Honeymoon
Exclusive Honeymoon Bush & Cloud-Nine Ballooning
Private vehicles, private flights, secluded camps, and a balloon chartered for the two of you rather than shared with ten strangers. Dinner where you ask for it, and nobody announcing anything to the dining room.
About this journey
Private vehicles, private flights, secluded camps, and a balloon chartered for the two of you rather than shared with ten strangers. Dinner where you ask for it, and nobody announcing anything to the dining room.
Best months. June to October, or January and February. We will tell you which of your dates gives the better light and the quieter camps.
Pace. Gentle, and as unhurried as you want it.
Who this journey suits
This is a honeymoon, an anniversary, or a very large birthday.
You would rather have fewer places and longer in each.
Privacy matters, whether or not you want to explain why.
You want the gestures handled, or deliberately not made.
Highlights
- A balloon chartered privately rather than shared, which is a different experience
- Private light aircraft between camps, so the timings are yours
- Camps chosen for how few rooms they have rather than how many stars
- Private dining arranged where you ask for it, including nowhere in particular
- A single reservation name and staff briefed in advance, if that is what you want
Route
| Stop | Nights | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tarangire | 2 nights | Baobabs, and the quietest start. |
| Serengeti | 3 nights | One camp, and the balloon. |
| Ngorongoro | 1 night | Rim, and the floor on the last day. |
How the journey flows
Every point below is a real place at its real coordinates. The coastline is simplified — this is a route diagram, not a survey map.
- Light aircraft
- Private 4×4
Boundaries and protected areas are OpenStreetMap data, stored with this site. The dashed line is the order of the route, not the road taken.
In order
- Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO)Arrive
- TarangireLight aircraft
- SerengetiLight aircraft
- Ngorongoro CraterLight aircraft
- Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO)Private 4×4
Flights and bush aviation
If you have not flown in a twelve-seat aircraft off a grass strip before, this is the part worth reading twice.
| Sector | In the air | Aircraft | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilimanjaro (JRO) → Tarangire | about 25 min | Private light aircraft | Chartered privately, so the timing is yours. |
| Tarangire → Serengeti | about 60 min | Private light aircraft | — |
| Serengeti → Ngorongoro-area strip | about 50 min | Private light aircraft | — |
What to expect either end
| Luggage | One soft bag of about 15 kg (33 lb) plus a small day bag on bush sectors. Soft is a requirement, not a preference — the baggage compartments are shaped, not boxes, and a hard case will not go in. The allowance is set by the operating carrier and we verify it for your sectors before you pack. Subject to confirmation. |
|---|---|
| Where a hard case goes | Into store in Arusha, Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, and back to you at the end. Routine and included. |
| Boarding | A short ladder or a step onto the wing. Assistance is routine and manual: no aisle chair, no ambulift, no jet bridge. A powered wheelchair needs a separate conversation about weight, battery type and cargo-door size. |
| Delays and weather | Normal, especially in the rains. We never connect a bush strip to a same-day international departure, and nor should anybody else. |
| Weights | Operators ask for each passenger's weight before the flight. It is a load sheet calculation, not an indignity, and it is not optional. |
| The operator | Flights are flown by carriers licensed by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority. We have no contracted carrier yet, so no operator is named on this site. The operator for your sectors is named in your written proposal, before you pay. |
No airline is named on this site. Several carriers fly these routes under Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority licences, and we have no contracted relationship with any of them yet. Naming one here would imply a partnership that does not exist. The operator for your sectors is named in your written proposal, before you pay anything. (subject to confirmation)
Day by day
A starting point. Every day here can be moved, shortened or removed — open one to read what it holds.
-
Day1 Arrive and fly south WhereTarangire OvernightSmall tented camp Meals LD
Met at the aircraft and onto a private light aircraft, about 25 minutes. In camp by early afternoon with nothing scheduled. Dinner wherever you want it.
Where you would sleep this night
Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.
- No photograph on fileLodgeTwin, double and family rooms. Ground-floor rooms available at most.
-
Day2 Tarangire WhereTarangire OvernightSmall tented camp Meals BLD
As early or as late as you like. The river in the afternoon, and a sundowner somewhere your guide has chosen and nobody else is.
Where you would sleep this night
Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.
- No photograph on fileLodgeTwin, double and family rooms. Ground-floor rooms available at most.
-
Day3 Fly to the Serengeti WhereSerengeti OvernightSmall tented camp Meals BLD
A private hop, about an hour. Afternoon drive from camp.
Where you would sleep this night
Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.
- No photograph on fileLodgeTwin, double and family rooms. Ground-floor rooms available at most.
-
Day4 The balloon, privately WhereSerengeti OvernightSmall tented camp Meals BLD
A basket chartered for two, which means no strangers, no queue and a flight path chosen for you. Breakfast where you land. The rest of the day is nothing.
Where you would sleep this night
Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.
- No photograph on fileLodgeTwin, double and family rooms. Ground-floor rooms available at most.
-
Day5 Serengeti WhereSerengeti OvernightSmall tented camp Meals BLD
A full day, or no day at all. A private bush dinner tonight if you want one.
