Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
10
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
1
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
7
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
9
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
7
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
82 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
31st/457
Top 10%
continent
Africa
country
Tanzania
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$170 (typically $120 - $220)
Time of year visited
January
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
4WD Camping Safari
All Tags
Bird spotting Cliffs Driving UNESCO world heritage site Wildlife - Crocodiles Wildlife - Eagles Wildlife - Elephants Wildlife - Leopards Wildlife - Lions Wildlife - Rhinos
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Serengeti National Park is one of the world’s premier wildlife destinations, hosting some of the largest terrestrial animals in the world across a vast 15,000 square km / 6,000 square mile area.  The name alone conjures up memories of being a kid watching your first wildlife documentary on TV, and the reality doesn’t disappoint.

 

The “Big 5” of lions, leopards, elephant, rhinos and buffalo are in abundance, along with thousands and thousands of wildebeest, gazelle and impala that form part of the world famous “Great Migration”.  And, to top it all, the Ngorongoro Crater offers the world’s largest unbroken crater for sensational views.  All combined, its a sensational safari and one of the world’s best animal travel experiences.

 

Doesn’t get the top Wow-factor score just because of the intense number of fellow tourists sometimes.  But, if included as part of 3 week overland trip camping from Victoria Falls to Nairobi, you’ve got one of the best travel experiences anywhere in the world and comfortably ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .

 

Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater - zebras in the foreground looking across the very green Ngorongoro Crater
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Table of Contents

Highlights

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#1 Seeing the thousands and thousands of Wildebeest stretching out into the distance

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#2 You'll see hundreds of elephants

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#3 Plenty of Giraffe

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#4 Lions walking along with you on the road, with no idea of right of way

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#5 The chance to see leopards in the trees . . . sometimes with their cubs

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#6 The views over the huge Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest unbroken crater

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#7 Just generally heading out on the adventure in the open top 4x4s, looking for the best spot to see the animals

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#8 Hippos and crocodiles chilling in the rivers

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#9 Seeing some of the beautiful birds, such as this Africa Fish Eagle, that get less attention than the giant mammals

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Finding just the right time of year to see the world-famous Wildebeest Migration

Travel Tips

I visited the Serengeti as part of an overland tour from Victoria Falls to Nairobi, so my tips for this experience will be very short as, well, everything was organised for us.  But a few high level points:

 

Terminology

The Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Masai Mara are all distinct national parks, but they all sit within the broader Serengeti ecosystem.  The first two are in Tanzania, whereas the Masai Mara is in Kenya.

 

Masai Mara or Serengeti

Firstly, they are both fantastic experiences – if you can, do both, which is what we did.   That being said, I think your choice comes down to:

 

Resident animals compared to migrators – the Serengeti is more dependent on the herd migrations which are determined by the time of year, whereas the Masai Mara (and Ngorongoro Crater) have more resident animals.

Time of year – if visiting in August to October, the choice is simple – go to the Masai Mara because that is where the Great Migration of Wildebeest (and the other grazers and predators) will be happening with the world-famous, and daunting, crossing of the Mara River.  January to March (calving season) and June to August (see the Great Migration in Tanzania), make more sense for the Serengeti National Park.  April to June, the herds will be in the west of the Serengeti but it will be wet.

Culture vs nature – the Masai Mara offers the opportunity for staying with and learning from the Masai, which you will not find as an option in the the Serengeti.  In comparison, the Ngorongoro Crater, which you will naturally want to visit as part of your Serengeti National Park trip, is the world’s largest broken caldera and offers stunning views that outclass anything in the Masai Mara.

Kenya or Tanzania – with the Serengeti being in Tanzania and Masai Mara in Kenya, it’s worth thinking which more appeals to you.  I’d probably lean more towards Tanzania because, when looking outside of safari-style options, the trip to Zanzibar is something Kenya can’t offer (and you can see Zanzibar’s 5 highlights in this travel entry).  Of course, it’s better just to visit both.

For tips on a the Masai Mara, see this travel entry – Hanging out with the Masai in the Masai Mara.

 

Go with a tour

Unless you’re Bear Grills, doing a DIY trip is not feasible and would probably be significantly more expensive, especially for things like insurance.  Do a bit of research on independent sites to go with a well rated tour company.  It’s worth it.

Make sure your tour includes The Ngorongoro Crater – a friend once described the Ngorongoro Crater as the world’s largest zoo based on the sheer number of animals, but also the number of tourists.  Looking back, I think this is a little harsh because, whilst it is of course more busy with tourists than the vast Serengeti National Park, the crater is still huge and I don’t think you’ll feel overly crowded.  In addition, the crater itself is stunning and worth a visit for the views from the top alone.

Make sure you tour includes camping – there is something just so awesome about camping in the Serengeti.  Lying in your sleeping bag thinking “could a lion just come in and grab me . . .”

You probably want at least 2 nights in the park, ideally more.  Main reasons are that its a bit of a trip to get there, the park itself is huge and, put simply, it increases your chances of seeing the animals you want to see.  For the “Big 5” – Elephants, Lions and Buffalo you will see easily.  Leopards and Rhinos are a bit harder.

 

When to visit

The best times to visit are January to March (calving season) and June to August (seeing the Great Migration of animals cross the Mara River).  April to early June the herds will be in the west of the park, but it will be wet.  September to October, the herds will be in the Masai Mara.

The Wildebeest Migration – known as “The Greatest Show on Earth”, this is the highlight of one of the highlights of all of Africa and so naturally gets huge attention.  But bear in mind that the migration is happening all year round, it just gets greater attention around August to October because that is when the wildebeest enter the Masai Mara and cross the Mara River, and because there are certain times of the year when it is not raining and you can enjoy it more.  I’ve included a map to give you an idea of the timings.

Experiences Nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

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Camping in Corcovado National Park

Island hopping the Galapagos Islands

Diving with bull and tiger sharks by Beqa Island

Safari in the Okavango Delta and Kaziinkini Game Reserve

Western Madagascar Adventure – Tsingy, Baobabs and Lemurs

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences - from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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