5-Day Serengeti Big Cats Safari with Ngorongoro Crater

Arrive anytime at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), where a private transfer to Arusha will be arranged. Upon arrival in Tanzania, proceed to obtain your Tourist Visa at a cost of $100 USD per person for American and Canadian passport holders, payable in exact cash. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate. Your passport must be valid for six months beyond your return date and have empty pages available. After clearing customs and immigration, our representative will meet you and assist with your transfer to the hotel in Arusha.

Accommodations:

Midrange Comfort-level lodge or camp near Arrive in Tanzania - confirmed at booking

Luxury Top-tier partner lodge or camp near Arrive in Tanzania - confirmed at booking

Budget Available upon request - tell us your budget and we'll find the right fit

Today we head towards Serengeti National Park. En route, there is an opportunity to visit Olduvai Gorge, the steep-sided ravine where Louis and Mary Leakey made some of the world's most important archaeological discoveries in the 1950s. A small museum here displays evidence of our ancestors dating back 2.5 million years.

After lunch, we drive into the Serengeti itself, and the rest of the afternoon is spent game viewing across the vast plains, broken only by stands of acacia trees and the occasional kopje. In December, January, and February, we will normally meet the migration, with large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. There are always plenty of resident animals as well, including giraffes, buffalo, and elephants, along with large predators such as lions, cheetahs, and leopards. We return to our special tented camp chosen by Burigi Safaris.

Accommodations:

Midrange Engiterata Adventure Camps

Luxury Kiriche Luxury Camp

Budget Available upon request - tell us your budget and we'll find the right fit

We have another full day in this wonderful park, rising early to make the most of our time. Our guides will choose the best spotting locations for the season. We may spend time at the Hippo Pool, watching these majestic animals laze in the cool water alongside crocodiles, observe a big pride of lions, or find ourselves in the middle of the migration, sometimes surrounded by wildebeest and sometimes by zebras, which travel with them.

We journey from the wide-open plains to the kopjes, volcanic rocky outcrops that provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals. From the top, we can look out across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti. This diverse and fascinating landscape offers the ultimate game-viewing experience, with chances to see plains game such as elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, and lions, and, if you are lucky, the elusive leopard and cheetah. There is also an abundance of birdlife, from elegant secretary birds to the flightless ostrich. We return to our special tented camp for the night.

Accommodations:

Midrange Engiterata Adventure Camps

Luxury Kiriche Luxury Camp

Budget Available upon request - tell us your budget and we'll find the right fit

We start the day with an early morning game drive before heading to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Ngorongoro is a special place because it is a Conservation Area rather than a National Park, meaning the land is managed for both wildlife and the local Masai people, who graze their cattle alongside the indigenous animals. During the drive into Ngorongoro, we have a chance to glimpse something of the Masai way of life.

After stopping at the entrance gate, where there is an opportunity to learn more about this fascinating volcanic landscape, we drive around the rim of the crater itself. From here, we can look down and spot herds of wildebeest or buffalo. Finally, we descend into the crater, whose walls create a natural sanctuary for wildlife. This means there is plenty to see, including lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, and, if you are lucky, leopards. The only animal you will not see here is the giraffe, whose long legs are unable to cope with the steep sides of the crater. In the late afternoon, we travel back to our special lodge in Arusha.

Accommodations:

Midrange Ngorongoro Farm House

Luxury Ngorongoro Lodge by Meliá

Budget Available upon request - tell us your budget and we'll find the right fit

After breakfast or lunch, we will drive directly to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your international flight back home.

Transfers in both directions between the International Airport

Park fees

Departure day - no accommodation booked for tonight.