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Wildlife Tours
6 Days / 5 Days
$ 3,824
The 6-Day Grumeti River Migration safari is timed to the third week of May through the second week of July, when the Great Migration’s herds pass through the Western Corridor and face their first major river crossing of the annual cycle: the Grumeti. Less crowded than the Mara crossings further north, the Grumeti nonetheless draws huge Nile crocodiles that lie in wait as wildebeest and zebra gather at the water’s edge — a genuinely dramatic spectacle in its own right, and one witnessed by far fewer visitors.
From the Western Corridor, this itinerary continues into the Central Serengeti’s wildlife-dense Seronera area before concluding with a full descent into the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. It’s a compact six-day circuit that combines an early, quieter Migration season with two of northern Tanzania’s most reliably rewarding wildlife areas.
Your safari begins with a short transfer to Arusha Airport, where you'll board a light aircraft for the roughly 3-hour flight into the heart of the Serengeti's Western Corridor, landing at the Grumeti Airstrip. If this is your first glimpse of the Serengeti from above, nothing quite prepares you for the primeval vastness of the plains unfolding beneath the wings.
After touching down, you'll transfer to your lodge for lunch before heading out on your first game drive, welcomed into a landscape where elephant, giraffe, wildebeest, baboon, and lion are all resident year-round. At this time of the year, in late May and June, the Migration's arrival sets an entirely different scene, with huge Nile crocodiles gathering in anticipation of the herds' first major river crossing of the season.
Comfortable tented camp overlooking the Western Corridor's grasslands.
Elegant, colonial-styled tented camp with elevated finishes and river views.
Exclusive, intimate tented camp on the banks of the Grumeti River itself.
With a full day ahead, your driver-guide will choose from a series of game-drive “loops” that depart from and reconnect with the main road, each threading through a different type of vegetation and habitat. A particular highlight of this region is its collection of hippo pools, where dozens of hippos wallow through the heat of the day — genuinely some of the easiest wildlife-spotting anywhere on safari.
The Western Corridor is also home to a localized population of black-and-white colobus monkeys — a lowland subspecies distinct from those found elsewhere in Tanzania — and to Tanzania's highest recorded density of topi. Whether it's the Grumeti crossing, a lumbering hippo heading out to feed at dusk, or simply the highest vantage point from which to watch the sun set over the plains, your driver-guide will draw on deep local knowledge to find the day's highlight.
Overnight again at your Western Serengeti lodge.
After a final morning game drive in the Western Corridor, you'll begin the roughly 80km (2.5 hour) transfer east to the Central Serengeti, often called the park's “wildlife hub.” Wildlife sightings continue right through the drive, and your driver-guide will use the journey itself as an extended game drive, tracking whatever the morning's radio chatter suggests is worth a detour for.
On arrival, you'll check in for lunch before heading straight back out for your first Central Serengeti game drive. This area is defined by the Seronera River, which threads through open grassland punctuated by dramatic granite kopjes — rocky outcrops that serve as lookout posts and sunbathing spots for the region's resident lions, leopards, and cheetahs.
Comfortable tented camp close to the Seronera wildlife hub.
Refined tented camp among the kopjes, with elevated service and dining.
Exclusive, high-end lodge with sweeping views over the central plains.
Today is entirely given over to exploring the Serengeti's beating heart, with morning and afternoon game drives covering the plains, riverine woodland, and kopje country around Seronera. Wildlife here rarely needs seeking out — more often it feels as though it comes to find you, and your driver-guide's local knowledge means today's specific highlight is genuinely impossible to predict in advance.
Lunch is taken out in the bush, one of the more memorable meals of any safari, before an afternoon spent searching further afield. Because this area sits precisely where bushland meets open grassland, it's an especially reliable spot for big cats hunting at the margins between cover and open ground — expect a real chance at lion, leopard, and cheetah on the same day, alongside more predictable elephant, buffalo, and giraffe.
Overnight again at your Central Serengeti lodge.
Today your adventure takes you out of the Serengeti National Park and leads to another of Tanzania's true wonders, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. After a morning game drive and lunch, you'll head south-east toward Ngorongoro, a distance of around 145km taking roughly 3.5 hours, passing Simba Kopjes — familiar from The Lion King — en route to Naabi Hill Gate, marking the divide between the two conservation areas.
This afternoon brings your first sight of the spectacular, incomparable Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest intact volcanic caldera and the heart of the Conservation Area of the same name — unsurprisingly, another of Tanzania's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You'll check in to your lodge on the crater rim in good time to settle in before tomorrow's descent.
Comfortable tented camp on the crater rim with views over the highlands.
Premium tented camp with elevated finishes on the crater rim.
Exclusive, iconic lodge perched directly on the crater rim itself.
From your accommodation, you'll set off after breakfast with a 6am departure, reaching the rim before descending into the vast crater itself. On one side sits the Lerai Forest, a pocket of near-tropical mountain forest and good elephant country; nearby, swampland sometimes called the 'elephant graveyard' draws aging male tuskers to its soft grasses in their final years.
The crater supports around 120 lions with well-defined territories, alongside some 15,000 wildebeest, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and roughly 50 black rhino, with buffalo, Thomson's gazelle, and eland also present in numbers, and flamingos often visible on Lake Magadi. After your crater visit and lunch, you'll begin the roughly 4-hour, 250km journey back to Kilimanjaro International Airport, connecting with your onward or departure flight.
Once you land at Grumeti, a dedicated safari vehicle and driver-guide will be waiting to take you through the Western and Central Serengeti, continuing by road to the Ngorongoro Crater rim on Day 5. Vehicles are open-sided 4x4s with guaranteed window seats for optimal wildlife viewing and photography. If you’d like to enhance your comfort further, optional extras such as blankets, binoculars, and gourmet lunch packs can be arranged at an additional cost. Early booking is recommended, particularly for the late May to early July Grumeti crossing window.
Well-appointed tented camps with en-suite facilities and full-board meals, positioned across the Western Serengeti, Central Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater rim.
Premium tented camps with refined finishes, elevated dining, and a more intimate atmosphere across all three sectors of this itinerary.
Our top-tier, design-led properties in each sector — exclusive settings, the highest level of service, and some of northern Tanzania's most celebrated addresses.
We offer the following transfer options
Standard transfer service from the international airport to the town of Moshi, ensuring a smooth arrival for your mountain trek or safari.
Reliable departure transfer taking you from your hotel in Moshi directly to the airport terminal for your onward flight.
Direct road transfer connecting the safari hub of Arusha to the gateway town of Moshi, perfect for transitioning between regional destinations.
Convenient transfer service from Moshi back to Arusha, ideal for travelers heading out to safari circuits or city exploration.
Get an indicative per-person cost for the 6-Day Grumeti River Migration fly-in safari. Figures are approximate guides only — your final quote will depend on exact lodges, season, and availability.