Day 1: Arusha – Tarangire National Park

You’ll be collected from your hotel in Arusha at 8:00 AM for the roughly three-hour drive to Tarangire National Park, where a full day of game viewing awaits. Covering around 2,800 square kilometers and located about 115 kilometers from Arusha, the park takes its name from the Tarangire River, the dry-season lifeline that draws in wildlife from across the region. Tarangire is best known for its large elephant herds, tree-climbing pythons, and towering baobab trees, and you’ll also have good chances of spotting lion, leopard, and a wide range of other species. In the evening, you’ll continue on to Jambo Lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 2: Tarangire – Serengeti National Park

After a full breakfast, you’ll pack up and set out on a game drive en route to the Serengeti, with lunch taken on board the safari vehicle. Along the way, you’ll take in sweeping views of the Great Rift Valley and the Ngorongoro Crater before arriving in the Serengeti around 3:00 PM. An evening game drive through central Serengeti follows, timed to catch the sunset, before dinner and an overnight stay at Seronera Campsite inside the park. The Serengeti’s defining feature is its vast open plains and the great wildebeest migration — a movement of roughly 1.5 million grazing animals and the predators that trail them, shifting constantly across the ecosystem in response to seasonal drought. Your guide will do everything possible to put you in the path of the migration, which also carries substantial numbers of zebra, along with smaller populations of Grant’s gazelle, Thomson’s gazelle, eland, and impala.

Day 3: Serengeti National Park

After an early start and full breakfast, you’ll spend the entire day exploring the Serengeti’s key wildlife areas by vehicle, with your guide following the migration’s current location as closely as possible. The timing of the great migration shifts from year to year, but June through September generally offers the best viewing, while calving season runs from January to March. If you’re visiting between July and September, your guide can take you into northern Serengeti to witness the dramatic river crossings at the Mara. Roughly 1.5 million wildebeest move continuously throughout the year in search of fresh grazing and reliable water, tracking the rains as they go. After a full day in the field, you’ll return to camp for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater

You’ll rise around 5:45 AM for an early breakfast and the chance to watch the sunrise over the Serengeti, followed by a morning game drive until roughly 11:30 AM. Back at camp, you’ll enjoy a hot lunch and pack up the vehicle before continuing with an afternoon game drive as you make your way toward Ngorongoro Crater. Dinner and overnight are at Simba Campsite.

Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater – Mto wa Mbu Village

After waking around 5:30 AM and having breakfast, you’ll descend onto the floor of Ngorongoro Crater, where sightings of all “Big Five” species are common, alongside black rhino and a wide variety of birdlife. Lunch is taken inside the crater, often with a backdrop of dense flamingo concentrations. Following a game drive of six to seven hours on the crater floor, you’ll begin the ascent back up the rim, stopping at the campsite to reload your luggage before driving on to Jambo Lodge for dinner and an overnight stay. Later that day, you’ll take a walking tour through Mto wa Mbu village, where you can see how local communities live, walk through banana plantations, and sample some local dishes.

Day 6: Lake Manyara – Arusha

After breakfast, you’ll head to Lake Manyara National Park for a full day of game viewing. The park is known for its tree-climbing lions and large flamingo populations, drawn by the algae in the lake, and you’ll also stop at a natural hot spring. Later in the day, you’ll visit a Maasai boma to learn about their traditional way of life and customs, before making the return drive to Arusha for dinner and an overnight stay.