8 days: Tanzania Ultimate Migration Safari

After a relaxed breakfast, we head for the airport in Arusha where we will catch our mid-morning flight to Grumeti to begin our safari adventure in the Western plains of the Serengeti. On arrival, you are transferred to your lodge to enjoy a hot meal before embarking on an afternoon game-drive in the area. With the help of your expert driver-guide, you will soon discover the delights of the western area of the iconic Serengeti National Park. In the evening, it’s back to your Camp for some much-needed rest and recuperation – and dinner, of course. Accommodation: Mbalageti Tented Chalet Meal Plan: Breakfast, Hot lunch, and Dinner Journey time and Distance: 3 hours, (via Kilimanjaro and Manyara)

West of Seronera, the waters of the Grumeti and Mbalageti rivers ensure that this so-called ‘Western Corridor’ is damper and denser in vegetation than you will find on the more southerly plains of the Serengeti. Imagine a mix of woodland and open grassland. Here, visitors can expect good game-viewing throughout the year, but from late May and throughout June it is usual for the Great Migration to traverse the Western Corridor. Of course, this depends on the timing of the rains, but in any event, there are lions, giraffes, and elephant residents in the region south of the Grumeti. Your driver guide will help you to spot these, as well as the populations of wildebeest and zebra. At day’s end, your accommodation awaits you. With the sights and sounds still fresh in your consciousness, it’s time to dine and then sleep. Accommodation: Mbalageti Tented Chalet Meal Plan: Breakfast, Picnic lunch box, and Dinner

Before leaving the Western Serengeti, we take the opportunity this morning to enjoy another game drive in this incredible location. This allows us further time to wonder at the migratory herds and the dangers and challenges they face each year in their battle for survival. As well as the herd animals, you can perhaps see a hippopotamus – or up in the skies, a majestic martial eagle. As well as the migrating animals, this area also has a good population of resident wildlife, so you won’t be disappointed. In the afternoon, we take the short drive back to the central part of Serengeti, where you will be taken to your chosen accommodation for relaxation and your evening meal. Accommodation: Serengeti Embakai luxury tented Camp Meal Plan: Breakfast, Picnic lunch box, and Dinner Journey time and Distance: 2.5 hours, 80 km from Western Serengeti to Central Serengeti

Waking up in the Serengeti is something really special. The sights, sounds, and smells of Africa are all around us, and ahead is a full day of adventure in the world’s most famous national park. After breakfast, we start today with the morning section of our game drive-in Serengeti National Park, marveling at the stunning scenery, ever changing light and always entertaining wildlife, all explained to you by your expert driver-guide. After our picnic lunch, we set off again, searching for wildlife in this awe-inspiring park. Serengeti’s wonders evolve subtly as the day progresses. The myriad animals and birds are the ‘stars of the show’ and Nature’s dramas can unfold at any time. Of course, the animals don’t work on any schedule, so we may find some lion or leopard, elephant, and zebra, cheetah, and antelope at any time on our drives. At the end of the afternoon, we return to the camp for dinner and some much-needed rest. Note: For those who have booked the Balloon Safari for today, you will be picked up from the camp at 05.00 hours for a 06.00 hours departure. If you wish to book a balloon safari, please let us know in advance, The price is $545 per person. After your 60 – 90 minute (depending on wind condition) aerial adventure, experience bush breakfast, and champagne, thereafter your driver-guide will pick you up for your full-day game drive. Accommodation: Serengeti Luxury Tented Camp Meal Plan: Breakfast, Picnic lunch box, and Dinner

Today on our trip-of-a-lifetime we turn north, driving to the very northern edge of the Serengeti, the world-famous national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Northern Serengeti is a land of open woodland, covering the Seronera in its southern part and being bordered by the Mara river in the north: this marks the border with neighboring Kenya. We are now following in the footsteps of the Great Migration, great herds of thousands of zebra and wildebeest getting ready to cross the Mara. For the visitor, this is one of the world’s most awe-inspiring sights as the animals cross the dangerous waters in small or large groups. This is a chance to see Nature at its very rawest. Animals on the move, animals hunting…or being hunted! Each day is different here, unpredictable and full of surprises, but nothing can surpass the Great Migration, that unique natural wonder which involves a cast of breathtaking numbers, literally hundreds of thousands of animals making their annual journey. As well as the migrating herds, the Northern Serengeti is an area where you might easily see giraffes, elephants, and dik-dik. Accommodation: Serengeti Heritage luxury camp Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Journey time and Distance: 5 hours, 155 km from Central Serengeti to Northern Serengeti.

As you awake for the second day in Northern Serengeti, you can contemplate that parts of this northern area can easily match the Southern Serengeti for the abundance of wildlife viewing, especially between July and October. After your breakfast, you will embark with your driver guide on a full-day game drive, looking out for elephant and buffalo, eland and gazelle. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to spot something really special: perhaps a cheetah, or even a rare black rhino, of which a small population is resident here. Of course, during these months the Great Migration remains the real focus, with the mighty Mara river proving the obstacle for wildebeest as they seek to cross to and from the Maasai Mara in neighboring Kenya. Accommodation: Serengeti Heritage luxury camp Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After a relaxing breakfast, we leave our Northern Serengeti accommodation and transfer to Kogatende airstrip for our 10.15 am flight back to Arusha. Your two-hour flight represents the last chance to see beautiful Tanzania – this time, from above. At Arusha airport, you will be met by our driver who will transfer you to the Planet Lodge where you will enjoy a hot lunch. Finally, you will be taken by your driver to Kilimanjaro International Airport to connect with your onward flight. Meal Plan: Breakfast and Hot Lunch Flight time: 2 hours, 5 minutes, from Kogatende Airstrip (Northern Serengeti) to Arusha. Optional Activities FREE Orphanage visit to provide supplies you have to kids  Masai village visit 20$ pp Hot air balloon and champagne breakfast in the Serengeti 580 pp Oldupai Gorge museum 55$ pp Walking Safari 50$ Night Game Drive 190$ pp Ngorongoro Crater Rim Hike for 2hrs 100$pp