5-Day Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari

Prices are per person based on a group of 6 sharing a private 4x4. Smaller groups are priced higher — ask us for a quote for your party size.

Five days is the sweet spot for a first Tanzania safari. You get enough time in the Serengeti to follow the herds properly rather than passing through, plus Tarangire's elephants on the way in and the Ngorongoro Crater on the way out. Depending on the month we position you in the southern Ndutu plains, the central Seronera valley or the northern Mara River area.

Best for

Great Migration, big cats, photographers, first safari done properly

Best months

July–October for the crossings; January–March for calving

Accommodation options

Camping from $1,450 pp · Lodge from $1,850 pp (USD)

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1

   Arusha → Tarangire National Park

   Morning departure from Arusha and a full day game drive in Tarangire, the best elephant park in the north. Ancient baobabs, swamp edges and long views over the Maasai Steppe. Evening transfer to Karatu.

   Meals: Lunch, dinner · Overnight: Karatu — campsite or lodge

2. 2

   Karatu → Serengeti National Park

   Cross the Ngorongoro highlands, stop at the crater rim viewpoint and Olduvai Gorge, then drop onto the Serengeti plains through Naabi Hill Gate. Afternoon game drive to your camp in the central Seronera area.

   Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Serengeti — campsite or lodge

3. 3

   Full day in the Serengeti

   A full day with an early start, exploring wherever the game is best — the migration columns, the Seronera river for leopard, or the kopjes for lion. Optional dawn balloon safari (extra cost, book in advance).

   Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Serengeti — campsite or lodge

4. 4

   Serengeti → Ngorongoro Crater rim

   Morning game drive as you work your way east out of the park, arriving at the crater rim in the late afternoon for sunset over the caldera.

   Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner · Overnight: Ngorongoro rim or Karatu — campsite or lodge

5. 5

   Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha

   First-light descent to the crater floor for the Big Five, with a picnic lunch inside the caldera. Afternoon drive back to Arusha, arriving around 18:00.

   Meals: Breakfast, lunch

Optional add-on · from $600 per person

Sunrise balloon flight over the Serengeti

Lift off before first light and drift an hour over the plains, low over rivers and herds, landing to a champagne bush breakfast laid out under an acacia. It is the one extra almost everybody who takes it says was worth the money.

• Always optional. Nothing on this safari depends on it — you can decide before you travel or once you are in camp, subject to availability.
• It does not change the programme. The flight and breakfast finish mid-morning and your guide collects you in the park, so the day's game drives and every other day run exactly as written.
• It does not affect your group. Travelling companions who prefer to stay on the ground keep the vehicle and the guide, and simply meet you afterwards.
• Reference price $600 per person (USD, paid direct to the balloon operator). Children have a minimum age and height; we confirm the exact rate with your quote.

Optional add-on · from $30 per person

Maasai village visit

Spend a couple of hours in a Maasai boma between parks: the welcome dance, the inside of a hand-built home, the cattle and the medicinal plants, and a chance to ask the questions a guidebook never answers. The fee is paid to the community itself.

• Always optional. Tell us before you travel or decide on the road — your guide arranges it with the village.
• It does not change the programme. The visit slots into a transfer between parks, so every game drive runs exactly as written.
• From $30 per person (USD, paid direct to the village). We confirm the exact rate with your quote.
• Respectful by arrangement. Photographs are welcome once you have asked; your guide translates and explains the etiquette first.