9-Day Serengeti Wildebeest Migration Safari

Welcome to Tanzania. On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, or any other arrival point, your safari driver guide will greet you with a warm meet-and-greet service and drive you comfortably by road to your lodge on the outskirts of Arusha.

Settle in, unwind after the long journey and join your guide for a briefing on the safari ahead. The lodge is a tranquil spot, and on clear days there are magnificent views of the rugged peaks of Mount Meru, Tanzania's second-highest volcanic mountain. The views are truly amazing.

Enjoy a relaxed dinner and your first night's stay in Africa.

After breakfast at around 08:00, your safari driver guide will collect you for the drive to Tarangire National Park, a magnificent sanctuary known for its large parades of dark-skinned, heavily wrinkled elephants. The park is cloaked in sun-baked savannah and iconic giant baobab trees, and is justly famous for sightings of African wild dogs, the elusive kudu and tree-climbing pythons.

During the dry season the wildlife concentrates along the Tarangire River, the park's only source of life, where animals come to drink, wallow and bathe. After a picnic lunch, enjoy a thrilling three- to four-hour game drive.

In the evening, continue to your lodge in the small, dusty town of Karatu for dinner and an overnight stay.

After breakfast at around 08:00, your guide will collect you for the drive to the great Serengeti. Rove across its endless open plains – a land that runs on forever – famed for the Great Migration, when vast herds move in search of fresh green grazing for nursing mothers and their calves and good breeding grounds.

This is a home of endless drama: hunts by the great carnivores, scavenging spotted hyenas, jackals and vultures, and countless other scenes of life on the plains that may unfold before you on safari.

Enjoy a well-prepared picnic lunch, then a short game drive before arriving at your camp in the central Serengeti for dinner and the night.

After breakfast at around 08:00, your guide will drive you to the northern part of the park for the best views of the migration. Marvel as millions of wildebeest and zebra attempt to cross the Mara River, which runs for some 395 km and is 20–35 m wide in places.

The river is thick with giant, ravenous Nile crocodiles lying silently beneath the murky water, waiting patiently to launch their first attack after a long period of dormancy. Lunch is a picnic out in the bush.

Dinner and overnight at your camp in the northern Serengeti.

Spend a second day on the banks of the Mara River for more chances to witness the crossings. It is a jaw-dropping, nerve-racking spectacle: the herds hurl themselves into the water knowing exactly what awaits them, yet they never give up.

Many never make it across – the old, lame, weak and sick, and those weakened by thirst, hunger and exhaustion, become easy targets for the predators. Enjoy picnic meals out in the field as you follow the action.

Return to your camp in the northern Serengeti for dinner and a second night.

Return to the central Serengeti, rated among the world's finest wildlife destinations and home to the greatest concentration of wildlife on earth. This vast sanctuary holds thousands of predators – marauding lions, elusive leopards, graceful cheetahs, African wild dogs and large clans of spotted hyenas.

Cruise through the park in search of the treasures hidden among its bushes, forests, kopjes and woodlands – you and your guide make an excellent search engine. Enjoy a picnic lunch, then a short afternoon game drive.

Dinner and the night are spent at your camp in the central Serengeti, where a campfire under a starry sky is available.

After breakfast at around 08:00, your guide will collect you for the drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with game viewing en route. Descend into the world's most renowned intact and unflooded volcanic caldera and explore its 260 sq km crater floor, taking in the breathtaking views of its magnificent walls.

Your guides are local experts who know the area intimately and may at any moment spot a black rhino – a large grey beast with two horns on its nose – either with a calf or alone. The crater also boasts a profusion of birds and other animals. Enjoy a hearty picnic lunch.

Afterwards, drive on to your lodge in the small, dusty town of Karatu for dinner and an overnight stay.

After breakfast at around 08:00, your guide will drive you to Mto wa Mbu village, known as 'Mosquito Creek'. Explore this beautifully set village and spend time with the local people, joining in their daily activities.

Taste local delicacies and home-made drinks, admire traditional attire and listen to traditional and mythical stories. Enjoy a hearty lunch along the way.

In the evening, drive on to your lodge in Arusha for a memorable final dinner and a wonderful night's rest.

Enjoy a final, unhurried breakfast at your lodge. Depending on your flight schedule, your safari driver guide will collect you and transfer you comfortably by road to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward flight home.

This marks the end of your safari. The whole Gip Adventure team wishes you a safe journey home, full of long-lasting memories of the Serengeti and its great herds.