8 DAYS NDUTU CALVING SEASON SAFARI

This private Ndutu calving season safari is designed around one of Tanzania’s most remarkable wildlife periods, combining the southern Serengeti and Ndutu plains with Tarangire, Central Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.This private Ndutu calving season safari is designed around one of Tanzania’s most remarkable wildlife periods, combining the southern Serengeti and Ndutu plains with Tarangire, Central Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.

Day 1 Welcome to Tanzania –  Kilimanjaro International Airport → Arusha

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be warmly welcomed by a Tales of Tanzania Safaris representative and transferred privately to your hotel in Arusha.

There is no sightseeing planned today. After your international journey, this evening is simply about arriving, settling in and letting the excitement of what lies ahead begin to sink in.

Enjoy a relaxed dinner and a peaceful first night in Tanzania before your safari adventure begins the following morning.

Accommodation: Arusha Planet Lodge
Meals: Dinner

Day 2 – Among the Giants – Tarangire National Park

Depart at 8:00 AM for a 110 km (2-hour) drive to Tarangire. Along the way, pass Maasai villages and open savannah landscapes. Arrive mid-morning for your first game drive. Tarangire is famed for its massive elephant herds and iconic baobab trees. Around 1:00 PM, enjoy a hot lunch at a scenic lodge before continuing your afternoon game drive (2–3 hours), exploring the Tarangire River and Silale Swamp—prime wildlife viewing areas. By sunset, transfer to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Eileen’s Trees Inn
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 3 – Into Ndutu – Where the Great Migration Comes to Give Birth

Karatu → Ngorongoro Conservation Area → Ndutu

Today, the journey begins toward the place you told us matters most.

After an early breakfast, leave Karatu and climb into the beautiful Ngorongoro Highlands, passing through changing landscapes as you travel deeper into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Gradually, the highlands give way to enormous open spaces.

And then — Ndutu.

During January, February and March, the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti and western Ngorongoro Conservation Area become the setting for one of Africa’s most remarkable wildlife spectacles. Vast numbers of wildebeest and zebra gather here, following the fresh, nutritious grasses produced by the seasonal rains. The peak of the wildebeest calving season typically falls around February, although the timing and location of the herds ultimately depend on rainfall.

From the moment you enter the Ndutu ecosystem, the transfer becomes your game drive.

Your guide will begin searching for the herds rather than simply following the shortest road to camp. Depending on rainfall and where the migration has concentrated, you may find wildebeest stretching across the horizon, zebra mixed among them and predators watching from the plains.

Arrive at camp later in the day and settle into your glamping tent before dinner.

Tonight, there are no city sounds outside.

Only Africa.

Accommodation: Africa Safari Ngorongoro – Ndutu | Glamping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 4 – The Calving Plains – A Full Day in Ndutu

For those who choose to add the optional Hot Air Balloon Safari, the day begins before sunrise as you take to the skies above the Ndutu plains. As the first light spreads across the landscape, drift silently above the savannah and, depending on the location of the herds, the Great Migration below.

During the calving season, the plains may be filled with newborn wildebeest and heightened predator activity, creating extraordinary opportunities to witness the natural drama of this ecosystem. After landing, enjoy the traditional champagne bush breakfast before rejoining your guide for the day’s game drive.

Accommodation: Africa Safari South Serengeti – Ndutu | Glamping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 5 – Ndutu to Central Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, enjoy a final game drive through Ndutu before continuing north toward the iconic Central Serengeti. The journey itself is a game drive, offering opportunities to spot giraffes, elephants, lions, cheetahs, and vast herds of plains game along the way. Arrive at your luxury tented camp in the afternoon and enjoy the remainder of the day soaking in the atmosphere of the Serengeti.

Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 6 – Central Serengeti – Full-Day Private Game Drive

Today belongs entirely to Central Serengeti.

The Seronera region offers a striking contrast to the open calving plains you have just left behind. Here, river valleys, rocky kopjes, grasslands and acacia woodland create habitat for an extraordinary diversity of resident wildlife.

This is prime predator country.

Lion prides may rest around the kopjes, cheetahs scan the open plains and leopards can sometimes be found draped over the branches of acacia or sausage trees along the river systems.

Elephant, giraffe, buffalo, hippo and numerous antelope species add to the experience.

Once again, there is deliberately no rigid schedule.

You may leave early with a picnic breakfast if your guide has heard about interesting activity, enjoy a relaxed breakfast at camp before setting out, return for lunch, or spend the entire day in the bush with a picnic.

As your final Serengeti evening approaches, enjoy the golden afternoon light before returning to camp.

Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 7 – From the Endless Plains to Africa’s Garden of Eden

Central Serengeti → Ngorongoro Crater → Karatu

Rise early this morning and begin your journey out of the Serengeti, enjoying wildlife along the way as you travel toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Your destination is one of Africa’s most extraordinary natural landscapes: Ngorongoro Crater.

From the crater rim, descend approximately 600 metres into the vast volcanic caldera below.

The environment changes almost immediately.

Within the crater’s natural walls lies an extraordinary concentration of wildlife. Open grasslands, woodland, wetlands and soda lakes support wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, hippo, lion, hyena and enormous bull elephants. With patience and some luck, you may also encounter one of Ngorongoro’s endangered black rhinos.

Spend your time exploring the crater floor with your private guide, stopping for a picnic lunch during the day.

After your game drive, ascend the crater wall and continue toward Karatu.

Enjoy dinner and your final safari evening together.

Accommodation: Eileen’s Trees Inn
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 8 – Karatu → Kilimanjaro International Airport

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast this morning before beginning your private transfer toward Kilimanjaro International Airport.

There is no game drive to chase and no early flight from the Serengeti today. Instead, this is a gentle final journey through northern Tanzania, passing the villages, farmland and landscapes that have framed your adventure.

Your driver will deliver you directly to Kilimanjaro International Airport in comfortable time for your onward flight.

And while your safari ends here, we hope Tanzania will remain with you for a very long time.

Karibu tena — until we meet again.

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Private transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport included.

 

Safari Price – 2026 & 2027

US$3,300 per person
Based on 2 people travelling together on a private safari.