Serengeti National Park

Description: The Serengeti is the setting for so many wildlife documentaries with good reason. Visitors are virtually guaranteed to see an impressive array of wildlife.

The Serengeti boasts a staggering 8,500 giraffe, 10,000 eland, 200,000 zebra, 1.3 million wildebeest, 1,500 lions, 1,000 elephants, 280,000 Thompson’s gazelles, 25,000 buffalo, 500 species of birds, 72,000 Topi, and 32,000 Grant’s gazelle.

The annual wildebeest migration is one of the most spectacular and breath-taking events in the world. From the Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara over 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle, relentlessly tracked by Africa’s great predators, migrate in a clockwise fashion over 1,800 miles each year in search of rain ripened grass. This mass of moving animals is so large that even when it is in Kenya’s Masai Mara, parts of it are still in the Serengeti.

Note that even during August to November, the approximate time when most of the wildebeest are expected to be in the Masai Mara, the wildlife is still plentiful in the Serengeti, as the ‘resident’ animals opt to stay where they are instead of follow the migration.

Location: Northern circuit, 8+ hours outside Arusha, 3 hours from the Ngorongoro Crater

Things 2 Do: Game Drives, Hot Air Balloon, and Bush Walks (at select properties)

Time: The average stay is 3-4 nights with 2 nights as a recommended minimum.

Animals: Virtually all safari animals except for the Rhino.

Accommodations

Central – Seronera (Year Round)

$
A2T Camping (Seronera public campsites)

$$
Acacia Central Camp
Halisi Camp Serengeti
Hippo Trails Camp
Mapito Tented Camp
Osupuko Serengeti Camp
Serengeti Kati Kati Tented Camp
Seronera Wildlife Lodge
Thorn Tree Camp

$$$
Ang’ata Serengeti Camp
Asanja Africa Camp
Kirurumu Serengeti Camp (mobile)
Kubu Kubu Tented Camp
Lahia Tented Camp
Mbuzi Mawe Tented Camp
Nyikani Central Serengeti Camp
Nyumbani Serengeti Camp
Serengeti Sopa Lodge
Serengeti Tortilis Camp
Serengeti Wilderness Camp

$$$$
Lemala Ewanjan Seronera Valley Camp
Nimali Central Serengeti
Nomad Serengeti Safari Camp (mobile)
Serengeti Pioneer Camp
Serengeti Sametu Camp
Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Serengeti Under Canvas (mobile)

$$$$$
Dunia Camp
Four Seasons Safari Lodge, Serengeti
Lemala Nanyukie
Namiri Plains

 

South – Ndutu (December – March)

$$
Ndutu Kati Kati Camp

$$$
Ang’ata Migration Camp
Lake Masek Tented Lodge
Lemala Ndutu Camp
Ndutu Safari Lodge
Ndutu Under Canvas
Ndutu Wilderness Camp
Nyikani Migration Camp (Ndutu)

$$$$
Kusini Camp
Olakira Migration Camp
Ubuntu Migration Camp

 

West – Grumeti (April – May)

$
Balili Rock Resort (Bunda)
Serengeti Stop Over (Bunda)

$$
Speke Bay Lodge (Bunda)

$$$$
Kirawira Serena Camp
Mbalageti Serengeti
Mbali Mbali Soroi Serengeti
Melia Serengeti Lodge
Sabora Tented Camp

$$$$$
Faru Faru River Lodge
Grumeti River Camp
Sasakwa Lodge

 

North – Lobo – Bologonja – Kogatende (July – October)

$
A2T Camping (Lobo public campsites)

$$
Lobo Wildlife Lodge (Lobo)
Mara Kati Kati Camp (Kogatende)

$$$
Ang’ata Migration Camp (Bologonja)
Bologonja Under Canvas (Bologonja)
Buffalo Luxury Camp (Lobo)
Mara Under Canvas (Kogatende)
Nyikani Migration Camp (Kogatende)
Serengeti Wilderness Camp North (Kogatende)
Camp Zebra (Lobo)

$$$$
Kleins Camp (Loliondo/Bologonja)
Lemala Mara Camp (Kogatende)
Nimali Mara
Serengeti Migration Camp (Lobo)
Olakira Migration Camp (Kogatende)
Ubuntu Migration Camp (Kogatende)

$$$$$
Alex Walker Serian
Kimondo Migration Camp
Lemala Kuria Hills Lodge(Kogatende)
Nomad Lamai Camp (Kogatende)
Sayari Camp (Kogatende)
Serengeti Bushtops (Kogatende)
Taasa Lodge (Lobo)

Top photo credit: Edith Garneau

Janet T. (Canada)

July 10, 2024

“What an amazing family experience. From the moment Willy picked us up at the airport to the moment he dropped us off we felt right at home. It’s hard to put into words the experience because it was truly life changing. You’d expect that we would say seeing lions (and boy did Willy the lion whisperer know how to find lions!) was the highlight. Don’t get me wrong that was wild! But our connection with Willy and doing things like visiting an orphanage and going to his house for a typical African dinner were outstanding. To have a little glimmer of how people in another country and culture live is to forage a lasting connection. We cried when we had to part with Willy because he had become family to us”