A quiet white-sand beach meeting clear turquoise shallows under a bright sky.

Bush & beach

Sanctuary & Spice Escape

Five nights in the Serengeti, then three on the Zanzibar coast, with the flight between them handled for you. The classic combination, built so the second half is genuinely a rest rather than another itinerary.

Request a quote See the itinerary

Duration9 days / 8 nights

RouteSerengeti · Zanzibar

PaceGentle

Best monthsJune to October for both halves

From$10,500pp sharing

Five nights in the Serengeti, then three on the Zanzibar coast, with the flight between them handled for you. Built so that the second half is genuinely a rest, rather than a second itinerary.

Best months. June to October for both halves. The coast is at its least reliable in April and May; the Serengeti is good year round if you pick the right part of it.

Pace. Gentle. Game drives are seated; the coastal half is whatever you want it to be.

Who this journey suits

This is a honeymoon, an anniversary, or the trip after a hard year.

You want the Serengeti properly rather than in passing.

You know that three nights of beach after five of early mornings is the right way round.

You would rather not organise the connection between the two halves yourself.

Highlights

Five nights in the Serengeti, with no single-night stops
A private vehicle and guide for every park day
The coastal flight booked as part of the journey, with the baggage change handled
Three nights on the coast in a private villa or a small beach property, by style
A spice farm morning that is a working smallholding rather than a show

Route

Stops on Sanctuary & Spice Escape
Stop	Nights	Why
Arusha	1 night	Arrive, meet your guide, start fresh.
Serengeti	5 nights	Two camps, in different parts of the park.
Zanzibar	3 nights	Coast, with Stone Town on the way through if you want it.

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

In order

Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO)Arrive
ArushaPrivate 4×4
SerengetiLight aircraft
Zanzibar (ZNZ)Light aircraft
Nungwi, north coastPrivate 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.

Flight sectors on this journey
Sector	In the air	Aircraft	Note
Arusha (ARK) → Serengeti	about 90 min with a stop	Light aircraft	—
Serengeti → Zanzibar (ZNZ)	about 3 h in total, usually via Arusha	Light aircraft, then scheduled	Hard luggage is stored in Arusha and returned on the coast.

What to expect either end

Aviation practicalities
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 at Kilimanjaro WhereArusha OvernightLodge near the airport Meals D

Met at the aircraft, about 45 minutes to Arusha. The week ahead gets walked through over dinner.
Day2 Fly into the Serengeti WhereSerengeti OvernightTented camp Meals BLD
Light aircraft from Arusha, roughly an hour and a half with a stop. Which part of the park depends entirely on the month — we choose the strip when we book.
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.
- Classic tented campTwin or double, with a few family units. Mosquito netting over the bed as standard.
- Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
Day3 Serengeti, all day WhereSerengeti OvernightTented camp Meals BLD
Out early, back for the heat, out again at four. Nothing is scheduled and nothing needs to be.
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.
- Classic tented campTwin or double, with a few family units. Mosquito netting over the bed as standard.
- Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
Day4 Serengeti, all day WhereSerengeti OvernightTented camp Meals BLD
A second full day from the same camp. The point of five nights is that a slow morning costs you 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.
- Classic tented campTwin or double, with a few family units. Mosquito netting over the bed as standard.
- Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
Day5 Move within the park WhereSerengeti OvernightTented camp Meals BLD
A game drive that happens to end somewhere else — a different part of the park, different country, usually different animals. Two to four hours depending on where the herds are.
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.
- Classic tented campTwin or double, with a few family units. Mosquito netting over the bed as standard.
- Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
Day6 Serengeti, all day WhereSerengeti OvernightTented camp Meals BLD
Full day from the second camp. If the balloon is going to happen, it happens today.
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.
- Classic tented campTwin or double, with a few family units. Mosquito netting over the bed as standard.
- Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
Day7 Fly to the coast WhereZanzibar OvernightBeach villa or small hotel Meals BD
Serengeti to Zanzibar, usually via Arusha, about three hours' flying in total. You land in a different climate and a different century. Nothing is planned for the afternoon.
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.
- Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
- Classic tented campTwin or double, with a few family units. Mosquito netting over the bed as standard.
Day8 Zanzibar, unplanned WhereZanzibar OvernightBeach villa or small hotel Meals B
Spice farm, Stone Town, a dhow at sunset, or none of it. We will have booked what you asked for and nothing you did not.
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.
- Beach property or private villaSea-facing doubles; villas have three to six bedrooms.
- Classic tented campTwin or double, with a few family units. Mosquito netting over the bed as standard.
Day9 Home WhereZanzibar Overnight— Meals B

Transfer to the airport, about an hour from the north or east coast. International departures from Zanzibar or a short hop to Dar es Salaam.

