USD
Per person sharing
Time your safari to one of nature’s greatest shows: the wildebeest calving season on the southern Serengeti/Ndutu plains. Each year, around February, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest drop their calves within weeks, drawing predators and creating electrifying wildlife moments against vast open horizons. This private, mid-range itinerary links Lake Manyara’s groundwater forest and lakeshore, the Ngorongoro Crater’s dense big game, and the southern/central Serengeti where your tented camp places you close to the action. Your dedicated Tourias Pride driver-guide handles routing, permits, and lodge check-ins, while you explore from a comfortable pop-up-roof 4×4 designed for long game-viewing days and photography.
Start with an easy city night, then head west for a Manyara warm-up and an early descent into Ngorongoro’s wildlife-packed caldera. Continue to Ndutu—the calving epicenter—where newborns take their first steps and predators test the herds, before sweeping into Central Serengeti for broad species variety and big-cat territory. Meals are included as listed; airport transfers are covered; and the daily rhythm stays flexible to chase light, sightings, and your interests. It’s an ideal seasonal safari for couples, friends, and families with children 3+ who want comfort, variety, and a front-row seat to the Great Migration’s most dramatic chapter.
Customization
This tour can be customized
Duration
6 Days
Minimum Age
3 years
Countries
Tanzania
Any group size
Moderate
Meet your Tourias Pride guide on arrival in Arusha and transfer to your mid-range city hotel for a relaxed start. Depending on your arrival time, unwind by the pool, stroll the gardens, or explore a nearby craft market before sitting down to a welcome dinner where your guide reviews the route, park highlights, and optimal game-viewing times tailored to the calving season.
Settle into your room and rest up for the adventure ahead. An easy first evening helps you shake off travel fatigue so you’re fresh for long, rewarding days out in the bush.
Drive to Lake Manyara for a varied morning of evergreen groundwater forest, acacia woodland, and open lakeshore. Watch for elephants, blue monkeys, hippos, and prolific birdlife; keep an eye on fig branches for the area’s famous tree-climbing lions. Your guide uses the cooler hours for active sightings and soft light, with interpretive stops on habitats and behavior.
After lunch, continue toward the highlands, crossing the Great Rift escarpment for wide vistas before reaching your Karatu lodge for dinner. Enjoy a relaxed evening, a hot shower, and a briefing for tomorrow’s early crater descent.
Set out at first light with a picnic to descend onto the Ngorongoro Crater floor—a compact landscape of grasslands, marshes, and soda lakes supporting high densities of herbivores and predators. Work quieter tracks for lions and, with luck, black rhino, then break at a designated site for lunch with sweeping views up to the crater walls.
Ascend the rim and continue south into the Serengeti ecosystem toward Ndutu, the seasonal calving hub. Arrive at your tented camp, freshen up, and savor dinner while night sounds ripple across the plains—your base for tomorrow’s migration drama.
Rise before sunrise for golden-hour viewing when predators patrol the herds and newborn calves test their legs. Cruise the open short-grass and woodland edges, check shallow pans for flamingos and thirsty antelope, and scan for cheetah and lions working the plains. Your guide adapts routing to current herd positions, fresh tracks, and your interests to maximize time at quality sightings.
Choose a relaxed brunch and siesta at camp or keep a full-day rhythm with a picnic to stay immersed among the herds. As the light softens, target last-light encounters for dramatic silhouettes across endless horizons before returning to camp for dinner under starry skies.
After breakfast, travel north into Central Serengeti/Seronera—year-round big-cat territory where river lines, acacias, and granite kopjes concentrate wildlife. Game drive en route and after lunch at camp, roll out again for a golden-hour session focusing on cats and plains game in soft afternoon light. Expect elephants heading to water, giraffe on the skyline, and leopards moving between sausage trees and fig groves.
With a private vehicle, the pace stays flexible: linger with a promising sighting or cover ground to follow behavior cues and radio updates, always respectfully and safely. Return to camp for dinner and a fireside recap of highlights under the Milky Way.
Enjoy a final, unhurried morning in Central Serengeti. Time permitting, fit in a short farewell game drive before departing the park. Your guide coordinates the return to Arusha with your onward travel plans so you can connect smoothly to flights or extend to the coast for a beach finish.
Arrive in Arusha for lunch and drop-off. If you’d like to add extra nights or experiences, just say the word—we’ll tailor the finish to your schedule.
Any trip cancellations must be sent in writing to the office that confirmed the reservation. Cancellations shall only be effective from the date of receipt of cancellation by the booking office. In case of a booking cancellation, the Company shall retain the full deposit.
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