Tour overview
Two landmark parks, with room to breathe
The open Serengeti and the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, where game is concentrated inside a collapsed caldera at a density found nowhere else in Tanzania.
There is no airstrip at the crater, so this trip cannot be flown both ways. It flies you into the Serengeti, drives you out through the conservation area, and flies you home from Arusha.
The 4-day version covers the same two parks in a day less. This one puts that extra day almost entirely into not rushing: two unbroken days in the Serengeti instead of one, and a dawn start on day four that gets you onto the crater rim with the afternoon still in hand. If you are choosing between them, this is the one that leaves room for the day the game does something unexpected.
Two full days in the Serengeti and a morning on the crater floor
TransportReturn fly-in
Duration5 days / 4 nights
Nights in park4
VehiclePrivate 4x4
MealsFull board
Party size2–7 guests
Trip highlights
What makes this safari
The crater floor, properly
An early descent while the game is still active, in an area compact enough to cover well in a single morning.
Two full Serengeti days, not one
The whole point of the extra day. It buys you room for the morning something unexpected happens.
No connection to race for
Day five leaves the crater with the afternoon flight comfortably ahead of you, rather than a scramble to reach Arusha in time.
The crater service fee is included
Charged per vehicle per descent, on top of the per-person conservation fee, and routinely left out of cheaper quotes.
Trip map
Where this safari goes
- Fly Zanzibar Depart 07:00
- Stay Seronera Central Serengeti · 3 nights
- Road Ngorongoro By road · crater rim · 1 night
- Road Arusha By road after the crater floor
- Fly Zanzibar Fly Arusha to Zanzibar, day 5
Schematic. Point positions are projected from real coordinates; the coastline is stylised.
Day by day
Your safari, day by day
-
Day 1
Zanzibar to Seronera
Hotel pickup in Zanzibar for the 07:00 Flightlink departure, landing at Seronera at 10:00. Your private guide meets you at the airstrip, and an afternoon game drive follows once you have reached the lodge and had lunch.
-
Day 2
Full day, central Serengeti
Run as your guide advises — a dawn start with a packed lunch, or morning and afternoon drives with the midday heat spent at camp. The Seronera valley holds resident lion, leopard and elephant year-round.
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Day 3
A second full day on the plains
The day that separates this trip from the 4-day version. A second unbroken day lets your guide work a different sector, follow up on yesterday's sightings, or simply stay with something worth staying with.
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Day 4
Serengeti to the Ngorongoro crater rim
A dawn departure, with the drive east across the plains to Naabi Hill Gate in the best light of the day. There is no separate morning game drive — there is game viewing on the way to the gate, which at that hour is genuinely good.
We clear the gate by 09:00. That timing is deliberate: you entered the park at 10:00 on day one, so a 09:00 exit keeps you inside the 24-hour park-fee boundary with an hour to spare. Then across the conservation area to the crater rim, arriving with the afternoon still in hand.
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Day 5
Crater floor, Arusha, Zanzibar
A first-light descent to the crater floor, while the game is still moving. Black rhino, large lion prides, elephant bulls and flamingo on Lake Magadi are all resident here, in an area compact enough to cover properly in a morning.
We ascend by about 10:30 and take a packed lunch rather than a sit-down one, because the drive from the rim to Arusha runs to roughly three hours and the afternoon flight to Zanzibar will not wait. Leaving the rim around 11:00 gives the day real margin instead of a race.
The crater service fee, charged per vehicle per descent on top of the per-person conservation fee, is included in your rate. It is the most commonly under-quoted line on this kind of itinerary.
