Tanzania Serengeti Safari Tours

Serengeti National Park is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, including over 70 large mammal species and over 500 bird species. Some of the main attractions include:

• The Big Five: Serengeti boasts one of the largest lion populations in Africa, with over 3,000 individuals. You can also find leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinoceroses in different parts of the park.
• Cheetahs: Serengeti is one of the best places to see cheetahs in action, as they hunt on the open plains and use the kopjes as lookout points.
• Zebras: Serengeti has the largest population of zebras in the world, with over 200,000 individuals. Zebras are an essential part of the Great Migration, as they help the wildebeest find water and grass by using their keen sense of smell and memory.
• Wildebeests: Serengeti is the epicenter of the Great Migration, which involves over 1.5 million wildebeest moving across the park in a clockwise direction. Wildebeest are also known as gnus, and they are related to antelopes.
• Giraffes: Serengeti has a healthy population of giraffes, the tallest land animals in the world. They can reach up to 6 meters (20 feet) in height and weigh up to 1,800 kilograms (4,000 pounds). They feed on acacia leaves and can go for weeks without drinking water.
• Hippos: Serengeti has several hippo pools, where you can see these massive animals lounging in the water and occasionally emerging to graze on land. Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, as they are very territorial and aggressive.
• Crocodiles: Serengeti has some of the largest crocodiles in Africa, which can grow up to 6 meters (20 feet) in length and weigh up to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds). They prey on the migrating animals that cross the rivers, especially during the dry season.
• Birds: Serengeti has a rich birdlife, with over 500 species recorded. Some of the most notable ones include ostriches, secretary birds, kori bustards, crowned cranes, marabou storks, vultures, eagles, flamingos, and lilac-breasted rollers.

There are scheduled and chartered flights that connect to the Serengeti from Arusha, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Mwanza. A flight from Arusha to Southern Serengeti is approximately one hour, a number of airstrips in the Serengeti allow you to fly in within easy reach of which lodge or camp you booked. Kuisini and Ndutu airstrips are located south; Seronera Airstrip in the Center; Lobo, Kelins, and Kogatende serve the north; and Grumeti and Sasakwa airstrips serve the western Corridor.

Popular flight aggregators to The Serengeti include Regional Air, Auric Air, Coastal Air and Flight Link. Please note that you will be restricted on how much luggage you can carry and should there be any excess, it can usually be stored by your Serengeti Safari operator. The best way to setup a Fly in Safari to Serengeti National Park is to book an all-inclusive package that includes airfare. A Serengeti tour operator makes all the arrangements easier and many will offer tours that combine other parks on top of the Serengeti.

Imagine a column of wildebeest 40km (24 miles) long and two or three abreast, patiently plodding across the plain for hour after hour. Now multiply that until you have about 1.5 million wildebeest, throw in some 300,000 zebras, another 300,000 Thomson’s gazelles, and about 30,000 Grant’s gazelles, all on the move in the search for fresh new grass. Imagine it taking more than two weeks for the column of animals to pass a single spot, and visualise them all bunching together into protective herds in the evenings or scrambling across each other’s backs in their panic to cross the river and stay clear of the snapping jaws of the crocodiles. Imagine the lions and hyenas roaring and cackling as they prowl the outskirts of the herds looking for weakened animals. Now you may just begin to have an idea of the awesome spectacle that is the Serengeti migration.

The Serengeti migration is actually a year-round phenomenon, a broad, slow clockwise route march covering a total of around 3,000km (1,870 miles). The cycle begins in May, when the grass on the southern plains is exhausted and the herds begin to move slowly northwards through the Western Corridor. This is the time of the rut, the wildebeest bulls working to the point of exhaustion to build and protect their harems. The migration reaches the Northern Serengeti and Maasai Mara by late June, remaining there until September, when it returns south through the Lobo area, following the scent of the small rains. It reaches the southern plains by November, remaining there to feed on the nutrient-rich grass during the breeding season. In three weeks from February to March, over 90 percent of the female wildebeest (around 500,000 animals) give birth. Calves can stand within seven minutes and within two days can outrun a lion, but even so, the predators grow fat. The herds remain in the south, allowing their young time to build strength, before heading north as the grass runs out and the cycle begins again.

Serengeti National Park is quite probably the greatest and famous game reserve in the world. It first achieved legendary status when Professor Bernard Grzimek wrote Serengeti Shall Not Die, the story of two men’s quest to document the Great Migration in a bid to help conserve the park’s wildlife. The Serengeti is now a World Heritage Site.

The Serengeti up-to-date is still ranked among the top National Parks in the world and recently (2024) was winner of the best safari park on the African continent, in a poll of 139 safari animal parks. The ranking was declared by Safaribookings, a popular online marketplace and was based on 2,530 reviews by African Safari Visitors and renowned industry experts. The Serengeti received an overall rating of 4.9 out of 5, an outstanding result which shows the continued popularity of this stunning park with in Serengeti safari-goers and industry experts.