My partner and I did a 3 week trip to Istanbul and Tanzania in July of 2026. We did the 5 day Great Rift Valley Trek, went to Zanzibar, and then did a 7 day vehicle safari through the typical tourist loop of Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
Overall, this was my favorite trip I have taken, almost every day was just amazing. Below is how I liked each section:
Great Rift Valley Trek: 10/10 this was just so freaking cool. Hiking through Maasai villages and learning about their culture was incredible. Not so much wildlife on this part of the trip other than some zebras, wildebeest, and birds, but the walking + the culture + the otherworldly volcanic landscapes made this incredibly immersive. This was a private trek with just me and my partner. The staff would drive ahead to our destination and we would arrive to a fully setup camp with good food and drinks.
Zanzibar: 5/10 this was not really for me. You get harassed in Zanzibar a lot. The reefs are all mostly dead and the snorkeling is really not great. I am not very good at beach vacation. We did 4 days here and I could have skipped it entirely.
Vehicle Safari: 9.5/10 Almost perfect but gets a little tiring. The wildlife sightings are unbelievable. If you wanted to, you could cut the days on this and still get an incredible experience. Even just day 1 in the Serengeti we saw multiple prides of lions, multiples leopards, elephants up close, antelope as far as the eye can see. Ngorongoro crater feels like heaven on earth with the greenery and all the animals, its touristy but it is a must see. We also did a hot air balloon over the Serengeti which i thought was totally worth it, saw so many animals from the air including a pride of lions hunting!
This was a very expensive trip but you could do it for much cheaper, with less vehicle safari days and skipping zanzibar. In total, it cost me 25k USD for 2 people (flights, etc, all expenses). I saved up for 5 years to do this trip and it really was a once in a lifetime experience.