3-Day Best Wildlife Safari: Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater

Your safari begins early in the morning with collection from your hotel or another agreed location in Arusha. Meet your professional driver-guide and start the scenic journey toward Serengeti National Park.

Travel through Tanzania’s northern countryside and ascend into the green Ngorongoro Highlands. The route offers beautiful views of farmland, villages and forested hills before continuing through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. As you approach the Serengeti, the highland landscape gradually opens into vast grass-covered plains.

Enter Serengeti National Park and begin your first game drive while travelling toward your camp. The name Serengeti comes from a Maasai word meaning “endless plains,” an appropriate description of the park’s immense savannah landscapes.

During the game drive, look for lions, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest and several species of antelope. The Serengeti is also home to cheetahs, leopards, spotted hyenas and an impressive variety of birds. Wildlife sightings will depend on the season and animal movements, with your guide selecting the most rewarding areas to explore.

Arrive at your camp in the evening for dinner and a relaxing night surrounded by the sounds of the African wilderness.

Accommodation: Serengeti Classic View Camp
Activities: Transfer from Arusha and afternoon Serengeti game drive

Accommodation: Serengeti Classic View Camp

After breakfast, depart for another exciting game drive in Serengeti National Park. The morning provides an excellent opportunity to observe wildlife while temperatures are cooler and animals are active.

Explore the park’s open grasslands, acacia woodlands, river valleys and rocky kopjes. The kopjes provide resting and observation points for lions and other predators, while the surrounding plains attract large numbers of grazing animals.

Your guide will search for wildlife and interpret the behaviour of the animals you encounter. You may see prides of lions resting in the grass, elephants moving between feeding areas, giraffes browsing on acacia trees or herds of wildebeest and zebras crossing the plains. Leopards may sometimes be found resting in trees, while cheetahs favour open areas where they can watch for prey.

The Serengeti is also the setting for the Great Migration, during which enormous herds of wildebeest and zebras move through the wider ecosystem in search of fresh grazing and water. Their exact location depends on seasonal rainfall, so migration sightings cannot be guaranteed throughout the year.

After your game drive, begin the journey toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Enjoy the changing scenery as you leave the open Serengeti plains and travel toward the elevated crater highlands.

Arrive at your lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay before the following day’s crater adventure.

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Safari Lodge
Activities: Serengeti game drive and transfer to Ngorongoro

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Safari Lodge

After an early breakfast, travel to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Stop to admire the spectacular view across the caldera before descending approximately 600 metres to the crater floor for a memorable game drive.

Formed following the collapse of an ancient volcano, the Ngorongoro Crater contains grasslands, woodland, freshwater springs, wetlands and a soda lake. These different habitats support one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife.

During the game drive, search for wildebeest, zebras, buffaloes, gazelles, warthogs, hippos and elephants. Predators commonly found in the crater include lions, spotted hyenas and jackals. The crater is also one of Tanzania’s best places to search for the endangered black rhinoceros, although sightings remain a matter of luck.

The crater’s lakes and wetlands support abundant birdlife. Depending on water levels and seasonal conditions, you may see flamingos, crowned cranes, ostriches and various birds of prey.

After exploring the crater floor, ascend the crater walls and begin the scenic drive back to Arusha. You will arrive in the late afternoon or early evening, marking the end of your three-day Serengeti and Ngorongoro wildlife safari.

Activities: Ngorongoro Crater game drive and transfer to Arusha