6 Days July Tanzania Private Safari | Great Wildebeest Migration

Main Day Experience: Begin your private Tanzania safari among Tarangire's elephants, baobabs and varied dry-season wildlife.

Drive to Tarangire

After breakfast, we collect you from your Arusha hotel and drive approximately 120 km to Tarangire National Park in 2–2.5 hrs, excluding traffic and comfort stops.

Morning wildlife viewing

We begin exploring Tarangire's woodland, open plains and areas around the Tarangire River. Elephants are frequently encountered, while giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes and predators may also be seen.

Lunch & afternoon safari

After a picnic lunch, we continue with approximately 2–3 hrs of afternoon game viewing, depending on wildlife activity and the time available.

Continue to Karatu

Later, we leave Tarangire and travel approximately 70 km to Karatu in 1.5 hrs, excluding stops and road delays.

Main Day Experience: Cross the Ngorongoro highlands and enter Central Serengeti for your first experience of the Serengeti ecosystem.

Morning departure

After breakfast, we leave Karatu and travel through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We cross the highlands without descending into the crater, saving Ngorongoro for the return journey.

Drive towards Serengeti

The journey to Central Serengeti covers approximately 200–220 km with 5–6 hrs of direct driving. This excludes park formalities, lunch, wildlife stops and road delays.

Enter Serengeti National Park

Once inside Serengeti, the transfer becomes part of the day's game drive. We can stop for wildlife encountered along the route rather than driving directly to camp.

Central Serengeti game drive

Depending on arrival time, we explore the Seronera region before continuing to camp. Lions, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, cheetahs and other wildlife may be encountered.

Main Day Experience: Follow the Great Migration route north towards Kogatende and the Mara River region.

Morning Serengeti game drive

We begin with wildlife viewing as we leave Central Serengeti. This allows us to explore productive areas without treating the day as only a transfer north.

Travel towards Kogatende

The journey from Central to Northern Serengeti is approximately 150–170 km with 4–5 hrs of direct driving. The actual journey is longer with wildlife sightings, lunch and comfort stops.

Follow the July Great Migration

July generally brings increasing numbers of wildebeest and zebra towards Northern Serengeti. Your guide uses current information and conditions on the ground to decide where worthwhile migration activity may be found.

For a six-day itinerary, concentrating time in the Serengeti is important. Our guide on how many days you need for a Great Migration safari explains how safari duration affects migration planning.

Arrive in Northern Serengeti

We continue towards Kogatende and settle into camp, positioning you close to the main northern migration areas for tomorrow's full-day safari.

Main Day Experience: Spend a full day tracking the July Serengeti Great Migration around Kogatende and the Mara River ecosystem.

Morning migration search

After breakfast, we begin approximately 3–4 hrs of game viewing based on current herd movements. Large concentrations of wildebeest and zebra may be present, but their exact position varies.

Explore the Mara River

If migration activity makes it worthwhile, we explore accessible areas around the Mara River. Wildebeest crossings are natural events and cannot be scheduled or guaranteed, even when large herds are close to the river.

Lunch break

We stop for lunch before continuing the safari. Your private vehicle allows us to adjust the timing depending on wildlife activity.

Afternoon migration safari

We continue for approximately 2–3 hrs, combining migration tracking with Northern Serengeti's resident wildlife, including possible sightings of lions, elephants, giraffes and other species.

Main Day Experience: Game drive south through Serengeti while returning towards the Ngorongoro highlands.

Start south after breakfast

We leave Northern Serengeti after breakfast and begin the journey south. This is the longest road day of the itinerary, so we start early and use wildlife and meal stops to break up the drive.

Game drive through Serengeti

Depending on camp location and route, we cover approximately 250–300 km with 7–8 hrs of direct driving. The total journey can be longer because this estimate excludes wildlife sightings, lunch, park formalities and road conditions.

Lunch & wildlife stops

We stop for lunch and continue game viewing along the route. Wildlife encounters are still part of the safari rather than treating the day purely as a transfer.

Continue to Ngorongoro

Later, we leave the Serengeti plains and continue towards the Ngorongoro area. If you are comparing different migration safari budgets, our Great Migration safari cost guide explains the main factors affecting prices.

Main Day Experience: Explore Ngorongoro Crater before completing your 6 Days July Tanzania Private Safari | Serengeti Great Migration in Arusha.

Morning crater descent

After breakfast, we travel towards Ngorongoro Crater. From the Karatu area, reaching the crater descent point generally takes around 45–60 min, depending on lodge location and entrance procedures.

Ngorongoro Crater game drive

We descend to the crater floor for approximately 4–5 hrs of game viewing. Wildebeest, zebras, buffaloes, hippos, elephants and lions may be encountered, while black rhinos are present but sightings cannot be guaranteed.

Picnic lunch & ascent

After lunch, we complete our final crater wildlife viewing and ascend towards the highlands.

Return to Arusha

We drive approximately 180–190 km to Arusha in 3.5–4 hrs, excluding traffic and comfort stops.

If you are departing Tanzania the same day, we can continue approximately 55 km from Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport in 1–1.5 hrs, with the day's schedule planned around your confirmed flight.