Migration Focus
5-Day Great Migration Safari
A strategic safari following the movement of over 2 million wildebeest and zebras.
- Duration
- 5 Days / 4 Nights
- Route
- Serengeti · Ngorongoro
- Best time
- January to March (calving) or July to October (river crossings)
- Pace
- Moderate
Overview
About this safari
Built around the Great Migration. We place you in the part of the Serengeti where the herds are for your dates (the southern calving plains, the Western Corridor or the northern river crossings), then finish with a morning in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Trip highlights
- Three nights close to the migration herds
- Predators following the herds
- River crossings (July–October) or calving (January–March)
- Ngorongoro Crater finale
Your route
Trip at a glance
- Duration
- 5 Days / 4 Nights
- Start / end
- Arusha → Arusha
- Style
- Migration Focus
- Pace
- Moderate
- Stay
- Seasonal mobile camp in the Serengeti and a crater-rim lodge
- Ideal for
- Wildlife enthusiasts and photographers
- Best time
- January to March (calving) or July to October (river crossings).
- Price
- Quoted per trip; depends on season, group size and lodges
Day by day
Your itinerary
Timings and camps can shift with the season and wildlife; your guide adapts each day to give you the best sightings.
Day 1: To the migration
Drive from Arusha through the Ngorongoro highlands or fly to the nearest airstrip, depending on where the herds are. Afternoon drive to find the first columns of wildebeest and zebra.
Day 2: In the heart of the herds
A full day with the migration. In calving season we search for newborns and the predators that shadow them; in crossing season we wait at the Mara River for the herds to gather and plunge in.
Day 3: Predators of the migration
Focus on the lions, cheetahs and hyenas that follow the herds, with an early start and a bush lunch to stay out through the best hours.
Day 4: Back to the highlands
Morning game drive, then return towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area by road or a short flight. Evening at a lodge on the cool crater rim.
Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater and Arusha
An early descent into the crater for rhino, lions and elephants, a picnic lunch on the floor, then the drive back to Arusha.
What’s included
Included and not included
This is what a standard private safari with us includes. Your written proposal confirms the details for your trip.
Included
- Private 4x4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof
- Professional English-speaking driver-guide
- All park and conservation fees for the itinerary
- Accommodation as listed, with the meals shown for each day
- Drinking water in the vehicle throughout the safari
- Airport transfers in Tanzania
Not included
- International flights and Tanzanian visa
- Travel insurance (required)
- Optional activities such as balloon flights
- Tips for guides and camp staff
- Drinks and personal expenses unless stated
When to go
Best time for this trip
January to March (calving) or July to October (river crossings).
- JanPeak
- FebPeak
- MarGood
- AprQuieter / wet
- MayQuieter / wet
- JunGood
- JulPeak
- AugPeak
- SepPeak
- OctPeak
- NovGood
- DecGood
Destinations
Places on this safari
Read our in-depth guide to each park on the route.
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