Tanzania Honeymoon Safari Review: Serengeti Day 4
Follow our romantic Day 4 honeymoon safari through the Serengeti, from cheeky monkey encounters to hot air balloons drifting over the African savanna.
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Follow our romantic Day 4 honeymoon safari through the Serengeti, from cheeky monkey encounters to hot air balloons drifting over the African savanna.
Today, I'm sharing another chapter of our Tanzania honeymoon story!
Day 4 of our epic safari tour.
🔴 Today's Itinerary 🔴
Morning: Serengeti National Park
Afternoon: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti NP
As soon as we stepped out of the Serengeti Serena Hotel,
a troop of monkeys was there to welcome us.
One little baby monkey must have found us fascinating—it hopped right onto our jeep
and just stared intently at us for a moment.
It was seriously the cutest thing ever. My wife and I held our breath, totally captivated! 🥺
Since these monkeys are so used to humans, they come right up to you.
But our guide, James, warned us that they often sneak inside the jeep and steal things!
That's exactly why he told us to always make sure all the doors and windows are shut whenever we get out.
Saying goodbye to our monkey friends, we hit the road again for today's adventure!
And almost immediately, we ran into a herd of impalas! haha
Looking at this photo, I can't help but think of that classic meme lol
We were also lucky enough to spot a hot air balloon drifting across the African sky.
It seems like quite a few travelers combine their Serengeti safari with a hot air balloon tour.
It wasn't flying too high, so we could actually wave and say hello to the people inside!
We also saw so many giraffes in the Serengeti.
The photo doesn't quite do it justice, but there were easily over ten of them roaming nearby.
We even witnessed one taking a pee while standing up... 👀
African acacia trees are covered in sharp thorns,
but the giraffes couldn't care less and just munched away haha.
Next up: hippos, the true powerhouses of the African wild.
They say they use rhino horns as toothpicks... talk about scary! 💀
Seeing them huddled together in a massive group in the water—not just one or two, but a whole crowd—
was honestly quite intimidating.
I had read reviews saying the smell of hippo dung near these pools is unbearable,
but surprisingly, we didn't smell anything bad.
Instead, they were letting out massive, rapid-fire farts underwater like little machine guns.
James seemed determined to help us spot any animals we hadn't seen yet,
so he veered off the main path and drove deep into the endless plains of the Serengeti.
Since we started so early in the morning, fatigue kicked in, and we both drifted off to sleep in the back.
Speaking of the jeep, I realized I haven't mentioned much about our ride!
It's incredibly comfortable. Honestly, compared to the Russian Furgon vans used in Mongolia, this jeep is a luxury suite.
The roof of the jeep pops open, so if your back starts feeling a bit stiff or sore,
you can simply stand up, stretch, and enjoy the view!
The coolest part? There's an actual fridge in the back!
Inside, it's stocked with Sprite, Coke, and other drinks provided at the start of the tour.
And they keep an almost endless supply of bottled water.
As for the sodas, there were about 10 bottles stocked at the beginning,
and it seemed like once you finish those 10, they don't restock them.
(To be honest, we didn't drink them, so we aren't 100% sure!)
The jeep started slowing down to a crawl. I stood up to see what was happening, and...
Oh my gosh! Right there, hiding behind some low brush, was a cheetah feasting on a freshly caught impala!
I still have no idea how our guide managed to spot this cheetah having its lunch from so far away in the vast savanna. Truly mind-blowing!
It was panting heavily under the midday heat, focused entirely on its meal.
Maybe it was already feeling full and satisfied, because it didn't seem to care at all as we slowly circled around to get a better view.
We’ve all heard about cheetahs, but seeing one up close is a completely different story.
They are so incredibly sleek, with remarkably small heads—
giving off a totally different vibe compared to lions.
This was absolutely one of those "this is why we chose a safari for our honeymoon" moments!
Though we sadly missed out on seeing a rhino, wrapping up our Serengeti National Park tour
with a wild cheetah sighting was the ultimate finale.
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Official Agoda Website | Free Cancellation & Special Deals | Over 2 Million Properties
By Day 4 of our safari, after back-to-back action-packed game drives,
we were definitely craving a little downtime.
Luckily, today's itinerary was designed for exactly that.
The view from our lodge was absolutely jaw-dropping!
Just lying back and soaking in this panoramic vista made me feel like I was on top of the world.
Down below is the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater.
The only tiny downside? The sun sets on the opposite side of the crater view.
The room itself was classic Serena Lodge style—comfortable, but nothing too out of the ordinary.
However, unlike the other Serena properties, this one didn't have a swimming pool.
Since we checked in early for once, I was so excited to go for a swim.
I even got changed, only for the staff to tell me there was no pool here. Major bummer! 😭
To shake off the disappointment, we headed straight to the bar.
And wow, the view from here was insane!
If you squint and look closely at the lake shore, you can see patches of pink—
consider this a sneak peek of the flamingos we'll be seeing tomorrow!
We ordered a bottle of local white wine, and wow, African wine is incredibly delicious.
We sat there chatting about our journey so far, and time just flew by.
They also have a self-serve corner stocked with light snacks like popcorn and cookies.
Look at this! An SK Enclean (a Korean gas station chain) sign all the way out here in Africa, haha! 😂
Up the stairs right next to it is the buffet restaurant for dinner.
Unlike the other Serena properties we stayed at, the dinner buffet here was heavily focused on vegetarian options,
with very few meat selections outside of their main signature dish.
With no pool and a veggie-heavy buffet, this lodge ended up being one of the more disappointing stops on our trip.
But there was a silver lining! We met our very first fellow Korean travelers here.
They were an older couple about our parents' age, and they were incredibly elegant and cool.
Hilariously, we had both assumed the other couple was Chinese at first, so when we suddenly heard Korean,
we were both absolutely shocked! Haha.
They had traveled all over the globe, so we shared so many fun travel stories.
But the best part? The husband brought her on this African safari simply because she mentioned she wanted to see a wild lion.
Talk about the ultimate modern-day romantic!
My wife and I both agreed that they are total couple goals for when we grow old.
We were so deeply caught up in our conversation with this amazing couple that I completely forgot to take any photos! 😭
So, unfortunately, I have to skip the buffet pictures for this lodge.
Tomorrow is the final day of our safari adventure,
and we're heading to the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater!
I've had so much fun that I can't believe how quickly these 5 days and 4 nights have flown by.
It's a bit sad that we couldn't explore even more. If you want to dive deeper into
the safari experience,
I'd highly recommend booking a relaxed 7-day, 6-night itinerary to truly experience the magic of Africa.
📍 Tanzania
Tanzania
The jeeps offer a comfortable ride with a pop-up roof, allowing you to stand up and stretch if your back gets tired. There is a refrigerator at the back of the vehicle stocked with unlimited bottled water and about 10 bottles of soda provided at the beginning of the tour.
Because the monkeys are not afraid of humans, they frequently enter the jeeps and steal belongings. Therefore, as advised by the guide, you must always keep the doors closed when stepping out of the vehicle.
Unlike other locations, the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge does not have a swimming pool. Additionally, the dinner buffet is characterized by having less meat and a higher proportion of vegetables, apart from the main signature dishes.
The author felt that their 4-night, 5-day itinerary was too short and left them wanting more. To fully enjoy the safari tour, they recommend planning a more relaxed schedule of about 6 nights and 7 days.
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