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Tanzania Safari - Serengeti wildebeest

Best of Tanzania Lodge Safari to Serengeti & More

Tour Length7 days
Priced from pps $2600 R49292 £2043 2391 A$3965 C$3519 NZ$4275 Full pricing info
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Summary of this Lodge Safari

  • Max. Group Size 7 Travellers
  • Starts & ends in Arusha, Tanzania
  • Accommodation Lodge / Safari Lodge / Luxury Camping
  • Transport 4x4 Vehicle / Game Viewing Vehicle
  • Wildlife Big 5, Elephant, Leopards, Lions, Migration Safari (Seasonal) & More
  •  See Departure Dates

Quick Itinerary Overview

First we explore the diverse Tarangire National Park, home to one of Tanzania's largest elephant populations and considered one of the most beautiful game reserves in Tanzania. Next we take a scenic drive through the Great Rift Valley to Tanzania's most famous game reserve, Serengeti National Park, home to the annual Great Migration, the world's largest animal migration! From the game-rich plains of the vast Serengeti we make our way to Ngorongoro via Karatu, where we take a guided walk in the coffee plantations. Lastly we explore the Big Five Ngorongoro Crater, known as Africa's Garden of Eden, enjoying some rewarding game viewing.

This Budget Tanzania Lodge Safari ends back in Arusha where our wildlife and scenic journey of a lifetime began.

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Itinerary for this Tour

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park (Tanzania)

This Tanzania Lodge Safari starts with a short tour briefing in Arusha before we set off southwest to our first Tanzania safari destination, Tarangire National Park.

This diverse game park is home to a large variety of wildlife and is considered one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in northern Tanzania. Tarangire Park hosts one of the largest elephant populations in Tanzania and is said to be one of the best places in East Africa to get up close to the giants. The game park is dotted with big baobab and acacia thorn trees and is home to an impressive array of birds. This top Tanzanian game park is also home to various big cats including lions, leopards, and cheetahs, as well as tree-climbing pythons. Other African animals inhabiting the game park include many giraffes, buffalos, zebras, and various antelope species such as gazelles.

We spend the afternoon enjoying superb game viewing in Tarangire Park followed by our first overnight stay at a tented safari lodge a short drive from Tarangire National Park.

We stay in luxury, en-suite tents with verandas that look out over Lake Burunge and Tarangire beyond. Facilities at the safari camp include a pool, and main lounge and a dining/bar area raised on a wooden deck so that guests can enjoy the views. Sit back and relax with sundowners as the sun sets over the lake and surrounding bush, or sidle up to the cozy fireplace on chilly nights.

  • Meals: Lunch; Dinner

Day 2: Tarangire National Park to Lake Manyara Park (Tanzania)

After breakfast on day two of our Tanzania Lodge Safari, we leave the Tarangire area and travel north to Lake Manyara National Park.

Lake Manyara Park is known for its tree-climbing lions and massive baboon troops. At times huge flocks of flamingoes can also be seen here, along with other waterbirds. The national park attracts over 400 bird species so have your binoculars ready. Elephants are commonly sighted, including big bull elephants with impressive tusks. This Tanzania safari park is also home to plenty of hippos and big hers of giraffe, wildebeest, buffalo, and zebra.

After an extensive game drive in Lake Manyara Park, we drive to our next safari lodge. This tented lodge is set on the edge of the Rift Valley overlooking Lake Manyara and the floor of the Great Rift Valley. Flanked by the fertile Ngorongoro Highlands accommodation is in comfortable tented rooms with en suite bathrooms and lodge facilities include a dining room and bar with a viewing deck.

  • Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 3: Great Rift Valley to Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)

On day three we leave the African Rift Valley traveling via the lush crater highlands to Serengeti Park.

Reaching the Ngorongoro Crater highlands we are met by panoramic views over the southern Serengeti Plains. Along the way, we stop to take photographs and enjoy the scenic views. Looking out over the rolling plains it is easy to see why the Maasai people call it “Siringitu” - the endless plain.

At about noon our African budget safari reaches the famous Serengeti National Park. We then enter the southern region of Tanzania's largest national park and drive to our tented safari lodge inside Serengeti Park. The southern section of the Serengeti Plains truly appears to go on forever, stretching as far as the eye can see. The Kopje (small rocky hill) dotted plains offer an ideal hunting terrain for cheetahs and the other big cats of Africa.

We stay at a tented camp located in the central Serengeti, game viewing en route. This evening we relax around the campfire at our tented safari lodge surrounded by the African bush.

  • Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 4: Serengeti Safari (Tanzania)

Day four of our Tanzania Lodge Safari is set aside for game viewing in the vast Serengeti National Park. The best vantage points and worthwhile areas are chosen to give you the best possible chance to observe the wild animals and to capture your perfect photo.

Tanzania's most famous game park, the Serengeti Park is where the wildlife spectacle of the annual Great Migration takes place, the biggest animal migration in the world. Here vast herds of stampeding wildebeest, gazelle, and zebra can be seen migrating across the plains in search of fresh grazing, in turn attracting numerous predators.

