Follow the endless plains and experience one of the world's greatest wildlife spectacles.
The Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest and most famous national park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that hosts the Great Migration — the largest overland migration of mammals on Earth. Its endless plains stretch to the horizon, broken only by rocky outcrops called kopjes, acacia woodlands, and winding rivers.
The Serengeti is a vast, rolling ecosystem of short-grass plains in the south, acacia savannah in the centre and wooded hills in the north. Granite kopjes rise from the grass and give lions and leopards their lookouts.
Around 1.5 million wildebeest, with zebra and gazelle, follow the rains in a year-round circuit through Tanzania and into Kenya's Maasai Mara. Where you stay should depend on the month — that is the single most important decision in planning a Serengeti safari.
Central Serengeti, around the Seronera River, has resident predators year-round. The north (Kogatende, Lamai) is the Mara River crossing area from July to October. The south around Ndutu hosts the calving season from late January to March.
December – March
Calving season (south)
Herds on the Ndutu and southern plains; births peak in February with intense predator activity.
April – May
Long rains
Green, quiet and lower-priced; some camps close and roads can be muddy.
June – July
Western Corridor
Herds move north-west; Grumeti River crossings are possible.
July – October
Mara River (north)
The dramatic river-crossing season in the northern Serengeti.
November
Short rains
Herds drift south through the eastern Serengeti and Lobo.
Typical patterns. Wildlife movements follow the rains and vary from year to year.
Serengeti Kati Kati Tented CampMid-range
Central Serengeti
Authentic, unfenced canvas camp with en-suite tents — the real bush-camp feeling at a mid-range price.
Serengeti Serena Safari LodgeLuxury
Central Serengeti, west of Seronera
Maasai-village-inspired rondavels on a ridge with a view across the plains, and a pool for midday breaks.
Dunia CampLuxury
Central Serengeti, Moru area
Classic, intimate tented camp run by an all-female team in the big-cat country south of Seronera.
Lemala Ewanjan Tented CampLuxury
Central Serengeti, Seronera area
Spacious canvas suites in a quiet valley close to Seronera's resident lion and leopard territories.
Namiri PlainsPremium Luxury
Eastern Serengeti plains
Remote camp on the eastern plains, renowned for exceptional cheetah and lion sightings.
Sayari CampLuxury
Kogatende, Northern Serengeti
Contemporary tented camp a short drive from the Mara River crossings, with a pool and outstanding guiding.
Lemala Kuria Hills LodgeLuxury
Kogatende, Northern Serengeti
Glass-fronted suites with private plunge pools among granite kopjes near the Mara River.
Ndutu Safari LodgeMid-range
Lake Ndutu, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Long-standing lodge on the shores of Lake Ndutu, right in the calving grounds between December and March.
Lake Masek Tented LodgeLuxury
Lake Masek, Ndutu area
Raised tented suites with copper bathtubs overlooking Lake Masek in the heart of the calving plains.
3 daysPopular choiceA short, high-impact luxury safari with a night in the Serengeti
The shortest practical way to see both the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, staying at a luxury tented camp.
3 daysFly straight to the calving plains
A light-aircraft flight puts you on the Ndutu plains in under two hours, in the middle of the calving season.
3 daysSerengeti and Ngorongoro as a side trip from the beach
Leave the beach for three days, fly into the Serengeti and return to Zanzibar after a Ngorongoro Crater game drive.
4 daysThe classic short northern circuit
The classic combination of Tarangire, a night in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in four days.
4 daysA short loop through the Serengeti's western and southern areas
A different take on the short circuit, with nights near Ikoma and in the Ndutu area.
4 daysPopular choiceFly in, two nights in the central Serengeti, drive out via the crater
Fly into the Serengeti, stay two nights at a luxury tented camp and drive out via the Ngorongoro rim and crater.
Wildlife is good all year. For the Mara River crossings travel July to October; for calving, late January to March; for fewer vehicles and lower prices, consider November or early June.
Two to three nights is a good minimum. With four or more you can combine two areas, such as central and northern Serengeti.
Lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo are seen regularly. Black rhino are present in small numbers (for example around Moru) but are more reliably seen in the Ngorongoro Crater.
A Wild Host specialist in Arusha replies with a written itinerary and quotation.
