8-Day Tanzania Migration, Big Five & Classic Wildlife Safari

Depart your Arusha hotel at 6:30 AM and drive westward through the beautiful Ngorongoro Conservation Area highlands toward the legendary Serengeti National Park. Enter through the southeastern Naabi Hill Gate and begin your first extraordinary Serengeti game drive across the famous short grass plains — searching for cheetah, lion prides, enormous elephant herds, giraffe, zebra, and the first breathtaking sightings of the legendary Serengeti landscape stretching endlessly to every horizon. Bush picnic lunch in the field. Afternoon game drive across the open plains. Sundowners and your first extraordinary Serengeti sunset before dinner and overnight.

A full day dedicated exclusively to the Great Wildebeest Migration — your Serengeti Scent Adventures guide positions the vehicle in the most productive Migration areas for your specific travel dates. July to October — northern Serengeti Mara River crossing zone for the most dramatic and most heart-stopping river crossing encounters. December to March — southern Ndutu area calving zone for the extraordinary spectacle of 500,000 wildebeest calves born within weeks. April to June — central and western Serengeti for extraordinary Migration movement encounters. Dawn to dusk game drive with a bush picnic lunch in the field — maximizing every possible Migration encounter opportunity throughout the entire extraordinary day. Dinner and overnight in the Serengeti wilderness.

A second extraordinary full day in the Serengeti — this time focusing specifically on the park’s exceptional big cat populations. Dawn game drive along the famous Seronera River — Tanzania’s finest and most reliable leopard viewing corridor — searching for these beautiful and elusive cats resting in the branches of ancient riverside acacia trees. Search for cheetah mothers teaching cubs to hunt on the open plains, lion prides on the kopjes, and the extraordinary African wild dog packs that roam the Serengeti’s vast wilderness. Bush picnic lunch in the field. Afternoon game drive through the Serengeti’s most diverse and most productive wildlife areas. The most breathtaking Serengeti sundowner of the entire itinerary before dinner and overnight.

After breakfast depart the Serengeti eastward through the extraordinary Ngorongoro Conservation Area highlands. Stop at the legendary Olduvai Gorge — the Cradle of Mankind — for a deeply fascinating guided museum visit. Continue ascending through the dramatic Ngorongoro highlands toward the breathtaking crater rim — arriving in the beautiful late afternoon for the most overwhelming panoramic view of the magnificent caldera. Dinner and overnight at your crater rim lodge with extraordinary views stretching in every direction.

Early morning descent into the extraordinary Ngorongoro Crater at first light for the most dramatic game drive of the entire itinerary. Search the crater floor for the critically endangered black rhinoceros, enormous lion prides, massive buffalo herds, spotted hyena clans, hippo pods, and spectacular flamingo flocks on Lake Magadi. Bush picnic lunch on the crater floor. Ascend from the crater in the early afternoon and drive to your Lake Manyara area accommodation for a relaxed evening. Dinner and overnight near Lake Manyara.

A full and deeply rewarding day exploring the extraordinary diversity of Lake Manyara National Park. Dawn game drive through the extraordinary groundwater forest — searching for black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, and the world-famous tree-climbing lions resting in the branches of massive fig and acacia trees. Visit the famous hippo pools at extraordinarily close range. Bush picnic lunch overlooking the beautiful alkaline lake. Afternoon game drive along the spectacular lakeshore floodplains — searching for spectacular flamingo flocks, buffalo herds, and the park’s exceptional 400+ waterbird and wading bird species in the extraordinary golden afternoon light. Dinner and overnight near Lake Manyara.

After breakfast depart southward toward Tarangire National Park — entering through the main northern gate for an afternoon game drive through the park’s iconic ancient baobab landscape and the wildlife-rich banks of the permanent Tarangire River. Search for enormous elephant herds, giraffe, lion, leopard, buffalo, zebra, greater kudu, and the park’s extraordinary African wild dog packs in one of northern Tanzania’s most productive and most rewarding afternoon game drives. Bush picnic lunch en route. Sundowner stop before dinner and overnight at your Tarangire camp or lodge.

A final rewarding full morning exploring the extraordinary Tarangire National Park — dawn game drive along the Tarangire River for exceptional early morning elephant and predator activity before a final bush picnic lunch in the field beneath an ancient baobab tree. Depart the park in the early afternoon and drive back to Arusha arriving approximately 4:00 to 5:00 PM — concluding eight extraordinary days of Tanzania’s greatest Migration safari adventure.