7 Days Afcon 2027 July Migration Safari: Serengeti

Your 7-day AFCON 2027 July migration safari begins in Arusha, where our professional safari guide will meet you in the morning and provide a short briefing before driving toward Tarangire National Park. Once inside the park, you will spend the day exploring a beautiful wilderness dominated by giant baobab trees, open savannah, seasonal wetlands and the Tarangire River. During July, the dry conditions encourage many animals to remain close to reliable water sources, creating rewarding opportunities to observe elephants, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, impalas, warthogs and numerous other species. Tarangire is particularly famous for its elephant population, and you may encounter large family groups moving between feeding areas and the river. Our guide will also search for predators such as lions, leopards and spotted hyenas while exploring different wildlife-rich sections of the park. You will stop for a picnic lunch before continuing with an afternoon game drive, allowing enough time to enjoy wildlife photography and scenic viewpoints. Later in the afternoon, you will leave Tarangire and continue toward Karatu, bringing your first safari day to a relaxed conclusion before the journey into Serengeti the following morning.

Attractions: Tarangire River, giant baobab trees, elephants, lions, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest and birdlife.
Time: Approximately 7:00 AM – 5:30 PM.
Distance: Approximately 160–180 km, including the Arusha–Tarangire–Karatu route and game-drive movements.
Meals & Drinks: Lunch, dinner and bottled drinking water

After breakfast in Karatu, you will begin the scenic journey toward Serengeti National Park, traveling through the beautiful Ngorongoro highlands before descending toward the vast plains of one of Africa’s most celebrated wildlife ecosystems. The changing scenery is one of the highlights of the journey, with fertile highland landscapes gradually opening into grasslands that seem to stretch endlessly toward the horizon. After entering Serengeti National Park, your transfer becomes an afternoon game drive as our guide begins exploring the Central Serengeti and Seronera region. This area supports excellent resident wildlife throughout the year and is particularly known for its concentrations of predators. You may encounter lions resting around rocky kopjes, cheetahs scanning the plains, leopards hiding in riverine trees and spotted hyenas moving between hunting territories. Elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, gazelles and many other herbivores can also be seen throughout the region. The half-day game drive gives you an excellent introduction to Serengeti before the following day’s longer journey north toward the main July migration areas.

Attractions: Ngorongoro highlands, Serengeti plains, Seronera River Valley, lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes and plains wildlife.
Time: Approximately 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM, including the transfer and afternoon game drive.
Distance: Approximately 190–220 km, depending on route and wildlife stops.
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner and bottled drinking water.

Today takes you deeper into the heart of the July Great Migration as you travel from Central Serengeti toward Northern Serengeti on a full-day wildlife safari. After an early breakfast, our guide will begin driving north while continuously searching for wildlife across the changing landscapes of the Serengeti. The journey may take you through broad grasslands, river valleys, rocky kopjes, woodland and important migration corridors used by wildebeest and zebras as they move in search of fresh grazing and water. Rather than treating the route as a simple transfer, the entire day will be used for game viewing, allowing you to stop whenever interesting wildlife activity is found. As you travel farther north, you may begin encountering larger concentrations of wildebeest and zebras associated with the July migration season, together with predators such as lions, cheetahs, leopards and spotted hyenas. A picnic lunch will be enjoyed inside Serengeti before continuing toward Kogatende and the Mara River region. The afternoon will focus increasingly on Northern Serengeti, giving you your first detailed introduction to the landscapes where the migration can gather before moving between Tanzania and the wider Mara ecosystem.

Attractions: Great Migration, Northern Serengeti, Kogatende plains, wildebeest, zebras, lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants and Mara River region.
Time: Approximately 6:30 AM – 6:00 PM.
Distance: Approximately 150–180 km, plus additional wildlife tracking and game-drive distance.
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner and bottled drinking water.

This is the main migration day of your 7-day safari and is dedicated entirely to exploring Northern Serengeti and following wildebeest movements around Kogatende and the Mara River ecosystem. After an early breakfast, you will begin the game drive while temperatures are still cool and wildlife is highly active. Our guide will use current field information, fresh tracks and observed herd movements to select productive migration areas rather than following one fixed route. You may encounter thousands of wildebeest and zebras spread across the plains, moving in long columns, gathering near grazing areas or approaching sections of the Mara River. When herds assemble near the riverbanks, there may be an opportunity to observe the tension and movement associated with potential crossings; however, river crossings occur naturally and cannot be guaranteed at a particular time or location. The river itself is also home to hippos and large crocodiles, while lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas patrol the surrounding plains. You will enjoy a picnic lunch in the wilderness and continue exploring throughout the afternoon, giving you a full day to experience one of the most exciting stages of the Great Migration.

