Day 1: Arusha - Serengeti Safari
This day, you depart from Moshi or Arusha town, the base town for safaris in northern Tanzania, for a magnificent journey over the Arusha-Dodoma highway to Serengeti National Park via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You will stop by a supermarket (if you desire) to do some last-minute shopping for any personal items you may require. You will arrive at Serengeti late in the afternoon.
Serengeti National Park, with its endless plains, rolls into the distance as far as the eye can see. We’ll proceed to the Lobo area, which is located just north of the Seronera area (central Serengeti National Park). The wildebeest migration normally passes through the Lobo area every year around July / August en route to Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve and again in late October / November en route to the southern Serengeti National Park.
NOTE THAT:
You can break up the drive with some or both of the below activities:
Olduvai Gorge Museum: Sometimes known as the Cradle of Mankind, the Olduvai Gorge Museum commemorates some of the oldest evidence of human habitation ever found. Here you will see some of the oldest fossil evidence in the world of human habitation, visit the Olduvai Gorge Museum to learn more about the human journey, and take in the stunning views of this stark gorge country.
Maasai boma visit: You will visit one of the famous Maasai bomas, where you'll have the opportunity to witness (and participate in) traditional Maasai dance, tour an authentic Maasai village, and even do a little souvenir shopping at the local market.
Both of the above activities are excluded from your Tour (additional cost is Needed).
Arrive in the Serengeti in the late afternoon for an evening game drive until the evening, when you will check in at a camp/lodge, have dinner, and overnight. Lunch is taken at one of the picnic sites, most likely at the Naabi Hill Gate, where you will also get the chance to stretch your legs as your guide sorts out the registration and relevant paperwork. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti. All meals included.
Accommodation:
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
BUDGET CAMPING
Nyani (Seronera) Public Campsite | Pimbi Public campsite
MID-RANGE LODGES
Katikati Tented Lodge, Kenzan Tented Camp, Kiota Tented Camp and Serengeti Wilderness Camp
LUXURY LODGES
Serengeti Serena Lodge, Serengeti Wildlife Lodge, Angata Serengeti, Asanja Moru, Dunia Camp (ASILIA AFRICA), Kiota Camp and Serengeti Sopa Lodge
SUPER LUXURY LODGES
Four Season Safari Lodge, Melia Serengeti Lodge and Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas
Day 2: Safari in Central Serengeti
After breakfast, enjoy a full-day game drive in the park. The area around Lobo and the Grumeti River has good resident games throughout the year. Non-migrating animals like elephants, buffalo, gazelles, zebras, lions, leopards, and cheetahs can be seen here all year. The game viewing is very good and you can follow the game for long periods without seeing other vehicles—truly one of the forgotten corners of the Serengeti Plains. Magnificent riverine trees can be found along the river lines and bird species such as kingfishers and fish eagles can be found here.
Accommodation:
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
BUDGET CAMPIN
Nyani (Seronera) Public Campsite | Pimbi Public campsite
MID-RANGE LODGES
Katikati Tented Lodge, Kenzan Tented Camp, Kiota Tented Camp and Serengeti Wilderness Camp
LUXURY LODGES
Serengeti Serena Lodge, Serengeti Wildlife Lodge, Angata Serengeti, Asanja Moru, Dunia Camp (ASILIA AFRICA) | Kiota Camp and Serengeti Sopa Lodge
SUPPER LUXURY LODGES
Four Season Safari Lodge, Melia Serengeti Lodge and Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas
Day 3: Safari to Northern Serengeti
After breakfast, we head towards the far northern reach of the Serengeti National Park, also known as the Wagakuria. We will do a game drive en route from the Lobo area to the Wagakuria area. As we head north, good sightings of giraffes, plain game, herds of buffalo, and elephants can often be seen.
We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch, we will enjoy an afternoon game drive in the area. The wildebeest migration can normally be found in the Wagakuria area from Mid-July to October, depending on rainfall patterns. A long stretch of the Mara River runs through the northern Serengeti National Park and the Mara River provides the migration with its most difficult obstacle. Witnessing the frantic herds of wildebeests crossing the Mara River is amazing.
