3-Day Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater Safari

Three days, two of Tanzania's great names. You cross the Ngorongoro highlands into the Serengeti, stay two nights in the middle of the park, and drop into the crater on the way back to Arusha.

The central Serengeti, around the Seronera valley, is the part of the park that holds animals in every month. Lions, cheetahs and leopards stay here all year, so a short trip still gives you a real chance of the big cats, whatever the season.

Be honest with yourself about the driving: the first and the last day are long. If you can spare one more day, the 4-day safari adds Tarangire and splits the journey home. If three days is what you have, this is the best use of them.

• Start/EndArusha
• Length3 Days / 2 Nights
• StylePrivate Safari
• WhenAll year
• Nights2, lodges & camps

Why travellers choose it

1. 01

   Both of the north's most famous parks in three days

2. 02

   A whole day in the Serengeti, not just a drive through

3. 03

   The Ngorongoro Crater floor, one of the best places to look for black rhino

4. 04

   Only your group in the vehicle, on the dates you choose

Your journey

1. Day 1

   Arusha over the highlands to the Serengeti

   Arusha → Karatu → Ngorongoro highlands → Central Serengeti

   We pick you up from your Arusha hotel early. The road runs west through Mto wa Mbu and Karatu, then up through the misty forest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and along the rim of the crater, before it falls away onto the open Serengeti plains.

   At Naabi Hill gate the game drive starts. You stop for a picnic lunch and keep watching for animals all the way to your camp in the central Serengeti, which you reach in the late afternoon. Count on roughly 7 to 7½ hours of travel, plus the time spent with the animals.

   • Mid-range lodge or tented camp in the central Serengeti
   • Lunch, Dinner
2. Day 2
   

   A whole day in the Serengeti

   Central Serengeti (Seronera)

   The day is yours. The Seronera River keeps water in this area all year, so the animals stay. Some guests like a dawn start and a long rest at camp at midday; others take a picnic and stay out until the afternoon light. Your guide shapes the day around you and around where the animals are.

   Besides the cats you can expect giraffes, elephants, buffalo, hippos, and herds of zebra and gazelle. When the wildebeest migration moves through the middle of the park, usually around April to June and again in November and December, the plains fill up with them too.

   • Mid-range lodge or tented camp in the central Serengeti
   • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
3. Day 3
   

   Into the Ngorongoro Crater, back to Arusha

   Central Serengeti → Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha

   You leave early and drive back across the plains to the crater, about four hours. The road down to the floor is steep, and at the bottom you find buffalo, zebras, wildebeest, hippos and, on most days, lions. Black rhino live here too, though they are usually seen from a distance.

   After a picnic by the water you climb back out and drive about three hours to Arusha, arriving in the evening. It is a full day, but it saves you a night.

   • Breakfast, Lunch

Travel times are a guide only: roads, weather and animal stops all change them. If you would like an easier last day, we can add a night near the crater or in Karatu at extra cost.

Where the journey goes

• By road
• 1Day number

The line shows the order of the trip, not the exact road. Press ↻ to play it again.

Work out your price

High Season: June to October and 20 December to the end of February. Low Season: March to May and 1 November to 19 December.

Private trip for your group only: the more of you share the vehicle and guide, the lower the price per person. For 7 or more people we send a quote.

How booking works: a 30% deposit confirms your trip and the balance is paid on arrival in Tanzania, before the trip starts. We reply within 3 hours. Booking terms

Included and not included

Before you book