The Serengeti
in calving season
Four or five nights, guided self-drive, at special season rates.
Trips starting 5 January – 31 March 2027
This season has ended. The Serengeti safari runs all year at our regular rates.
See the Serengeti safariWhy January to March
One of the great wildlife events in Africa
The wildebeest and zebra herds gather on the short-grass plains around Ndutu in the southern Serengeti. Thousands of calves are born, and the lions, cheetah and hyena are never far away.
Fewer people know about the calving than the river crossings, which makes it one of the most underrated times to be in the Serengeti. You share it with far fewer vehicles, and the predator action on the open plains can be extraordinary.
We position you where the herds are that week, rather than at a fixed camp, so the days follow the animals, not a map. With so much ground to cover, we recommend five nights for an unhurried safari.
We’ve never believed a safari should be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. The more time people spend in the bush, the more it begins to make sense to them, and that is what our guiding is about.
So for trips starting between 5 January and 31 March 2027, we’ve set special season rates. We simply want more people to come out with us and see it.
Nothing about the safari changes: the same vehicles, the same guiding team, the same full days in the field.
Big cat country, at its busiest
With the herds on the short grass and thousands of calves on the ground, the predators are everywhere: lion prides, cheetah mothers teaching their cubs to hunt, hyena and jackal close behind.
How we do it
Guided self-drive, guiding first
Take the wheel, or don’t
You travel in two of our vehicles, linked by radio, with our guides on board. You can drive one of them with a guide alongside, and a guide takes over whenever you’d rather sit back and watch. You are never out there on your own.
Interpretive guiding
Our depth is guiding, not camps. Our guides have spent decades reading tracks and behaviour. We help you understand what you are watching: why the herd moves, why a cheetah waits, what happens next.
Full days in the field
We carry breakfast and lunch with us rather than returning to camp at midday. Sightings develop over hours, not minutes, and a full day takes you far beyond the reach of a morning drive.
Private and end to end
The vehicles and the guiding team are yours alone. You fly in and fly out, so there are no long road transfers, and from the moment we receive you at the airport everything is taken care of.
Where you stay
Camps chosen for where the herds are
The Serengeti is vast, and the herds move with the rains. So we don’t lock a camp in advance: we place you where the animals are that week.
From January to March that means three nights at Gnu Ndutu Camp, a seasonal camp by Mawe on the southern plains near Lake Ndutu. It is open only for the calving season, so you wake up where the herds are.
We choose camps on one thing only: whether their position makes for a good game drive. A camp in the wrong place costs you the first and last hours of every day, and those are the best hours there are.
Then one night at Mawe Tented Camp (two on the five-night safari) in the central-eastern Serengeti, beside the Ngarenanyuki River, an area with resident lions, leopards and cheetahs all year round.
Both are unfenced, ten-tent camps with en-suite tents facing the plains: a warm place to come back to, with good food, warm hospitality and a hot shower.
- 3 nightsGnu Ndutu Camp, southern plains
- 1 or 2 nightsMawe Tented Camp, central Serengeti
Your safari
Your safari, day by day
The Serengeti is vast. The national park alone covers almost 15,000 square kilometres, about ten times the size of the Maasai Mara Reserve, and the wider ecosystem twice that. Fly in, fly out, and everything in between is time in the bush.
- Day1Arrive
Kilimanjaro, a bush flight, and onto the plains
We receive you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and take you to the bush-flight airport outside Arusha. Your bush flight takes you to the airstrip at Ndutu, where we meet you with our two safari vehicles. A first game drive on the way to Gnu Ndutu Camp, then settle in and meet your guides.
- Days2 – 3Ndutu
Two full days on the calving plains
Each day is shaped by where the herds are, the weather and the stories unfolding, not by a fixed schedule. A typical day:
- First lightLeave camp as the animals are most active
- MorningBush breakfast out on the plains
- MiddayStay with sightings as they develop
- AfternoonLunch under a tree, then further afield
- EveningBack to camp for dinner and stories
- Day4Central
A game drive to the central Serengeti
We leave the southern plains and drive north into the central Serengeti, game viewing all the way through big cat country, and spend the night at Mawe Tented Camp.
- Day5Return
Bush flight back to Arusha
A bush flight takes you back to Arusha, usually landing between noon and 2 pm. We drop you at Arusha airport for your flight to Dar es Salaam, or take you back to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Plan your onward travel with this timing in mind. If there’s no suitable connection that day, we can arrange a night near Arusha or Kilimanjaro airport at extra cost.
