Tanzania - the 'Great Migration' Serengeti safari
Enjoy a classic East African safari, following one of the world’s great wildlife spectaculars, the migration of millions of grazing animals.
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Wildlife Travel leaflet Tanzania 2026
Dates
12th – 23rd April 2026
Leaders
Price
£7,225
Single Room Supplement – £540
Included
Return flight London Heathrow to Kilimanjaro. Local transport as specified in itinerary. Ten nights accommodation, full board.
Not included
Refreshments. Gratuities. Travel insurance. Covid tests and associated costs.
Group size
Minimum 4, maximum 12.
The centrepiece of this holiday will be our time spent in the Serengeti National Park. Here, with the plains stretching to the horizon, we will watch the annual migration of vast herds of Blue Wildebeest, together with Plains Zebra and both Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles as they move in search of fresh grazing. The herds in turn attract predators, and we should enjoy memorable encounters with Lions, Cheetahs and Leopards.
Our journey starts in the shadow of two impressive volcanic mountains, Meru and Kilimanjaro. We will spend some time in Arusha National Park, where the montane forest is home to charismatic colobus monkeys. From here we head west, visiting Tarangire National Park, where African Elephants browse beneath bizarre, ‘upside down’ baobab trees. At Lake Manyara we will find thousands of Lesser Flamingos, a sea of pink in this Rift Valley lake. And we will end our tour of northern Tanzania with a stay on the rim of the famous Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is home to an estimated 25,000 large mammals, including the highest density of Lions in the world, as well as Black Rhinoceros.
While an obvious focus of our trip will be the iconic big mammals, we will also be paying plenty of attention to the smaller fayre, including butterflies, reptiles and, of course, the birds, with impressive local specialities including African Pygmy Falcon, Fischer’s and Yellow-collared Lovebirds, Schalow’s and Hartlaub’s Turacos.
The ultimate wildlife holiday, a must-see destination, staying in top quality lodges in some stunning locations.
Download trip report
Please note that holidays change, although sometimes only slightly, from year to year and previous trip reports may not reflect the planned itinerary, or other holiday details, for the current trip. Please ask us if you would like to know of any significant differences.
Day 1 Our early morning flight takes us from London to Amsterdam and on to Kilimanjaro, where we meet our local guides and transfer to our lodge nearby, to catch up on sleep in preparation for the forthcoming excitement.
Day 2 After some morning birding around our lodge, we travel southwards. We take our picnic lunch out on an area of dry plains close to Oldonyosambu, rather aptly known as ’lark plains’, where we will look for one of Africa’s rarest birds. Fewer than 100 Beesley’s Larks are thought to exist, with the total world range covering less than 10km². From here, we continue towards our lodge, situated in a conservation area that links Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Parks.
Day 3 An early start takes us into Tarangire National Park, home to the greatest concentration of wildlife outside of the Serengeti ecosystem, including large herds of African Elephant browsing amongst the stately baobab trees and all three of Tanzania’s big cats: Cheetah, Lion and Leopard. At the other extreme, locally endemic Yellow-collared Lovebirds and Rufous-tailed Weaver should be amongst the birds we find.
Day 4 We head north into the Serengeti, via one of the most spectacular journeys we are likely to make. We travel along the Lake Manyara escarpment, enjoying the concentration of flamingos on the lake, and then climb to the rim of the famous Ngorongoro crater. Montane forest and heathland surrounds us, with views down into the caldera, and westwards out across the Serengeti flatlands. We will be back here towards the end of the trip to explore the crater: for now we head down onto the plains, with our first encounters with the wildebeest herds likely to come this afternoon.
Day 5 We spend the day exploring the woodlands and lakes around Ndutu. There is always the possibility of bumping into a pride of Lions, while smaller predators in the area could include the delightful Bat-eared Fox. Impala and Waterbuck graze the scrublands, and we can expect to find Kori Bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird.
Days 6-8 We spend three days out on the plains of the central Serengeti, where the spectacle of ‘the Great Migration’ is almost impossible to describe. The rains early in the year trigger the calving season in the south of the ecosystem in February. As the rains come to an end, the animals begin to move north-west, passing our way. The ‘Great Migration’ involves upwards of 1.2 million Blue Wildebeest, 750,000 Plains Zebra and hundreds of thousands of other game, including Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles, Eland, Topi, Kongoni and large herds of African Buffalo. With the herbivores come the predators. Lion, Leopard and Cheetah will all be out in force, hoping to take advantage of the passing herds, while five species of vulture, Marabou Stork, Spotted Hyena and two species of jackal will all be hoping to join in the buffet! A wildlife spectacle, and one certainly not to be missed.
Day 9 We return to the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, stopping on the way to visit the Olduvai Gorge, the archaeological site where the Leakeys worked for many years, studying early human evolution. We arrive on the rim in the late afternoon, to be greeted by the spectacular view across the crater, with Schalow’s Turaco and Malachite Sunbirds adding a splash of colour around the lodge.
Day 10 Today is spent in the famous crater, a World Heritage Site, home to a reputed 25,000 large animals, including the highest density of predators in Africa and the critically endangered Black Rhinoceros. In the centre, the crater lake is home to thousands of flamingos. We will return to the crater rim for our final ‘sun downer’ staring out across the crater, home to one of the greatest shows on earth, before being lulled to sleep by the calling Montane Nightjars and Tree Hyrax.
Day 11 We leave our lodge and return westwards to the escarpment above Lake Manyara where we will enjoy the heathland and look down into the surrounding forests, hoping to catch sight of Blue Monkeys or Silver-cheeked Hornbills. But alas we must drag ourselves away, with a three hour drive taking us back to Kilimanjaro to board our evening flights home, arriving in London early on Day 12.
Please note that the itinerary may be changed to suit the weather or other practicalities at the discretion of the leaders.
We will stay in a mix of comfortable to excellent safari lodges, hotels and permanent tented camps, hand-picked by our guides from Birding Africa. All rooms have en-suite facilities.
Meals are a mixture of local and international cuisine: special diets can be catered for.
We will be travelling by mini-coach and purpose built four wheel drive safari trucks.
Group flights
Group flights are with British Airways from London Heathrow to Johannesburg.
13th July depart London Heathrow 19.05, arrive Johannesburg 07.00 (14th)
23rd July depart Johannesburg 21.10, arrive London Heathrow 07.25 (24th)
Time zone
Tanzania is two hours ahead of UK time.
Entry requirements
If you hold a British passport you must have a visa to enter Tanzania: the visa fee is $50 US and you can apply for an e-visa before you travel. Your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least six months after the date you arrive, and have at least one blank page.
We will be travelling during the winter season: the days should be pleasantly warm, with temperatures around 20°, but nights and early mornings can be surprisingly cold, dropping to below freezing on occasions. Typically, there is no rain at this time of year.
You should consult your GP or travel clinic for current advice on travel health as soon as possible, at least 8 weeks before the trip. We do not visit any areas where there is risk of Malaria, but the ‘standard’ travel vaccinations to consider are tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, typhoid, rabies and cholera.
No strenuous walking is involved but you need to have a reasonable level of general fitness to be able to participate in the holiday. The tour visits several locations and we will be moving on every two or three days, with some long journeys in between, which can be tiring if you are not used to it. However, the trip is designed to be relatively comfortable so please discuss any concerns with us.