Tanzania, the country containing Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest snow capped mountain in Africa –is filled with exciting extremes. It has beautiful beaches, popular safari trips down into the land of the Serengeti National Park, and various other adventurous activities makes Tanzania even more attractive. Global Crossroad's Summer Escapes Program in Tanzania allows participants to take part in a most meaningful volunteer journey while serving local orphanages and experiencing, firsthand, the always-friendly and ever-smiling Tanzanians.

 

June 24: Arrive in Tanzania

June 25: Orientation

Meet with Global Crossroad‘s staff members, a general question/answer sessions, discussion on program itinerary, and general orientation on the Global Crossroad program, history, culture, tradition, and other important issues (health, safety) in Tanzania. In free time (evening), explore the nearby areas.
Accommodation: Hostel/host family
Meal Includes: (B), (L), (D)

June 26 – July 16: Orphanage Project

For the following days, volunteers will go to different orphanages located throughout Arusha and Moshi. Volunteers will be subdivided in many small groups. Global Crossroad will place 2-5 volunteers in one orphanage depending upon the number of children. As a volunteer in the orphanage project, you will teach English (3-4 hours a day) in the orphanage or schools (when the children attend school during the day). You will help the children by educating them on issues of personal hygiene and sanitation – helping them to brush their teeth, showering, etc. If placed in an infant orphanage, volunteers will help feed infants children, change their diapers and/or bathe them. During the “off-time” participants can organize games, drawing lessons, singing, dancing, and other creative, educational and extracurricular activities.
Accommodation: Hostel/host family
Meal Includes: (B), (L), (D)

July 17: Closing of Service Project, Departure to Arusha for Wildlife Safari

June 26 - July 19: Work in Orphanage or other service projects

Enjoy the warm and welcoming hospitality of Kenyan people living while living with a host family or working with local people. Experience the rich Kenyan culture and tradition and the day to day lifestyle of the local people. Hike in the villages and explore Kenyan life. For 23 days, participants will work in an orphanage – sharing their love and time with the needy children in Nairobi and Mombasa , teaching them basic conversational English and encouraging them to face the challenging world where English is becoming more and more of a necessity. You can organize games, drawing lessons, singing, dancing, and other creative educational and extracurricular activities. In free time, participants can hike to nearby bazaars and/or hillsides; explore the beauty of mesmerizing Kenya – gaining firsthand experience of Kenyan lifestyle, culture, and values.

Accommodation: hostels or host families
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

July 17: Closing of service project and preparation of Safari

Volunteers prepare for the safari – picked up from their respective host families/ hostels.

Tanzanian Safari and Excursions (5 days/ 4 nights)

After spending quality time with the destitute children of Tanzania , participants will then embark on a five-day tour, taking them through the highlights of the unrivalled parks of northern Tanzania while living in tents recapturing the original spirit of the safari. This safari includes a walking safari through the Masai Land, the N'gorongoro Crater (one of the major attractions of Tanzania and one of the wonders of the natural world), the Serengeti (one of the bestknown wildlife sanctuaries in the world hosting over 3 million large mammals); and Lake Manyara National Park (an ornithologists' paradise dually noted for its elusive tree-climbing lions).

 

Proposed Itinerary

 

July 18. Pick up at your home base after breakfast and transfer to Lake Manyara for full day safari with picnic lunch. Although one of the smaller Tanzanian parks (325 sq. km.) in the Rift Valley, Manyara National Parks boasts a large lake. During the months of July through April, the lake waters are tinged pink from the hundreds of greater and lesser flamingos who feed there. Other features of the park include its stable herds of elephants and buffalos, enormous troops of baboons and its famous tree climbing lions. Dinner and overnight: Camp Vision guesthouse or campsite at Mto wa Mbu village.
Accommodation: Camp Site
Meal Includes: (L), (D)

July 19. Transfer to Seronera in the middle of the Serengeti. Picnic lunch and wildlife observation on the way. This most famous game park in the world encompasses nearly 15,000 sq. km and is unrivaled anywhere for its seasonally shifting concentrations of herbivores. Nearly 1.5 million wildebeest, 500,000 gazelle and 250,000 zebra completes a cyclical annual migration within the ecosystem between November and June. The Serengeti is also known for its large prides of lion, cheetah, wild dogs and leopard.
Dinner and overnight: public campsite in the national park
Meal Includes: (B), (L), (D)

July 20. Morning safari in the Serengeti. Afternoon transfer to the N’gorongoro Crater for overnight on the crater rim.
Dinner and overnight: Simba campsite.
Meal Includes: (B), (L), (D)

July 21. After breakfast, the group will arise to an early morning safari before traveling to the N’gorongoro Crater in the afternoon. The N’gorongoro Conservation Area is located on the Far East area of the Serengeti and contains four distinct habitats – all offering unparalleled game viewing opportunities year round. Some of the phenomenal safari experiences include such epic observations such as the Great Migration – tens of thousands of zebra and wildebeest stampeding across the Serengeti. Also contained within N’gorongoro area is world-renowned archeological sites of Laetoli where some of the oldest proof of human existence can be found – footprints over 3.6 million years old.
Dinner and overnight: campsite at Karatu village
Meal Includes: (B), (L), (D)

July 22. Voyage to Tarangire National Park for a full day's safari accompanied by a picnic lunch. Native land to a vast number of elephants (in upwards of 1000), Taragrine National Park offers numerous chances to observe lions, cheetahs, and leopards in addition to its massive diversity of wildlife as well as the symbolic Baobab tree. Tarangire National is an ornithologist's paradise, offering a variety of feathered species, including some of the most aggressive birds of prey flapping their expansive wings over the famously-varied fauna rich in birds of prey and an incredible diversity of avifauna. The day concludes with a return-trip to Arusha in the evening where participants will remain overnight.
Dinner and overnight: simple economy hotel
Meal Includes: (B), (L), (D)

Program itineraries are merely samples and may change to meet the needs of the volunteers as well as field conditions. This itinerary will be finalized on the start day of this program during orientation.

Program Fee Covers:

Program Fee Does Not Cover:

Additional Note