If you are planning to visit Tanzania for safari only, then your trip could be as short as 7-11 nights. It is quite usual to deploy the whole of this time in the Serengeti region, mostly focused on Serengeti itself, usually supplemented with nights in Ngorongoro and optionally Tarangire.

7-11 nights 

Most of our guests tend to spend 12 to 18 nights in Tanzania, which is enough time to combine a good length safari in the Serengeti region with either further safari in the south (Ruaha, Selous) or west (Katavi, Mahale), or to head down to the tropical beaches of Zanzibar.  

12-18 nights 

We absolutely love putting together trips of three or more weeks. Sometimes we are lucky enough to work with guests who are taking a sabbatical from work or who are retired and just love to travel. In these trips, the possibilities become almost infinite and can cover several  countries.

19-28 nights 

Tanzania

Set on the East Coast of Africa, Tanzania is a truly remarkable place, the richest and most diverse safari country, with far more than its fair share of Africa’s crown jewels, including Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

This is the place to head if you are looking for a truly diverse African experience, usually an overland journey, with equal parts of epic wildlife, majestic volcanic scenery, authentic tribespeople, farms, villages and towns.

It’s also top of the list if you want to combine safari and tropical beaches.

In all honesty, Tanzania alone is worth several trips.

Trips from USD 4500

Kenya

Also on the East Coast of Africa, Kenya is the second most visited safari country on the continent, a place of great diversity, with popular reserves including the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo and Samburu, as well as some much more remote wilderness areas and an extensive tropical coastline.

Unfortunately, the better known reserves in Kenya can get very busy in core areas, so we need to tread carefully to deliver a quality safari.

If you are looking towards the upper end of the budget range, then trips can be remote and fabulous. But if you are looking for value, you may be better off looking at Tanzania or countries further south. 

Trips from USD 5000

Botswana

Moving to the south of the continent, Botswana is widely considered to offer the highest quality safari in Africa.

The experience is not as diverse as Tanzania, but the remoteness and purity of the bush experience is unsurpassed.

If you are looking for either an easy vacation or a deeply immersive wilderness experience, this is the place. We just need to be careful about the very high prices during the Jun-Oct dry season.

Botswana is great in combination with Victoria Falls, the Cape or the tropical beaches of Mozambique.

Trips from USD 6000

Our safari experts have incredible 
first-hand knowledge and an average
of 12 years experience building great 
trips.

Expertise and experience

Since 1999, we have created over a million sample  trips and helped over 120,000 guests fall in love with  safari Africa.

A proud history

Over the years we have polished our operation to be super-reliable. Arranging your trip should be almost as much fun  as going on safari. 

Seamless and fun

Your trip should cost no more than if 
you had booked all the components directly. You effectively get our services for free.

Delivering value

Every single trip that we build is unique. Your trip will be precisely tailored to meet the exact requirements of everyone in your group.

Supremely tailor-made

The first safari company on the internet, we helped to shape the modern safari and we continue to be the prime innovators in our field.

Original innovators

Tell us your whatever you know about your ideal trip. Whether you're drawn to specific wildlife, particular regions, or have preferences about the style of accommodation, the more we understand, the better we can help you to craft the perfect experience.

Share your ideas

South Africa

South Africa is by far the most popular location for safari. It is a vast and incredibly diverse country, with far more highlights than could ever be included in a single trip.

The primary trip shape is a combination of safari in Kruger, with time in Cape Town, the Whale Coast and the Cape Winelands.

There is a huge choice of safari accommodation, right across the price spectrum, including some of the best lower cost options in Africa, so this is often the place to head on a lower budget.

However, South Africa is a much more developed country than those further north and the safari experience can feel significantly less pure and wild.

Trips from USD 3500

Zimbabwe

Also in the southern part of Africa, Zimbabwe is best known for the Victoria Falls, but also offers some of the most earthy, authentic, heart-pumping safari on the continent.

If you are looking for a short safari of 3-5 nights, then Hwange has some great value options.

Otherwise, Zimbabwe is a relatively high-priced location, which appeals most to experienced Africa travellers, who appreciate the extremely high levels of safari guiding.

The walking safari here can be truly extraordinary, with deliberate approaches onto elephants and lions. 

Trips from USD 4500

Zambia

Set in southcentral Africa, Zambia is a delightful backwater, also best known for the Victoria Falls, but with a handful of superb safari reserves.

