7 Days Great Migration Calving Season Safari (Southern Serengeti)

Between roughly late January and March, the wildebeest herds gather on the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti and Ndutu area for calving season, when an estimated half a million calves are born within a few short weeks. This itinerary combines migration tracking with Ngorongoro Crater’s reliable Big Five viewing, which holds up regardless of where the herds happen to be during your specific travel dates.

7 Days Great Migration Calving Season Safari (Southern Serengeti) Itinerary

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

A drive to Tarangire National Park, known for its large elephant herds and baobab-studded landscape, eases you into the safari before heading toward the crater highlands.

Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater

A descent onto the crater floor offers a dense concentration of wildlife in a compact, self-contained ecosystem. The crater’s permanent water sources mean wildlife viewing stays strong even in the dry season, when animals elsewhere in the region are more dispersed searching for water.

Day 3: Southern Serengeti & Ndutu Plains

You’ll travel into the short-grass plains around Ndutu, where the migration gathers for calving season, with excellent visibility across the largely treeless landscape.

Day 4: Calving Season Game Drives

A full day among the herds offers close views of newborn calves and the predators drawn to them, a phase of the migration that’s easier to witness here than elsewhere on the circuit. This part of the southern plains is where the bulk of the year’s wildebeest calves are born within a few concentrated weeks, drawing predators from across the wider ecosystem.

Day 5: Calving Season Game Drives

Further time on the southern plains continues the search for predator interactions and newborn calves scattered across the grassland. Because newborn calves are especially vulnerable in the first days of life, guides report some of the year’s highest predator-prey interaction rates here during this exact window.

Day 6: Central Serengeti Game Drives

A drive north into the Seronera area rounds out your Serengeti time with its resident predator population. Because this stretch of plains sees such a concentrated birthing period, guides describe it as one of the most reliable windows anywhere in Africa for witnessing predator hunts firsthand.

Day 7: Return to Arusha

A last look back at the crater rim marks the start of the return drive to Arusha, closing out the trip. Because this itinerary is timed to a specific migration window, the return schedule is generally planned with some flexibility in case river-crossing viewing runs longer than expected.

What’s Included

• Airport pickup and drop-off in Arusha or Kilimanjaro
• Private 4×4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof and professional driver-guide
• Park and conservation area entrance fees
• Accommodation as specified, on a full-board basis unless otherwise stated
• Game drives as per the itinerary
• Bottled drinking water during game drives
• All applicable government taxes

What’s Excluded

• International flights
• Tanzania visa fees
• Tips and gratuities for guides and lodge staff
• Personal travel and medical insurance
• Meals not specified as included in the itinerary
• Items of a personal nature (laundry, souvenirs, phone or internet charges)
• Optional activities not listed in the itinerary