“Exceptional time in Zanzibar with Rameses Tours”
My friends and I met the Rameses team on our first night in Zanzibar , their energy and friendliness immediately made us feel welcomed and we were treated as one of their own on…
8 days · Serengeti & Ngorongoro
Timed to where the herds actually are, month by month. River crossings in season, calving on the southern plains in others — the route changes because the animals do.
Duration
8 days / 7 nights
Parks
Style
Private vehicle & guide
Best months
Jun–Oct · Jan–Mar
From
$2,300$4,400On request pp
The journey
Between January and March the herds are calving on the short-grass plains in the south, and we camp there. From June the columns push north and west, and by August the Mara River crossings are the thing worth waiting for. Same seven days, different country.
An honest caution: no one can promise a crossing. Herds mass at the river for days and then turn back. What we can do is put you in the right region for your dates and keep you there long enough to be lucky.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport, where your guide meets you and transfers you the short distance to your hotel in Arusha. The rest of the day is yours to rest after the flight and settle in before the safari begins in the morning.
Stay: Arusha lodge or hotel · Dinner
Day 2
Driven south-west after breakfast into Tarangire, reaching camp for lunch and heading out for an afternoon game drive along the river. In the dry months this is where the animals concentrate — big elephant herds moving between the baobabs, predators never far behind. It is a quieter, gentler park than the plains to come, a good place to settle into the rhythm of a safari. Where your camp allows it, a guided night drive can be added for the park’s nocturnal life.
Stay: Maramboi Tented LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · Lunch, dinner
Day 3
A long drive west, climbing over the Ngorongoro highlands with the crater rim as a first glimpse, then descending onto the plains of the Serengeti with game viewing as you enter in the afternoon. The scale shifts here entirely — the horizon opens out and the driving becomes part of the experience rather than a transfer between camps. If you would rather trade the road for the air and save most of a day for wildlife, the leg can be flown instead.
Stay: Kubu Kubu Tented LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 4
A full day in the Seronera valley, the most reliable big-cat country in the Serengeti — lion on the kopjes, leopard draped along the river courses, cheetah out on the open grass. Lunch is taken in the bush rather than back at camp, so you stay out through the best of the morning and evening light. This is the natural day to add a dawn balloon flight over the plains, booked early in your stay so a spare morning remains if the wind is wrong.
Stay: Kubu Kubu Tented LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 5
A longer drive into the part of the ecosystem the migration is actually in for your dates — south to the calving grounds around Ndutu early in the year, north toward the Mara and its crossings later on. The herds move with the rain, not the calendar, so your guide reads the ground as you go rather than promising a fixed scene. It is a day of covering distance and scanning the horizon, and the reward is arriving where the animals genuinely are.
Stay: Mobile camp, positioned seasonallyStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 6
The day the whole trip is built around: long, patient and deliberately unhurried, spent among the herds wherever they have massed. If a river crossing is building, you wait for it — nobody can put one on a schedule, and the waiting, tense and uncertain, is where the drama actually lives. A bush breakfast and lunch keep you in the field from first light, so you are present if the moment comes rather than back at camp hearing about it later.
Stay: Mobile camp, positioned seasonallyStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 7
A slow drive out of the park with game viewing all morning, then a steady climb back up into the highlands to reach the Ngorongoro rim by late afternoon, the caldera opening beneath you as the light goes. For those wanting to stretch their legs after the driving days, a guided walk along the highlands or the short, steep hike into Olmoti crater can be arranged with a Maasai guide and an armed ranger — country you cannot reach from a vehicle.
Stay: Ngorongoro Sopa LodgeStay: Luxury camp — to be confirmed · All meals
Day 8
Down onto the crater floor at first light, before the day-trippers arrive, for a half day among the densest concentration of wildlife in Africa — and the best chance of black rhino you will get anywhere in Tanzania. Then the climb back out and the drive to Arusha for your onward flight. Time permitting, the Olduvai Gorge museum, the ‘cradle of mankind’, sits just off the route out and makes a fitting last stop.
Stay: —Stay: — · Breakfast, lunch
Is this journey for you
Full. Long days in the field, and one substantial transfer to reach the herds.
No demands beyond tolerance for long days on rough tracks.
Anyone whose priority is the migration, and who accepts that nature sets the schedule.
What it costs
| Season | Mid-range | Luxury |
|---|---|---|
| Green seasonMar–May | $1,650 | $3,150 |
| ShoulderNov–Feb | $2,000 | $3,850 |
| Peak seasonJun–Oct | $2,350 | $4,500 |
Rates are per person based on two sharing. Solo travellers and parties of three or more are priced differently — tell us your party and we will quote it properly.
Includes park fees, accommodation, all meals, a private vehicle and guide. Excludes international flights, visas, insurance and tips. Mid-range stays inside the national parks; luxury uses private concessions where off-road and night driving are permitted.
What you get
Hot-air balloon
From $600on request per person
Zanzibar extension
Add three to seven beach nights — white sand, spice lanes, dhow sunsets.
From $640on request per person
Extra night with the herds
Crossings reward waiting. An extra night is the difference between hoping and seeing.
Quoted with your dates
Senior guide, and a spotter where the camp provides one
Off-road game viewing and night drives where permitted
House drinks at camp, and laundry
Airport transfers and bottled water
Not included
International flights
Tanzania visa
Travel insurance
Drinks other than bottled water
Premium wines and champagne
Tips for your guide and camp staff
Balloon safari and other add-ons
Make it yours
Dawn over the Serengeti plains, then a champagne breakfast where you land.
From $600on request per person
Add three to seven beach nights — white sand, spice lanes, dhow sunsets.
From $640on request per person
Trade driving for time. The single best upgrade on this itinerary.
Quoted with your dates
“Exceptional time in Zanzibar with Rameses Tours”
My friends and I met the Rameses team on our first night in Zanzibar , their energy and friendliness immediately made us feel welcomed and we were treated as one of their own on…
“Great vehicles and amazing team for amazing experience”
We are an amazing experience with them with the Arusha national Park and we also did the Kilimanjaro one day hike. Definitely recommended!
“An Unforgettable Serengeti Experience with Exceptional Service”
We had an incredible experience visiting Tanzania together with our business partners from Venezuela (Mimoas Company), and it truly exceeded all our expectations. Our journey with Rameses Safaris was absolutely amazing—from the moment we…
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No obligation and no pressure · Licensed Tanzanian operator (TATO & TTB) · Based in Arusha
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