Two nights in the northern Serengeti, where the crossings happen
This one is built around the northern Serengeti and the Mara River, where the herds usually are between about July and October. You get two nights up there rather than a day trip, which is the whole point: crossings happen without warning and they don't wait for anybody.
Before that you'll have Tarangire and the central Serengeti, and afterwards the Ngorongoro Crater, so it works as a full northern circuit even in a month when the river is quiet.
Travellers whose dates are set by the migration rather than the other way round, and photographers who want time rather than mileage.
This is a starting point, not a fixed departure. You can change the route, the pace, the camps and the length, and most people do. Customize this safari
Met at the airport and straight into it: an afternoon game drive in Tarangire, where the elephant herds and the baobabs are, with a decent chance of lion, leopard and giraffe along the river.
In the evening you'll drive out to the tented lodge at Lake Burunge for dinner.
After breakfast, the long and genuinely spectacular drive into the Serengeti, game driving your way across the plains until the light goes.
Dinner and the night at Kubu Kubu, in the middle of the park.
A morning drive north into the migration country of the northern Serengeti, game viewing all the way rather than simply transferring.
Two nights here is what gives you a real chance at the river. Dinner and overnight at Mara Mara.
A full day in the north. If the herds are at the river you will spend a good part of it parked and waiting, which is exactly how crossings are seen.
Nobody can promise you one: the herds gather for hours or days, then cross without warning, or turn round and walk away. What we can do is put you in the right place with enough time for patience to pay off. A balloon flight can be added here if you fancy it.
A morning drive to the Ngorongoro highlands, with a picnic lunch somewhere with a view. Lion, buffalo, elephant and zebra are all likely on the way, along with a lot of birds.
On to Karatu for dinner and the night at the farm house.
An early descent into the crater, which is as close to a guaranteed big day as Tanzania offers: elephant, buffalo, lion and hippo, flamingos on the soda lake, and a chance of black rhino at distance.
Back up to Karatu in the evening.
Breakfast, then the drive back down to Arusha and your onward flight. We'll shape the morning around your departure time.
So, what does it cost? We price every safari individually, because it really depends on when you travel, which camps you pick and how many of you there are. The same route in February and in August won't cost the same.
Tell us your dates and roughly what you have in mind, and we'll send you a full, itemised quote. Not a vague range, a real quote.
Per person, based on two of you travelling together. The per-person price comes down in a bigger group, and we confirm your exact figure in writing when we quote. Rates as published for 25 March 2026 to 25 March 2030.
Tarangire · Ngorongoro · Serengeti
Nine days built around wherever the migration really is: the southern plains for calving, or the northern rivers for the crossings.
Tarangire · Serengeti · Ngorongoro
Eight days with a gentle start in Arusha, Tarangire, two nights in the central Serengeti, two in the north for the river, and the crater at the end.
Lake Manyara · Ngorongoro · Serengeti
Timed for the western corridor and the Grumeti River, with four nights in the Serengeti and a flight out from Kirawira rather than a long drive home.