4 days · Safari
Tarangire, Serengeti & Ngorongoro
The classic four-day northern circuit, taking in elephant country, the Serengeti plains and the crater floor without ever feeling rushed.
Is this trip for you?
Trip type
Private departure
Every safari is yours alone: your own Land Cruiser, your own driver-guide, your own dates. We do not sell seats on a shared vehicle, so the day runs at your pace and the itinerary changes when you want it to.
Ages
All ages
Children are welcome and we run family safaris regularly. A few camps set minimum ages, and long transfer days are hard on younger children, so family itineraries get shorter drives and more rest.
Fitness
No fitness requirement
Game drives are done sitting down. The demanding part is the road, not the walking. Tell us about mobility needs and we will plan around them.
Group size: 1 to 7 travellers per vehicle, everyone on a window seat
Day by day.
-
1
Arusha to Tarangire
Depart after breakfast for Tarangire, with an afternoon game drive along the river among elephant, giraffe and the park's enormous baobabs. Overnight near Tarangire.
- Overnight
- Near Tarangire
- Where
- Tarangire National Park
- Driving
- 2 to 2.5 hours from Arusha
- Meals
- Lunch and dinner
-
2
Through Ngorongoro to the Serengeti
We cross the Ngorongoro highlands and stop at the crater rim viewpoint before descending onto the Serengeti plains. Game viewing begins as soon as we enter the park and continues to camp. Overnight in the central Serengeti.
- Overnight
- Central Serengeti
- Where
- Ngorongoro highlands, then Serengeti
- Driving
- 6 to 7 hours, game viewing from the gate
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
3
Full day in the Serengeti
A whole day on the plains, starting at first light when the cats are active. We work the Seronera valley for lion and leopard and follow the herds wherever they happen to be. Overnight in the Serengeti.
- Overnight
- Central Serengeti
- Where
- Serengeti National Park
- Driving
- A full day out with a picnic lunch
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
4
Crater descent and return
An early departure back through the Ngorongoro gate and down onto the crater floor for a morning game drive. Picnic lunch beside the hippo pool, then we climb out and drive back to Arusha or Moshi, arriving in the evening.
- Overnight
- You travel home
- Where
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Driving
- 8 to 9 hours in total, including the crater
- Meals
- Breakfast and a picnic lunch
Where you sleep.
Camping
Einoti's own camping safari: a two-person tent on the public campsites inside or beside the parks, pitched by the crew, with a safari cook travelling with you and cooking on site. Bring a sleeping bag and mat, or hire them from us. It is the cheapest way to travel and the closest to the bush you will get.
Comfort
Small lodges and permanent tented camps just outside the parks. En-suite bathrooms, hot water, solid food and a real bed. The difference from the tier above is the location and the size of the room, not the safety or the cleanliness. Note that there is no accommodation inside Lake Manyara National Park at any tier: the options there are around Karatu or inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Classic
Mid-range lodges and tented camps, usually inside the park or on its boundary, which buys you an earlier start at the gate and a longer evening. Pools at most properties, and a proper restaurant.
Premium
Small luxury camps and lodges in the best positions on each circuit, including mobile camps that follow the migration. Fewer rooms, more staff, and a view you will not want to leave in the morning.
We book against availability for your dates rather than naming a property we may not be able to get you into. Your written quotation names every lodge and camp before you pay anything.
What is included
- All park entrance and administrative fees
- All meals while on safari
- 1.5 litres of drinking water per person per day
- Transfers from and to your hotel
- 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof while on safari
- Professional English-speaking driver-guide
- Staff fees
- Accommodation where noted in the itinerary
- A walking tour in those protected areas that allow one
Not included
- International airfares and departure taxes
- Visa fees
- All items of a personal nature
- Tips and gratuities for hotel and lodge staff, camp staff, your driver and guides
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
- Laundry services
When to go.
June to October — dry season
The busiest and most expensive months, and the easiest game viewing of the year. Water is scarce, so animals concentrate on the rivers and waterholes and the grass is short enough to see through. The Mara River crossings fall in the northern Serengeti between roughly July and September.
January to March — short dry season
Hot, green and much quieter than the June-to-October rush. The wildebeest are calving on the southern Serengeti plains in February, which is the single best month of the year for predator sightings.
November to December — short rains
Rain falls in the afternoon and rarely stops a day. The parks are green, the migration is moving south, and both lodges and park traffic are lighter.
April and May — long rains
The wettest months. Some camps close and some tracks become difficult, but the parks are empty and the light is extraordinary. We plan these trips around the surfaced roads and the lodges that stay open.
Questions about this trip.
Why is this the itinerary you run most often?
It reaches the Serengeti and the crater without a wasted day. Four days is the shortest sensible way to do both, and the fourth day is the crater floor, which is the one most people came for.
How much of the trip is spent driving?
Two long days, one full game-viewing day and one crater morning. The drive from the Serengeti back to Arusha on the last day is the long one — eight to nine hours including the crater — so we start it early.
Is one full day in the Serengeti enough?
It is enough to see it. It is not enough to sit with a leopard for an hour and still get somewhere else afterwards. If that matters to you, add a day.
On this route
Where you will be.
Compare
Other safari journeys.
Tarangire, Ngorongoro & Lake Manyara
The shortest itinerary that still does the northern circuit justice: elephants in Tarangire, the forest and lake at Manyara, and a full descent into the Ngorongoro Crater.
- Tarangire's dry-season elephant herds
- Full crater descent
- Groundwater forest at Manyara
Pricing on request View itinerary
Serengeti & Ngorongoro Classic
Two full days on the Serengeti plains plus the crater, with enough time to sit with a sighting instead of moving on from it.
- Two full Serengeti days
- Crater floor descent
- Optional dawn balloon flight
Pricing on request View itinerary
Six-Day Northern Circuit
All four northern parks at an unhurried pace, with two nights in the Serengeti and a night on the Ngorongoro rim.
- Four parks, no rushed days
- Two Serengeti nights
- Manyara's forest and lake
Pricing on request View itinerary
Plan it with us
Make this itinerary yours.
Add days, drop a park, change the pace. This is a starting point, not a fixed departure.