Depending upon the time of year, you have the chance to witness the great migration as a hundred thousand wildebeests and zebras stampede across the plains. During the small rainy season in October and November, you will typically see these herds moving from the Kenyan Maasai Mara through the northwest Serengeti to the plains in the south. After the rainy season in April, May, and June, the herds travel slowly back through the west and northwest Serengeti. With fluctuations in rainfall, the animals migrate during different times and along various routes. Your guide will know where and when to find the animals to ensure that you can see the animals from the best spot in the national park.

Serengeti National Park offers spectacular game viewing year-round, being home to healthy populations of Africa's Big Five - rhino, lion, buffalo, elephant, and leopard as well as huge numbers of various antelope species such as eland, topi, kudu, impala, oribi, waterbuck, and gazelle. Cheetah, hippo, giraffe, serval cat, crocodile, hyena, and a rich array of other wildlife including numerous monkey, mongoose, and rodent species also inhabit the Serengeti, along with over 500 bird species!

You have the option of taking a guided trip to the visitor's center with a representative of the Frankfurt Zoological Society. The knowledgeable guide can tell you about the work this organization has been involved in for the last thirty years in Serengeti (request when booking). We enjoy some more rewarding game viewing in the afternoon, before returning to our tented camp in Serengeti for another night in the African wilderness.

Tonight you will stay at the same Serengeti Tented Camp as on day three.

  • Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 5: Serengeti Park to Karatu (Tanzania)

This morning after breakfast we make our way out of Serengeti Park. Along the way we enjoy one last game drive, admiring Africa's wildlife before we leave in the early afternoon. From Seronera Valley in Serengeti, we drive to the Ngorongoro Crater.

Arriving at the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater we are treated to spectacular views of the caldera below. Then we leave the Ngorongoro Conservation Area behind and head to our next safari lodge near Karatu. After settling in at our safari lodge in the Ngorongoro highlands you can join a guided walk in the coffee plantations to find out more about how coffee is grown and produced.

Tonight we stay at one of the ideally located safari lodges near Karatu. Set close to a coffee estate about 30 minutes from the entrance gate of the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, these safari lodges offer beautiful views over the lush crater highlands.

  • Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater & Karatu (Tanzania)

Day six of our Tanzania Lodge Safari takes us into the Ngorongoro Crater. After an early breakfast at our safari lodge in the highlands, we return to the crater and descend the steep outer walls in our 4x4 safari vehicle.

We spend the morning exploring this diverse Tanzania safari park, teeming with wildlife. Ngorongoro, part of the Serengeti ecosystem, is a massive caldera spanning an impressive 18 km in diameter with walls as high as 600m. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to the densest mammalian population in Africa, with around 25,000 large animals.

The Ngorongoro Crater hosts the Big Five of Africa (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo), boasting one of the highest concentrations of lions in the world. Ngorongoro Crater not only hosts the Big Five of Africa but also almost all of the wild animal species found on the savannahs of East Africa. Ngorongoro offers first-class game viewing and is considered one of the best places to capture the endangered black rhino on film. The diverse habitats found on the fertile crater floor support a variety of wildlife, including elephants, monkeys, hyenas, jackals, and herds of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, and other antelope species.

We stop for a picnic lunch in the crater while on our thrilling game drive. Then we depart from the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and return to our safari lodge near Karatu.

  • Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 7: Karatu to Arusha (Tanzania)

After a relaxing breakfast at our scenic lodge, we travel back to Arusha where this budget Tanzania Lodge Safari ends.

Depending on your personal travel plans and your flight departure, there might be some time for a visit to the markets in Arusha or enjoy other optional activities.

  • Breakfast; Lunch

Please note: Every client is guaranteed a window seat on the African budget safari.

Please Note that this Safari is also available as a Private safari option, please contact us for more information

Wildebeest Great Migration Explained

Please note that the Wildebeest Great Migration is seasonal. As a natural wildlife phenomenon, it is fluid and unpredictable. For this reason, seeing the Great Migration cannot be guaranteed.

The wildebeest and other wild herbivores migrate between Masai Mara in Kenya and Serengeti in Tanzania. These herds move in a massive circular route covering some 1200 miles (1931km). It is a continuous movement of wildlife that can be seen in different areas at different times of the year. During certain phases of this annual trek the animals disperse or slow down, whilst at other times the migration picks up speed, with the herds becoming larger and denser. Not only does the Wildebeest Great Migration vary from place to place and season to season but the movement of these large wildlife herds varies from year to year.

Please talk to a travel expert from African Budget Safaris about seeing the Wildebeest Great Migration on your safari to find out more. Also, check out our detailed article about the Great Migration in Serengeti and Masai Mara.

Child Policy

This tour does not take children.

This itinerary may have some long travelling days, and we would therefore not recommend this group safari for young children.
Families with younger children who are confident and comfortable with travelling long distances, are welcome on a private safari basis only.

Please contact African Budget Safaris for information regarding private tours and quotations.

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  • Transport in 4x4 safari vehicles
  • Professional English-speaking guide 
  • 6 Nights at safari lodges & tented camps
  • Meals as per the travel plan
  • Mineral water on safari
  • Safari activities as per the itinerary
  • All national park fees
  • Flying Doctors insurance (AMREF) on safari
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