Serengeti and Ngorongoro
Eight days across northern Tanzania, ending inside the crater.
Safari · 8 days · Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
The northern circuit done in the order that actually works: Tarangire's elephants first while you adjust, then the Serengeti for three nights so the game drives are not all transit, then the Ngorongoro crater last — because after a week of open plains, dropping six hundred metres into a caldera with its own resident population is the right way round, not the wrong one.
Day by day
- Day 1
Arrive Kilimanjaro
Land, drive to Usa River, sleep. Nothing else.
16:00Arusha Coffee Estate walk
An hour outdoors after a long flight, without committing to a park day.
- Day 2
Tarangire
Two and a half hours south-west, then an afternoon among the baobabs.
11:00Tarangire National Park
The densest elephant population in northern Tanzania, and almost nobody stops here.
Dry season concentrates everything on the Tarangire river; in the wet the herds disperse north.
- Day 3
Up to the Serengeti
Through the Ngorongoro gate and across the conservation area, arriving Seronera mid-afternoon.
11:00Olduvai Gorge
The Leakey excavation site, directly on the road, and the reason this landscape is in every textbook.
16:00Seronera valley afternoon drive
The river valley holds resident lion and leopard year-round, whatever the migration is doing.
- Day 4
Serengeti, full day
Out at first light, back for lunch, out again at four.
06:15Sunrise game drive
The four hours either side of dawn are the reason to be here.
Cats hunt at the edges of the day. A ten o'clock start is a photography trip, not a game drive.
16:00Late afternoon drive
Second-best light and second-best activity, and it costs you nothing but an early dinner.
- Day 5
Balloon and the plains
Up before dawn for the balloon, then a slow day.
05:30Balloon flight over the Serengeti
An hour at treetop height, and the only way to read the scale of the plains.
Book at the same time as the lodge — the flights fill months out and there is one a day.
15:30Retina Hippo Pool
One of the few places you are allowed out of the vehicle, and the noise is worth it.
- Day 6
South to the rim
Back across the conservation area, climbing to the crater rim by late afternoon.
16:30Ngorongoro crater rim viewpoint
The first view down into the caldera, before you are inside it.
The rim sits above 2,200 m and clouds over most afternoons — go straight there on arrival.
- Day 7
The crater floor
Down at the gate opening, up before the afternoon cloud.
06:30Ngorongoro Crater floor
Twenty-six thousand animals in a caldera you can see across — including the black rhino that are hard anywhere else.
Six-hour limit on the floor, counted from the descent road. Lerai Forest for elephant, Lake Magadi for flamingo.
- Day 8
Back to Kilimanjaro
The long drive east, with one worthwhile stop.
10:00Mto wa Mbu market
A genuine market town at the base of the escarpment, and the last thing on the road that is not a curio stall.
Questions
- How long is the Serengeti and Ngorongoro itinerary?
- The Serengeti and Ngorongoro itinerary runs 8 days and covers 11 stops across Arusha, Serengeti, Ngorongoro.
- When is the best time to do the Serengeti and Ngorongoro itinerary?
- Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct is the best window for the Serengeti and Ngorongoro itinerary.
- What happens on day one of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro itinerary?
- Day one is arrive kilimanjaro: Land, drive to Usa River, sleep. Nothing else.
Sources
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