Ten days is the trip I quietly recommend more than any other. It is long enough to do the northern circuit properly and still land on the east coast with four or five nights to actually unwind, rather than collapsing for one night and flying home. Here is how it lays out, day by day, with the trade-offs I would tell you over a drink at the bar.
The shape of the trip
Three or four nights inland, one short flight, then four or five nights on Zanzibar. Do not be tempted to add a third region. People try to bolt on Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the southern parks and a north-coast beach all in ten days, and they spend half the trip in vehicles and on airstrips. Two regions, done well, beats five regions glimpsed.
Fly into Kilimanjaro (JRO), not Dar. It puts you an hour or so from Arusha and the start of the circuit, and you end the trip flying out of Zanzibar (ZNZ) instead of backtracking.
Days 1-4: the northern circuit
Day 1 - Arrive, overnight near Arusha. Land at JRO, transfer to a lodge outside Arusha (45min-1h). You will be tired; this is a buffer night, not a sightseeing day.
Day 2 - Drive to Ngorongoro. Roughly 3-4 hours up to the crater rim, with a stop for lunch. Sleep on the rim so you are at the descent gate early.
Day 3 - Ngorongoro Crater, then push into the Serengeti. Descend at first light for a half-day on the crater floor, lions, the resident black rhino if you are lucky, then drive on to the central Serengeti (Seronera) in the afternoon. It is a long day; some people instead split it and add a night. If your budget allows the extra night, take it.
Day 4 - Full Serengeti day. Morning and late-afternoon drives, the heat of the day spent back at camp. This is the day the trip earns its keep. Where the migration herds sit depends on the month: southern plains December-March, the western corridor and north mid-year.
A note on cost: the park and crater fees here are significant and change often, budget several hundred US dollars per person per day inside the conservation areas alone [VERIFY].
Day 5: fly to the coast
This is the leg that makes the whole thing work. A light-aircraft flight from a Serengeti airstrip (Seronera or similar) to Zanzibar runs around 2h-2h30 with a fuel or connection stop, versus a brutal full day back to Arusha by road. Bag limits on these flights are real, usually 15kg in a soft bag [VERIFY]; pack accordingly.
You will likely route through Arusha or Dar before the short hop to ZNZ. I cover the connections, transfer times and what to expect at the airport in detail on the getting-there page, link below.
Days 6-9: Zanzibar east coast
Land at ZNZ, transfer 1h15-1h30 to the east coast, Michamvi, Pingwe, Paje. I am biased, this is where I live and work, but the east coast is the right call after a safari: quieter than the north, long white beaches, and the kind of pace that suits people who have been getting up at 05:30 for days.
The honest trade-off is the tide. The east coast has a big tidal range; at low tide the swimming pulls back and you walk out across the flats, at high tide you swim off the beach. It is not a flaw, it is the rhythm of the place, and the dive and kite operators plan around it. If swimming at any hour is non-negotiable, factor in a hotel pool.
Fill the days lightly. A dhow sunset sail, a half-day in Stone Town (1h-1h15 each way), snorkelling at Mnemba, or simply nothing at all. After the bush, nothing-at-all is underrated.
What to skip: do not try to squeeze in a Stone Town overnight at the start and the east coast at the end. One base on the coast, with a day-trip into Stone Town, is calmer and cheaper than splitting hotels.
Day 10: fly home
Most long-haul departures from ZNZ leave in the evening, so you often get a final morning on the beach before the transfer. Confirm your international bag allowance, it is usually far more generous than the bush flight’s.
Who it suits, and the budget band
This itinerary suits first-time East Africa travellers, honeymooners, and anyone who wants wildlife and rest in one trip. It suits families with older children well. It does not suit hardcore safari specialists who want a week of nothing but game drives, they should drop the beach and add the southern parks.
All-in, plan USD 4,500-7,500 per person for mid-to-high range lodges, internal flights and fees [VERIFY]. You can go lower with budget camps and simpler beach stays, or far higher with flying camps in peak season.
Next, read how to get to Zanzibar for the flight connections, and the Zanzibar east coast guide to choose where on the coast to base yourself.