8-Day Lake Natron & Migration Crossing Safari (July–October)

Upon your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK), a representative from Serengeti Wakanda Tours & Safaris will greet you and provide transport to your accommodation in Arusha. You will spend the night at the tranquil hotel, situated on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by a serene environment and a picturesque garden. This peaceful setting will prepare you for the exciting safari adventure that awaits you the next day. Overnight at Forest Hill Hotel – Mid-range hotel located near Arusha.

Your safari begins the moment you walk out of Kilimanjaro International Airport. A Serengeti Wakanda guide is waiting with your name on a board and the words every traveller wants to hear: karibu Tanzania, welcome to Tanzania.

We transfer you to your lodge in the Arusha foothills, where you can shower, change into safari clothes and settle in. Your driver-guide joins you for a relaxed welcome dinner, walks through tomorrow's plan in detail and answers every last question. An early night sets you up for the days ahead.

Where you sleep tonight

Forest Hill Hotel

Boutique hotel in Arusha

Boutique hotel on the leafy outskirts of Arusha, with great food and a calm pre-safari atmosphere.

You will be collected from your accommodation in Arusha for a 2.5-hour drive to Tarangire National Park, known for its elephants, iconic baobab trees, and seasonal swamps. Expect to see giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, lions, and more. Enjoy a picnic lunch within the park before continuing your game drive. Later, transfer to your lodge for dinner and overnight. Overnight at Moonbow Lodge – Semi-luxury lodge on the Rift Valley escarpment above Lake Manyara NP.

Tarangire is the elephant capital of northern Tanzania. In the dry season the Tarangire River is the only permanent water for miles, and herds of up to 250 elephants come down to drink, calves tumbling between their mothers' legs.

You spend the day on a private game drive through baobab-studded floodplains: lions resting in the shade, giraffe browsing acacia tops, fringe-eared oryx and the strange dwarf mongoose colonies. We pack a hot picnic lunch so you can stay in the park while the light is good.

Where you sleep tonight

Moonbow Lodge

Boutique lodge in Karatu

Quiet boutique lodge in the Karatu highlands — wood-and-canvas cottages with views over the coffee fields.

After breakfast, drive towards the remote and stunning Lake Natron. Stop for lunch at your tented lodge before visiting the base of Oldoinyo Lengai volcano and enjoying a sunset walk near the lake, home to thousands of flamingos and dramatic landscapes. Overnight at Africa Safari Lake Natron (Safari Luxury Glamping) – Mid-range tented camp.

Lake Manyara is a small park with an outsized reputation: a Rift Valley wall on one side, a shallow soda lake on the other and a strip of groundwater forest crammed between them. Tree-climbing lions, large baboon troops and clouds of flamingos.

You travel along the Rift escarpment with sweeping views over the lake, then drop into the forest for a half- or full-day game drive. Birders bring binoculars: more than 400 species have been recorded here.

Where you sleep tonight

Africa Safari Lake Natron

Tented lodge, Lake Natron

Tented lodge on the southern shore of Lake Natron, with Ol Doinyo Lengai rising in the distance.

Begin with a morning exploration around Lake Natron, including a visit to the hot springs and the Ngare Sero Waterfalls. After lunch, drive west and north into the remote Kogatende sector of the Northern Serengeti, arriving in time for a first look at the Mara River country before dinner. Overnight at Lala Salama Serengeti Camp – Mid-range tented camp inside Northern Serengeti NP.

Between July and October the Mara River in the far north of the Serengeti becomes the stage for the most dramatic act of the Great Migration. Wildebeest pile up on the banks, hesitate, plunge: crocodiles wait below, lions and hyenas above.

We position you at Kogatende or Lamai for two or three full days, which is what it takes to be in the right place when a crossing happens. Between rivers there are lions on the koppies, elephants in the Mara woodland and very few other vehicles.

Where you sleep tonight

Lala Salama Serengeti Camp

Tented camp, Serengeti

Classic tented camp pitched in the heart of the Serengeti — warm hosting, hearty bush meals and easy access to the plains right from your tent flap.

A full day dedicated to the Great Migration along the Mara River. Your guide reads the day's radio calls and positions the vehicle at the most promising crossing points, waiting for the herds to build up on the banks and plunge through the crocodile-filled waters. Between crossings you'll enjoy predator sightings, huge herds on the surrounding plains and a picnic breakfast in the field. Overnight at Lala Salama Serengeti Camp – Mid-range tented camp inside Northern Serengeti NP.

Between July and October the Mara River in the far north of the Serengeti becomes the stage for the most dramatic act of the Great Migration. Wildebeest pile up on the banks, hesitate, plunge: crocodiles wait below, lions and hyenas above.

We position you at Kogatende or Lamai for two or three full days, which is what it takes to be in the right place when a crossing happens. Between rivers there are lions on the koppies, elephants in the Mara woodland and very few other vehicles.

Where you sleep tonight

Lala Salama Serengeti Camp

Tented camp, Serengeti

Classic tented camp pitched in the heart of the Serengeti — warm hosting, hearty bush meals and easy access to the plains right from your tent flap.

Enjoy a full-day game drive starting at sunrise through Northern Serengeti and heading into Central Serengeti, rich with wildlife and dramatic scenery. Overnight at a luxury tented safari camp. Overnight at Lala Salama Serengeti Luxury Camp – Inside Central Serengeti.

Between July and October the Mara River in the far north of the Serengeti becomes the stage for the most dramatic act of the Great Migration. Wildebeest pile up on the banks, hesitate, plunge: crocodiles wait below, lions and hyenas above.

We position you at Kogatende or Lamai for two or three full days, which is what it takes to be in the right place when a crossing happens. Between rivers there are lions on the koppies, elephants in the Mara woodland and very few other vehicles.

Where you sleep tonight

Lala Salama Serengeti Camp

Tented camp, Serengeti

Classic tented camp pitched in the heart of the Serengeti — warm hosting, hearty bush meals and easy access to the plains right from your tent flap.

Start with a sunrise game drive and enjoy a bush breakfast. Continue into the Ndutu region in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area for dinner and overnight stay amid wild plains and acacia woodlands. Overnight at Lala Salama Serengeti Camp – Mid-range tented camp inside Ndutu (Southern Serengeti NP).

From December to March the migration spreads across the short-grass plains of Ndutu and southern Serengeti to calve. Half a million wildebeest are born in a six-week window, which in turn brings every predator within walking distance.

Our camp moves with the herds. Mornings are a slow circuit of the calving fields with cheetah hunting on open ground and lions on the woodland edge. Afternoons return to the lakes for sunset and a hot bucket shower back at camp.

Where you sleep tonight

Lala Salama Serengeti Camp

Tented camp, Serengeti

Classic tented camp pitched in the heart of the Serengeti — warm hosting, hearty bush meals and easy access to the plains right from your tent flap.

Depart early for a game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater, home to the Big Five and a high chance of spotting the rare black rhino. After exploring the crater floor, return to Arusha to conclude your safari.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a 260 km² collapsed caldera with 600 m walls, and the highest density of large mammals on Earth. Inside the crater floor live around 25,000 large animals, including the densest population of black-maned lions and one of the last strongholds of the eastern black rhino.

We descend at first light when the floor is still in shadow and the cats are working. A picnic breakfast on the rim, a full morning circuit past the soda lake's flamingos and Lerai Forest's elephants, then a climb back up the escarpment in time for a late lunch.