Einstein 01
Calving Plains and Crater
Calving season on the southern plains, paired with Tarangire elephants and the crater floor.
9 days
Tanzania
from USD 12,480
Open
Tanzania
The migration is not an event you book. It is a herd moving on grass and rain, and the whole trip is built backwards from where they will be.
-6.3690, 34.8888
Every Tanzania itinerary we write starts with one question: what month are you travelling? The answer decides which end of the Serengeti you sleep in. Ndutu in the south from January to March for the calving. Grumeti in the west from May to July. Kogatende in the north from July to October for the Mara River crossings. Booking a camp in the wrong sector is the single most common way a Serengeti trip goes wrong, and it is entirely avoidable.
Tanzania is also the one country in the four where the safari can end at sea without a long repositioning flight. Auric Air runs Seronera and Kogatende direct to Zanzibar daily, so the transition from short grass to reef takes an afternoon.
Where we take you.
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Serengeti
-2.3333, 34.8333
Fourteen thousand square kilometres and three distinct seasonal theatres. Northern Kogatende for the Mara River crossings, western Grumeti mid-year, southern Ndutu for the February calving.
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Ngorongoro Crater
-3.1667, 35.5833
A collapsed caldera holding black rhino, tusker bulls and flamingo on Lake Magadi. Descend at first light, before the day vehicles arrive from Karatu.
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Tarangire
-3.8333, 36.0000
Baobab country with elephant congregations running to a hundred animals along the river in the dry season.
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Zanzibar
-6.1659, 39.2026
Stone Town's spice bazaar and old dispensary, Mnemba atoll's reef wall, and the tide-drained sand at Mtende in the south.
7 journeys through Tanzania.
Single-country routes and the cross-border circuits that pass through here.
02
Grumeti Private Crossings
A single-operator reserve, Grumeti River crossings, and almost nobody else in the frame.
8 days
Tanzania
from USD 21,650
Open
03
Mara River to Mnemba
Mara River crossings, a dawn balloon over the north, then coral and Stone Town.
11 days
Tanzania
from USD 16,940
Open
04
Ruaha and the Rufiji
Tanzania's southern wilderness, boating on the Rufiji and very large lion prides in Ruaha.
9 days
Tanzania
from USD 11,275
Open
05
Four Borders, One Rift
Bwindi, the Virungas, Laikipia, the Mara and the Serengeti in one continuous arc.
20 days
Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania
from USD 38,940
Open
06
Mist Into Grassland
Two Rwandan gorilla families and Nyungwe chimpanzees, then the Serengeti at full flood.
13 days
Rwanda, Tanzania
from USD 26,480
Open
07
River, Plain, Ocean
Mara Triangle crossings, Kogatende crossings, then the dust washed off in the Indian Ocean.
15 days
Kenya, Tanzania
from USD 24,180
Open
Planning Tanzania
Prices and rules here were checked against the park authorities in August 2026. We reconfirm every figure before it goes on a quotation.
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When are the Mara River crossings?
Late July through October, with mid-August to mid-September the most reliable window. Crossings need the herds at the river and the water high enough to bottleneck them but low enough to cross. Nobody can promise you a crossing on a given day. Herds can mass at a bank for hours and then turn away, which is why our northern Serengeti camps hold position at a crossing point rather than chasing radio calls.
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Where is the Great Migration month by month?
January to March the herds are in the southern Serengeti and Ndutu for the calving, with roughly 8,000 births a day at peak. April and May they move north and west through the central Serengeti. May to July brings the Grumeti crossings in the west. July to October they are in the northern Serengeti and the Masai Mara for the Mara River crossings. November and December they drift back south on the short rains.
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Can you combine a Serengeti safari with Zanzibar?
Yes, and it is the most natural bush-and-beach pairing in East Africa. Auric Air flies Seronera and Kogatende direct to Zanzibar daily in about 1h40, so no overnight in Arusha or Dar es Salaam is needed. Allow five days of safari and four or five nights on the coast.
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Do I need a visa for Tanzania?
Yes, and it must be approved before you fly. Tanzania abolished visa on arrival in January 2025. The e-visa is USD 50 single entry, or USD 100 multiple entry, applied for online. US passport holders may only apply for the USD 100 multiple-entry class. Tanzania is outside the East Africa Tourist Visa scheme, so a Kenya or Uganda visa does not cover it.
Start with a month.
Tell us when you can travel and we will tell you honestly whether Tanzania is the right country for those dates, or whether one of the others would serve you better.