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Safari plan · 7 days · Northern circuit · Midrange

The Great Midrange Journey

Tarangire, the central Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in one unhurried week — the three places that made Tanzania’s name, with two full nights where the animals are and the driving put where it hurts least.

ArushaTarangireSerengetiNgorongoroArusha
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Length7 days · 6 nights
ParksTarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro
Starts & endsArusha / Kilimanjaro Airport
ComfortMidrange lodges & tented camps
Best monthsJune–October, December–February
OverviewThe routeDay by dayRatesWhere you sleepIncludedAdd-onsWhen to goFlights & extrasFAQEnquire
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IOverview

Three parks, one week, and the driving put where it hurts least.

The classic northern circuit, paced properly. Tarangire for its elephants and baobabs, two full nights in the central Serengeti where the big cats are resident all year, and the Ngorongoro Crater floor at opening time, before the vehicles arrive.

It is private from start to finish — your own vehicle, your own guide for the whole week — so the days bend around what you want to see rather than a group timetable. The one long drive is on day three, and the plan is built so it only happens once.

Major attractions · 3
  1. 01Tarangire National Park
  2. 02Serengeti National Park
  3. 03Ngorongoro Crater
Trip detailsPrivate
Tour length
7 days · 6 nights
Country
Tanzania
Start / end
Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO), both ways
Accommodation
Midrange
Tour type
Private safari
Group size
Maximum per vehicle
Meal plan
Full board on safari
Best period
Jun–Oct · Dec–Feb
Activity level
Easy — long days seated
Request a free quote →Questions? WhatsApp +255 762 914 714
IIThe route

One loop out of Arusha, and back.

7 days, 6 nights, 4 places to sleep. The solid line is this plan; the dotted lines are the other roads through the region. Point at a day to see its leg.

Route map: Arusha to Tarangire, the central Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and back Kilimanjaro NP Kibo Serengeti NP Ngorongoro CA Tarangire NP Arusha NP L. Manyara L. Eyasi L. Natron N Arusha Tarangire Karatu Seronera Kilimanjaro Airport Makuyuni Mto wa Mbu Crater floor Olduvai Naabi Hill
  1. 01Kilimanjaro Airport → Arusha~1 h road
  2. 02Arusha → Tarangire~2½ h road · ~5 h game
  3. 03Tarangire → Central SerengetiThe long day~5 h road · ~2 h game
  4. 04Seronera & the Seronera valley~9 h game
  5. 05Central Serengeti → Karatu~4½ h road · ~3 h game
  6. 06Karatu → the crater → Karatu~1½ h road · ~6 h game
  7. 07Karatu → Arusha → Kilimanjaro Airport~4 h road
Overnight stopPassing throughSchematic, roughly to scale
IIIDay by day

Seven days, one at a time.

Each day lands on top of the last as you scroll: honest road time, game time, meals and where you sleep. Times are door to door in a safari vehicle and move with the season and what you stop for.

Arusha — day 1 — 1600×1200
ArushaADD IMAGE · Arusha — day 1
01/ 07

About an hour by road. Nothing else asked of you.

03°22′S 36°41′EDay 1 · Kilimanjaro Airport → Arusha

Arrive in Arusha

Travel
~1 h road
Game viewing
No game drive
Meals
Dinner
Sleep
Garden lodge
  1. On landing

    Your guide meets you at arrivals with your name. The drive to Arusha is about an hour, on tarmac, with Mount Meru ahead of you if the cloud allows.

  2. Evening

    A quiet dinner and the briefing: the route, the rules of each park, and what the next six days will ask of you. Then sleep — the safari starts after breakfast.

Arriving late?

Most long-haul flights land in the evening. That is what this night is for; it is never wasted.

Tarangire
Tarangire
02/ 07

About 2½ hours on tarmac, then a full afternoon in the park.

03°52′S 36°00′EDay 2 · Arusha → Tarangire

Tarangire — the elephant park

Travel
~2½ h road
Game viewing
~5 h
Meals
B · L · D
Sleep
Tented lodge on the park edge
  1. Morning

    South-west out of Arusha on good tarmac through Maasai country, turning off at Makuyuni. You are at the gate before the heat builds.

  2. Midday

    Picnic lunch inside the park, usually above the Tarangire River, which is the only permanent water for a long way in the dry months.

  3. Afternoon

    Slow driving between baobabs. From June to October the river draws some of the largest elephant gatherings in the north.

