16 Days Migration Safari & Zanzibar
Arusha · Tarangire National Park · Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Crater · Zanzibar
Duration
16 days / 15 nights
Starts
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
Ends
Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ)
Safari style
Ultra luxury
Group
Private — your own vehicle and guide
Best time
July to September for the crossings; February for calving. Avoid April on the coast.
Safari overview
Sixteen days is enough to stop rushing. Most Tanzanian itineraries are compressed because most people have ten days; this one is what we build when they do not.
The safari half spends four nights in the Serengeti rather than two, which is the difference between hoping to catch the migration and expecting to. It also includes the parks that get dropped from shorter trips — a proper stay in Tarangire, time at Ndutu, and a crater day that does not start at dawn because you slept an hour away.
Then seven nights on Zanzibar, which after eleven days of early starts is not indulgence but sequencing. You fly from the Serengeti rather than driving back, so the transition costs half a day instead of two.
- Arusha — 50 km, 50 minutes
- Southern Tarangire — 160 km, 3 hours
- Ndutu — 180 km, 4 hours plus game viewing
- Central or Northern Serengeti — 150 km, 3 hours plus game viewing
- Crater rim — 145 km, 3 hours plus game viewing
- Zanzibar
- Zanzibar
- Zanzibar International Airport — 55 km, 1 hour
Safari highlights
Day by day
Every day below can be moved, lengthened or dropped. This is how we would run it.
Met at Kilimanjaro and driven up to a plantation lodge on the Meru slopes. One quiet night to sleep off the flight before anything begins properly.
- Airport meet-and-greet
- Safari briefing
- Coffee estate walk
- Drive
- 50 km
- Travel time
- 50 minutes
- Overnight
- Arusha
- Meals
- Dinner
Tonight · Lodge · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Gran Meliá Arusha, depending on availability.
Most itineraries give Tarangire an afternoon. This one gives it two nights, and puts you in the south of the park where the day traffic never reaches.
In the dry months the elephant concentration along the river here is among the highest in East Africa. Walking is permitted in this part of the park, which it is not in the Serengeti or the crater.
- Full-day game drives along the Tarangire River
- Walking safari with an armed ranger
- Sundowner among the baobabs
- Night game drive
- Drive
- 160 km
- Travel time
- 3 hours
- Overnight
- Southern Tarangire
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Tented camp · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Lemala Mpingo Ridge Lodge, depending on availability.
West through the highlands and down onto the short-grass plains. In calving season this is where the whole story is; outside it, the Ndutu woodlands still hold excellent resident game and almost no vehicles.
Off-road driving is permitted on the conservation-area side, which is why we route through here rather than straight into the park.
- Off-road game driving on the plains
- Predator tracking
- Bush breakfast
- Balloon flight at dawn
- Drive
- 180 km
- Travel time
- 4 hours plus game viewing
- Overnight
- Ndutu
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Tented camp · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Nyumbu Luxury Collection, depending on availability.
Four nights, and this is the part of the trip that justifies its length. From July we push north to Kogatende and the Mara River, and four nights there gives you a good chance of seeing a crossing. Outside crossing season we stay central, where the resident prides are.
Long days: out before light with breakfast in the vehicle, back for the middle of the day, out again until the gate closes.
- Game drives twice daily
- Mara River crossing watch in season
- Seronera valley predators
- Bush dinner under the stars
- Balloon safari
- Drive
- 150 km
- Travel time
- 3 hours plus game viewing
- Overnight
- Central or Northern Serengeti
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Tented camp · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Serengeti River Camp, depending on availability.
East out of the park with a morning drive, then up onto the eastern rim — minutes from the descent gate and well away from the busier western lodges.
- Morning game drive
- Afternoon on the rim
- Sunset over the caldera
- Drive
- 145 km
- Travel time
- 3 hours plus game viewing
- Overnight
- Crater rim
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Tented camp · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, depending on availability.
Down at opening for the best hours of the day on the crater floor, then up, across to the airstrip and onto the island. You are in the sea before dinner.
- Crater floor game drive
- Flight to Zanzibar
- Transfer to the coast
- Travel time
- Crater morning, then a 1-hour flight
- Overnight
- Zanzibar
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Beach resort · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Matemwe Lodge, depending on availability.
Five unstructured days. Everything below is optional and arranged with a day’s notice.
Stone Town deserves a half day with a proper guide — the carved doors, the market, and the former slave market site, which is a difficult and necessary hour. Mnemba atoll is the best diving and snorkelling on the island. Jozani Forest holds the Zanzibar red colobus, found nowhere else on earth.
- Stone Town walking tour
- Diving or snorkelling at Mnemba atoll
- Spice farm tour
- Jozani Forest and the red colobus
- Sunset dhow cruise
- Overnight
- Zanzibar
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Beach resort · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Matemwe Lodge, depending on availability.
