Day 1: Arrival in Tanzania – Arusha

Overnight: Luxury lodge in Arusha

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be welcomed by your private safari driver-guide and transferred to your luxury lodge in Arusha. After the journey, take time to settle into your room and enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

Depending on your arrival time, you can relax by the swimming pool, enjoy the lodge gardens or take a short drive around Arusha. Your guide will explain the safari programme and answer any questions about the coming days.

Dinner will be served at the lodge, with time to rest before the adventure begins.

Meals: Dinner, depending on arrival time

Day 2: Tarangire National Park – Transfer to Karatu

Overnight: Luxury lodge in Karatu

After an early breakfast, depart for Tarangire National Park with your private guide. The park is known for its large elephant herds, ancient baobab trees and open savannah landscapes.

Spend the morning exploring the park in search of elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes and antelopes. Lions may be seen resting in the shade or following herds of grazing animals. Tarangire also offers excellent opportunities for birdwatching.

Enjoy a picnic lunch in a designated area before continuing your afternoon game drive along the park’s wildlife-rich tracks.

Later in the afternoon, leave Tarangire and drive towards Karatu, a green highland town near the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Arrive at your luxury lodge in time to relax before dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

Day 3: Karatu to Ndutu – Enter the Wildebeest Calving Grounds

Overnight: Luxury tented camp in Ndutu

After breakfast, travel towards Ndutu, the heart of the southern Serengeti ecosystem during the wildebeest calving season. The drive takes you through changing landscapes, from the Ngorongoro highlands to the wide, open grasslands where the migrating herds gather.

As you approach Ndutu, watch for large groups of wildebeest and zebras feeding on the fresh grass. During the calving season, the plains may be dotted with newborn calves staying close to their mothers.

Enjoy a game drive en route, stopping whenever wildlife activity allows. Your guide will look for predators such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas and jackals that are often attracted to the concentration of young animals.

Arrive at your luxury tented camp in the afternoon. Settle into your spacious tent, enjoy afternoon refreshments and take in the surrounding wilderness before dinner under the African sky.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 4: Full-Day Wildebeest Calving Safari in Ndutu

Overnight: Luxury tented camp in Ndutu

Today is dedicated to exploring the calving grounds, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours when many animals are active.

After a light breakfast or coffee at camp, set out across the southern plains in search of the migrating herds. Your guide will follow recent wildlife sightings and the condition of the grasslands to choose the most promising areas.

Watch wildebeest mothers caring for their calves, newborns learning to stand and young animals finding their feet shortly after birth. You may also encounter zebras, Thomson’s gazelles and other grazing species moving among the herds.

The abundance of prey attracts predators, making Ndutu a rewarding place to look for lions, cheetahs and spotted hyenas. With patience and a little luck, you may witness a hunt or other natural predator behaviour, although sightings can never be guaranteed.

Enjoy a picnic lunch during the game drive, then continue exploring the plains, seasonal lakes and woodland edges. Return to camp in the late afternoon for a shower, drinks around the campfire and a freshly prepared dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

Day 5: Ndutu Wildlife Photography and Migration Exploration

Overnight: Luxury tented camp in Ndutu

Spend another full day in Ndutu, allowing more time to explore different parts of the calving grounds. A second full day is valuable because wildlife movements change constantly, and the location of the largest herds can shift with rainfall and grazing conditions.

Begin with an early morning game drive, when soft light creates excellent conditions for photography. Look for wildebeest families moving across the plains, zebras grazing beside them and predators scanning the herds from patches of grass or low rises.

Your guide can spend extra time at promising sightings, helping you observe animal behaviour without rushing from one location to another. Depending on the day’s sightings, you may explore areas around Lake Ndutu, Lake Masek and the surrounding plains.

Return to camp for lunch and a short rest, or enjoy a full-day outing with a picnic lunch if wildlife activity makes it worthwhile.

In the afternoon, continue looking for elephants, giraffes, hyenas, lions and other animals. Later, return to camp to enjoy the quiet atmosphere of the wilderness and a final evening in the calving region.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 6: Ndutu to Ngorongoro Crater – Afternoon at a Luxury Lodge

Overnight: Luxury lodge in Karatu

After breakfast, leave Ndutu and travel towards the https://www.ngorongorocrater.org/. Depending on your preferred pace and the camp’s location, there may be opportunities for wildlife viewing along the way.

Continue to Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive on its wildlife-rich floor. The crater’s grasslands, freshwater pools, swamps and woodland provide habitats for a variety of animals.

Look for elephants, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, hippos and lions. The crater is also one of Tanzania’s best places to look for the endangered black rhinoceros, although sightings are not guaranteed.

Enjoy a picnic lunch at a designated site before continuing your exploration of the crater. Your guide will help identify wildlife and explain the area’s remarkable volcanic landscape and conservation importance.

In the afternoon, ascend to the crater rim and continue to your luxury lodge in Karatu. Spend the evening relaxing, enjoying dinner and reflecting on the wildlife encounters of the safari.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

Day 7: Breakfast and Transfer to Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport

End of safari

Enjoy breakfast at your lodge before beginning the return journey to Arusha or Kilimanjaro International Airport, depending on your onward travel arrangements.

If your flight departs later in the day, there may be time for a relaxed morning at the lodge or a short stop along the way, subject to your flight schedule and transfer arrangements.

Your driver-guide will assist with the transfer and ensure you arrive with sufficient time for check-in.

Your seven-day safari concludes with memories of the wildebeest calving grounds, Tanzania’s remarkable predators, the elephant country of Tarangire and the dramatic scenery of Ngorongoro.

Meals: Breakfast

Arusha – Night 1

A high-end lodge or boutique hotel with comfortable suites, landscaped gardens, quality dining and a swimming pool.

Karatu – Nights 2 and 6

A luxury highland lodge with spacious rooms, excellent cuisine, warm hospitality and views of the surrounding countryside.

Ndutu – Nights 3, 4 and 5

A premium seasonal tented camp close to the calving grounds, with en-suite tents, comfortable beds, attentive service and freshly prepared meals. A well-positioned seasonal camp is especially useful during the migration period.

Jan

January

Herds gather on the southern plains

A good time to look for large herds arriving on the green grasslands, with calving activity beginning or increasing.

Feb

February

A strong choice for newborn calves

February is often the highlight of the calving season, with many young wildebeest on the plains and predators actively hunting.

Mar

March

Green-season wildlife viewing

Herds may still be present, although rainfall and grazing conditions influence where they gather and when they begin moving away.