10 Serengeti Safari

Day 1: Arrival in Arusha

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you’ll be met by one of our guides and transfer you to the Hotel in Arusha for an overnight stay.

Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania and the capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District, located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley. Arusha has a temperate climate. The city is close to the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara National Park, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Arusha National Park on Mount Meru.

Day 2: Arusha – Tarangire

Depart after breakfast and then drive to Tarangire National Park for a full day game drive with picnic lunch and enjoy the beauty of Tarangire. In the evening, drive to Lake Manyara to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

The park is located slightly off the main safari route, Tarangire National Park is a lovely quiet park in Northern Tanzania that is most famous for its elephant migration, birding and quiet authentic safari atmosphere. The majority of travellers to the region either miss out on Tarangire altogether or venture into the park for a matter of hours leaving parts of Tarangire virtually untouched.

Day 3: Lake Manyara

After your breakfast, enjoy a morning game drive at the park and then back to the lodge for an early dinner. After dinner, you will have a night spotlighting game drive in the park and then back to the lodge for the overnight.

Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day. Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favored haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants.

Day 4: Lake Manyara – Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Depart after breakfast for an extended morning game drive to Lake Manyara National Park and in the afternoon, drive to Ngorongoro for the evening Ngorongoro Crater rim walk. At dawn, check-in to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast, proceed to a morning game drive in Ngorongoro crater. It’s a full day game drive with a picnic lunch. Late afternoon, we’ll be back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

The jewel in Ngorongoro’s crown is a deep, volcanic crater, the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world. About 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder. We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually be seen here.

Day 6: Seronera (Central Serengeti)

Leisure breakfast at the Lodge and then depart for a game drive en route to Serengeti. A hot lunch will be saved in the afternoon. We’ll continue to Serengeti central for the game drive in the evening, check in to the lodge for the overnight stay.

A million wildebeest… each one driven by the same ancient rhythm, fulfilling its instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life: a frenzied three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating; survival of the fittest as 40km (25 mile) long columns plunge through crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus north; replenishing the species in a brief population explosion that produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km (600 mile) pilgrimage begins again.

Day 7: Serengeti

Early morning, enjoy a hot air balloon safari. After breakfast, depart for a full day game drive in Serengeti National Park Central Seronera. In the evening, back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Mara (Northen Serengeti)

Enjoy your breakfast at the camp and then depart for the northern part of Serengeti, North Kogatende. In the evening, enjoy the river crossing viewing of the great migration.

River crossings at Kogatende start to occur every day in August as the mega herd settles into the area. For August, September and October, game viewing up here is superb with river crossings pretty much guaranteed every day. There is no distinct movement as the herds tend to cross back and forth over the river, following the rains and subsequent fresh grasses. It is not uncommon to see different herds crossing in different directions on the same day.

Day 9: Kogatende (Northern Serengeti)

Early breakfast at the camp, followed by an early morning river game drive to view the great migration on crossing movement, with picnic lunch. In the evening back to the camp for dinner and overnight.

The park is well known for its healthy stock of other resident wildlife, particularly the “big five”, named for the five most prized trophies taken by hunters: Lion: the Serengeti is believed to hold the largest population of lions in Africa due in part to the abundance of prey species. More than 3,000 lions live in this ecosystem. African Leopard: these reclusive predators are commonly seen in the Seronera region but are present throughout the national park with a population of around 1,000.

Day 10: Serengeti – Arusha

Breakfast at the camp and then game drive at Mara region of Serengeti to view the great migration and then transfer to the Kogatende airstrip for your flight back to Arusha. Upon arrival, you will transfer to the lodge for lunch at Arusha Coffee Lodge and then drive to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight back home.