4-Day Serengeti Safari from Arusha: Big 5 and Wildlife Migration

Four days chasing the big 5 across three parks, with a guide who speaks your language and a window seat in every jeep.

A 4-day joined group safari from Arusha visits Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks in a shared 4WD jeep, with every traveler in a window seat. The route follows wildlife migration from Serengeti toward Masai Mara and crosses the Grumeti River, where crocodiles block the herds. You'll spend 6 hours game-driving each day, stay in campsites with meals included, and search for elephants, lions, buffalo, leopards and rhinoceros alongside zebra, gazelle, wildebeest and hundreds of bird species.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

• Breakfast at Tourist Inn Hotel
• Pick up and drive to Tarangire gate
• Lunch at picnic site
• Six hours game drive in Tarangire
• Dinner and overnight at Fig Big Tree Lodge

Day 2: Tarangire to Southern Serengeti

• Early breakfast at Fig Big Tree
• Drive to Southern Serengeti
• Half day game drive in Serengeti
• Lunch at picnic site
• Dinner and overnight at Seronera Campsite

Day 3: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Area

• Early light breakfast at Seronera Campsite
• Early game drive in Central Serengeti
• Heavy breakfast at campsite
• Lunch at picnic site
• Six hours game drive in Serengeti
• Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Simba Campsite

Day 4: Ngorongoro to Arusha City

• Early breakfast at Simba Campsite
• Game drive descending Ngorongoro crater
• Lunch at picnic site
• Drive to Arusha Town
• Dinner and overnight at Tourist Inn

The experience

The safari leaves Arusha at 8 am on day one after breakfast at your hotel, with a 2-hour drive to Tarangire National Park. Tarangire sits 118 kilometers southwest of Arusha and holds the highest concentration of elephants in Tanzania outside the Serengeti ecosystem: more than 300 have been marked in the park. The first afternoon brings a 6-hour game drive in a pop-up 4WD jeep, where you'll watch for fringe-eared oryx and long-necked gerenuk, antelope species found nowhere else in the country. Lunch comes at a picnic site. Dinner and your first night are at Fig Big Tree Lodge.

Day two moves from Tarangire to Southern Serengeti, a 4-hour drive that puts you in the heart of the park by midday. The Serengeti's southern zone spreads as endless grassland where wildebeest, zebra, hartebeest and Thomson's gazelle graze year-round. Seronera Valley, where you'll spend the night, is dotted with kopjes: rocky outcrops that give predators a vantage to spot prey and offer refuge to hyrax, pythons and African leopards. You'll have a 3- to 4-hour afternoon game drive before dinner at Seronera Campsite. Day three starts at 5:30 am with an early game drive through Central Serengeti, followed by a heavy breakfast at the campsite and a full 6-hour drive through the same terrain. This is when you're most likely to witness the migration crossing the Grumeti River, where large crocodiles wait in the water. You'll end the day at Ngorongoro Simba Campsite.

The final day descends into Ngorongoro Crater, a volcanic caldera with fertile soil that supports multiple habitats and a soda lake called Lake Makat. Ngorongoro is the only park in Tanzania where you can see the big 5 in a single day of game-driving. The crater is also home to Maasai families living in circular homesteads called Bomas, and it's the site where Mary and Louis Leakey pioneered research into early human evolution. After a 6-hour game drive and lunch at a picnic site, you'll exit the crater at 4 pm and return to Arusha, arriving at Tourist Inn for dinner and your final night.

What’s included

• Professional driver and guide fluent in English, Spanish and French.
• all game drives in a pop-up 4WD jeep with window seats.
• entry to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks.
• three nights accommodation in campsites.
• all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).
• sleeping bag, bath towels and camping equipment.
• drinking water and wine.
• airport pickup and drop-off from Arusha.
• free day tour on request.
• Arusha Village Experience entry.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:00 and 08:30

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (18 to 60 years) · Senior (61 and older) · Youth (14 to 17 years) · Child (5 to 13 years) · Infant (under 5)

GroupUp to 6

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and French

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 5 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 10 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Serengeti Safari Booking

Is this one for you?Book the Arusha departure if you're staying in town or without a rental car: hotel pickup at 8 am gets you to the parks, and the shared jeep means everyone sits by a window while splitting costs with other travelers.

Traveler reviews

4.85★★★★★★★★★★

26 verified traveler reviews

5 ★23

4 ★2

3 ★1

2 ★0

1 ★0

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and French.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (14 to 17 years); Child (5 to 13 years); Infant (under 5).

What does a joined group safari mean for how I experience the parks?

You travel in a single 4WD jeep with other travelers, sharing the cost and the guide. Every seat is positioned at a window, so no one sits in the middle without a view. The jeep has a pop-up roof for unobstructed wildlife spotting and photography.

Will I actually see the big 5 in four days?

Ngorongoro National Park is the only park in Tanzania that provides a yearly chance to see all five (elephants, lions, buffalo, leopards and rhinoceros) probably in a single day. Tarangire is known for its elephant population. Serengeti holds lions, leopards and buffalo. Sightings depend on animal movement and timing, but the four days give you multiple game drives across three different ecosystems.

What happens if I want to see the wildebeest migration crossing the Grumeti River?

The itinerary is timed to move through Serengeti during the migration season, when herds cross from the Serengeti toward Masai Mara. The Grumeti River crossing is a natural bottleneck where large crocodiles wait. The timing of the crossing depends on rainfall and herd movement, which vary year to year. Your guide will position the jeep to watch if the crossing occurs during your visit.

How much time do I actually spend game-driving each day?

Day one includes 6 hours in Tarangire; day two has 3 to 4 hours in Southern Serengeti; day three brings 6 hours in Central Serengeti; day four has 6 hours in Ngorongoro Crater. Game drives start early in the morning and resume in the late afternoon, when wildlife is most active.

What's included in the accommodation and meals?

You stay three nights in campsites with dinner and breakfast included each day. Lunch is served at picnic sites during the game drives. The package also includes a sleeping bag, drinking water, wine, bath towels and all camping equipment. Your first and last nights are at Tourist Inn in Arusha, with meals included.