Attractions: Mara River, Great Migration herds, potential river-crossing activity, wildebeest, zebras, crocodiles, hippos, lions, cheetahs, leopards and hyenas.
Time: Approximately 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM.
Distance: Approximately 60–130 km, depending on migration movements and selected game-drive areas.
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner and bottled drinking water

After breakfast, you will spend another valuable day following the migration across Northern Serengeti before gradually returning south toward Central Serengeti. Having additional time in the north is especially useful because wildebeest movements can change significantly from one day to another depending on rainfall, grazing conditions and herd behavior. Our guide may begin by revisiting sections of the Mara River or exploring different plains and valleys that were not covered during the previous day. This provides another opportunity to see large migration herds and resident wildlife while increasing the variety of landscapes included in your safari. Elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, topi, gazelles and other herbivores can be encountered throughout the region, while big cats remain an important focus of the game drive. After enjoying a picnic lunch, you will begin traveling south through Serengeti, continuing to stop for interesting wildlife sightings along the way. As you approach Central Serengeti later in the afternoon, the scenery and wildlife composition change again, offering another chance to search for lions, leopards and cheetahs around the Seronera ecosystem.

Attractions: Northern Serengeti plains, migration herds, Mara River region, wildebeest, zebras, elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, cheetahs and Seronera wildlife.
Time: Approximately 6:30 AM – 6:00 PM.
Distance: Approximately 150–190 km, including game-drive and migration-tracking movements.
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner and bottled drinking water.

Your sixth day begins with an early morning game drive across Central Serengeti, when the cooler temperatures often create excellent conditions for observing predators and other wildlife before the heat of the day increases. Our guide will explore selected areas around Seronera, river valleys and nearby kopjes while searching for lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and other animals that may still be active after the night. Large herbivores such as elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras and gazelles may also be seen across the plains, giving you one final opportunity to enjoy Serengeti wildlife before beginning the journey toward Ngorongoro. After the morning safari, you will travel toward Naabi Hill and leave Serengeti National Park, entering the dramatic landscapes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The drive provides impressive views as the open Serengeti grasslands gradually give way to volcanic highlands and cooler mountain scenery. You will stop for a picnic lunch along the route and continue toward the crater region during the afternoon, positioning yourself well for a full-day Ngorongoro Crater safari the following morning.

Attractions: Central Serengeti, Seronera River Valley, lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, Naabi Hill and Ngorongoro highlands.
Time: Approximately 6:00 AM – 4:30 PM.
Distance: Approximately 150–180 km, depending on morning game-drive movements.
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner and bottled drinking water

Your final day begins early with a drive to the Ngorongoro Crater rim before descending approximately 600 meters into the vast volcanic caldera for a full-day wildlife safari. Once on the crater floor, you will explore a remarkable combination of grasslands, wetlands, freshwater pools, woodland and open plains that support a high concentration of animals throughout the year. Our guide will spend the day searching for lions, buffaloes, wildebeest, zebras, elephants, spotted hyenas, hippos, jackals and numerous bird species while moving between the crater’s different habitats. You may also have the opportunity to search for the endangered black rhino, although every wildlife sighting depends on natural animal movements. The Lerai Forest can provide sightings of elephants and other woodland species, while the open grasslands are excellent for viewing plains game and predators. Around midday, you will stop at a designated picnic area before continuing the game drive through the afternoon. After completing your crater exploration, you will ascend the crater wall and begin the scenic journey through Karatu, Mto wa Mbu and the Great Rift Valley toward Arusha, where your memorable 7-day AFCON 2027 July migration safari comes to an end.

Attractions: Ngorongoro Crater, lions, possible black rhino sightings, elephants, buffaloes, wildebeest, zebras, hippos, hyenas and crater landscapes.
Time: Approximately 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM.
Distance: Approximately 190–210 km to Arusha, plus game-drive distance inside the crater.
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast, picnic lunch and bottled drinking water.