Great Migration Safari

Your safari begins when your international flight lands at Kilimanjaro International Airport. After completing immigration, collecting your luggage, and clearing customs, your private driver will welcome you in the arrival lounge. You will then take a scenic one-hour drive west to Arusha, passing through sun-drenched plains, local towns, and Maasai pastures. On a clear day, you can view the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro or Mount Meru before checking into your Arusha hotel to rest. Your hotel is Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, just outside Arusha. In the afternoon you visit a coffee plantation on the slopes of Mount Meru for a guided tasting. On a clear day you may also see Mount Kilimanjaro from here.

The two-hour drive from Arusha to Tarangire National Park takes you from the bustling city into the heart of the Great Rift Valley. The smooth highway cuts through vast plains, passing vibrant Maasai villages where herders tend to livestock against distant blue hills. As the urban scenery fades, the tarmac gives way to a red-clay track signaling the start of your safari adventure. The landscape transforms to reveal massive ancient baobab trees and umbrella acacias, where giraffes and zebras often wander near the roadside before you reach the main gate. Inside the park you go straight into an afternoon game drive. The park's baobab trees stand over elephant herds that gather along the Tarangire River, especially in the dry season. You spend the night at Tarangire Sopa Lodge, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Leaving Tarangire, the drive north along the Great Rift Valley highway leads to Mto wa Mbu, a culturally diverse town representing over 120 tribes. Here, a guided walking tour takes you through banana plantations and local markets to watch Makonde woodcarvers and see traditional banana beer brewing. After an authentic African buffet lunch on a local farm, you will climb the steep Rift Valley escarpment. The winding road offers panoramic views of Lake Manyara before entering the cool, fertile Karatu highlands. From there you continue up to Ngorongoro Kuhama Camp, a tented camp on the crater rim, arriving in time for sunset over the crater. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, and this is the first of two nights here.

Descending early down the steep crater wall, you will enter a hidden world home to over 25,000 large animals on the volcanic caldera floor. The morning focuses on tracking the Big Five, including rare black rhinos, lion prides, and massive bull elephants, alongside flamingos at Lake Magadi. Enjoy a picnic lunch by the hippo-filled waters of Ngoitokitok Springs. The afternoon drive explores the yellow acacias of Lerai Forest, a prime habitat for leopards and baboons, before ascending back up the winding rim road. You return to Ngorongoro Kuhama Camp for a second night, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Leaving the Ngorongoro highlands, the journey to the central Serengeti drops you from cool mountain forests onto the endless African savanna. The road winds down the dusty northern slopes through Maasai lands, passing young herders and the historic Olduvai Gorge. Once you cross the park boundary at Naabi Hill Gate, the landscape transforms into immense, tree-free plains. After a brief stop to check permits and view the endless horizon from the rocky hill, you will enjoy a game drive into the Seronera Valley, where flat plains give way to acacia woodlands and lion-inhabited granite kopjes. You spend the first of two nights at Enkirari Wilderness Camp, a tented camp, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

A full-day private game drive begins at first light to target active apex predators along the Seronera River loops. This reliable water source draws a constant stream of zebras, wildebeests, and waterbucks, while the surrounding Simba or Moru kopjes provide sunbathing spots for local lion prides. Enjoy a private bush lunch experience complete with cold drinks under a lone acacia tree. The afternoon shifts toward outer circuits, featuring a visit to the crowded Retima Hippo Pool and dedicated tracking for cheetahs in the open grasslands or leopards hidden in yellow-barked acacia trees. You spend a second night at Enkirari Wilderness Camp, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

The drive north to the northern Serengeti is an incredible transition from acacia woodlands into rugged, rolling grasslands bordering Kenya. The journey heads past the Seronera loops, crossing the Togoro plains and the rugged Lobo area where groves of umbrella trees thin out into sweeping valleys. You will stop for a packed picnic lunch at an elevated kopje viewpoint to scan the valleys for resident elephant and buffalo herds. The final leg takes you deeper into the Kogatende region, opening up into vast, golden grasslands near the famous Mara River, home to massive resident lion prides and migratory herds. You arrive at Savannah Mara River Camp, close to the crossing points, for the first of two nights. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

A full-day private game drive focuses heavily on the iconic Mara River loops, setting out at first light across the Kogatende region. Spend the morning hours tracking the great wildebeest migration, positioning your 4x4 vehicle at known crossing points to witness thousands of animals plunging into swift currents while battling deep water and giant Nile crocodiles. Enjoy a packed picnic lunch from canvas chairs at a safe, elevated viewpoint overlooking a bend in the river. The afternoon is spent exploring golden plains, rock kopjes, and large fig trees to spot resident lion prides and solitary leopards. Your second night is at Savannah Mara River Camp, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

After a peaceful breakfast at camp, enjoy a short game drive to the Kogatende airstrip for a scenic flight across the Serengeti, Ngorongoro highlands, and Great Rift Valley to Arusha Airport. A private transfer vehicle will meet you for a relaxed lunch at an Arusha garden restaurant, followed by an afternoon opportunity to shop for souvenirs at a local cultural market. Finally, your driver will take you on a one-hour drive to Kilimanjaro International Airport, arriving with plenty of time to check in for your evening international flight home. Breakfast is included.