Tsetse flies

Tarangire has them in the wooded stretches. Wear light, neutral colours — dark blue and black attract them — and they are a nuisance rather than a danger.

Central Serengeti — day 3 — 1600×1200
Central SerengetiADD IMAGE · Central Serengeti — day 3
The long day03/ 07

The long one: about 5 hours on the road, the last stretch on corrugated gravel.

02°27′S 34°49′EDay 3 · Tarangire → Central Serengeti

Over the highlands into the Serengeti

Travel
~5 h road
Game viewing
~2 h
Meals
B · L · D
Sleep
Permanent tented camp
  1. Early

    Back to Makuyuni and up the escarpment past Mto wa Mbu and Karatu into the Ngorongoro highlands. The crater rim road is often in cloud before ten.

  2. Midday

    Down the far side of the highlands onto the short-grass plains, past the Olduvai turn, to Naabi Hill gate for lunch and permits.

  3. Afternoon

    From Naabi you are in the Serengeti, so the last hour and more to Seronera is a game drive — kopjes, lion country, the first sense of the scale of it.

Why it is worth it

We could split this day with a night in Karatu, but it would cost you a night in the Serengeti. Front-loading the drive buys two uninterrupted days where the animals are.

The Serengeti plains
Central Serengeti
04/ 07

No transfer today. Out at first light, back at dusk.

02°27′S 34°49′EDay 4 · Seronera & the Seronera valley

The Serengeti, all day

Travel
No transfer
Game viewing
~9 h
Meals
B · picnic L · D
Sleep
Same camp, second night
  1. First light

    Out as the gates allow, with a flask and a packed breakfast. The first two hours are when cats move and hunt.

  2. Midday

    A picnic lunch under a tree wherever the morning ended. The central Serengeti holds resident lion, leopard and cheetah all year, herds or no herds.

  3. Afternoon

    Where you go depends on what the guides have heard on the radio. Back at camp before the park’s closing time.

Where the migration is

This plan stays in the central Serengeti, which is good all year. The great herds are in the far south from about December to March and the far north from about July to October — to be among them, see ‘Make it yours’.

Karatu — day 5 — 1600×1200
KaratuADD IMAGE · Karatu — day 5
05/ 07

A last game drive, then about 4½ hours back over the rim.

03°20′S 35°40′EDay 5 · Central Serengeti → Karatu

Serengeti morning, back to the highlands

Travel
~4½ h road
Game viewing
~3 h
Meals
B · L · D
Sleep
Farm lodge
  1. Morning

    One more early drive — often the best of the trip, because by now you know what you are looking for.

  2. Midday

    Out through Naabi Hill gate and back across the plains and up onto the crater highlands.

  3. Evening

    Karatu sits in cool, green coffee country below the rim. You will want a fleece at dinner.

The Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater
06/ 07

Down at the gates’ opening, about six hours on the floor.

03°20′S 35°40′EDay 6 · Karatu → the crater → Karatu

The Ngorongoro Crater floor

Travel
~1½ h road
Game viewing
~6 h
Meals
B · picnic L · D
Sleep
Same lodge, second night
  1. Dawn

    Up to the rim and down the descent road as it opens. Early vehicles have the floor largely to themselves for the first hour.

  2. On the floor

    Grassland, soda lake, swamp and a small forest in one sealed bowl. It is the likeliest place in Tanzania to see black rhino, though never a certainty.

  3. Afternoon

    Up the ascent road and back to Karatu. The afternoon is yours — a walk in the coffee farms, or nothing at all.

The six-hour rule

Time on the crater floor is limited per vehicle, currently about six hours. That is why we go down at opening rather than after a leisurely breakfast.

Kilimanjaro Airport — day 7 — 1600×1200
Kilimanjaro AirportADD IMAGE · Kilimanjaro Airport — day 7
07/ 07

About 3 hours to Arusha, another hour to the airport.

03°26′S 37°05′EDay 7 · Karatu → Arusha → Kilimanjaro Airport

Back to Arusha

Travel
~4 h road
Game viewing
No game drive
Meals
B · L
Sleep
Homeward
  1. Morning

    A slow breakfast and the drive down the escarpment and back to Arusha on tarmac.

  2. Afternoon

    Lunch in Arusha, a day room if your flight is late, and the transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport for the evening departures.

Not flying home today?

This is where most people add the coast. Zanzibar is a one-hour flight from Arusha or Kilimanjaro.