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

Indicative $10,500 – $16,500 per person sharing, by season and standard. No price on this site has been approved, and nothing here is a quotation.

Indicative price per person sharing, by season and group size
Season	1	2	3–4	5–6	7+
PeakJuly – October, 20 Dec – 3 Jan	On request	On request	On request	On request	On request
ShoulderJanuary – February, June, November	On request	$10,500indicative	On request	On request	On request
GreenMarch – May (long rains — we will say if it is a bad week)	On request	On request	On request	On request	On request

Per person sharing, US dollars, two people unless stated. Excludes international flights. A single traveller pays more and a larger group pays less per head — we will tell you how much before you ask twice. No figure here has been approved: see what it costs.

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.

Access provision on Sanctuary & Spice Escape
Provision	Status	Detail
Hoist-fitted vehicle	On request	On request for the safari half, quoted separately. Not yet measured by us.
Beach-capable wheelchair	On request	Some coastal properties hold one. None is confirmed by us, and sand is sand.
Step-free villas	Partial	Ground-floor coastal rooms are common; roll-in showers are not. Assessed property by property.
Light-aircraft boarding	Partial	A ladder or wing step. A powered chair needs a separate conversation.
Stone Town step-free route	Not offered	Stone Town's alleys are narrow, uneven and stepped. We will plan around it, not pretend otherwise.

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

All light-aircraft sectors, including the Serengeti–Zanzibar connection

Spice farm visit with a local guide

Coastal transfers

Not included

Balloon flight over the Serengeti (about $600 per person — subject to confirmation)

Diving, kitesurfing and boat charters on the coast

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

Practical detail for Sanctuary & Spice Escape
Dress on the coast	Zanzibar is majority Muslim. Beachwear is for the beach; covered shoulders and knees in Stone Town and the villages. This is not a rule we invented and it matters locally.
Ramadan	Many coastal restaurants close or shorten hours. The dates move each year — we will tell you if yours fall in it.
Malaria	Both halves are malarial. Take advice from a travel clinic rather than from us, and take it early enough to start the course.
Light-aircraft luggage	One soft bag of about 15 kg for the bush sectors. Hard cases can be stored in Arusha.
Seaweed and tides	The east coast has large tides and seasonal seaweed. If swimming matters more than the view, tell us and we will put you on a different coast.

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.

Balloon flight over the SerengetiAn hour at dawn, weather-dependent, booked well ahead.

Two extra coastal nightsNine days becomes eleven, and the coastal half stops feeling short.

Pemba instead of ZanzibarQuieter, greener, harder to reach, better diving.

Private dhow sunset sailTwo or three hours, your party only, no amplified music.

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

Which way round should safari and beach go?

Safari first, every time. Five days of 05:30 starts followed by three days of nothing is a holiday; the other way round is an ordeal.

Is three nights on the coast enough?

It is the minimum that feels like a rest rather than a transit. Five is better, and most people who add nights add them here.

Can we get married or renew vows there?

Legal marriage in Tanzania has paperwork requirements we are not going to summarise badly. A ceremony without legal effect is straightforward and most coastal properties will host one.

What about the sargassum seaweed?

The east coast gets it seasonally, roughly December to March, and it varies hugely year to year. If a clear swim is the point of the beach half, the north coast is the safer choice.

Is Zanzibar safe?

Ordinarily yes, with the usual care about valuables and about walking alone at night. Same-sex relationships are criminalised in Zanzibar, which is a safety matter for some of our guests rather than an abstraction — see Travel with Pride.

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.

Signature Grand Montero Expedition 14 days / 13 nights · Serengeti · Kilimanjaro · heritage · gems · coast Bush & beach Ultimate Safari & Zanzibar Spice Island Escape 10 days / 9 nights · Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Zanzibar Wildlife Horizon Fly-In Circuit 7 days / 6 nights · Kilimanjaro · Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro

Destination guides

Ways to travel

Bush & beach

Indicative from

$10,500

per person sharing · subject to confirmation

9 days / 8 nights
Private, your party only
No payment to enquire

Request a custom quote

Build an estimate dates, party, standard

Prices by season and group size

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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.

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Sanctuary & Spice Escape

Who this journey suits

Highlights

Route