Overview

Two Parks, One Short Trip

This safari covers Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater, the two best-known parks of the Northern Circuit, in a compact four days. Serengeti alone covers over 14,000 square kilometres and holds one of the highest concentrations of big cats anywhere, lions, leopards and cheetahs among them, spread across savannah plains, riverine woodland and rocky kopjes.

With two full days inside Serengeti itself before moving on to Ngorongoro, you get more time in the park with the greatest sheer volume of wildlife on the circuit, and still come away with a real chance at all of the Big Five by the time you descend into the crater.

Map of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro safari route

Itinerary

Day by Day

Day 1

Serengeti National Park Game Drive

After breakfast, you'll depart with a packed lunch for Serengeti National Park, entering through the Naabi Hill Gate after formalities. Serengeti is arguably the most famous park on earth, and the landscapes shift as you move through it: open savannah to the south, hills and woodland to the west, the rocky kopjes to the east, and bushland to the north, cut through by the Seronera, Banagi and Grumeti rivers. Expect elephant, buffalo, giraffe, antelope, hippo and crocodile on the way in. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp.

Day 2

Serengeti Game Drive

A full day in Serengeti, with game drives early in the morning and again in the evening when the animals are most active. During migration season, the plains fill with enormous herds of wildebeest and zebra moving together, alongside giraffe, antelope and gazelle. It's also good territory for the predators: lean cheetah, shy leopard, foraging hyena, and the lion prides that give the park its reputation. Dinner and overnight again at Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp.

Day 3

Serengeti Half Day Game Drive to Ngorongoro

A final morning game drive inside Serengeti, then an early hot lunch before the drive toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You'll arrive at Ngorongoro Rhino Lodge around 5pm, in time for dinner and an early night ahead of the crater descent the next morning.

Day 4

Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

A game drive inside the Ngorongoro Crater itself, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 and famous for some of the best game viewing in Africa thanks to a permanent water supply on the crater floor. You'll descend 610 metres to reach it, with a real chance of spotting endangered black rhino alongside wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, eland, Grant's and Thomson's gazelle, elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah and scavengers like spotted hyena, jackal and wild dog; over 500 bird species have been recorded in the conservation area. There's also the option, at extra cost, to visit a Maasai village in the Ngorongoro Highlands and meet elders, warriors, women and children of Tanzania's last nomadic tribe. After lunch you'll be transferred to Arusha or Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward journey.

Price