Central Serengeti Migration
explore tanzia - central serengeti migration safari

Central Serengeti Migration Safari

The Great Wildebeest Central Serengeti Migration is one of the world’s most thrilling, intriguing and spectacular displays of wildlife behaviour. Join us for an unforgettable eight-day safari adventure during April/May and enjoy the best of our Serengeti National Park safari tours! Search for the “Big Five” in the scenic Tarangire National Park, the wildlife-teeming Ngorongoro Crater and the plains of the Serengeti .


Our small group safaris offer the opportunity to explore Tanzania while enjoying the company of an intimate group of like-minded safari enthusiasts, on a set itinerary.  All Small Guided Group Tours can be booked on a Private Basis.

Itinerary

  • Day 1: Kilimanjaro Airport / Arusha

     Our friendly safari team will welcome you at Kilimanjaro Airport, and transfer you to Arusha. Arusha is the hub of Tanzania's legendary Northern safari circuit and home to Mt Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, and Lake Manyara National Parks. Arusha is also one of the major coffee-growing regions in Tanzania.

    Stay: Kahawa Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast.

  • Day 2: Arusha / Tarangire National Park / Lake Manyara

    After breakfast, we meet our guide for a short briefing.  We head off to Tarangire National Park, known as the land of giants - elephants and baobab trees.  The landscape is ironically African with open Acacia woodlands and Baobab trees scattered all over the area. It has the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem. 

    Late afternoon we travel towards the local town of Mto Wa Mbu (Maasai for Mosquito Village – the only place in Tanzania which represents all tribes – 120 ethnic groups). Bananas are the main export in the area, and there are over thirty species of banana in the village, including a red banana which we recommend you give a try!  We continue to drive up the Rift Valley escarpment to our lodge, perched on the edge of the Rift Valley with distant views over Lake Manyara.

    Stay: Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 3: Lake Manyara / Serengeti National Park

    Our journey continues towards the misty Ngorongoro highlands, passing on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater where we will stop for your first spectacular view of the Crater.  En-route you can opt to visit a Maasai Village near Ngorongoro Crater. (The Maasai charge US$20 per person - for your account).  

    After bidding the Maasai farewell, our adventure now takes us to the Central Serengeti with en-route game viewing as we make our way towards the lodge.  The Central area encompasses the world-famous Seronera Valley, which is known for its prime wildlife-viewing opportunities.  

    Stay: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast


  • Day 4 & 5: Serengeti National Park

    Balloon Safari - optional

    For a once in a lifetime experience, we highly recommend an early morning hot air balloon safaris (will be for your account) – a unique 'bird's eye' game viewing experience, before landing in the beautiful wilderness and enjoying a full bush-style breakfast, complete with fresh coffee, tea, fruits, and champagne.  

    Enjoy two full days in the Serengeti  - explore more of what the Serengeti offers and enjoy the greatest safari spectacle in the world – the great wildebeest migration as massive herds of wildebeest call the Central Serengeti home during this time of the year.   The annual Wildebeest Migration is one of Africa's most breathtaking experiences.  

    Stay: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 6: Serengeti National Park / Ngorongoro Crater

    We’re in no hurry to leave and will spend most of the day in the Serengeti discovering more of what the Serengeti offers as we are slowly moving toward the park gate.  The Serengeti will leave you with images of vastness and breathtaking beauty and memories to re-telling and re-living long after your safari. Late afternoon drive to Ngorongoro Crater to overnight on the crater rim.

    Stay: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater

    Today we’ll rise early morning to witness the sunrise over the Crater before enjoying an extended game drive along the Crater floor.  A steep entry track leads us 600m down to the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater floor (referred to as the Garden of Eden).  The crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes, and springs to open grassland with fantastic wildlife.  We enjoy a picnic lunch with a last game drive en route to the access point followed by a short drive back to Acacia Farm (staying here allows us to spend most of our day in the Crater and avoid rushing back to Arusha - enhancing the safari experience)!!!

