# Serengeti: map, what to do and when to go

A safari across the savanna of the great migration, starting in Arusha and passing through Ngorongoro Crater

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Serengeti: how do you get from the airport to Arusha?** Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) is about 60 km east of Arusha, on the road to Moshi, and handled more than 1 million passengers in 2024.
- **Serengeti: how many days of safari?** I'd set aside six days of safari, with a night in Arusha beforehand.
- **Serengeti: when is the best time to go?** June to October and January to February; June to October is the dry season, with the herds in the west and north and Tarangire at its peak, and the herds stay on the Ndutu plains from late December to March, sometimes into April, with the births in February.

## From Arusha to Tarangire
Leave Arusha early, after a night in town, on the paved road south: the Tarangire gate is less than two hours away.
- Tarangire National Park
- Arusha Declaration Museum

## Along the Ngorongoro rim to the Serengeti
Enter the Ngorongoro Conservation Area through the Lodoare gate, near Karatu, early in the morning; the permit is good for 24 hours.
- Seronera
- Olduvai Gorge
- Naabi Hill

## The day that depends on the month
Anyone who wants to fly in a balloon leaves Seronera at dawn, with a reservation made beforehand, after a full day seeing the valley from the ground.
- Moru Kopjes
- Grumeti River

## Seronera
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-seronera
Half a day or more
The Seronera river valley is the heart of the Serengeti and the best bet for anyone with few days: the valley and the surrounding kopjes keep a resident population of lions, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo and impalas all year, even when the migration is far away. The kopjes, granite outcrops among the grass, serve as observation posts for the big cats. Seronera has the main airstrip, the park headquarters and the densest network of tracks, which makes it easy to return to camp in the middle of the day. The park offers dawn balloon flights, booked separately.
Check access

## Ngorongoro Crater
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-cratera-de-ngorongoro
Arusha · Half a day or more
The largest intact, unflooded volcanic caldera in the world, according to the Ngorongoro authority: a 260 km² floor, 610-meter walls and more than 25,000 animals, including lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and the black rhino. The descent is only made in a 4x4 with a licensed guide, and each vehicle pays the crater service fee (US$295 for non-residents of East Africa, fee schedule consulted in October 2026). Driving begins at 6 a.m.; descents stop at 4 p.m., and everyone must be out by 6 p.m. Outside designated areas, nobody gets out of the car, and at most five vehicles may stop beside the same animal.
Check access

## Tarangire National Park
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-parque-nacional-de-tarangire
Manyara · Half a day or more
Established in 1970 and covering 2,850 km², Tarangire is known for its density of elephants and for its baobabs. In the dry season, from June to October, the Tarangire River draws herds of zebras, wildebeest and buffalo from across the region. There are more than 550 bird species, and abandoned termite mounds shelter dwarf mongooses. The park is less than two hours from Arusha on the paved road, and TANAPA offers guided walks, authorized night drives and dawn balloon flights there.
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## Olduvai Gorge
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-garganta-de-olduvai
Ngorongoro · One to two hours
A gorge 55 km long and up to 100 meters deep, cut by erosion through the sediments of an ancient lake, where the Leakeys found fossils of Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis. The museum sits on the edge of the gorge, a few kilometers from the monument with the two giant skulls on the road to the Serengeti; it displays fossils, tools and replicas of the Laetoli footprints and has a shelter overlooking the gorge, where guides give talks. Visiting the excavations requires an official guide. Entry costs US$35.40 per adult non-resident of East Africa.
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## Lake Ndutu
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-lago-ndutu
Half a day or more
The plains around lakes Ndutu and Masek, on the southern edge of the Serengeti and inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, are the nursery of the migration. The herds arrive from late December to March, sometimes into April, and in February thousands of wildebeest calves are born each day, which draws lions, cheetahs and hyenas. The rest of the year, the area still has resident wildlife, but without the large concentrations.
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## Moru Kopjes
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-moru-kopjes
One to two hours
A group of kopjes southwest of Seronera, home to a small number of black rhinos, rarely seen. The rocks hold paintings attributed to the Maasai, and the granite landscape rising over the plain offers some of the park's most open views.
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## Mara River
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-rio-mara
Half a day or more
In the far north of the park, on the Kenyan border, the Mara River is where the migration crossings happen, usually between July and August, sometimes as early as June and sometimes until October. Crocodiles wait on the banks, and vehicles gather at the crossing points; TANAPA has its own rules for the crossings, such as keeping a distance from the herds. The region is far from Seronera and is usually reached by plane, via the Kogatende airstrip.
Check access

## Grumeti River
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-rio-grumeti
Half a day or more
The river of the western corridor, lined with riverine forest with colobus monkeys, crocodiles and hippos. The herds usually pass through in May and June, and some cross it. Outside that season, the long trip west yields less than one more day in Seronera.
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## Lake Manyara National Park
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-parque-nacional-do-lago-manyara
Arusha · One to two hours
A 648.7 km² park, of which 262.7 km² is the alkaline lake, squeezed between the Rift wall and the water. At the entrance there is a groundwater forest with blue monkeys and baboons; farther on, a hot spring, the lesser flamingos that feed on the lake and a 470-meter suspended walkway over the forest. The park is famous for its tree-climbing lions, a behavior not always seen.
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## Naabi Hill
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-naabi-hill
Up to half an hour
The hill by the main gate of the Serengeti for those arriving by the road from Arusha. While the driver sorts out the permits, a short climb to the top shows the southern plains stretching to the horizon.
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## Shifting Sands
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-shifting-sands
Up to half an hour
An isolated dune of dark volcanic ash from Ol Doinyo Lengai, near Olduvai Gorge, which the wind pushes west by 15 to 29 meters a year, according to the Ngorongoro authority. The magnetic ash keeps the grains together. The visit has its own fee, US$35.40 per adult non-resident of East Africa, and a dirt-road detour.
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## Arusha Declaration Museum
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-museu-da-declaracao-de-arusha
Up to half an hour
A small museum next to the Uhuru Monument, in central Arusha, devoted to the 1967 Arusha Declaration, Julius Nyerere's political program. It interests anyone who wants to understand Tanzania after independence.
Check access

