12 days Camping Safari Great Migration Tanzania

12 days Camping Safari Great Migration Tanzania

  • Highlights: Arusha National park, Lake Manyara, Serengeti North & Central, Ngorongoro and Tarangire
  • All highlights but also off the beaten track and plenty of “wilderness time “, following the path of the Great Migration in Tanzania
  • Duration: 12 days/11 nights
  • Following the path of the migrating herds crossing the river, hunting crocodiles and predators
  • Beste time: June-October
  • Start/finish: Arusha
  • Activities: game drives, walking safari and cultural tour
  • Accommodation: Public Campsites inside the National Parks
  • Comfort: Comfortable canvas tent with headroom & mosquito netting, stretcher-beds and matrasses, pillows, sleeping bag, table & chairs, plates, mugs and cutlery

Day 1: Kilimanjaro Airport – Arusha National Park
Day 2: Arusha National Park – full day
Day 3: Arusha National Park – Lake Manyara
Day 4: Lake Manyara – full day
Day 5: Lake Manyara – Serengeti North East
Day 6: Serengeti North East – full day
Day 7: Serengeti North East – Serengeti Central
Day 8: Serengeti Central – full day
Day 9: Serengeti Central – Ngorongoro
Day 10: Ngorongoro – Tarangire
Day 11: Tarangire – full day
Day 12: Tarangire – Arusha/Kilimanjaro Airport

Day to day program

Day 1: Arrival Kilimanjaro Airport – Arusha National Park

Distance: 50 km
Time/road condition: about 1 hour over partly paved roads.
Your guide will be waiting for you at Kilimanjaro Airport and drive you to Arusha National Park. Depending on the time of arrival we will discuss the program for the rest of the day.
Dinner and overnight: Momella Public Campsite

Day 2: Arusha National Park – full day

We start the day with a beautiful nature walk in Arusha National Park with an armed ranger (because of the animals). You can enjoy the impressive flora and fauna of this area, with waterfalls and huge fig trees. Depending on your condition and wishes the walk takes about 2-4 hours. Walking safaris can be as short or as long as desired.

Furthermore, we go for a game drive, spotting wildlife while enjoying the spectacular views of Mount Meru and the Kilimanjaro, waterfalls, lakes, swamps and steep cliffs. Driving around the Momella Lakes in the South Eastern part of the Park, surrounded by beautiful woodlands. The park is home to many varieties of smaller game as well as giraffe, elephant, Black and White Colobus monkey, water buffalo, bushbuck, and over 400 species of birdlife. Afterwards, we drive back to the campsite. Optional: Excursion to Meru’s summit or a canoe safari.
Dinner and overnight: Momella Public Campsite

Day 3: Arusha National Park – Lake Manyara

Distance: 150 km
Time/road condition: about 3,5 hours on mostly paved roads.
After breakfast, you begin your drive to Mto Wa Mbu, where you will spend an hour or two wandering around this busy town. You’ll learn more about the life of the Masaai and the 100 or so other cultural groups living in this area (some in traditional huts). We visit plantations, local craftsmen, taste banana beer in an authentic bar and amble past the many market stalls with local produce. Lunch is served by a cheerful Tanzanian “mamma” who will delight you with tasty local dishes. Then it’s on safari in Lake Manyara National Park, where we will set up camp in a beautiful restful site in the heart of the park.
Dinner and overnight: Endabash Public Campsite

Day 4: Lake Manyara National Park (full day)

Before breakfast, we plan a game drive in the calm early morning park and with a little bit of luck, you will experience a beautiful sunrise over the lake with an abundance of flamingoes and hopefully spot lions close-bye. Then it’s time to relax after breakfast. After the midday heat, we take another game drive on a different route. Most animals are making their way down to the river for a much-needed drink … and at this time of day, the famous Manyara lions could be spotted in the trees! Optional: night game drive, guided walks, Tree-Top walkway.
Dinner and overnight: Endabash Public Campsite

Day 5: Lake Manyara – Serengeti North East

Distance: 290 km
Time/road condition: 7-8 hours, partly paved, mostly sandy and bumpy. A long beautiful day in the car!
After an early breakfast, we take our lunchboxes and leave for Serengeti National Park via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a spectacular area with panoramic views over the crater hundreds of meters below. Today is also an adventurous safari day as a large part of this route is straight across the centre of the Serengeti National Park, the area of the Seronera River.
Dinner and overnight: Lobo Public Campsite

Day 6: Serengeti North East – full day

A full day to explore this part of the Serengeti. Our route follows the migration of the animals on the plains along the shores of the Mara River. Crocodiles are waiting for wildebeest who risk the crossing. With good planning and a bit of luck, you will be witnessing a spectacle that is hard to put into words. Watching a crossing and hear all the noises is a very impressive experience that you’ll never forget! This is also the area where you can be quite sure to see a hunter like a hyena, cheetah, lion or leopard. If you’re lucky you might even spot a leopard climbing in a yellow acacia tree! This part of the Serengeti has beautiful sceneries and you can drive here for hours without seeing another car.
Dinner and overnight: Lobo Public Campsite