The camps here have a reputation for intimacy, authenticity and a pleasantly homespun feel, many with a marked leaning towards walking safari, which is always a good sign.

Zambia is a mid-to-high price safari environment, which tends to appeal most to experienced safari travellers in search of new frontiers and first timers who are specifically looking for somewhere unusual for their safari. 

Trips from USD 5000

This period represents the peak dry season, the most popular time to visit Serengeti. The wildlife will be clustered around the few permanent sources of water and very visible, whilst the migration herds will be in the north, with dramatic river crossings. But careful traffic avoidance is essential.

Jul-Oct 

The Nov-Jan period is the late dry season, a good time for safari, but with very unpredictable wildlife movements. We then move into the Dec-Mar green season migration calving season on the southern plains, one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on the planet.

Nov-Mar 

The month of April is the peak of the main rainy season. However, even the wettest weeks feature a good deal of sunshine and temperatures are comfortable. Wildlife remains unusually visible and the extremely low visitor numbers make this a favorite month for us personally.

April

The May-Jun period represents the early dry season, with the rains quickly subsiding and lots of sunshine and comfortable temperatures. The migration is moving north in huge columns and in rut. Visitor numbers are growing, but May in particular feels like a secret season.

May-Jun 

Your dedicated safari specialist will work with you to build a selection of sample trips. We'll discuss seasonality, wildlife movements, logistics, lodge options, activity levels, whatever is necessary. And we will keep on refining until we are all confident that we have reached the perfect trip.

Crafting your trip

Everything is arranged. All you need to do is turn up. You probably won’t even need to show your paperwork, you will simply glide from one group of friendly and efficient local hosts to the next. And our support team remains on hand throughout, leaving you free to focus entirely on the extraordinary experiences ahead.

Travel with confidence

It is impossible to overstate how important seasonality is to a savanna safari trip.

The month that you choose to travel will greatly affect where you should go, what you will see, how much traffic you will encounter and how much you will spend.

In the linked article, we divide the year into five periods. The first two, the Jun-Oct dry season and the Nov-Dec early green season, cover probably 95% of all trips. The other three periods cover the more complicated Jan-May period, when conditions change fast, but which contain some real hidden gems.

We will always take full responsibility for your trip being perfectly constructed around the seasonality.

Seasonality

For most people, the length of their core safari in Africa is limited by budget, as this is almost always the most expensive part of a trip.

Ideally, you would spend maybe six to ten nights in the bush, split between multiple camps, but that can be reduced to as little as 3-4 nights if necessary.

On top of that, you can combine with some fabulously diverse, but thankfully lower cost locations, like Victoria Falls, Cape Town or the tropical beaches of the Indian Ocean.

Most Africa trips end up in the range 12 to 28 nights.

Duration

Tailor-made safari trips most commonly fall in the range USD 5000-20,000 per person, excluding your international flights.

There are cool trip options across the price range and we are more than happy to work with all the different budget levels.

If you are hoping to spend towards the lower end, you should perhaps start by looking at safari options in South Africa, the Hwange area of Zimbabwe and Botswana during the Jan-Mar late green season.

At the middle and upper end of the range, there are great options in all countries, mostly getting progressively more remote, more luxurious and more reliable as you head upwards.

Budget

Safari in the Serengeti ranges from surprisingly good value to rather pricey, very much in line with the prices for safari across Tanzania. You can expect to spend USD 450 to 3500 per person per night , depending on how many people you are and the level of accommodation you choose.

We are more than happy to work across this range of prices. The only important thing is that we help you find the very best safari to suit your budget.

The two dominant price factors are the length of time that you spend on safari and the specific lodges that you choose to include in your trip. Deploying more time in town, rural and beach locations can bring the total cost down dramatically.

If you have a higher budget, we will help you determine which camps do actually deliver elevated levels of service and experience. We will also highlight other subtle ways in which your trip can be raised to another level, including the use of whole camp bookings, private guides and vehicles, explorations of remote areas etc.

If you have a medium budget, the best ways to keep a lid on costs are to travel out of the Jul-Oct dry season and to carefully choose lower-cost lodges.  You can also reduce the number of core safari nights and deploy time in more cost-effective beach, town and rural locations. We will help you understand where to trim and where to splash in order to achieve the best overall experience.

If you have a lower budget, then we can always look at other fundamentally less pricey safari areas, notably in South Africa.

