Serengeti national park is a famous safari destination which is found in the northern part of Tanzania. Wildlife safaris are carried out in Serengeti national park which covers about 14763 square kilometers with numerous wildlife species. The big five are among the wildlife attractions found in the national park and they include elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and buffalos.
Serengeti national park is a UNESCO world heritage site with vast savannah plains and the national park is also made up of acacia woodlands where numerous wildlife species can be seen during a safari. The national park is also the oldest national park in Tanzania.
There are different parts of Serengeti national park which are visited during tours around Tanzania and they include the northern part of Serengeti, the western part of Serengeti and also the southern plains of Serengeti.
During a tour around Serengeti national park, a number of activities are carried out on safari and they include game drives in the morning, afternoon or evening, nature walks, hot air balloon safaris, and also bird watching excursions.
Game drives are an exciting experience done during safaris around Serengeti national park and they are carried out at different times of day and can also take a full day of exploring the vast savannah plains in search of wildlife species such as elephants, giraffes, elands, kudu, hartebeests, wildebeests, dik dik, hippos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, topi, impalas, zebras, hyenas among others. This experience is exciting during the wildebeest migration which is among the attraction that brings many tourists to Tanzania as the tourists enjoy seeing the wildebeest herds as they graze in the savannah plains and also spot other wildlife species around the national park.
Serengeti park safaris also involve exploring the savannah plains on foot in search of the different wildlife species. The nature walks are carried out in the company of a ranger guide and during this activity, wildlife species can also be spotted on foot from a close distance and it is done off the usual tracks followed during game drives.
Hot air balloon safaris are also done during safaris around the different parts of Serengeti national park such as in the north, south and central part of the national park. This activity is a wildlife viewing experience that gives an aerial view of the surroundings and attractions around the national park and is carried out as early as around 5:00am.
When visiting Serengeti national park, park entrance fees which is 70 USD and 60 USD in the peak season and low season excluding the 18% tax for nonresidents. Residents visiting the national park pay park entrance fee of 35 USD and 30 USD in the peak and low season for adults and 10 USD for children.
East Africans and Tanzania citizens pay park entrance fee of 10,000 Tanzania shillings for adults and 2000 Tanzania shillings for children aged between 5 and 15 years excluding the 18% tax. Children below the age of 5 years are not charged park entrance fees during their safaris to Serengeti national park.
Best time for a safari in Serengeti national park is during the dry season in June to October which is also the high or peak season with many tourists on safari around the destination. The national park can be visited at any time of the year for a wildlife viewing experience. For those travelers who prefer to interact with fewer tourists during their safaris, the low season is preferable and wildlife species can also be spotted during a tour.
For a safari to see the wildebeest migration around Serengeti national park in the northern part of the national park, you can book a safari to Tanzania during the months of July to August. The calving season during the wildebeest migration can be seen during the months of December to early March and February is considered the peak time for this calving season when over 8000 calves are born in the southern plains of Serengeti national park and around the Ndutu area.
The wildebeest migration in the central part of Serengeti national park can be seen during the months of April and zebras and gazelles can be seen during a safari around the savannah plains as well as other resident wildlife species of the Seronera area which include many predators like lions, leopards and cheetahs. The wildebeest migration also takes place in Masai Mara national reserve in the south western part of Kenya following river crossings along the Mara river which is part of the highlights of the migration. River crossings also take place along the Grumeti river.
Serengeti national park is among the large national parks in the northern part of Tanzania. The least number of days for a safari in Serengeti national park is about 4 days and if you have a limited amount of time in Tanzania you can do a 3 days flying safari to the national park due to the long driving distance to the national park from Arusha town.
A safari to Serengeti national park can also be combined with wildlife tours in other parks in the northern part of Tanzania such as the Ngorongoro conservation area which is the world’s largest inactive caldera with numerous wildlife species, Lake Manyara national park which is home to wildlife species such as the tree climbing lions and also had diverse scenery and is a good destination to see flamingos on a safari, Tarangire national park where many elephants can be seen during a wildlife tour as well as other bird and wildlife species.
There are different means of transport used during safaris to Serengeti national park and they include driving from Arusha town which takes about 7 hours and tourists can also fly from Arusha or another destination to the different airstrips in Serengeti national park such as Seronera airstrip, Kogatende airstrip, Lobo airstrip, Kusini airstrip, Kirawira airstrip, Grumeti airstrip among others.
Book a Tanzania wildlife safari to the northern part of Tanzania and enjoy a tour around the endless plains of Serengeti national park.