IVRates

Priced by group size, because the vehicle is shared.

Park fees, accommodation, vehicle, guide and meals as listed — per person, no booking fees. Rates move with the month and lodge availability; your quote is fixed once you book.

Midrange · price per person, sharing
Group size1 person2 people3 people4 people5 people6 people
From yearraterateraterateraterate
Single supplementamount
Children

Child policy: ages, sharing discount, lodge minimum ages

What moves the price

What changes itHow much

  • The month you travel

    July to October and the Christmas weeks are peak rates at almost every camp. April and May are the lowest.

  • How many share the vehicle

    The vehicle and guide cost the same for two people or six, so the per-person price falls as the group grows.

  • Where you sleep

    The same night can cost several times more on the crater rim than in Karatu, twenty minutes away.

  • Flying instead of driving

    A light-aircraft seat replaces a day in the vehicle, and costs more than the day it replaces.

  • Park fees

    Fixed per person per day by the authorities, and the same whoever you book with. We show them as their own line.

Not sure which level suits you? Tell us your dates, group and budget and we will send an itemised quote with named properties.

Request a free quote →
On request
On request
VWhere you sleep

Four places in six nights, two of them in the Serengeti.

Each night is described by type first, because the right camp depends on your month. The properties we normally use at each level are listed below; your quote confirms them against availability.

Night 11×

Arusha

Garden lodge or small hotel

One night to land, sleep off the flight and be briefed. Close to the road west.

Midrange here means
En-suite room, hot water, mains power, Wi-Fi.
Step up
A coffee-estate lodge on the slopes of Meru.
Night 21×

Tarangire

Tented lodge on the park edge

Sleeping beside the park, not back in town, puts you in the gate at opening.

Midrange here means
Canvas walls, proper beds, en-suite, solar or generator power.
Step up
A camp inside the park itself.
Nights 3–42×

Central Serengeti

Permanent tented camp

Two nights in the middle of the park is the whole point of the week. No packing on day four.

Midrange here means
En-suite tent, hot shower (sometimes bucket-filled), power in the evenings, no fence.
Step up
A seasonal mobile camp that moves with the herds.
Nights 5–62×

Karatu highlands

Farm or garden lodge

Twenty minutes from the crater gate, cool at night, and considerably cheaper than the rim.

Midrange here means
Cottage rooms, fireplaces, mains power, gardens to walk in.
Step up
A lodge on the crater rim itself — the view, at a noticeably higher price.

The properties we use

WhereMidrangeLuxury
Arushapropertyproperty
Tarangirepropertyproperty
Central Serengetipropertyproperty
Karatu highlandspropertyproperty

What ‘midrange’ means on this trip

  • En-suite everywhere. Your own bathroom every night, including in the Serengeti.
  • Hot water. Always available; in tented camps it may be delivered to a bucket shower on request.
  • Power. Mains in Arusha and Karatu; solar or generator hours in the parks. Bring a power bank.
  • Food. Full board on safari. Tell us about diets early — the camps plan supplies days ahead.
VIThe fine print

What is in the price, and what isn’t.

✓Included

  • Private 4×4 safari vehiclePop-up roof, charging points, window seat for everyone
  • A professional driver-guideThe same guide for the whole week
  • All park and conservation feesIncluding the crater service fee. Itemised on your quote
  • Six nights’ accommodationAs described above
  • Meals as listed each dayFull board from day two
  • Drinking water in the vehicle
  • Airport transfersKilimanjaro Airport, both ways

–Not included

  • International flights
  • Tanzanian visaApply online before you travel
  • Travel insuranceRequired. It must cover medical evacuation
  • Tips for guide and camp staffWe send guidance with your booking
  • Drinks at lodges and campsUnless the property includes them
  • Optional activitiesBalloon flight, cultural visits, walks
VIIAdd-ons & changes

The plan is a starting point, not a package.

The changes people ask for most, each with what it costs you in days or hours. Not in the standard price — arranged on request, and most can be combined.

+2 nightsprice

Northern Serengeti, for the river

Fly or drive north to the Mara River region for the crossings. The single biggest change you can make to this plan.

Makes senseJuly to October
The migration month by month →
+1 nightprice

Ndutu, for the calving

Swap one central night and add another in the far south, where the herds give birth on the short-grass plains.