Five nights, six days: our recommendation
With this much country to cover, we highly recommend five nights for an unhurried safari. The same start, with a second night at Mawe Tented Camp: Day 5 becomes a full day in the central Serengeti, resident lion, leopard and cheetah country around the Seronera valley and its kopjes, at your own pace rather than on the move. You fly back to Arusha on Day 6.
Special season rates
For trips starting 5 January – 31 March 2027. Per person, in US dollars, sharing a tent. Three travellers pay the two-person rate.
| Length | 2 travellers | 4 or more |
|---|---|---|
| 4 nights, 5 daysBoth bush flights included | ||
| 5 nights, 6 daysRecommended · both bush flights included | USD 4,700per person | USD 3,700per person |
Children under 5 travel free on safari; only their bush-flight seat is charged, at the airline’s fare. Children aged 5 to 12 are charged at half. That isn’t our choice: the camps and the park authority charge by age, so we pass those on as they are.
All-inclusive, end to end
- Reception at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer to the bush-flight airport
- Both bush flights: Arusha to Ndutu, and the central Serengeti back to Arusha
- Drop at Arusha airport, or back to Kilimanjaro International Airport
- Three nights at Gnu Ndutu Camp and one or two at Mawe Tented Camp, with all meals
- Two private Land Cruisers and our guiding team throughout
- Full days in the field with bush breakfast and lunch
- Park and conservation fees
- Binoculars in each vehicle
Not included
- Your international flights
- Tanzania visa
- Travel insurance, mandatory for Tanzania
Beyond these, you won’t spend a penny unless you choose to: drinks at camp, laundry or shopping. You’ll also need a yellow fever vaccination.
Booking, simply
Four steps to the Serengeti
- 01Pick your datesTell us your dates and how many of you are travelling. We check the camps and flights straight away.
- 02Send your detailsThe names as they appear on your passports, and an address for the invoice.
- 03Pay 25% to confirmA 25% advance holds your dates. The balance is due 30 days before you travel. Travelling within 30 days? Full payment at booking.
- 04You’re confirmedWe send your confirmation, then ask for flight times and anything we should know, such as food preferences.
Invoiced in US dollars. Bank transfer preferred; a card payment link is available with a 3.5% card fee.
Questions people ask first.
What does all-inclusive mean?
Everything from the moment we receive you until we drop you back: transfers, camps, all meals, park fees, your private vehicle and guiding team. You won’t spend a penny unless you choose to, on drinks at camp or shopping. The only things outside the price are your flights, visas (including the Kenya eTA) and travel insurance, which is now mandatory for Kenya. We can process visas for you if you’d like.
Is the safari private?
Always. The vehicle and the guiding team are yours alone, and we never put separate parties together. That is what lets us stay with a sighting for as long as it takes.
Who are the guides?
Every safari has a guiding team of at least two: a senior guide and one or two guides working alongside. Our guides know the resident prides individually, and they read the land as well as the animals: the soil, the grass, the water, and why the animals are where they are.
Kenya, Tanzania, or both?
Kenya is the concentrated safari for fewer days: the Mara is compact, rich in resident cats, and easy to reach from Nairobi. Tanzania is the bigger, wilder one, where the guiding matters most and the ecological story is fuller. Together they make one ecosystem, and our Kenya & Tanzania journey covers the whole of it.
When is the best time to come?
Every month has something happening. The lion prides, cheetah, leopard and elephant of the Mara live there all year. The herds are always somewhere on their long loop through the Serengeti and the Mara, so we plan around where they will be. See When to come for the year, month by month.
Can I drive?
In the Serengeti, yes. We run two of our own Land Cruisers there, linked by radio, and you’re welcome to drive one with a guide beside you. Hand it back whenever you’d rather sit back and watch. In the Maasai Mara our guides drive the open game viewer, so everyone’s eyes are free for the bush.
Can we bring children?
Yes, children of every age come on safari with us, and it is a lovely time to introduce them to animals and their worlds. Children under 5 travel free, 5 to 11 are charged at half, and from 12 it’s the adult rate. That isn’t our choice: the camps charge by bed and the park authorities charge entry by age on the passport, so we pass those on as they are.
What about food?
Vegetarian and Jain meals are catered for regularly, and our camp in the Mara uses only halal meat. Our camps are chosen for where the animals are, not for their kitchens: they’ll happily attempt Indian dishes, but the flavours may not taste quite the way they do at home.
How do I book?
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We check the camp and the guiding roster, then send you the itinerary and exact costing. To confirm, we need the names as they appear on your passports and an address for the invoice. A 25% advance holds your dates and the balance is due 30 days before you travel; within 30 days, full payment confirms. We invoice in US dollars. Bank transfer is preferred, and a card payment link is available with a 3.5% card fee.