8 Days Great Northern Migration

Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer to your Arusha hotel for a rest and safari briefing.

Drive to Tarangire National Park. The Tarangire River is a magnet for wildlife in the dry season — enormous elephant herds, zebra, wildebeest, and giraffe converge on the water. Ancient baobab trees frame the landscape, and lions rest in their shade through the heat of the day.

Drive to Ngorongoro and descend into Africa's most famous caldera. The Big Five all inhabit this enclosed bowl — black rhino graze near the soda lake, lion prides work the open floor, and large herds of buffalo move in slow, dusty columns. Visit a Maasai community on the crater rim before settling in for the night.

Drive across the Ngorongoro highlands and onto the Serengeti plains. Arrive in the Seronera area for an afternoon game drive through classic acacia savannah. Leopards drape themselves across branch forks, while cheetahs scan the open plains from raised ground.

Drive north to Kogatende, positioned 45 minutes from the Mara River crossing points. Between July and October, columns of wildebeest plunge into the crocodile-filled river in one of nature's most electrifying spectacles. Your guide monitors crossing activity so you are positioned when it happens.

A full day at the Mara River. The crossings are unpredictable but unforgettable — tens of thousands of animals massing on the bank, then surging into the water as crocodiles strike. Between crossings, big cats work the exhausted stragglers on both banks.

Final game drives in the northern Serengeti. If conditions favour another crossing, you will be there. The vast herds also attract cheetah, leopard, and lion in unusually high densities. The resident wildlife is spectacular even when the crossings are between rounds.

Board your light aircraft from the northern Serengeti airstrip and fly back to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward journey home.