This 8-day safari will give you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the great migration as tens of thousands of wildebeest congregate in northern Tanzania’s Ndutu Plains!

The migration period is determined by the rainy season and can differ slightly every year, but in general, this fascinating event takes place every year from December to April, with the best time to witness calving being the month of February. This is an excellent opportunity to view new-borns, while simultaneously observing their predators as they follow the herds in search of easy prey.

But that’s not all…

This safari adventure will also take you to Northern Tanzania’s four most incredible national parks! You will discover the world renowned Serengeti National Park, voted the most beautiful national park in Africa in 2021 for the third consecutive year, as well as Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and the famous Ngorongoro Crater, nicknamed the eighth wonder of the world.

A tour fully adaptable to your needs

As with all of our tour packages, this suggested itinerary can be adapted to suit your own personal preferences.

Departure dates are also completely flexible.

Accommodation

On this tour, your seven nights will be spent in 4-star lodges or tented lodges, either on the outskirts of the national parks or inside the parks, depending on availability and itinerary.

Please note however that we have something to offer for every budget, from basic campsites with facilities, to mid-range accommodation, to superior and luxury tented camps and lodges.

If you wish to enquire about the price for another category of accommodation for this safari package or add additional adventures to your safari (ex. hot air balloon flight over Serengeti), please do not hesitate to contact us.

Itinerary

Day 1

Moshi or Arusha - Tarangire National Park

Activities: Travel to Tarangire National Park (2 hrs from Arusha or 4 hrs from Moshi) / Half-day game drive
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge

You will be picked up at your hotel in Moshi or Arusha after breakfast and will be taken on a picturesque drive across gently rolling Massai plains with scattered acacia trees in the direction of Tarangire National Park. Along the way, you will spot many Massai in their colourful traditional dress walking alongside the road or herding cattle. You will arrive at Tarangire in time for lunch, followed by your first game drive.

Tarangire National Park runs along the Tarangire River and is made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. The park is defined by lush grasslands studded with giant baobab trees and sun-baked termite hills, and is a key staging ground of the annual Great Migration. Tourists who prefer to visit its more famous neighbours often ignore this lesser-known game reserve; yet during the dry season, it has a greater concentration of wildlife per square kilometre than any other park in Tanzania. The huge swamp areas in the south attract large numbers of animals such as zebras, wildebeest, buffalos and giraffes, to name just a few. Moreover, the reserve is not only notorious for having some of the largest elephant herds in Africa, but also for being home to three very rare species that are almost impossible to find in other Tanzanian parks – the Oryx, the Elk and the Greater Kudu.

After an extensive afternoon game drive, you will retire to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 2

Tarangire National Park - Ngorongoro Crater

Activities: Travel to Ngorongoro Crater (4 hours)
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge

This morning you will wake up very early in order to experience your first sunrise game drive in Tarangire. Breakfast will be served within the park at around 10:00 a.m. at the Metete picnic site, one of the most beautiful picnic sites in the park, overlooking the Tarangire River and the acacia covered plains.

We will then leave Tarangire National Park and continue our journey towards Ngorongoro Crater. Upon arrival, you will pass through the misty rainforest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area before diving into the heart of the caldera for a half-day game drive. This fertile plain with its unusual landscapes that evolve between wet and dry seasons, is one of the most densely populated wildlife areas in the world with an estimated 25,000 animals, including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos. Here you will be able to spot the Big Five (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhinoceros) as well as a multitude of other wild animals, from the pink flamingos of Lake Makat, to hippos, to large herds of wildebeest, zebras, buffaloes, elands, and warthogs. Another big attraction in this picturesque national park is its dense population of predators, which includes hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot.

You will be driven to your lodge just before sundown for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 3

Ngorongoro Crater - Ndutu Lake Region

Activities: Travel to the Ndutu Lake region (2 hours) with en-route game drive / Afternoon game drive in the Ndutu region
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge

After breakfast, we  will head straight to the Ndutu Lake region.

Lake Ndutu is situated in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and boasts sublime landscapes. Here you will witness huge gatherings of wildebeest that come to graze and give birth in the green plains of this beautiful area. A myriad of other animals can also be found here such as elephants, giraffes, over four hundred species of birds, and many predators such as lions, cheetahs and hyenas who come in search of easy prey during the migration period.

In the early evening, we will continue on to our lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 4

Ndutu Lake Region

Activities: Full day game drive
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge

After breakfast, you will spend a full day in the Ndutu Lake region following the migration, witnessing hundreds of wildebeest giving birth and taking in the beautiful landscapes. You will have lunch in the heart of the savannah and continue your game drive in the afternoon, returning to your lodge just after sundown for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 5

Ndutu Lake Region - Serengeti National Park

Activities: Full day game drive
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge

After breakfast, we will hit the road in direction of the Serengeti, Tanzania’s most famous national park with its endless plains rolling in the distance, as far as the eye can see. We will head to the central park area known as the Seronera, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. Here, the Seronera River provides a valuable water source to the area and therefore attracts an abundance of wildlife, well representative of most of the species common to Serengeti.

Our game drive will end just after sunset as we travel to our lodge located within the park, where you will enjoy dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 6

Serengeti National Park

Activities: Full day game drive
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge

After a sunrise game drive we will head back to our lodge for a late breakfast before continuing our exploration of the Serengeti. We will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lions and some large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry season – including lions, which like to lie in wait of other animals that go there to quench their thirst.

On clear days, the Serengeti sunsets are fabulous! With a little luck, you will witness the sunset today, before driving back to your lodge for dinner and some well-deserved rest.

Day 7

Serengeti National Park - Lake Manyara National Park

Activities: Early morning game drive in Serengeti / Travel (5 hours) to Lake Manyara with en-route game drive
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge or tented lodge

After an early breakfast, we will enjoy another 2 hour game drive in Serengeti before heading towards the Lake Manyara region via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The area is abundant with wildlife and amazing landscapes, making the rather long drive much more bearable as well as lots of fun!

We will arrive in the town of Mto wa Mbu in the early evening where we will check into our lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 8

Lake Manyara National Park - Arusha or Moshi

Activities:   Half-day game drive / Travel (2.5 hrs to Arusha or 4.5 hrs to Moshi)
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

After breakfast, we will head to our final destination, Lake Manyara National Park, which is only a few minutes’ drive from the lodge. Manyara is a relatively small but diverse park, known for its massive but shallow soda lake that covers two-thirds of its surface, flooding and drying with the seasons and home to thousands of flamingos and 500 other bird species. Located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment, the park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, as well as monkeys, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes and the famous tree-climbing lions, although they are a rare sight.

After a late lunch, we head back to Arusha or Moshi, arriving in the late afternoon or early evening, depending on your final destination.

Included in package

• Professional English speaking driver/guide
• Pick-up at Kilimanjaro or Arusha Airport if arriving the day before the start of your safari
• Pick-up at your hotel in Moshi or Arusha on Day 1
• Drop-off at your hotel in Moshi or Arusha, or at Kilimanjaro/Arusha Airport on Day 8
• All meals prepared except breakfast on Day 1 & dinner on Day 8
• Bottled water
• Mid-range lodge or tented lodge accommodation

Not included in package

• Flight tickets
• Visa fees
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, soft drinks, juice or alcoholic beverages, any other items of a personal nature)
• Tip for your safari guide (suggested amount: $30 per day per vehicle)