7-Day Serengeti & Ngorongoro Tour: Great Migration & Crater

Pink-shore Lake Natron, endless Serengeti plains, and a crater teeming with the Big Five

A 7-day private guided tour of Tanzania's Northern Circuit with a professional driver and English-speaking guide. You start at Lake Natron to watch flamingos breed on its alkaline waters, spend 3 nights in the Serengeti during migration season to track wildebeest and zebra herds across open grassland, descend into Ngorongoro Crater to search for the Big Five, and finish at Lake Eyasi for a cultural visit with the Hadzabe and Datoga hunting-gathering communities. Roundtrip airport transfers, all accommodation, transport, soft drinks, beer and wine are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Explore Lake Natron and surroundings

• Pick up from hotel after breakfast
• Drive to Lake Natron via Rift Valley Escarpment
• Pass through Masai land and see Ol’doinyo Lengai
• Visit Masai village of Ngare Sero
• Guided bush walk to Lake Natron flamingos
• Optional walk to nearby waterfall for bath
• Have picnic lunch
• Afternoon game drive at Lake Natron
• Enjoy sunset and transfer to accommodation
• Dinner and rest at Lake Natron Campsite

Day 2: Travel to Serengeti and game drive

• Early breakfast and depart Lake Natron
• Drive via Wasso village to Northern Serengeti
• Enter Serengeti at Kleins Gate
• Stop for lunch after gate
• First game drive in Lobo area
• Overnight at Lobo Public Campsite
• Dinner and rest

Day 3: Wildlife viewing in Northern Serengeti

• Breakfast at campsite
• Full day game viewing in Northern Serengeti
• Observe migratory herds and resident wildlife
• Return to Lobo Public Campsite
• Dinner and rest

Day 4: Seronera Valley wildlife safari

• Breakfast at campsite
• Morning drive to Central Serengeti
• Wildlife observation in Seronera Valley
• Picnic lunch in afternoon
• Continue afternoon game drive
• Evening transfer to Seronera Public Campsite
• Dinner and rest

Day 5: Serengeti game drive and transfer

• Breakfast at campsite
• Morning game drive in Serengeti
• Drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area
• Learn about Masai relocation
• Overnight at Simba Public Campsite
• Dinner and rest

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater exploration

• Breakfast at accommodation
• Drive along crater rim to Seneto Gate
• Descend into Ngorongoro Crater floor
• Game viewing for Big Five and wildlife
• Lunch in crater area
• Evening transfer to Karatu Town accommodation
• Dinner and rest

Day 7: Cultural visit at Lake Eyasi

• Breakfast at accommodation
• Drive to Lake Eyasi in Ngorongoro area
• Visit Hadzabe and Datoga tribes
• Participate in cultural activities and hunting
• Early evening drive to Arusha
• Drop off at hotel or airport

The experience

The tour opens with a drive north from your hotel through Masai land toward Lake Natron, following the Rift Valley Escarpment. Ol'doinyo Lengai, the Masai's holy mountain, rises in the distance as you approach the small village of Ngare Sero. A guided bush walk takes you to the lake's pink-tinged shores, where thousands of flamingos breed in the hyper-alkaline water. If you prefer, a nearby waterfall offers a freshwater swim. After picnic lunch and an afternoon game drive, you settle into Lake Natron Campsite for the night.

The next three days anchor you in the Serengeti, the largest park in the Northern Circuit and the stage for the great migration. You enter by midday at Kleins Gate and begin with Lobo in the north, where permanent springs support wildebeest, leopards, lions, buffaloes, elephants, giraffes and zebras across open grass plains dotted with rocky outcrops called kopjes. Your second and third Serengeti days move you to the Seronera Valley in the central park, where cheetahs, hyenas, leopards and lions hunt alongside giraffes, hippos, impalas and warthogs. Game drives run morning and afternoon, with picnic lunch in between and accommodation at public campsites.

On day five, a final Serengeti game drive precedes your drive south to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where Masai pastoralists live alongside wildlife. The next morning you descend into Ngorongoro Crater on an adventurous western path. The view from the rim is the first of many. The crater floor holds vast numbers of animals year-round because of reliable water. During the dry season, wildebeest and zebra numbers swell, while the wet season brings more elands, elephants and water-bucks. This is one of only two places in Tanzania where black rhinoceros still roam. After intensive game viewing and lunch, you drive to Karatu Town for the night.

Your final day takes you southwest to Lake Eyasi, a soda lake in a corner of the conservation area. The Hadzabe and Datoga communities here maintain ancient hunting-gathering and pastoral lifestyles. Village visits offer an intimate look at daily life. You may be invited into homes, join traditional dances, participate in bead-making with women, or join small-game hunting and gathering with Hadzabe tribesmen. An early evening drive returns you to Arusha, where you can be dropped at the airport the same day or stay on for additional nights.

What’s included

• Roundtrip airport and hotel transfers.
• accommodation at Lake Natron Campsite, Lobo Public Campsite, Seronera Public Campsite, Simba Public Campsite, Ngedere Lodge and Camps, and Venice Hotel.
• professional driver and guide.
• all transportation between sites.
• soft drinks, beer and wine during the safari.
• all park fees and taxes.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day5 departure times: the first at 06:00, the last at 08:00

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (16 and older) · Child (5 to 15 years) · Infant (under 5): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French, German and Italian

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 18 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 11 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomeNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Kibo Mawenzi Safaris

Is this one for you?Seven days allows you to spend 3 full nights in the Serengeti during migration season and still visit Lake Natron, Ngorongoro Crater and the Hadzabe and Datoga communities: a complete Northern Circuit in one trip. If you have fewer days, a shorter itinerary would skip one or more of these stops. If you have more, additional nights can be arranged before or after the tour.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 15 years); Infant (under 5): free.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What is Lake Natron and why do flamingos gather there?

Lake Natron is a soda lake along the Rift Valley Escarpment known for its hyper-alkaline waters, which create the conditions flamingos need to breed. Thousands of them gather on its pink-tinged shores, and a guided bush walk lets you see them up close. A nearby waterfall offers a freshwater alternative if you want to swim.

How much time do you spend in the Serengeti, and what wildlife will I see?

You spend 3 nights in the Serengeti across two locations: Lobo in the north and Seronera Valley in the center. Both areas hold wildebeest, zebra, lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, hippos, buffaloes, cheetahs and hyenas. During the dry season, migratory herds of wildebeest and zebra move through in massive numbers.

What makes Ngorongoro Crater different from other game-viewing areas?

Ngorongoro Crater is a self-contained ecosystem where animals move in and out but reliable water keeps populations high year-round. It is one of only two places in Tanzania where you can still see the black rhinoceros, and the crater floor holds the full Big Five: buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and black rhino.

What happens during the Lake Eyasi cultural visit?

At Lake Eyasi you visit villages of the Hadzabe and Datoga communities, who practice hunting-gathering and pastoralism as they have for centuries. Activities may include learning about family structures, joining traditional dances, making beads with women, crafting bows and arrows, or participating in small-game hunting and gathering with Hadzabe tribesmen.

What is included in the tour price?

Roundtrip airport and hotel transfers, all accommodation at the named campsites and lodges, all transport between sites, a professional driver and English-speaking guide, soft drinks during the safari, and beer and wine are included. Tips (guideline USD 10 per person per day for guide and crew), international flights, visas, travel insurance and personal items are not included.