Per person, land only. Park fees included where noted.
This trip exists for one thing: the Mara River crossings in the northern Serengeti. It is the most dramatic wildlife event in Africa and it is also the one most misrepresented by tour operators, so let us be straight about it first.
Crossings happen when the herds decide to cross. They gather on the bank, sometimes for hours, sometimes for a full day, and then either go or turn back. You can spend a day at the river and see nothing. You can also see thousands of animals plunge in within twenty minutes of arriving. Nobody controls this and nobody can promise it. What we can do is put you in the right place at the right time of year, for enough days that the odds are strongly in your favour — which is why this is six days and not three.
Season: roughly late July through October, with August and September the most consistent.
Day 1: Arusha to the central Serengeti. Long drive through the Ngorongoro highlands, entering at Naabi Hill. Afternoon game drive in Seronera — high lion density, leopard along the river.
Day 2: North through the Serengeti, game viewing as you go. The country changes as you travel: short-grass plain gives way to rolling hills and larger trees. Camp in the Kogatende area near the river.
Day 3 and Day 4: Two full days working the Mara River. Your guide’s job here is judgement — reading where the herds are massing, which crossing points are active, and when to commit to a wait. There is usually a lot of sitting still. When it happens, it happens fast: the front animals go, the rest follow in a torrent, and crocodiles that have been invisible all morning appear in the water.
Even without a crossing, this is exceptional country. Predator density along the river is very high — lion prides on the banks, hyena clans, and the crocodiles, some of them enormous.
Day 5: Move back south with game drives through the northern and central Serengeti.
Day 6: Final morning drive, then return to Arusha, or fly out from Kogatende or Seronera to save a full day of driving. For this trip we usually recommend flying at least one leg — it converts a driving day into a river day.
Booking honestly: if crossings are the whole reason you are coming, book at least four nights in the north and travel in the peak window. Anyone selling you a two-night crossing trip is selling you a lottery ticket.