6-Day Great Migration and Big Five Adventure

An early start today, as you set off on the long but unforgettable drive to the Serengeti – roughly six hours in total, including stops. The route climbs through the highlands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and your guide will pause briefly at the crater rim for around twenty minutes, giving you your first breathtaking glimpse down into the Ngorongoro Crater before continuing west.

Beyond the conservation area, the landscape opens out onto the short-grass plains leading to Naabi Hill and the eastern boundary of Serengeti National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, for many, the ultimate symbol of African wilderness. Arriving in the late afternoon, you will head straight into a game drive around Seronera, the park's central hub, renowned for consistently excellent wildlife viewing.

As the light softens towards evening, your guide will continue the drive into the sunset hours – prime time for predator activity, and with a little luck, the chance to witness a hunt unfold – before heading to camp for the night.

Today's Highlights

• A scenic drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with a stop to view the crater from the rim
• Arrival on the Serengeti's central plains around Seronera
• A late-afternoon and sunset game drive – prime time for predator sightings
• The chance to witness a predator hunt in action

Your Stay: Tukaone Serengeti Camps

Tukaone Serengeti Camps is a solar-powered tented camp set amid the savannah plains and acacia trees of the central Serengeti. Each tent has its own character, decorated in bright safari themes with wrought-iron beds and a private bathroom. Evenings are spent in the dining tent meeting fellow travelers, before gathering around the campfire to take in an extraordinary night sky.

There is always more to discover in the Serengeti, and today you head deep into its northern reaches – a part of the park that sees far fewer visitors, with quiet trails and landscapes every bit as spectacular as the south. The northern Serengeti is at its most dramatic when the Great Migration is present, but its resident wildlife and wide-open scenery make it rewarding at any time of year.

After an early breakfast, you will set off west towards the Mara River – the stage for one of nature's most dramatic spectacles. If the herds are in the area, you may see large formations of wildebeest gathering on the riverbanks, building up their courage before a crossing. Witnessing tens of thousands of animals massing along the river is an extraordinary sight.

The day continues with game viewing through to the evening, with a picnic lunch out in the bush, before returning to your lodge for the night – deep in one of the most remote and atmospheric corners of the entire Serengeti ecosystem.

Today's Highlights

• A full day exploring the Serengeti's remote and lightly visited northern reaches
• The chance to witness wildebeest gathering at the Mara River ahead of a crossing
• A picnic lunch out in the bush
• Resident wildlife along the river, including hippo and buffalo

Your Stay: Northern Serengeti – Moyo Migration Camp Mara

Moyo Migration Camp Mara places you perfectly to explore this remote corner of Serengeti National Park. Spacious tents furnished in natural wood tones, with comfortable twin or double beds and private facilities, open onto views over the surrounding plains – an ideal base for a region where the wilderness feels truly close at hand.

Today you get to know the Serengeti and its colourful cast of characters even better, as you make your way back south towards the central plains with a game drive along the way. The route offers another full day of wildlife viewing through changing scenery – open grassland, riverine woodland and rocky kopjes – with your guide adapting the route based on recent sightings.

This is a fantastic opportunity to catch up with anything you may have missed earlier in the trip – whether that's a resting leopard, a pride of lion on the move, or simply more time among the herds of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and elephant that define this landscape.

By the time you arrive back at Tukaone Serengeti Camps, you will have experienced both the wild frontier of the north and the iconic heart of the Serengeti – a rare combination on a safari of this length.

Wildlife to Look For

• Lion, leopard and cheetah across a variety of habitats
• Large herds of elephant, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest
• Giraffe, topi and other plains game throughout the journey south
• Classic Serengeti scenery – granite kopjes, riverine forest and open plains

Your Stay

A return to Tukaone Serengeti Camps for your final night in the Serengeti.

After breakfast, you will drive from the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, home to one of the most extraordinary natural features on the planet. The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with cliffs rising some 600 metres – around 2,000 feet – above a crater floor covering approximately 246 square kilometres, or 95 square miles.

Your guided descent onto the crater floor is one of the finest safari experiences anywhere in East Africa. Within this natural amphitheatre, you will spend most of the day searching for the dense wildlife populations that call the crater home – among them large prides of lion, clans of spotted hyena, and the endangered black rhino, one of the crater's signature species.

Herds of wildebeest, zebra and buffalo graze the grasslands, while elephant bulls of impressive size make their way across the crater floor, and flamingos add colour to the shimmering soda lake at its centre. After a full day of exploration, you will climb back to the rim and continue to your lodge for the evening.

Wildlife to Look For

• Black rhino – one of the Ngorongoro Crater's signature species
• Large prides of lion and clans of spotted hyena
• Elephant bulls of impressive size crossing the crater floor
• Wildebeest, zebra and buffalo across the grasslands
• Flamingos and other waterbirds on the crater's soda lake

Your Stay: Farm of Dreams Lodge

Set close to Karatu but pleasantly removed from the bustle of town, Farm of Dreams Lodge makes a lovely base on the route between the highlands and the crater. Rooms combine terracotta, wood and thatch in a relaxed, earthy style, each fitted with mosquito nets, while the grounds – dotted with palm trees – are home to a swimming pool and restaurant, perfect for unwinding after your day in the crater.

Your final day brings a true hidden gem of northern Tanzania: Tarangire National Park. Known for its massive baobab trees, sweeping landscapes and superb wildlife, Tarangire offers one last immersive game drive before your journey comes to an end.

Spend the morning exploring the park, with excellent chances of large herds of elephant gathering along the Tarangire River, prides of lion resting in the shade, graceful giraffe moving between the acacias, and zebra grazing on the open plains. The park's birdlife is equally impressive, with a wide variety of species to be found along the riverbanks.

After your game drive, you will begin the journey back towards Arusha – roughly one and a half to two hours – in time for your onward departure, bringing to a close six days that have taken you from the central Serengeti to its wild northern frontier, into the depths of the Ngorongoro Crater, and finally among the giants of Tarangire.

Wildlife to Look For

• Large herds of elephant along the Tarangire River
• Prides of lion resting in the shade of acacia trees
• Giraffe, zebra and a wide variety of birdlife
• Iconic ancient baobab trees framing the landscape