A last morning on the beach and the transfer across the island. If your flight is late we arrange a day room so the trip does not end in a departure hall.
- Transfer to Zanzibar International Airport
- Day room for a late flight
- Drive
- 55 km
- Travel time
- 1 hour
- Overnight
- Zanzibar International Airport
- Meals
- Breakfast
Where you stay
These are the camps we would book. If any are full on your dates we substitute something of the same standard — and we tell you what changed and why.
Arusha Coffee Lodge
Plantation suites set among the coffee bushes on a working estate outside Arusha, fifteen minutes from the airstrip.
Oliver’s Camp
A small camp deep in the south of Tarangire, well beyond the day-visitor range, with walking permitted.
Lake Masek Tented Lodge
On the shore of Lake Masek in the Ndutu area, right on the calving grounds from January to March.
Sueños de Africa Luxury Camp
An intimate luxury tented camp that moves with the migration through the Serengeti seasons.
Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw Camp
A tented camp on the eastern rim, minutes from the descent gate and well away from the busier western lodges.
Melia Zanzibar
A large resort on the north-east coast at Kiwengwa, with deep gardens running down to the beach.
Prices
| Season | Solo | 2–3 guests | 4–5 guests | 6+ guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low season 01 April – 31 May The long rains. Lowest prices, greenest landscape, some camps closed. | US$16,480 | US$13,245 | US$11,370 | US$10,429 |
| Shoulder season 01 March – 31 March Also 01 November – 19 December. | US$17,960 | US$14,435 | US$12,390 | US$11,370 |
| High season 01 June – 30 June Also 01 January – 28 February and the month of October. | US$19,610 | US$15,760 | US$13,525 | US$12,410 |
| Peak season 01 July – 30 September Also 20 December – 02 January. Book nine to twelve months ahead. | US$21,090 | US$16,955 | US$14,550 | US$13,350 |
All prices are per person sharing, in USD.
Supplements & child rates
| Single supplement For guests travelling alone or wanting a room to themselves. | US$3,545 per stay |
|---|---|
| Child sharing with two adults Children under 3 travel free of our costs; park fees may still apply. Ages 3–11 | US$7,510 per person |
| Room upgrade — luxury tier Upgrade the safari camps to the next comfort level throughout. | US$4,380 per person |
What is and is not included
Included
- Private 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof and a guaranteed window seat
- Professional English-speaking Tanzanian driver-guide throughout
- All national park and conservation area entry fees
- All accommodation as listed, or a camp of the same standard
- All meals on safari, on a full-board basis
- Drinking water in the vehicle throughout
- Airport meet-and-greet and all ground transfers
- Unlimited game drives within park operating hours
- All government taxes and levies
- Emergency evacuation cover (Flying Doctors) for the safari days
- 24-hour contact with our Arusha office for the whole trip
- Domestic flight from the Serengeti to Zanzibar
- Zanzibar airport transfers and beach accommodation
Not included
- International flights to and from Tanzania
- Tanzanian visa — currently obtained on arrival or online in advance
- Travel and medical insurance, which we require you to hold
- Tips for your guide and camp staff
- Alcoholic and soft drinks unless stated
- Laundry, telephone and other personal expenses
- Optional activities such as balloon flights and cultural visits
- Anything not specifically listed under what is included
Worth adding
Hot-air balloon safari
One hour over the Serengeti at sunrise, followed by a bush breakfast.
Maasai community visit
A morning with a Maasai family, arranged directly and paid directly.
Private bush dinner
A table, lanterns and a fire, set up away from camp.
Questions we get asked
Yes. You have your own vehicle, your own guide and your own schedule. We do not put unrelated guests together unless you specifically ask us to, in order to share costs.
That is rather the point. Every itinerary on this site is a starting draft. Add nights, drop a park, change the comfort level, start from Zanzibar instead — tell us what you want and we will rebuild it and re-cost it.
A Toyota Land Cruiser adapted for safari: pop-up roof, charging points, a cool box, and enough space that nobody sits in a middle seat. Windows open fully on both sides.
For July to September, nine to twelve months if you want the better camps. For the green season, three to four months is usually enough. We can occasionally do much shorter notice — ask.
It is customary but not compulsory. As a guide, most guests give their driver-guide around US$20–30 per vehicle per day, and leave something in the camp staff box.
Almost nobody says so afterwards. The common regret runs the other way. If it is too long for your leave, the best part to cut is the Zanzibar half rather than the safari nights — the coast is the easiest part to shorten without damaging the trip.
North (Nungwi, Kendwa) for deep water at every tide and the most going on. East for a dramatic tidal range and kitesurfing. South-east for quiet. We ask before we book, because it changes the holiday more than the hotel does.
Request this safari
Tell us your travel dates and group size. We will adjust the itinerary and send you an exact quote.
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