to:

  • 1 night in a safari tent at the Polo Safari Club.
  • 7 nights in a comfortable mobile safari camp.

After your last night in the mobile camp, a transfer will take you back to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your connecting flight.

If your flight leaves in the afternoon, a room in the Polo Safari Club Clubhouse will be available for your use during the day.

guides

All safaris are led by professionally trained and qualified guides. The guides have an incredible knowledge of and passion for Tanzania’s flora and fauna.

The lead safari guide always rides armed with a rifle and a mobile radio.

start dates

4 January 2025 - 12 January 2025
17 January 2025 - 25 January 2025
31 January 2025 - 8 February 2025
28 February 2025 - 8 March 2025
14 March 2025 - 22 March 2025
26 March 2025 - 3 April 2025
10 January 2026 - 18 January 2026
24 January 2026 - 1 February 2026
7 February 2026 - 15 February 2026
21 February 2026 - 1 March 2026
7 March 2026 - 15 March 2026
21 March 2026 - 29 March 2026

suitable for

  • Since the ride takes place in big game terrain, only advanced and strong intermediate riders can participate in this safari.
  • You must be confident trotting and galloping over long distances, feel safe in any terrain and at any pace and must be able to control your horse at all times. You should also be able to gallop out of risky situations.
  • 5-7 hours a day will be spent in the saddle, crossing some rough terrain. Riders may need to dismount and walk their horse through certain sections. Therefore, good physical fitness is a great advantage.
  • Maximum rider weight of 85kg in order to ensure the horse’s well-being.
  • The maximum group size is 10 riders.

detailed itinerary

Day 1: Polo Safari Club

After arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport, a transfer will take you to the Polo Safari Club, 35 minutes away, where you will spend your first night.

Enjoy time to settle in, relaxing and getting to know the other safari participants. After this, sundowners and a delicious dinner await you in the clubhouse. Your guide will also give a safety briefing for the safari.

Day 2: Flight to Southern Serengeti

Today you rise early to get a morning charter flight to Ndutu Airstrip, which will take you directly to the southern Serengeti. The flight offers a unique view that will take your breath away. On arrival, you will be met by a safari vehicle which will take you to the National Park registration post where a little waiting time may be needed.

You then continue through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti National Park, past impressive rocky escarpments, rivers and the famous grasslands of the Serengeti. The grasses offer excellent pasture for an enormous number of wildebeests. These are densely populated here, especially at the beginning of the year, before they embark on their long annual journey through the Serengeti and Maasai Mara of Kenya.

After an approximately 2-hour drive, you leave the national park and reach your mobile camp in the shade of flat acacia trees. This will be your home for the next few nights.

You have some time to settle in before enjoying a delicious welcome meal and then it’s time to get to know your horses and set off for your first evening ride.

Return to camp at sunset, where a warm shower, cool drinks and a cheerful bonfire await you.  Enjoy your first dinner in the bush and fall asleep to the sounds of the wilderness knowing that the real adventure begins tomorrow.

Day 3-8: Mobile Safari Camp

6 more exciting days in the saddle await you. You will ride over open plains and through grassy valleys with picturesque granite rocks and the typical East African acacia trees with flat tops.

The daily routes vary and are adapted to your wishes and the movement of the game, to make the most out of every day and experience stunning wildlife encounters.

Your comfortable mobile camp is regularly set up in new scenic locations so you have the opportunity to get to know and explore different areas. If the weather allows, a wonderful night under the starry sky of Tanzania awaits you. Protected by only a mosquito net you will experience the pure wilderness of Africa up close, falling asleep in the middle of the wilderness and waking up with the sunrise.

On one day you will enjoy a long game drive with a picnic in the Serengeti National Park. This day is used to look for Africa’s big cats as it is safer in a vehicle than on horseback. With a little luck, you will see lion, cheetah or maybe even leopard. Around the soda lakes, you will have the chance to see a whole host of beautiful flamingos, and elephants also enjoy visiting this area.

Each day you can look forward to delicious dinners under the starry sky of Tanzania and long evenings spent around the campfire with lively conversations about your adventures.

Day 9: Departure

Today your day starts early so that you have enough time to say goodbye to the horses and the safari team.
You will take a final game drive back through Serengeti National Park to the Ndutu Airstrip.

Then an approximately 1-hour flight will take you back to Arusha. Here you will have lunch and time to visit the local souvenir shops before a transfer returns you to Kilimanjaro International Airport. If your flight leaves in the afternoon, a room in the Polo Safari Club Clubhouse will be available for your use during the day.

accommodation

You will spend your first night in a permanent camp at the Polo Safari Club. You will stay in spacious, traditional safari tents with access to the cosy ambience of the colonial-style clubhouse and its facilities.

The camp is in the middle of a wildlife estate overlooking Mount Meru, and on clear days you can even admire Mount Kilimanjaro.
The 10 safari tents are fully equipped with private bathrooms, toilets, fluffy towels and warm, comfortable beds.

The clubhouse has Wi-Fi, a gym, a spa and a swimming pool for ultimate relaxation. 2 large polo fields spread out in front of the clubhouse, and it is common for zebras and wildebeests to use these enticing, green areas for grazing.

Your remaining nights will be spent amid the wilderness in a mobile safari camp. Comfortable and spacious 3-meter x 3-meter tents with mosquito protection will be your home for the next 6 nights.

The tent’s lower walls are removable, allowing you 360-degree views while drifting to sleep. Each is equipped with folding beds, cuddly blankets and solar lights, as well as an en-suite toilet and bucket shower, which is traditionally hung on a tree under the open sky in the shower tent.

Serengeti 53 Serengeti 58

price

Price 2024/25

  • USD 6,560 per person sharing
  • USD 1,400 park fees
  • USD 625 flight
  • Single supplement USD 70 per person per night

 

Price includes:

  • Full board accommodation.
  • Locally sourced beverages (other requirements can be arranged prior to arrival and will then be charged at cost price).
  • Return airport transfers.
  • Flying doctor membership.
  • One day’s park fee into Ngorongoro Conservation Area or Serengeti National Park.
  • Wildlife Department fees.
  • Village fees.
  • Return internal flights to the Serengeti/Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Price excludes:

  • International flights.
  • Gratuities for the camp team and guides.
  • Any personal purchases.
  • Visas, medical and travel insurance, which must be arranged prior to arrival.

additional information

All of the horses waiting for you at the Polo Safari Club have been specially trained as safari horses with a lot of love and patience. Most are a mixture of a native breed and thoroughbreds.

Riding is done in the Western-style, so you can control your horse with one hand whilst taking pictures or using your saddlebag. A few are trained in the English style. You should indicate your preference so that the right horse can be found for you.

Each horse is given a lot of love, attention and care. They are reliable safari horses each with individual characters and the perfect companion is available for every rider.

Each horse has its own saddle, either an Australian Stock saddle, a Wintec or an English eventing saddle and they are ridden with a simple snaffle bit. Saddlebags for vital elements on safari such as water, sunscreen and cameras are attached for each guest.

 

Ready for an adventure? Lets Talk!

Contact SAFARI FRANK to get started on your safari of a lifetime!