Accommodation:
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
BUDGET CAMPING
Lobo Campsite
MID-RANGE LODGES
Chaka Tented Camp, Kenzan Mara Tented Camp, and Mara River Kati Kati
LUXURY LODGES
Lobo Wildlife Lodge, Angata Bologonja Tented Camp, &Beyond Klein’s Camp, Bologonya Under Canvas, Lemala Kuria Hills, Singita Mara River Tented Camp, Mara mara Lodge, Orakira Migration Camp, Under Canvas
Day 4: Central To Central Serengeti
After breakfast, enjoy a full-day game drive in the Wagakuria area. Resident wildlife numbers are exceptionally high in this area of the park, with pride of lions up to 30 strong, however, from Mid-July to October, the area turns into a wildlife paradise. The key feature is the Mara River and it is not uncommon to see the herds cross the Mara River north on one day and then back south a few days later. Please take note: seeing the crossing is very difficult and is sometimes a matter of luck. A herd can be seen next to a river and only decides to cross or not cross until a couple of days later. This area is a stunning region with kopjes, woodland, riverine vegetation, and open plains, similar to Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve.
(An option of doing a Hot Air Balloon is also in this area.)
Serengeti Balloon Safaris: There are no words that can do the experience of floating over the Serengeti justice.” Get a birds-ey view of the park as you rise alongside the sun
The flight lasts about an hour, after which passengers gather around a table, surrounded by the park’s lush plains, for an “Out of Africa” English-style breakfast.
Accommodation:
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
BUDGET CAMPING
Nyani (Seronera) Public Campsite | Pimbi Public campsite
MID-RANGE LODGES
Katikati Tented Lodge, Kenzan Tented Camp, Kiota Tented Camp and Serengeti Wilderness Camp
LUXURY LODGES
Serengeti Serena Lodge, Serengeti Wildlife Lodge, Angata Serengeti, Asanja Moru, Dunia Camp (ASILIA AFRICA), Kiota Camp and Serengeti Sopa Lodge
SUPPER LUXURY LODGES
Four Season Safari Lodge, Melia Serengeti Lodge and Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas
Day 5: Serengeti - Ngorongoro Safari
Proceed with morning and afternoon game drives in the Serengeti, with a lunch and leisure break at the lodge in the midafternoon. The term Serengeti means endless plains in the Masai language. In the central plains, there are carnivores like leopard, lions, hyenas, and cheetahs.
This park is normally the scene of the annual migration of wildebeest and zebra that occurs between the Kenyan Mara and the Serengeti. A variety of bird species can be seen here, including eagles, ducks, geese, egrets, vultures, secretary birds, ibis, storks, herons, kites, pelicans, cranes, and guinea fowl.
Serengeti National Park is arguably the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, with over 3 million large mammals. About 35 species of plains animals can be seen there, including the “big 5”: elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, and buffalo. Other common species found here include hippo, giraffe, eland, impala and other antelope types, baboons, monkeys, and a profusion of over 500 species of birds.
In May or early June, huge herds of wildebeest, gazelle, and zebra begin their annual spectacular migration northwards. In their wake follow predators, lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs, with vultures circling overhead!
After having your lunch, you will continue with a game view in Serengeti, heading to the gate of Serengeti to check out of Serengeti National Park. After that, you will proceed with the game on route, heading to Ngorongoro Crater. Dinner and overnight at a Camp or Lodge at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.
Accommodation:
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
BUDGET CAMPING
Simba Public Campsite
MID-RANGE LODGES
Rhino Hotel
LUXURY LODGES
Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Sopa, Entamanu Camp, and Lemala Ngorongoro Camp
SUPER LUXURY LODGES
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
Day 6: Safari in Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha
After breakfast, descend into the crater with a lunch box, enjoying the game drive for more than 7 hours.
Millions of years ago, a volcano the size of Mount Kilimanjaro rose from the highlands of northern Tanzania. Its eruption formed the largest unflooded caldera in the world, the Ngorongoro Crater. Now inactive and filled with wildlife, the crater is a playground where you can enjoy game drives in search of the Big Five.
The natural protection of the crater’s 600 m (1,968 ft) high walls “Ngorongoro Crater” helps many species thrive. It is one of the most densely populated African wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals. This is the best place in Tanzania to see critically endangered black rhino.
The park is supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, and the crater supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants.
Another big draw card to this picturesque national park is its huge population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard crater floor. After a picnic lunch, you will have a game drive, After the game Drive, we drive back to Arusha/Moshi for the night.
Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch