Serengeti Migration Safari 9 Days: Arusha & Ngorongoro

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1/8

Duration9d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · DE +3

PickupAt your hotel

Nine days chasing the wildebeest crossing in Tanzania's Serengeti

You get picked up from Arusha airport and spend nine days following the migration through four national parks and conservation areas. Four nights are in the Serengeti—two in the central plains, two in the north where the Mara River crossing happens. The itinerary includes private transportation, all game drives, park fees, accommodation, and meals, so you're not arranging logistics in the field. Return to Arusha on day nine in the late afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival and transfer to Arusha lodge

Pick up from airport
Transfer to accommodation in Arusha
Overnight and relax at lodge

Day 2 — Full day game drive in Tarangire

Breakfast at lodge
Depart for Tarangire National Park
Full day game drive in diverse landscapes
Picnic lunch inside park
Return to lodge for dinner and rest

Day 3 — Travel to Central Serengeti via Ngorongoro

Breakfast at lodge
Drive through Iraqw highlands and Ngorongoro Conservation Area
View Ngorongoro Crater
Arrive Serengeti National Park by midday
Extensive game drive in Serengeti
Drive to accommodation for dinner and overnight

Day 4 — Game drive to Northern Serengeti

Morning game drive to Northern Serengeti
Explore rolling countryside and Lobo Kopje
Observe wildlife and migration activity
Return to accommodation for dinner and overnight

Day 5 — Wildlife viewing in Northern Serengeti

Early breakfast
Game drive to Mara River for migration viewing
Watch wildebeest river crossing
Return to accommodation for dinner and overnight

Day 6 — Return to Central Serengeti game drive

Breakfast at camp
Drive back to Seronera area
Game drive to see predators and wildlife
Return to accommodation for dinner and overnight

Day 7 — Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater rim

Breakfast at camp
Morning game drive in Serengeti
Travel to Ngorongoro Crater rim
Overnight at lodge on crater rim

Day 8 — Ngorongoro Crater wildlife viewing

Early breakfast
Descend to crater floor for game viewing
Picnic lunch near hippo lake
Ascend crater rim in afternoon
Overnight in Karatu town

Day 9 — Lake Manyara visit and return to Arusha

Breakfast in Karatu
Drive to Lake Manyara National Park
Explore park and view wildlife
Lunch in park area
Drive back to Arusha

The Experience

You arrive in Arusha wondering if you'll actually see it—the moment when hundreds of thousands of wildebeest throw themselves into the Mara River, crocodiles waiting below. That's the pull of this 9-day Serengeti migration safari. A driver meets you at the airport, and after a night to settle in Arusha, you're heading into Tarangire National Park where the Tarangire River draws elephants, lions, and zebras to drink at the same spot. Nine vegetation zones mean the landscape shifts as you drive—baobab trees tower over everything, and if you're lucky, you'll watch a lion take down a wildebeest at the picnic stop.

The real draw is four nights in the Serengeti itself, split between the central plains and the remote north. From July to November, the migration pushes toward the Mara River crossing in the Northern Serengeti—this is where the chaos happens, where thousands of animals pile up on the banks before one brave wildebeest jumps and the rest follow in a stampede. The Serengeti is Tanzania's largest park, and the scale of it hits you on the first game drive: grassy plains that seem to roll forever, swamps, small lakes, kopjes breaking the horizon. You're not rushed through it. Between the river crossings, there are resident predators—leopards, cheetahs, lions—doing what they do, and the guides know where to find them. You sleep in tented camps on the plains, under stars so thick they look unreal.

On the way back down, you stop at the Ngorongoro Crater, which is less a park and more a self-contained world. The crater floor is 610 meters deep and covers 260 square kilometers, and it's one of the best places in Africa to see the big five without leaving the crater. You descend early, eat lunch by the hippo lake, and climb back out in the afternoon. The last stop is Lake Manyara, a smaller park but dense with wildlife—flamingos by the thousands when the water is right, monkeys in the woodlands, lions in the trees if you're patient. Then you drive back to Arusha, arriving in the late afternoon with nine days of dust, game drives, and river crossings behind you.

What’s included

Private transportation throughout the 9 days, all park entry fees, accommodation at lodges and tented camps, game drives with a driver, picnic lunches in the parks, and dinners at your lodges. You arrange your own international flights to Tanzania and any visa requirements.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Lion King Adventures

Is this one for you?This works if you want to see the migration without piecing together flights, park permits, and camp bookings yourself—the fixed itinerary and included transport mean you show up in Arusha and the rest is arranged. The four nights in the Serengeti are what make the river crossing possible; a shorter trip wouldn't give you enough time in the north.