# Tanzania Up Close: Culture, Safari and the Great Migration Two days among Tarangire's elephants, a morning in a Maasai village and a class at a local school, the Ngorongoro Crater, and then north to the Mara River while the herds are crossing. A twelve-day dry-season journey from Tarangire through the Ngorongoro Crater to the northern Serengeti, timed for the Mara River crossings. - **Length:** 12 days, 11 nights - **Route:** Tarangire National Park → Ngorongoro Crater → Serengeti National Park - **Style:** Private - **Comfort:** Comfort - **Pace:** Balanced - **Best months:** July, August, September, October ## Day by day ### Day 1: Fly to Tanzania Your overnight flight to Tanzania. ### Day 2: Arrival near Arusha A Carnivores Safaris representative meets you outside Kilimanjaro International Airport and drives you to your hotel on a working coffee farm outside Arusha. The chalets face the coffee, each with a private deck looking out over old indigenous trees. This is an arrival day, so no meals are included. ### Day 3: Tarangire National Park Drive south-west to Tarangire, less than two hours from Arusha and often passed over for the Serengeti. The Tarangire River is the only permanent water in the area, so animals travel long distances to reach it: elephant, wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, eland, gerenuk, lion and leopard. Spend the day between Silale Swamp, the open country called Little Serengeti and the river bed, with lunch in the park. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 4: Tarangire National Park Morning and afternoon game drives in Tarangire. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 5: Village day, then the Ngorongoro rim After breakfast, visit a Maasai village as the community begins its morning, then Lucas Mhina Primary School, where most pupils are Maasai children, to sit in on classes and talk with teachers and students. Walk through Mto wa Mbu and have lunch cooked by a local family. In the afternoon drive up to the Ngorongoro rim, arriving at your lodge for sunset. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater Descend into the crater for a morning game drive. Grass and water are there all year, so zebra, gazelle, wildebeest, elephant, warthog and rhino stay, and lions with them. Picnic lunch on the crater floor, then back to the lodge in time for sunset. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 7: Oldupai Gorge to the Serengeti Leave the highlands for the Serengeti, stopping at Oldupai Gorge, where an on-site talk explains the work of Louis and Mary Leakey and the early human fossils found here. Lunch at the gorge, then a game drive into the Serengeti, reaching camp for sunset. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 8: Central Serengeti Leave at 6am with a picnic breakfast for a hippo pool, arriving as the hippos return to the water after a night of grazing. Then follow the Seronera River, which holds water all year and draws lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena as well as elephant and giraffe. Lunch and a rest at camp, then an afternoon drive that ends with a sundowner. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 9: North to the Mara River Move north to the Serengeti near the Kenyan border and the Mara River. Between August and October the wildebeest and zebra are here, and with luck you will see them cross the river, where crocodiles and hippos wait. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 10: Northern Serengeti A full day exploring the northern Serengeti, following the herds and watching the river. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ### Day 11: Fly to Arusha and home After a slow breakfast, game drive to Kogatende airstrip for the 1.5-hour flight to Arusha. Lunch in Arusha and a day room, then the drive to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight home. - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch ### Day 12: Arrive home You arrive home. ## Included - Accommodation and meals as listed in the itinerary, with three meals a day on safari days - A private 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof (up to six seats) and your driver-guide - Your guide team, with a contact number answered 24 hours a day - Government taxes and levies, and your departure transfer - Flying Doctors emergency evacuation cover while you are on safari - Park and crater fees, and fees for village visits - Drinking water during the safari ## Not included - International flights - Tips for guides and lodge staff - Visa fees and travel insurance - Drinks, alcoholic and soft, other than drinking water - Laundry - Personal spending such as souvenirs, phone calls and extras at lodges - Anything not listed in the itinerary --- Source: https://carnivoressafaris.co.tz/safaris/tanzania-up-close-culture-safari-great-migration Last updated: 2026-10-16 Plan a journey: https://carnivoressafaris.co.tz/plan-your-safari