This eight-day safari is built around extra time in each park rather than extra parks, on the idea that patience matters more than mileage when you're after lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. Two full days open the trip in Tarangire's elephant country, followed by three unhurried days across different parts of the Serengeti, and the safari closes with two full days inside the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the few places left where black rhino turn up with any regularity. None of the Big Five is ever guaranteed on a given day, but the extra time here gives you a real shot at all five rather than a rushed pass through each park. Quality lodges and tented camps, full board, and a driver-guide who's genuinely good at spotting make this the most thorough of our comfort-tier northern circuit routes.
Safari HighlightsYour driver-guide picks you up from your Arusha hotel or Kilimanjaro International Airport and drives you to Tarangire National Park. After lunch, you head out on an afternoon game drive through baobab-studded plains, watching for the elephant herds that gather along the river here.
🏨 Overnight: Tarangire Simba LodgeA full day in Tarangire's swamps and riverine forest, an area known for elephant numbers as well as resident lion prides, giraffe and plenty of birdlife.
🏨 Overnight: Tarangire Simba LodgeAfter breakfast, the drive continues to the Serengeti, climbing through the Ngorongoro Highlands with a stop at the Oldupai Gorge viewpoint. You'll arrive with time for an afternoon game drive out on the open plains.
🏨 Overnight: Serengeti Acacia Tented CampToday is spent in the Seronera Valley, the central part of the ecosystem where wildlife tends to stay put year-round, with a good concentration of lion and leopard around its granite kopjes.
🏨 Overnight: Serengeti Acacia Tented CampYou head to a different part of the Serengeti today, following wildlife movements that shift with the season and watching the open grassland for cheetah, with a picnic lunch out among the herds.
🏨 Overnight: Serengeti Acacia Tented CampOne more morning game drive before you leave the Serengeti and climb back up through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to your lodge on the crater rim. You'll arrive with time to settle in and watch the light change over the caldera at sunset.
🏨 Overnight: Karatu Simba LodgeYou descend into the Ngorongoro Crater at dawn for a full day focused on tracking the crater's resident black rhino, alongside lion, elephant, buffalo and wildebeest, with a picnic lunch beside the Lerai Forest.
🏨 Overnight: Karatu Simba LodgeAfter a relaxed breakfast, it's back down through the Rift Valley to Arusha, timed to reach the airport in good time for your onward flight from Kilimanjaro International Airport.
✈ Transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport| Season | Per Person (sharing) | Group of 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Peak Season (Jul–Sep, late Dec) | $5,760 | $29,380 |
| High Season (Jun, Oct) | $5,050 | $25,760 |
| Low Season (Mar–May) | $4,206 | $21,450 |
June to October brings the driest, clearest conditions for this kind of Big Five focus, with wildlife concentrating around Tarangire's rivers and predators generally easier to spot across the Serengeti's open plains. November's short rains green everything up and thin out the crowds, while March to May, the long rains, is the cheapest time of year to travel, with dramatic skies and calving season down south, though some tracks get harder going after heavy rain.
Tell us your travel dates and group size — we'll confirm availability and send a tailored quote within 24 hours.