Giraffes running across plain in Serengeti

Great Northern Parks

6 days

This itinerary combines the very best game-spotting opportunities with unparalleled scenery and sights. You'll have the chance to see the truly expansive Serengeti, the Great Migration, the Big Five, Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and more!

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Tarangire National Park

Today we kick things into high gear with a safari drive in Tarangire. This is a beautiful park with a distinctly different look and feel to Serengeti. Here you have all of the Big Five, save the rhino. In the dry season, the thirsty animals flock to the river, creating a scene that's chock-full of animals! The elephant herds of the park are a huge drawcard, as they can number into the hundreds!

elephant calf Tarangire, Top 10 attractions in Tanzania

Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater rim

After breakfast we wind our way to Serengeti, stopping en route to stand on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater and marvel at the breathtaking view. There's also the option of visiting a Maasai community, an exciting cultural experience! We then continue on into the Serengeti itself, game spotting on our way to Thorn Tree Camp. Keep your eyes open for the Big Five, cheetahs, giraffes, Cape buffaloes, and much more!

Ngorongoro Crater rim walk with Lake Magadi landscape in distance

Day 3: Northern Serengeti

Today's game drive takes us into northern Serengeti, a slightly quieter section of the park. Look out for the massive herds of wildebeest, zebras and antelopes making dangerous crossings of the croc-infested Mara River during the Great Migration. These are chaotic scenes that have to be seen to be believed! Also see if you can spot lions, hyenas and other predators who track the herds looking for a kill.

Safari vehicle in the Serengeti, what is the Serengeti famous for?

Day 4: Great Migration

Today we enjoy another epic game drive. Did you know that the name serengeti comes from the Maasai word for ‘land of endless plains’? The views as we drive are of gorgeous rolling hills, granite outcrops, open savannah and acacia woodlands. Apart from the Big Five, the park also boasts the like of cheetahs, elands, giraffes, warthogs, servals, hyenas, topis, impalas, oribis and porcupines.

Day 5: Olduvai Gorge

We head south towards Ngorongoro Crater today, enjoying another great safari drive in Serengeti on the way. En route to Ngorongoro we also have the option of stopping over at Olduvai Gorge, one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world. In the evening we settle into Rhino Lodge on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, where the view over the crater is mesmerising.

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater safari

It's an exciting day today: we drive down into the 600 m-deep Ngorongoro Crater! This is something that's on every self-respecting traveller's bucket list. The roads zigzags down through the forested crater wall, and you should be on the lookout for leopards. We then enter the grasslands and woodlands of the crater floor, where there's a super-abundance of wildlife, including lions with unusually dark manes.

Pur. Lion among purple flowers in Ngorongoro Crater

Inclusions

Professional, English-speaking safari guide and driver

A private safari car with pop-up roof and all petrol (fuel)

All game drives

All park fees

All meals

All accommodation

Bottled drinking water

Airport transfers

Airfares

Tanzanian visa

Traveller’s insurance

Tips

Alcohol and soft drinks

Gallery

Black rhino and calf standing in grassland in Kenya

Zebras and flamingoes in Ngorongoro Crater

FAQs

What is the Big Five?

The Big Five is the name that was given by colonial hunters to the African game considered the most dangerous to hunt on foot. Today, the term has been adopted by the travel industry as these animals are considered particularly exciting to see while on safari. The animals in the Big Five are lion, leopard, Cape buffalo, bush elephant and black rhino.

What is the Northern Circuit?

The Northern Circuit refers to the game parks of northern Tanzania. These are the most popular Tanzanian parks for safari, having the highest concentration of wildlife. The parks include the famous Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti, as well as some lesser-known but incredibly rewarding parks like Lake Manyara and Tarangire.

What's so special about Ngorongoro Crater?

Ngorongoro Crater is a massive, 20 km-wide caldera that has become a haven for wildlife. It has no human settlements. From the rim of the crater, you're too far away to see any animals, but when you drive down into the crater on a safari drive, you discover the area is teeming with all kinds of wildlife. In fact, the crater has Africa's highest density of lions. It's also home to 7,000 wildebeest, 6,000 black-spotted hyenas, and 4,000 zebras.

Where can I see the Great Migration?

The two primary places to see the Great Wildlife Migration are Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. We discuss where the herds of the migration tend to be during each month in Best time to visit Serengeti National Park. You might also be interested in reading Kenya vs Tanzania – which offers the better safari?