Where you would sleep this night
Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.
- No photograph on fileLodgeTwin, double and family rooms. Ground-floor rooms available at most.
-
Day6 To the rim WhereNgorongoro OvernightRim lodge Meals BLD
Fly or drive up to the rim. Cold after dark at 2,300 m, which is what the fireplace is for.
Where you would sleep this night
Described by standard, not by name: we do not name a property we have no agreement with. Your written proposal names the actual place, and the photographs here are examples of the standard rather than pictures of it. Power, water, wifi and access for each standard.
- No photograph on fileLodgeTwin, double and family rooms. Ground-floor rooms available at most.
-
Day7 The crater floor, then home WhereNgorongoro → Kilimanjaro Overnight— Meals BL
Down at first light, up by early afternoon, and out. Most people extend this journey onto the coast and we would.
The places this journey goes
One photograph for each place on the route, in the order you reach them.
These are licensed photographs of the places themselves, credited on our photography credits page. They are not photographs of a Montero departure, vehicle or camp — we have not run this journey yet, and a gallery that implied otherwise would be worth nothing to you.
Where you would stay
Open any of these for rooms, power hours, hot water, Wi-Fi and the honest access position.
What it costs
Price on request — the private balloon charter is the largest variable. No price on this site has been approved, and nothing here is a quotation.
No price is published for this journey. It is quoted on your dates, the size of your party, how much of it you fly, and the standard of camp — and those four move the figure by a very large margin. Rather than print a range nobody has stood behind, we will build you a written, itemised quotation. It is free, and it is not a booking.
All quotations are per person sharing, in US dollars, and exclude international flights. A single traveller pays more and a larger group pays less per head. See what it costs for where the money actually goes.
What moves the price: season, how many of you there are, whether you fly or drive the long sectors, and the standard of camp. A single traveller pays more; we will say how much before you ask twice.
Access and comfort
Each line is either confirmed by our own measurement or it is not. “On request” means we will plan and cost it and nobody has measured it yet.
| Provision | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Hoist-fitted vehicle | On request | On request and quoted separately. |
| Balloon basket | Not offered | Boarding is a climb of about a metre over a compartment wall, and the landing can tip. Operators set their own conditions. |
| Step-free rooms | On request | Small camps have fewer rooms and therefore fewer options. Assessed individually. |
| Private flights | Partial | A chartered aircraft gives more flexibility on timing and boarding assistance than a scheduled one. |
| Discretion | On request | A single reservation name and staff briefed ahead. No charge and no questions. |
We do not ask for a diagnosis — only for what you need. How we plan accessible journeys.
The detail
What is covered, what it involves on the ground, and the changes people most often ask for. Open whichever you need.
What is included, and what is not
Included
Private 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof and a professional English-speaking driver-guide, for your party alone
Accommodation as described, on a full-board basis
All park, conservation and concession fees
Airport and airstrip transfers, met at the aircraft rather than at the kerb
Bottled drinking water in the vehicle
24-hour local support while you are in the country
A privately chartered balloon flight for your party alone, weather permitting
Private light-aircraft sectors between camps
Private dining arranged at each camp on request
Ngorongoro Crater descent permit
Not included
Camp honeymoon extras, where a property charges for them — itemised rather than bundled
International flights, visas and travel insurance
Tips, premium drinks and personal expenses
Optional activities such as a balloon flight, unless listed above
Emergency medical evacuation cover — strongly recommended, and not something we currently provide
Practical detail
| Celebrations | Tell us and we arrange them. Do not tell us and we will not mention it. Both are normal requests. |
|---|---|
| Private balloon charter | Considerably more expensive than a shared basket, and the thing most couples say was worth it. |
| Same-sex couples | Private throughout, discreet by default, briefed honestly. See Travel with Pride for why that matters here rather than being a nicety. |
| Legal marriage | Has paperwork requirements we are not going to summarise badly. |
| Price | Not set. The private charter balloon and the private flights are the two largest variables. |
Ways to personalise this journey
The changes people actually ask for, with what each one does to the shape of the trip. Prices for these are quoted in your proposal, not here.
This itinerary is a draft. It is written to real logistics but has not yet been checked by a guide who works this circuit, and no price here has been approved. Treat every figure as indicative until we confirm it in writing.
Questions about this journey
Do you charge a honeymoon supplement?
No. Some camps offer honeymoon extras and a few charge for them; that is itemised in your proposal rather than folded into a round number.
Is a private balloon really different?
Yes. A shared basket holds up to sixteen people in compartments. A private charter is the two of you, the pilot and a flight path flown for you. It costs several times as much and nobody who has done it says it was the wrong call.
Can we be left completely alone?
The vehicle and guide are always private. Dining can be private at every camp. A whole camp is possible at the smallest properties.
If this one is not quite it
Journeys that share a region or a style with this one, and the background reading for the places on the route.
Tell us what you have in mind.
One conversation with the person who would plan it, and an honest answer about whether we are the right company for the trip.
Free, and with no obligation. A real planner replies within 24 business hours, East Africa Time. No payment is taken to enquire.