Makes senseLate January to March
The migration month by month →
−8 h roadprice

Fly out of the Serengeti

Run the week the other way round — crater first, Serengeti last — and fly home from the Seronera airstrip instead of driving back over the highlands. Costs more; gives back most of a day.

Makes senseWhen time matters more than money
Private flying →
Same lengthprice

Balloon over the Serengeti

Swap the dawn drive on day four for a flight over the Seronera valley, landing to breakfast in the bush.

Makes senseAny season it operates
The balloon, honestly →
+3–5 nightsprice

Finish on Zanzibar

Fly from Arusha or Kilimanjaro to the island on day seven. An hour in the air, and the other half of Tanzania.

Makes senseEveryone, most of the year
Zanzibar →
−1 dayprice

Lake Manyara instead of Tarangire

Shorter and closer to the highlands, so the week loses a day. Only if you must: Tarangire is the better park from June to October.

Makes senseShort on time
Lake Manyara →
VIIIWhen to go

Rated for this route, not for the country.

This plan works in every month, but not equally. April and May bring the long rains: some Serengeti camps close, roads slow down, and prices fall. The dry months are the best for Tarangire and the busiest everywhere.

Jan
Dry spell, green plains
Feb
Calving in the south
Mar
Rains building
Apr
Long rains
May
Rains easing
Jun
Dry season begins
Jul
Dry, busy, cool
Aug
Dry, busy
Sep
Dry, Tarangire at its best
Oct
Dry, dusty
Nov
Short rains
Dec
Green, quieter
Three bars — the route at its bestTwo — good, with trade-offsOne — possible, and quiet
IXFlights & extras

Getting there.

Arrive

Kilimanjaro International (JRO)

About an hour by road from Arusha, and the airport most long-haul connections use. Land any time on day one — the first night exists to absorb late arrivals.

Depart

Kilimanjaro International (JRO)

Day seven reaches the airport mid-to-late afternoon, which suits the evening departures. Book nothing earlier than about 17:00 without asking us first.

Via Nairobi

Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO)

Workable: a short regional flight or a road transfer across the Namanga border to Arusha. It adds most of a day, so allow an extra night.

What else to budget.

Not part of the safari price, in order of how much they matter.

  • Tanzanian visaApply online before travel
    Current fee
  • Travel insuranceMust cover medical evacuation
    Typical cost
  • TipsGuide and camp staff, per day
    Guideline
  • DrinksAt lodges and camps
    Typical range
  • Personal spendingLaundry, crafts, extras
    Varies
XWhy book with us

Only what we can prove.

01

Arusha, since 2010

A Tanzanian company, locally owned, running safaris and climbs from Arusha for more than fifteen years.

02

Licensed and registered

TALA-licensed through the Tanzania Tourist Board and registered with BRELA. Ask us for the numbers; we will send them.

03

One guide, one vehicle

The same guide drives you from the airport on day one to the airport on day seven. Nobody else joins your vehicle.

04

Every fee on its own line

Park, conservation and crater fees are shown separately on your quote, so you can see exactly what goes to the authorities.

XIQuestions

The ones we are asked most.

For a first safari in the north, yes. It gives you two full nights in the Serengeti, which is the minimum we would plan. With nine days we would add a second Serengeti area rather than more parks.

Not reliably on this version. It stays in the central Serengeti, which has excellent resident wildlife all year. The great herds are in the south roughly December to March and the north roughly July to October; the variations above move the plan to meet them.

Yes. The vehicle and guide are yours alone, which is why the days can bend around what you want to see and when you want to stop.

Tarmac from the airport to the crater gate. Beyond it the road across the conservation area and into the Serengeti is gravel and often badly corrugated. Day three is tiring; it is not dangerous.

Yes, with care about day three. Some camps set a minimum age, usually around six to twelve, and we choose properties that welcome the ages in your group.

It can, and sometimes should — for instance to put the crater on a quieter weekday. Tell us your dates and we will say which way round works better.

Begin here

Send us your dates. We will send you the real version.

Named camps, the right direction of travel for your month, every fee on its own line — and a straight answer if another plan would suit you better.

Rather talk it through?WhatsApp us+255 762 914 714
Safari request The Great Midrange Journey 7 days · 6 nights · private
01When, and what for?
How fixed are the dates?
What do you want from it? Pick any
02Who’s coming?
Travelling as
03How you like it
Style of camp

Not a commitment. It lets us send something realistic instead of something you have to reject.

04Where to reach you
We need a name to write back to.
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