7-Day Mid-Range Ndutu Migration Safari (Dec – Apr)

On arrival in Arusha, meet your safari guide and settle into the starting accommodation. The plan for this stage is to spend enough time in the main area to appreciate its character. If you arrive late, keep the evening simple and allow enough time for rest before setting out in the safari vehicle. Arusha is the usual starting point for the northern safari circuit, with busy streets, established hotels and views towards Mount Meru when conditions are clear.

You stay tonight at Arusha Planet Lodge. The evening is an opportunity to rest before another early start and review the day’s wildlife photographs.

Continue from Arusha towards Tarangire National Park, leaving time for the day’s scheduled visits. Today concentrates on a different part of the route, with the journey arranged around the main destination. Tarangire has a broad mix of riverine woodland, old baobabs and open grass that gives the park a distinctive character. Elephants often draw attention here, though giraffe, zebra, buffalo and a wide variety of birds can also be encountered.

You stay tonight at Eileen's Trees Inn. Use the quieter part of the day to recharge your camera batteries and confirm the following morning’s plan.

Continue from Tarangire National Park towards Serengeti National Park, leaving time for the day’s scheduled visits. The scenery changes again as you reach this stop on the northern Tanzania circuit. Lion prides, cheetahs, hyenas, giraffes and many grazing mammals may be seen, but a particular sighting always depends on wildlife movements. Patient time around kopjes and drainage lines can be useful for spotting predators, while the wider grassland gives good views of moving herds.

This evening’s accommodation is Embalakai Serengeti Camp. You will have time to settle at the property selected for this part of the route before the next day begins.

Continue from Serengeti National Park towards Ndutu, leaving time for the day’s scheduled visits. This day adds a distinct landscape to the trip and gives you another setting for guided exploration. The best locations change with rainfall. Drives may explore grassland, woodland edges and lake margins rather than using one fixed wildlife circuit. Open country makes distant herds easier to pick out, while the low-lying lake basin gives the area a different look from the central Serengeti.

The overnight stop is Ndutu Heritage Camp. The evening is an opportunity to rest before another early start and review the day’s wildlife photographs.

Continue from Ndutu towards Ndutu, leaving time for the day’s scheduled visits. Your guide will use the available hours to balance travel, stops and the principal activity. Open country makes distant herds easier to pick out, while the low-lying lake basin gives the area a different look from the central Serengeti. Migration behaviour is seasonal and cannot be promised for any single travel date. Flexibility helps your guide respond to current conditions.

The overnight stop is Ndutu Heritage Camp. Use the quieter part of the day to recharge your camera batteries and confirm the following morning’s plan.

Continue from Ndutu towards Ngorongoro Crater, leaving time for the day’s scheduled visits. The schedule keeps this destination as the centre of the day rather than making it a brief roadside visit. Pack an extra layer for the crater rim and follow park guidance during any planned picnic stop. The Ngorongoro Crater is a volcanic caldera with grassland, woodland, marsh and a soda lake contained within steep highland walls.

You stay tonight at Eileen's Trees Inn. You will have time to settle at the property selected for this part of the route before the next day begins.

This is the closing day of the route. Enjoy the final planned outing before your guide arranges the onward transfer. The plan for this stage is to spend enough time in the main area to appreciate its character. Lake Manyara is a compact park below the Rift Valley escarpment, with forest, open areas and seasonal lake margins. Baboons, blue monkeys, elephants and waterbirds are among the animals visitors may encounter in its varied habitats.

Plan your onward travel for today; the published tour has no final overnight stay.