July to October, with four nights in the Serengeti
Around a million and a half wildebeest, plus zebra and gazelle, move through the Serengeti ecosystem every year looking for new grass. This trip is timed for the months when they are usually in the north, roughly July to October, and gives you two nights up there.
It starts gently with a night in Arusha, which is worth having if you have just come off a long flight, and finishes with the Ngorongoro Crater on the way to the airport.
Anyone who wants the migration without rushing, and first-time visitors who would rather arrive a day early than start a safari jet-lagged.
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
We'll meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel in Arusha for dinner and a proper night's sleep.
If you land early and still have energy, Arusha is worth a wander: it sits at the foot of Mount Meru, the air is cooler than you expect, and there's coffee, a museum and a good market.
A leisurely breakfast, then south-west through rural Tanzania to Tarangire. You'll spend the day among the colossal baobabs, the grassy plains and the elephant herds the park is known for.
Big groups of buffalo are common, lion and leopard both live here, and the lake often has flamingos on it. The night is at Lake Burunge.
On to the Serengeti and into camp in the centre of the park, surrounded by savannah grassland, acacias and some of the best wildlife country in the Serengeti.
The tents are raised on stilts with a generous living area, which is a nicer way to sleep on the plains than it sounds.
North into the quieter half of the park. There is wildlife up here all year, but when the migration is passing through it is everywhere.
The country is lovely too: rolling grassland between rocky hills, with the Mara River cutting through it.
Warm clothes and an early start. First light is when the animals are moving and the light is worth having, and if you are not usually a morning person this is the day to make an exception.
A reminder we give everybody: the herds follow rainfall, not a calendar, and a crossing is luck as much as planning. This is the right place to be in these months, and that is as much as anyone can honestly offer.
Game driving south again, tracking wildebeest and zebra as you go. The open horizons here are good for spotting predators — lion, leopard, cheetah and spotted hyena — and the prey that keeps them there.
If you are lucky you will see a hunt, which is one of the more exhilarating things you can watch anywhere.
Your day at Ngorongoro may well be the one you remember. You'll come along the rim and then drop down onto the crater floor, where black rhino are the headline and large-tusked elephants, lion prides and hyena clans are the supporting cast.
It is also simply beautiful down there: steep green walls, a salt lake, forest and hippo pools.
Breakfast, a stop for shopping if you want one, then the drive to Kilimanjaro airport for your flight home.
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 2 April 2026 to 30 June 2030.
Tarangire · Lake Manyara · Ngorongoro · Serengeti
Eight days built around time with the animals: two full days in the Serengeti, a trip down into the crater, and Tarangire's big elephant herds.
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
Built for the crossing season, roughly July to October: Tarangire, the central Serengeti, two nights near the Mara River, and the crater on the way home.