Migration Tour

Complete Itinerary: 9-Day Migration tour

Day 1: Welcome to Tanzania!

Your driver/guide will pick you up from Kilimanjaro airport and transfer you to Ilboru Safari Lodge. The lodge is a pleasant place with a beautiful garden and swimming pool.

Harmoniously woven into the surrounding African landscape, Ilboru Safari Lodge rests at the base of the majestic Mt. Meru.


Meal Plan	No meals inclusive today

Day 2A: Lake Manyara National Park

Today, after an early breakfast, you will be travelling to the first national park of this trip: Lake Manyara National Park.

On arrival you will stretch your legs during a 2 to 3-hour village walk in cozy ‘Mto wa Mbu’. Here you will meet the local community, taste homemade banana beer, learn about the Makonde woodcarvings and listen to your guide who will tell you everything about the way of living in this village. After the village walk, you will have a local lunch. Together with the highly respected Miss Bibi you prepare a delicious Swahili meal.
In the afternoon you enter Lake Manyara National Park. This is a small but very beautiful park offering breathtaking views, excellent game viewing and an incredible array of birdlife. You have a chance to spot zebra, baboon, warthog, giraffe, impala, elephant, hippo, wildebeest and the rare tree climbing lion.

Your accommodation for tonight is Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp. Take a refreshing dip in the inviting outdoor pool and enjoy the fantastic sunset with a cold drink on the veranda!


Meal Plan	Breakfast, local lunch & dinner

Day 2B: Tarangire National Park

Today, after an early breakfast, you will be traveling to the first national park of this trip: Tarangire National Park. Let the game drive begin!

Tarangire is best known for its many gigantic baobab trees and its large herds of elephants. It is a home to approximately 2,500 individual elephants and large herds are also regularly viewed. Besides elephants, you can spot many different animals like leopard, zebra, impala, warthog, eland, buffalo, waterbuck and lion. Also the birders will have so much to see; more than 500 different bird-species are present.

This park hosts the biggest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti. It is also the only place in Tanzania where the oryx and gerenuk are regularly spotted.

Your driver/guide will have a lunch-box for you so you can picnic at a beautiful spot in the park after which your safari continues.

At the end of the safari you head for Sangaiwe Tented Lodge where you will spend the night.


Meal Plan	Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 3: The Serengeti

After breakfast, you depart for the most famous safari park in the world: Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti hosts the most extensive population of wild animals on earth and has a complex and untouched ecosystem. Serengeti means "endless plains" in the language of the Maasai, a description that the Serengeti completely lives up to. These endless plains have to be experienced to be fully appreciated!

You visit the heart of the Serengeti, Seronera Valley. This valley may be termed as the ‘classic’ Serengeti; short grass plains with different kind of wild animals ranging from the impressive lion to the naughty mongoose.

After the incredible impressions of the Serengeti, you head to your accommodation for a delicious diner and a good sleep. For the first night in the Serengeti you stay at Tortilis Camp. This tented camp provides the ideal accommodation for lovers of the great outdoors, while retaining the coziness of a warm bed, a hot shower, gratifying cuisine and a welcoming team.

Meal Plan

Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 4: The Search for the Migration

After breakfast you go deeper into the Serengeti in search of the migration. The Great Wildebeest migration is one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World”. Nowhere in the world there is a movement of animals as immense as this.

The principle players are the wildebeest, followed by Thomson’s gazelle, zebra and eland. Enormous numbers of these animals roam the serengeti plains in search of water. The lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs and lesser predators await the annual coming of the migration with eager anticipation.

The annual 800-km journey is a cyclical pilgrimage which has no real beginning or end. The precise timing of the migrations changes annually and is an unpredictable and spontaneous natural event depending mainly on the rainfall pattern of each year. Because of the global climate changes, the annual pattern changes but a general trend can be observed.

Below is an overview of the various midrange to semi-luxury accommodations used in the Serengeti during the different periods of the year. By using different locations at different times of the year, we will follow the annual pattern, getting you as close to the migration as possible. The various accommodations are:

Period	Day 4 & Day 5 accommodation
January to March
April
May & June
July
August to October
November & December

* In June/July you stay in a lodge room in Mbalageti. You can upgrade to tented chalet at extra cost.

Journey Time	Dependent on the migration period
Accommodation	Dependent on the migration-period
Meal Plan	Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Note: The migration is an amazing phenomenon and difficult to predict. Especially with the El Niño rains the migration pattern seems disturbed. Please consult your Tanzania specialist at Let's view Tanzania for the best lodge during your specific travel time.

Day 5: Game driving in Serengeti National Park

Another day completely dedicated to the great migration!

With your packed lunch in hand you drive out to find the migrators. There is plenty of time to take in this impressive spectacle! The safari will be completed by also looking for hungry predators such as lions, hyenas, leopards and cheetahs that move along with the herd hoping to fill their stomachs.

Accommodation	Dependent on migration (see day 4 above)
Meal Plan	Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 6: Last Day in the Serengeti

After an early breakfast, you visit the migration one more time to enjoy a game drive on your way out of the beautiful Serengeti and on your way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Tonight you stay in a lodge just outside the Ngorongoro national park, with comfortable rooms situated around a verdant courtyard. Here you will get a good meal and night's sleep because tomorrow you'll be exploring another amazing natural wonder.

Accommodation	Country Lodge Karatu
Meal Plan	Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 7: Safari Ngorongoro Crater

In the morning, you will have a game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater! As an UNESCO World Heritage Site the crater offers a unique biosphere which has remained virtually unchanged since the dawn of time. There are very few places in the world where you can find such a large population of wildlife throughout the year.

Deep within the crater, enclosed by towering walls, you have a good chance of spotting ‘The Big 5’: Lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard. For the latter two you need a bit of luck as they tend to shy away. Approximately 30,000 animals live on the crater floor!

After this great experience you drive back to Country Lodge.


Meal Plan	Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 8: To Arusha

After a relaxed breakfast, you head to the Karama Lodge & Spa, just outside Arusha. Above the lodge you find Suye Hill Forest Reserve, a protected area of indigenous forest. The lodge assists the Arusha Municipal Council in the protection of this area by sponsoring anti-poaching rangers, ensuring this natural beauty is around for many years.

Optional activity

In the afternoon, you can go for a short walk to the top of Suye Hill (30-40 minutes) through the forest reserve and further down to Kimandolu village. Many species of birds can be seen and occasionally small animals like dik-diks (small antelope), squirrels, guinea fowls and monkeys.


Meal Plan	Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 9: Departure

Today is unfortunately the last day of your trip with Let's view Tanzania Before you leave don't forget to enjoy the views from the lodge. Especially on clear days, when you can see Mount Kilimanjaro!

Depending on the time your flight departs, there might be some time left today to take a dive in the pool, have a massage or take a yoga class. All activities today are at your own expense. Your driver/guide will take care of your transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport.

Single Supplement: One single supplement is included when traveling with 3 persons. Please ask for the additional single supplement for the month you wish to travel.

Holiday supplement for the Easter and Christmas/New Year period:
A number of the lodges have a holiday supplement for these dates. In case you are planning to travel during the Easter or Christmas/New Year period, ask us for the rate.

For more details, inbox the words "Migration Tour" followed by your phone number.