Between mid-June to mid-October, the wildebeest herds can typically be found in the Northern Serengeti. This safari allows you to get the best chance to view the herds and if you are lucky a river crossing (nature dependent); while combining the Northern circuit in Tanzania with the Tarangire National Park and the famous Ngorongoro Crater. During this journey, you will be staying at excellent camps, with great locations, offering amazing comfort and delicious meals. You start the safari with your private vehicle and guide, then fly to the North Serengeti to view the moving herds.
Highlights
Arusha
Tarangire National Park
Lake Manyara National Park
Ngorongoro Crater
Serengeti National Park
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Arusha, Karibu!
Arrive at JRO Kilimanjaro airport, collect your luggage, and go through customs. Our driver will meet and transfer you to the hotel in Arusha. Depending on your flight time, we can organize an additional excursion (city tour, coffee plantation tour, bike ride, Lake Duluti visit, or a half-day game viewing in Arusha National Park). Spend some time at leisure to prepare for your early wake-up call tomorrow. Meals are for your account today. Enjoy the large gardens, swimming pool, and the in-house restaurant.
Staying at Katambuga House
Day 2-3: Transfer Tarangire National Park
Breakfast at the hotel and meet with your driver. You will have a private vehicle for the next few days while you visit Tarangire, Lake Manyara, and the Ngorongoro Crater. You will be spending 2x nights in Sanctuary Swala Camp while enjoying wonderful game viewing in the Tarangire. Tarangire is famed for its massive elephant herds, true sense of wilderness, and some of the biggest baobabs you will see. This is the ideal slow start to a safari, it will give you time to marvel at the wildlife, engage with your safari guide, and customize your day. You can choose to wake up early or late, spend the day on safari with a packed lunch or spend some time at the camp to relax by the pool.
Staying at Sanctuary Swala Camp
Day 4: Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast, exit the Tarangire National park and drive through to Lake Manyara National park. Spend a few hours game viewing in the park and stop for a light picnic lunch. The park offers a wilderness experience in diverse habitats, from its Rift Valley soda lake to dense woodlands and steep mountainsides. The shores of the lake, encrusted with pink flamingo, attract more than 400 species of birds, depending on the season. Besides the large predators, you can see various herds of buffalo, while the Masai giraffes and impalas roam the lake shores and the forested valley slopes. Exit the park and continue to the Ngorongoro Crater Rim to your camp. Dinner is included at the camp and overnight. Note that due to the elevation, it can get quite chilly at night.
Staying at Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp
Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater
Today is a very early wake-up to travel down the Ngorongoro Crater and enjoy a couple of hours of game viewing before the crowds arrive. The Ngorongoro Crater has many nicknames — Africa’s “eighth wonder of the world” and “Africa’s Eden,” to name a few. But even without these lofty nicknames, the crater is stunning. Formed 2.5 million years ago after an extinct volcano collapsed on itself, the caldera is the largest of its kind in the world. You will have the best chance to view the Big Five and enjoy a packed picnic-style lunch before returning to camp.
Staying at Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp
Day 6-8: Northern Serengeti
Today drive back to Manyara and say your good-byes to your safari guide before the flight to the North Serengeti. Arrive at Kogatende airstrip where you are met by the safari guide from your camp and depart on shared game drives organized by the knowledgeable local guide. This seasonal camp is geared for the migration sightings and should you be lucky enough to view one or more river crossing. You will be spending 3x nights at the Sanctuary Kichakani Mobile Camp to enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity to view the herds, and the numerous predators that are following the famous migration, as well as some very large alligators waiting for the crossings. Back at camp, you will enjoy wonderful meals prepared by the local chef, and share stories with other guests at the camp fire under the stars.
Staying at Sanctuary Kichakani Serengeti Camp (Northern Serengeti)
Day 9: Transfer flight to JRO
Last morning in the bush, enjoy breakfast in camp and enjoy a meandering drive to the airstrip. Say your good byes to your safari guide and take the schedule flight to JRO airport. Depending on your onward flight back home we can add a day room nearby, or spend time at leisure to check in. Alternatively, we can extend your safari with a stay in Kenya’s Mara to continue with the game viewing, or combine with a South Tanzania park, or an extension to Rwanda for gorilla trekking.