## National Museum of Natural History
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/serengeti/#g-lugar-museu-nacional-de-historia
Up to half an hour
Housed in the old German boma of 1900, in Arusha, the museum has rooms on human evolution, with models of australopithecines, on the region's fauna and plants and on the history of the city. A giant tortoise more than a hundred years old wanders the courtyard.
Check access

**Serengeti: how do you get from the airport to Arusha?**
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) is about 60 km east of Arusha, on the road to Moshi, and handled more than 1 million passengers in 2024. Do not expect regular public transport from it: safari operators usually pick up passengers, and taxis are available. Arusha Airport, west of the city, is the base for domestic flights in small planes.

**Serengeti: how many days of safari?**
I'd set aside six days of safari, with a night in Arusha beforehand. That is the time that lets you go and return by road without spending the trip inside the car: one day for Tarangire, one day crossing Ngorongoro and Olduvai to the Serengeti, one full day in Seronera, one day that changes with the month (Ndutu, the Grumeti River or the Moru Kopjes), one day back to the crater rim and a morning on the crater floor before returning to Arusha. With five days, I'd drop the day that depends on the month and stay only in Seronera. With fewer than five, I'd take the Serengeti out of the plan and stay in Tarangire, Manyara and Ngorongoro, because the road of about 325 km eats the time. Those with more time can add Arusha National Park on the day before the flight or, between July and October, nights in the northern Serengeti for the Mara crossings; neither is necessary for the trip to make sense.

**Serengeti: when is the best time to go?**
June to October and January to February; June to October is the dry season, with the herds in the west and north and Tarangire at its peak, and the herds stay on the Ndutu plains from late December to March, sometimes into April, with the births in February. March to May is the long rains, and April is the wettest month.

**Serengeti: when and how can you see the Mara River crossings?**
In the far north of the park, on the Kenyan border, the Mara River is where the migration crossings happen, usually between July and August, sometimes as early as June and sometimes until October. Crocodiles wait on the banks, and vehicles gather at the crossing points; TANAPA has its own rules for the crossings, such as keeping a distance from the herds. The region is far from Seronera and is usually reached by plane, via the Kogatende airstrip. Anyone traveling from July to October who wants the Mara River saves almost two days on the road by flying from Arusha to Kogatende.

**Serengeti: how many Ngorongoro permits does a safari pay for?**
The conservation area permit is good for one entry of up to 24 hours. A road safari pays for at least two (on the way to the Serengeti and on the way back), plus one if you go to Ndutu from the Serengeti, plus one if you sleep outside the area, in Karatu, before descending into the crater, and plus one if the stay on the rim goes past 24 hours. In a package with an operator, the fees are usually included, and it is worth checking item by item what is in the price; I'd ask the operator for a quote with each permit on a separate line.

**Serengeti: what is the descent into Ngorongoro Crater like?**
The descent is only made in a 4x4 with a licensed guide, and each vehicle pays the crater service fee (US$295 for non-residents of East Africa, fee schedule consulted in October 2026). Driving begins at 6:00; descents stop at 16:00, and everyone must be out by 18:00 Outside designated areas, nobody gets out of the car, and at most five vehicles may stop beside the same animal.

**Serengeti: can you do the safari without an operator?**
There is no public transport inside the parks. The circuit is done in a 4x4 with a driver-guide from a licensed operator; commercial vehicles need a tourism license to enter the conservation area. The British government advises against buying tours from street intermediaries and checking that the company appears on the list of licensed operators of the Tanzanian operators' association.

**Serengeti: is it worth flying within the circuit?**
Small planes link Arusha to the airstrips at Seronera, Kirawira (western corridor), Lobo and Kogatende (north), and also to Lake Manyara. The baggage limit is usually 10 to 15 kg in a soft bag. Flying to the north is the practical way to see the Mara crossings without spending two days on the road.

**Serengeti: is it safe?**
Inside the parks, with a licensed operator and following the driving rules, the biggest risk is the road. Accidents are frequent on Tanzanian highways, park tracks can become impassable after heavy rain, and driving at night outside the towns is discouraged. In Tanzania, including in cities, there are bag thefts and robberies, sometimes armed: avoid carrying a lot of cash or visible valuables and do not accept rides from strangers. At police checkpoints on the road, ask for the officer's identification; the police should not demand payment on the spot. Same-sex relations are a crime in Tanzania, and public displays of affection between them can lead to arrest. Photographing or filming protests is illegal. There is a risk of malaria, and a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required of those arriving from a country with transmission. Medical care in the parks is limited, and serious cases may require evacuation.

**Serengeti: what can you do near Arusha the day before the flight home?**
Arusha National Park, a small 322 km² park at the foot of Mount Meru, has the Ngurdoto crater and the alkaline Momella lakes, home to flamingos, giraffes, buffalo and colobus monkeys. The main gate is about 25 km east of the city, and Kilimanjaro airport is 35 km away. It allows guided walks and canoeing, and fits the day before the flight home, as a half day or a full day.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 6 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/serengeti/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/serengeti/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/serengeti.md