8 Day Budget Safari with 3 Nights in the Serengeti
An affordable eight-day northern Tanzania safari with three full nights in the Serengeti, a Hadzabe bushman visit at Lake Eyasi and the Ngorongoro Crater.
- Duration
- 8 days
- Route
- Arusha – Arusha National Park – Tarangire – Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater – Lake Eyasi – Lake Manyara – Arusha
- Start / end
- Starts and ends in Arusha (pick-up from your hotel or Kilimanjaro Airport)
- Best time
- June to October is the driest and easiest time for camping, while January to March is ideal for the southern Serengeti and newborn wildebeest calves.
- Trip style
- Private 4x4 Land Cruiser with driver-guide and cook for your group only. Accommodation mixes public campsites with simple budget lodges and guesthouses.
Tour overview
If you want to see as much of northern Tanzania as possible on a modest budget, this eight-day safari delivers. It combines camping inside the parks with simple budget lodges in Arusha and around the lakes, so you get the atmosphere of a night under canvas in the Serengeti without camping every single night.
The route starts gently in Arusha National Park, with views of Mount Meru and colobus monkeys in the forest, then moves through Tarangire to the Serengeti, where three nights give you real time to search for big cats and follow the herds. After the Ngorongoro Crater you spend a night at Lake Eyasi and meet the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer communities in East Africa, before a final game drive at Lake Manyara.
It is a strong choice for first-time visitors, solo travelers, couples and small groups who value variety and long hours of game viewing over luxury.
Highlights
- Three nights camping in the heart of the Serengeti
- Ngorongoro Crater game drive with a chance of black rhino
- Early-morning hunting walk with the Hadzabe at Lake Eyasi
- Colobus monkeys and Mount Meru views in Arusha National Park
- Tarangire's elephants and baobab-studded landscapes
- Mix of campsites and simple budget lodges
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Arusha National Park
Your guide collects you from your hotel in Arusha or from Kilimanjaro Airport and drives about 45 minutes to Arusha National Park. This compact park sits at the foot of Mount Meru and offers a surprising variety of scenery: montane forest with black-and-white colobus monkeys, the Ngurdoto Crater and the alkaline Momella Lakes, often pink with flamingos. Giraffes, buffalo, zebras and warthogs are common. A short walking safari with an armed ranger can be arranged. In the late afternoon you return to Arusha for dinner and your first night.
Day 2Arusha to Tarangire National Park
After breakfast, drive about 2 hours west to Tarangire National Park. During the dry months the Tarangire River draws hundreds of elephants, along with zebra, wildebeest, eland and buffalo, and the park is a good place to find lions, leopards and more than 500 bird species. You spend the full day on game drives with a picnic lunch at a riverside viewpoint. In the evening you continue about 1 hour to Mto wa Mbu, a busy village at the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment, for dinner and overnight.
Day 3Mto wa Mbu to Central Serengeti
Today you travel deep into the Serengeti. The road climbs through Karatu's farmland and the forests of the Ngorongoro highlands, then descends onto open plains where Maasai graze their cattle. After lunch near Naabi Hill Gate you enter the Serengeti National Park and game drive to Seronera, about 5 to 6 hours in total with stops. Watch for cheetahs on the plains, lions on the granite kopjes and large herds of gazelle. Your cook prepares dinner at camp as the sun goes down.
Day 4Serengeti Game Drives
With a full day in the Serengeti you can head out at first light, when lions are often still on the move after a night's hunting. The Seronera River area has one of the highest concentrations of leopards in Africa, and your guide knows the favorite trees. Return to camp for a late breakfast or take a picnic and stay out all day. In the afternoon, explore the Moru Kopjes or the Simba Kopjes, depending on recent sightings, before returning for dinner and a fireside evening.
Day 5Following the Herds in the Serengeti
Your third day in the Serengeti gives time to go further afield. Depending on the season, your guide may take you toward the migration herds: in the green season they are usually on the southern plains, around June they often pass through the western corridor, and from July to October most are further north. If the herds are out of range, you explore lesser-visited areas of the central Serengeti for cheetah, hyena, elephants and topi. Picnic lunch in the park and dinner back at camp.
Day 6Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater Rim
After a last morning game drive in the Serengeti, you pack up camp and drive back across the plains to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a journey of about 3 to 4 hours. You may stop at Olduvai Gorge, where fossils of early humans were found, if time allows. In the afternoon you arrive at Simba Campsite on the crater rim. At around 7,500 feet the air is cool, so dress warmly for dinner. On clear evenings the crater floor glows below camp as the sun sets.
Day 7Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Eyasi
Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater early in the morning for a game drive of up to about 6 hours. The crater is one of the best places in Tanzania to see black rhino, and lions, elephants, buffalo, hyenas and hippos are regularly spotted. After a picnic lunch on the crater floor, you climb out and drive about 2 hours southwest to Lake Eyasi, a shallow soda lake below the Rift Valley wall surrounded by onion fields and acacia woodland. Relax in the evening at your simple lodge or camp.
Day 8Hadzabe Visit, Lake Manyara and Return to Arusha
Wake before dawn to join a Hadzabe group as they set out to hunt with bows and arrows and gather roots and berries, an authentic glimpse of one of Africa's oldest ways of life. Later you may also visit Datoga blacksmiths. After breakfast you drive about 2 hours to Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive among elephants, baboons and lakeshore birdlife. In the late afternoon you continue about 2 hours to Arusha, where your guide drops you at your hotel or Kilimanjaro Airport.
What is included
- Private 4x4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof and professional English-speaking driver-guide
- All park entry and conservation fees, including the Ngorongoro Crater service fee
- Accommodation in budget lodges and public campsites as listed
- Tents, mattresses and camping equipment
- Safari cook on camping nights and all meals as listed
- Hadzabe and Datoga cultural visit at Lake Eyasi with local guide
- Unlimited bottled drinking water in the vehicle
- Pick-up and drop-off at your Arusha hotel or Kilimanjaro Airport
- Government taxes and fuel
Not included
- International flights and Tanzania visa
- Travel and medical insurance
- Tips for your guide, cook and local guides
- Sleeping bag (available to rent)
- Drinks other than drinking water
- Optional walking safari in Arusha National Park and Serengeti balloon flight
- Personal items and laundry
Good to know
- The Hadzabe hunting walk starts very early and moves quickly through the bush; wear closed shoes.
- The last day is long, with an early start and around 4 hours of driving, so plan an evening departure flight or an extra night in Arusha.
- Campsites have shared toilets and showers; budget lodges have private bathrooms.
- Bring warm clothing for the cold nights on the crater rim.
Frequently asked questions
Why spend three nights in the Serengeti?
Three nights let you explore beyond the busy central area and give your guide flexibility to chase sightings or head toward the migration. Most travelers say the extra full day is where their best wildlife moments happen.
Is the Hadzabe visit respectful?
The visit is arranged through local guides from the community and is designed to be low-key. You join the Hadzabe on their normal morning activities, and your guide will explain local customs and photo etiquette.
Can I upgrade some nights to lodges?
Yes. Any of the camping nights can be swapped for a lodge or tented camp. Contact us and we will tailor the accommodation to your preferences.
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