5 Days Serengeti Migration Safari
Serengeti National Park · Ngorongoro Crater
Duration
5 days / 4 nights
Starts
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
Ends
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
Safari style
Luxury
Group
Private — your own vehicle and guide
Best time
Late January to March for calving; July to September for the river crossings
Safari overview
Five days is not long. So this itinerary spends them all on the migration rather than dividing them between four parks, and it flies one leg so that no day is lost to a transfer.
Where you sleep depends entirely on your month. From late January to March we put you at Ndutu on the calving grounds. From July to September we send you north to Kogatende for the Mara River. In the shoulder months we place you centrally and follow the reports. The itinerary below shows the calving-season version; tell us your dates and we will send the right one.
It ends with a crater morning, because you are passing it anyway and it would be strange not to.
- Ndutu / Serengeti
- Ndutu
- Crater rim — 110 km, 2 hours 30 plus game viewing
- Kilimanjaro International Airport — 230 km, Crater morning, then 4 hours
Safari highlights
Day by day
Every day below can be moved, lengthened or dropped. This is how we would run it.
You are met at Kilimanjaro and transferred to the light aircraft. Instead of losing a day to the drive, you land on the plains before lunch and your first game drive is the run from the airstrip to camp.
In calving season the camp sits at Ndutu, on the short-grass plains where the herds are.
- Scheduled flight to the Serengeti
- Game drive from the airstrip
- Sunset over the plains
- Travel time
- Flight, then a game drive to camp
- Overnight
- Ndutu / Serengeti
- Meals
- Lunch, Dinner
Tonight · Tented camp · Luxury
Or a similar camp of the same standard, such as Nyumbu Luxury Collection, depending on availability.
Two full days built around the animals rather than around a route. In February that means the calving grounds: roughly half a million calves born in three weeks, and every predator in the ecosystem working the edges of the herds.
Ndutu sits inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area rather than the national park, which means off-road driving is permitted — and that changes everything when a cheetah starts hunting two hundred metres off the track.
Out at first light both days, back at camp through the heat, out again at four.
- Dawn and late-afternoon game drives on both days
- Off-road predator tracking
- Bush breakfast on the plains
- Balloon flight at sunrise
- 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.
A last morning with the herds, then east and up through the highlands onto the crater rim, arriving in time for the light to go over the caldera.
- Morning game drive
- Transfer to the rim
- Sunset over the crater
- Drive
- 110 km
- Travel time
- 2 hours 30 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.
First vehicle down at opening for a full morning on the floor, then out and east to the airport. If your flight is late we build in a lunch stop in Karatu rather than sitting in a terminal.
- Crater floor game drive
- Lunch on the way east
- Airport transfer
- Drive
- 230 km
- Travel time
- Crater morning, then 4 hours
- Overnight
- Kilimanjaro International Airport
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch
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.
Lake Masek Tented Lodge
On the shore of Lake Masek in the Ndutu area, right on the calving grounds from January to March.
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.
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$4,150 | US$3,335 | US$2,860 | US$2,626 |
| Shoulder season 01 March – 31 March Also 01 November – 19 December. | US$4,520 | US$3,635 | US$3,120 | US$2,860 |
| High season 01 June – 30 June Also 01 January – 28 February and the month of October. | US$4,935 | US$3,970 | US$3,405 | US$3,125 |
| Peak season 01 July – 30 September Also 20 December – 02 January. Book nine to twelve months ahead. | US$5,310 | US$4,270 | US$3,665 | US$3,360 |
All prices are per person sharing, in USD.
Supplements & child rates
| Single supplement For guests travelling alone or wanting a room to themselves. | US$895 per stay |
|---|---|
| Child sharing with two adults Children under 3 travel free of our costs; park fees may still apply. Ages 3–11 | US$1,890 per person |
| Room upgrade — luxury tier Upgrade the safari camps to the next comfort level throughout. | US$1,105 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
- One-way scheduled light-aircraft flight into the Serengeti
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.
Sundowner on a kopje
Drinks and snacks on a granite outcrop as the light goes.
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.
It is enough to be in the right place and see the herds. It is thin for river crossings specifically, which need three or four days of trying. If crossings are the whole point of your trip, take the seven-day version instead — we would rather say that now.
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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