Calving season 

During Dec-Mar, when the seasonal rain showers fall on the Short Grass Plains in the south of Serengeti, they bring forth the most nutritious grazing of the year. The herds mass here and go into calf, with the best part of a million young zebras and wildebeest coming into this world over just a few short weeks.

Needless to say, these herds have a prodigious numbers of lions, cheetahs and hyenas in town.

This is undoubtedly one of the most impressive wildlife events on the planet and a real honour to witness.

However, because the calving is centred on a relatively unpopular time of year for travel and because it coincides with the early green season, visitor numbers remain surprisingly low for an event of this stature.

The areas around Ndutu can get horribly busy, but other areas remain remarkably peaceful and it is usually not too difficult to experience this amazing sight out on your own.

Rutting season 

As the heavy rains of April start to abate, the migration herds start to drift northwards, eventually forming into endless columns of animals, youngsters in tow.

Calving season over, the dominant males already have next year’s brood in mind and the rutting season gets underway, running up and down the herds of females, creating a din and preparing to fight off contenders.

In all honesty, this can be just as interesting and impressive as any other season, but visitor numbers are very low in April and not much higher in May.

Although you might hit the tail end of the rains, the dominant climate is warm and sunny, making this a very smart time to visit.

River crossing season 

By the middle of July, the migration herds are reaching the end of their great northward trek and arriving into the rich long grass grassing areas of the Serengeti Mara area. Here they will drift around in relatively unpredictable patterns, for months.

The most famous highlights are the mass river-crossings, where the herds run the gauntlet of the crocodile-infested Mara River, often with grim consequences.

This period happens to coincide with the most popular time for taking vacations in many countries, so these crossing events can get very busy with vehicles. There are smart ways to avoid these crowds, but we need to keep these secrets to ourselves.

The general wildlife viewing at this time is incredible, the migration really is not the main event, not by a distance. As soon as the zebras detect lightning on the volcanoes to the south, any time Oct-Dec, they start their long trek back south, to start the whole process again.

Nowhere delivers wildlife like Serengeti. The famous wildebeest and zebra migration is a year-round spectacle with highlights including river crossings Jul-Oct, the calving season Dec-Mar and the rut Apr-May. Plus record densities of lions and cheetahs.

Epic wildlife 

Serengeti is the ultimate safari location in East Africa, the classic blend of broad savannas, characteristic acacia woodlands, montane forests and impressive volcanoes. A journey through this region delivers an ever-changing series of wonders.

Diverse scenery

The tribal Maasai people inhabit the lands surrounding Serengeti. Most live in traditional villages and wear their tribal attire. Relaxed interaction with these wonderful people is a hallmark and a major highlight of a quality safari into this area.

Maasai people

The proximity of Lake Victoria ensures an unusually stable climate in the Serengeti region, negating the oppressive heat of Oct-Nov, warding off storms, leading to comfortable temperatures and lots of sunshine, perfect for tented camps.

Easy climate

Although you may hear stories of overcrowding, the truth is that Serengeti is very big, easily large enough to soak up the flow of visitors. If you prefer solitude, it is always possible to get out on your own, especially in the areas reserved for walking safari.

Empty spaces 

These days, almost all quality safari in Africa is done by flying between remote lodges. Because Serengeti lies within a cluster of several contiguous reserves, it's best explored by private-guided overland safari. slightly tougher, but incredibly diverse and rewarding.

Overland safari

Located between Serengeti and Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Highlands, including the famous crater, is a wonderful sideshow that features in almost all safaris through the area.

Ngorongoro

Located to the south of Serengeti, Tarangire is a large and scenic reserve, best known for prodigious herds of elephants during the Jun-Dec dry season. Quiet in more southerly areas.

Tarangire

Set just north of Tarangire, Lake Manyara is a pretty little park, way too busy on the north end, but fabulously quiet in the little-visited southern section, accessed via the back road routing.

Manyara

Set in Uganda, Bwindi Forest is usually the best place to head for amazing gorilla tracking experiences, with light aircraft connections from Serengeti, via Entebbe. But unavoidably pricey.

Bwindi Forest 

Set in the south of Tanzania, Ruaha is an utterly fabulous and much more remote safari location, the two areas being connected by expensive light aircraft flights. Our favourite in East Africa.

Ruaha

If you are looking for tropical beaches, then Zanzibar Island has loads of choice of lodges, whilst the islands of Pemba and Mafia are much less-visited backwaters with a cool Swahili vibe.

Zanzibar