What's included
Everything in the price
Included
- Return scheduled Flightlink flights, Zanzibar to the Serengeti and back
- All airport and airstrip transfers, both ends
- Full board accommodation in the named lodge or camp
- Private 4x4 with pop-up roof and a resident guide, exclusive to your party
- All park entry, concession and conservation fees, including the crater service fee where the itinerary includes a descent
- Drinking water in the vehicle, and lunch on every full day
- All government taxes and levies
Not included
- International flights to and from Zanzibar
- Tanzania visa and any e-visa fees
- Travel and medical insurance — mandatory, and a condition of booking
- Tips for guides, pilots and lodge staff
- Alcoholic and soft drinks
- Laundry, unless the lodge includes it
- Optional balloon safari
- Single-room supplements where a party cannot share
- Anything not listed under inclusions
Pricing
Rates, per adult
Sharing basis, in US dollars. The rate falls as the party grows because the vehicle, the guide and the fees are shared across it. A safari jeep takes seven.
Mid-range
Serengeti House of Nature| Party size | 2 pax | 3–4 pax | 5–6 pax | 7 pax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | $3,600 | $3,000 | $2,800 | $2,750 |
| Children 5–15 | $3,250 | $2,650 | $2,450 | $2,400 |
| Children 0–4no vehicle seat | $1,700 | $1,700 | $1,700 | $1,700 |
Luxury
Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge| Party size | 2 pax | 3–4 pax | 5–6 pax | 7 pax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | $4,800 | $4,200 | $4,000 | $3,950 |
| Children 5–15 | $4,425 | $3,850 | $3,650 | $3,575 |
| Children 0–4no vehicle seat | $2,875 | $2,875 | $2,875 | $2,875 |
Children aged 0–4 carry no vehicle share, so two adults and an infant price in the 2-pax band. A party of eight needs a second vehicle and reprices for everyone — ask us before you book. 30% deposit confirms.
Where you stay
Lodging on this safari
Every tier is a named, contracted property. Rates below are the single supplement, charged only if a traveller cannot share.
Mid-range
2 properties
Mid · Central Serengeti
Serengeti House of Nature
Lodge / semi-permanent tented camp
- BoardFull board
- PowerSolar power, limited hours
- Single supplement$125 pp/night
Mid · Crater
Ngorongoro Wild Camp
Tented camp
- Nights1
- BoardFull board
- LocationInside the conservation area
- Single supplement$100 pp/night
Luxury
2 properties
Luxury · Central Serengeti
Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Permanent lodge
- BoardFull board
- PowerPool and 24-hour power
- Single supplement$250 pp/night
Luxury · Crater
Ngorongoro Lion's Paw
Tented camp
- Nights1
- BoardFull board
- LocationInside the conservation area
- Single supplement$350 pp/night
What the tiers mean. Mid-range in the Serengeti is a permanent lodge or a semi-permanent tented camp: en-suite bathroom, hot water, a real bed, full board, usually solar power with limited hours. It does not mean a pool or air conditioning.
Luxury is not one thing on this site. Properties are assigned by region, not by season — a permanent lodge in the central Serengeti, a tented camp in the north. Both are excellent and both cost the same. They are not the same kind of stay, so we label them by region rather than let you assume.
Trip add-ons
Optional extras
Extra night in the Serengeti, mid-range
Tiered by party size: $600 at 2 pax, $525 at 4, $500 at 6 and 7. Covers accommodation, concession fee, an extra 24h park entry, lunch and an extra vehicle day.
Price on enquiry
Hot air balloon safari over the Serengeti
Early morning flight with a bush breakfast on landing. Must be booked well in advance. Rate on enquiry.
Price on enquiry
Hot air balloon safari with breakfast on landing
Rate not yet confirmed. Must be booked well in advance.
Price on enquiry
Single room supplement
Serengeti: $125 per night mid-range, $250 luxury. Ngorongoro: $100 mid-range, $350 luxury.
Price on enquiry
Arusha hotel night
Only if the 5-day is ever sold with a morning departure. Rate not confirmed.
Price on enquiry
Cultural visit in the Ngorongoro highlands
Arranged in advance. Rate on enquiry. We only work with communities that have agreed to receive visitors.
Price on enquiry
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