Day 7: Serengeti North East – Serengeti Central

Distance: 140 km
Time/road condition: approximately 4 hours but combined with a game drive it can take 7-8 hours. It also depends on the condition of the roads many of which are gravel and corrugated.
After an early breakfast and with packed lunch, we depart for Central Serengeti. This is actually a full day game drive as we spend a large part of the day on safari in the Lobo reserve. This is a remote area of Serengeti, somewhat off the beaten track. A less visited area but you will experience the real wilderness with rocky outcrops. After brunch we head for Central Serengeti – a beautiful drive through a magnificent changing landscape.
Dinner and overnight: Seronera Public Campsite

Day 8: Serengeti Central – full day

A full safari day in Serengeti! Driving along the shores of the Seronera River and Mara River, trying to find unforgettable moments and a glimpse of the way wild animals live and survive. Wildebeest crossing the river,  a hunting cheetah, lion or any other predator or the magnificent view of the silhouette of a giraffe at the horizon. You will have a chance to see Nile Crocodiles (sometimes more than 6 meters long!) waiting for animals to come drinking or crossing and ambush them. You will enjoy areas that are not known to the greater public and are therefore perfect for an experience off the beaten path. Today, our route follows the presence and migration of the animals on the plains.
Dinner and overnight: Seronera Public Campsite

Day 9: Serengeti Central – Ngorongoro

Distance: 160 km
Time/road condition: 3 hours, sandy and bumpy.
We depart early morning and begin an unforgettable morning drive in the Serengeti. At sunrise, while the bush is awakening and still peaceful, the carnivores are out in hunting mode and we are on their trail to once again be observers of another natural spectacle. At midday we return to the campsite, enjoy brunch and leave for our next campsite on the edge of the Ngorongoro crater. Optional: A visit to a Maasai Boma where you will experience how semi-nomadic communities continue to live according to their age-old traditions.
Dinner and overnight: Simba Public Campsite

Day 10: Ngorongoro – Tarangire 

Distance: 150 km (excl. the safari in the Ngorongoro Crater)
Time/road condition: 2 hours, mostly paved roads.
After breakfast depart for a game drive in the famous Ngorongoro Crater. We wind our way down into the caldera, with the most breathtaking views along the way. Armed with your guide’s years of experience and his ‘eagle-eyes’, we might even encounter rhino. The chance of seeing an active pride of lions at close quarters is high on the list of possibilities. At the Hippo Pool, you will enjoy all the sights and sounds of the ‘laughing’ hippos enjoying a wallow in the cool water and a mud-bath. Back for a hot lunch at the campsite, after which we depart for Tarangire National Park.
Dinner and overnight: Tarangire Public Campsite

Day 11: Tarangire – full day

Driving in the park, observing elephants, sometimes very close to the campsite near the (dry bedding of the) river. Drive to Larmaku Swamp, a large swamp where you can find elephants and other animals, cooling down in the water and sheltering for the sun in the shadow of the acacia trees. Regarding encountering wildlife we can not guarantee anything, but the chance that you will see large herds of elephants in this park is 99,9%.
Dinner and overnight: Tarangire Public Campsite

Day 12: Tarangire – Arusha of Kilimanjaro Airport

Distance: 120 km
Time/road condition: Approximately 3 hours to a lodge or the airport in Arusha, about 4 hours (160 km) to Kilimanjaro International Airport. Depending on your itinerary, we will drive you to a lodge in Arusha, the Arusha Airport (for domestic flights e.g. to Zanzibar) or to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your return flight home.

Prices

Rates 12 days Camping Safari Great Migration Tanzania:

2 pax: $ 3.540 per person sharing 1 tent

3 pax: $ 3.195 per person sharing 2 tents

4 pax: $ 2.995 per person sharing 2 tents

5 pax: $ 2.995 per person sharing 3 tents

6 pax: $ 2.835 per person sharing 3 tents

Notice: if your flight arrives after 3 pm, it’s not possible to go to the campsite in Arusha National Park directly. You will need an overnight in a lodge in Arusha (not included in the price).

Child discount (2-16 years): on request (depending on age and sharing rooms).

Information and book

Included:

  • Breakfast 11x (day 2-12), lunch 11x (day 1-11), dinner 11x (day 1-11)
  • Admissions, game drives and activities according to program
  • Transport in 4×4 safari car with a roof hatch
  • Transfer from and to the airport
  • Professional, English speaking guide and safari-cook
  • All basic camping gear: canvas tent with headroom and mosquito netting, a mess tent, pillows, sleeping bag, stretcher-beds and matrasses, chairs, plates, mugs and cutlery
  • Bottled water in the car

Not included: International flights, optional activities, visa, cancellation and travel insurance, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and tips.

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