6 Days Serengeti Budget Safaris
This 6-day itinerary is expertly to offer amazing Serengeti safari experience without the luxury option, focusing instead of increasing game viewing and then utilizing well-located, comfortable budget and then mid-range tented camps. It is a journey around the core highlights of the Tanzania’s northern safari circuit, including Ngorongoro crater, the Rift Valley and then the vast plains of the sightings and authentic immersion in the bush over extravagant accommodations, ensuring every shilling goes toward creating unforgettable encounters with the Big five and beyond.
Tour Highlights.
Day 1: Arrival in and scenic drive to Karatu.
Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater Descent and transfer to Serengeti national park.
Day 3 and 4: Full day Game drives in the Serengeti plains.
Day 5: Final Serengeti Drive and transfer to Mto wa Mbu.
Lake 6: Lake Manyara and Departure.
Detailed itinerary.
Day 1: Arrival in and scenic drive to Karatu.
On the first day of the safari, it begins with your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha Airport. Upon landing, you will be warmly welcomed by your safari guide from African Vacation Safaris and brief you about the safari and then be transferred to Arusha, and then the journey continues with a scenic drive westward, heading towards the conservation area surrounding Ngorongoro Highlands, through the local villages, and others that offer you perfect views of the Great Rift Valley escarpment.
You will spend the night in the small, town of Karatu, that is located outside Ngorongoro conservation area gate. Karatu offers a selection of excellent budget friendly lodges. And then Karatu offers you positioning for an early start morning game drive, and avoiding unnecessary long drives and ensuring you are well-rested and ready for the spectacular game viewing ahead. Later you will be served with dinner and then overnight stay at a comfortable lodge.
Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater Descent and transfer to Serengeti national park.
On the second day of the safari, wake up and enjoy breakfast. After breakfast, meet your safari guide and drive up to the crater rim, for the stunning view of the natural wonder which is the largest intact volcanic caldera, the descent into the crater floor, takes you the unique, self-contained wildlife paradise.
The crater is renowned for its high density of animals, making it one of the best places in Africa to see the Big five mammals. You will spend the morning exploring the diverse habitats, from the central soda lake, which attracts flamingos to the open grasslands with lions, elephants, wildebeests and hyenas. After a picnic lunch on the crater floor, the vehicle ascends the crater wall. The journey then continues north-west, entering the vast, undulating plains of the Serengeti National Park, known in Maasai as ‘’the place where the land runs on forever.’’ Upon your arrival you will check in into a comfortable, budget tented camp for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3 and 4: Full day Game drives in the Serengeti plains.
On the third and fourth days of the safari, these two days are dedicated entirely to exploring the immense Serengeti, providing the best opportunity to witness the park’s legendry wildlife. Depending on the time of the year you travel, your guides will position the game drives to increase your chances of witnessing the Great Wildebeest Migration. Whether the mega herds are concentrated in the southern short-grass plains for calving (December to March) or spread across the central plains and western corridor, your guide will use their expert knowledge to follow the action.
Serengeti is famous for kopjes (isolated granite rock formations) which serves as favourite look out for lions and cheetahs. You will traverse open savannahs, riverine forests ad central Seronera Valley, that is renowned for its excellent year-round predator sightings. The budget itinerary includes full day drives with packed picnic lunches, increasing the time spent viewing game and reducing travel back and forth to the camp. Both evenings will be spent enjoying the authentic sounds of the African night at your tented camp, sharing stories of the day’s sightings around a camp and then preparing for the next morning’s adventures.
Day 5: Final Serengeti Drive and transfer to Mto wa Mbu.
On your final morning in Serengeti begins with an early game drive, capturing the magical time of the day when the predators are most active. This drive is often the best for catching sight of leopards and hyenas heading back to their dens. After a final, hearty bush breakfast, you will begin the journey back toward the eastern boundary of the park, taking a scenic drive through the vast plains and enjoying the last one game drive en route.
The destination for the evening is the vibrant and then cultural town of Mto wa Mbu, that is located near the entrance of Lake Manyara National Park. This town is a fantastic place to experience local Tanzania life, offering bustling markets and then agricultural diversity. You will check into a budget-friendly lodge in Mto wa Mbu that provides a chance of scenery from the bush and a comfortable staging point for the final leg of your journey.
Lake 6: Lake Manyara and Departure.
On the final day offers an optional visit to Lake Manyara National Park, that is famous for its beautiful setting, its huge population of baboons, and most famously its tree-climbing lions (though sightings are rare and depend on the luck). A morning game drive here provides a lush contrast to the open plains of Serengeti, offers groundwater forests, alkaline lakes and the rift valley escarpment.
Alternatively, the itinerary offers you a relaxed morning before you begin your final transfer to Arusha. Your guide will drive you directly to Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha Airport for your onward flight, concluding your incredible 6-day Serengeti Budget Safari. You leave with memories of the great plains, the power of the Big five, and then the wonderful drama of Tanzania’s magnificent wilderness, having experienced one of the world’s most thrilling journeys without comprising on the quality of your wildlife viewing.
End of 6 Days Serengeti Budget Safaris