    Stay: Acacia Farm Lodge (Luxury room) 

    Meals: Dinner, breakfast & packed lunch

  • Day 8: Ngorongoro Crater / Kilimanjaro Airport

    Today we take it a little bit easier after a packed safari filled with endless memories and sightings. We enjoy a leisurely breakfast with some great Kilimanjaro coffee before driving back to Arusha where we stop at the Cultural Heritage Centre (for shopping for Tanzania art, memorabilia, and Tanzanites), and enjoy our picnic lunch. Transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport for your onward flight home.

    End of service

We also offer this as a private safari or can send you a tailor-made quotation similar to the above itinerary - one designed specifically for you, around your taste, budget, interests and more.

  • Airport transfers. 
  • Accommodation in Arusha with lunch, dinner & breakfast.
  • Accommodation on safari on a full board basis (breakfast, lunch & dinner). 
  • 4x4 stretched Land Cruiser safari vehicle (maximum 6 clients per vehicle).
  • 1x Ngorongoro Crater tour. 
  • Unlimited kilometers on game drives during the safari. 
  • Services of your professional and knowledgeable Tanzanian English-speaking driver/guide. 
  • All national park entry fees.
  • Comprehensive support from our operational office in Tanzania for the duration of the safari 

  • International flights
  • Entry visa to Tanzania 
  • Travel Insurance (Highly recommended)
  • Meals and drinks not specified  
  • Laundry services
  • Gratuities to the driver/guide, hotel staff & porters 
  • Maasai Boma visit fee 
  • Balloon safari
  • All expenses of a personal nature
  • Malaria – Tanzania is a malaria area

Dates & Prices

Dates:

SMALL GROUP DEPARTURE DATES:

This 08-Day Central Serengeti Group Safaris depart during April & May on set departure dates.   

04 - 11 May 2024

11 - 18 May 2024

22 - 29 May 2024

25 May - 01 Jun 2024

Rates:

SA RESIDENTS: INTERNATIONAL:
Sharing: R56,788 pp $3,244 pp
Single: R61,776 pp $3,514 pp
Triple: R55,356 pp $3,167 pp
Return flight from Johannesburg: R8,720 pp -

 

  • Exchange rate used (bank selling rate) for SA Resident: R18.90 to US$1.00
  • Request a quote from our Safari Specialists for the most current rates and availability on our group departures.
  • Please treat all pricing as a guide only.
  • All rates are subject to increases beyond our control, including fuel price, government taxes and exchange rate fluctuations.
  • Maximum 18 clients per safari, with a maximum of 6 clients per vehicle.

National Parks

Tarangire National Park 

Tarangire is a long, thin park covering 1,360 sq. km, roughly running north south along the line of the Tarangire River.  It is made up chiefly of low-lying, rolling hills on the Rift floor, its natural vegetation of acacia woodland and giant baobabs only altered by huge areas of swamp.  The swamps of black cotton mud produce rich grasslands, while the watercourses are lined by huge trees, including sycamore fig, tamarind, and sausage trees.


Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti’s endless plains is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is patrolled by Africa’s big cats, elephants, buffaloes, gazelles and giraffes and is perhaps most famous for the migration of animals, which is the perfect place for one of many serengeti migration tours. The principle players are the wildebeest, whose numbers appear to have increased to about 2 million. In addition, about 250,000 zebras make the seasonal journey to fresh pastures, first to the north, then the south after the rains. Their ancient instinct to move is so strong that no drought, gorge or crocodile-infested river can hold them back. In February the wildebeest cows drop their young in a synchronized birthing that sees some 300 000 to 400 000 calves born within two to three weeks.

Bird watching in the Serengeti is good all year round, at its very best from November to April.This is when European and North African migratory birds are present for resident species. 


Ngorongoro Crater 

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest unbroken volcanic caldera and is regarded as the 8th wonder of the world. It is one of the most diverse and fascinating areas of Tanzania and has been given the status of a World heritage site and International Biosphere Reserve. The fertile slopes and steep forest-covered walls are home to approximately 30,000 animals including the rare black rhino. The various ecosystems found within the 260 square kilometre crater floor sustain Cape buffalo, elephants, wildebeest, zebras, elands, gazelles, hippos, numerous bird species as well as a high concentration of predators. Although birdlife is generally good throughout the year, from November to April, migratory birds from Europe and Northern Africa are present and many resident birds are in breeding plumage. 

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