15-Day Great Migration and Zanzibar Luxury Safari

Your Warriors of Africa Safari team meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha Airport and drives you to your hotel. The day is kept easy so you can rest after the flight.

Depending on when you land, enjoy the hotel and gardens, a quiet dinner or a short briefing with your guide.

Gran Meliá Arusha, in coffee gardens below Mount Meru, gives the safari a polished, relaxed start.

After breakfast you meet your private driver-guide and leave Arusha for Tarangire National Park.

Tarangire is loved for its elephant herds, ancient baobabs and the wildlife that gathers along the Tarangire River. You may see elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, antelope, lions and many birds, in a slower, more atmospheric park than the busier ones.

After the game drive you settle in at Safari Haven Tarangire, inside the park.

An early game drive in Tarangire, depending on routing: the cool morning is often the park's best time.

Then you climb from the dry lowlands into the green Karatu highlands, with farms, forested slopes and cooler air.

You spend the night at The Retreat at Ngorongoro, a calm estate that breaks the route before the Serengeti.

After breakfast you cross the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and drop onto the Serengeti's endless plains, game-viewing on the way.

Central Serengeti is excellent all year, especially for lions, leopards and cheetahs, along with elephants, giraffes, hyenas, hippos and buffalo.

You arrive at Signature Serengeti, tents on raised decks below the hills west of Seronera.

Today belongs to Central Serengeti, ideally with an early start for predators and soft light.

Permanent water around Seronera keeps wildlife here all year: lions on the kopjes, leopards in riverine trees, cheetahs on the plains and big herds of herbivores.

A full day lets the safari slow down, to follow tracks, wait at sightings and take photographs.

After breakfast you drive north, a full safari day through changing habitats.

From about July to October, depending on the rain, the herds may gather in the north as they move between Tanzania and Kenya's Maasai Mara. Crossings are never guaranteed, but this is where the best chance lies.

You check in at Serengeti Ark Safari Lodge at Kogatende, your base for three nights.

Your guide plans the day around herd movement, river activity, the tracks and your interests.

Some days bring huge herds near the crossing points; others bring lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, hippos and the northern landscapes.

A packed lunch keeps you out through the best hours when the herds are moving.

A third night in the north is one of this trip's strengths: time to wait with the herds, or to explore other areas if they are spread out.

Away from the busiest crossing points, the north is quieter than Central Serengeti, with space, scenery and a deep safari atmosphere.

Back at camp for your last night in the north.

A long, scenic day back south through the Serengeti, with game viewing on the way, and across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Your guide paces it to balance wildlife with reaching the lodge before evening.

You spend the night at Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge on the crater rim, ready for the descent.

This morning you descend into Ngorongoro Crater, with one of Africa's highest concentrations of wildlife inside its walls.

You may see lions, buffalo, zebras, wildebeest, hippos, hyenas, elephants and, with luck, a black rhino, among grassland, swamp, forest and lake.

Then you drive back to Arusha for a night at Arusha Coffee Lodge, among the coffee trees, before the island.

After breakfast you transfer to the airport for your flight to Zanzibar, where you are met and driven to Nungwi on the northern tip.

Nungwi is one of the island's most popular beach areas: white sand, blue water, sunsets, beach restaurants and ocean trips.

You check in at Turaco Nungwi Resort and have the rest of the day to slow down.

A free day: no early start, no long drive. Sleep in and enjoy the beach or the pool.

Optional activities include snorkelling, a sunset dhow cruise, Stone Town, a spice farm or a marine trip towards Mnemba.

After a full safari, Zanzibar should feel like recovery, not another expedition.

Another day of your own, at the resort or exploring.

Stone Town for history, markets and rooftop dining; snorkelling or diving when the sea allows; a sunset cruise or private dinner for couples.

Some travellers want activity after safari; others want silence and sun.

Your final full day: the beach, the resort, a walk, a little shopping, seafood and sunset drinks.

With a flight tomorrow, avoid anything tiring unless your departure is late.

A soft, memorable end after the drama of the migration.

After breakfast you check out and transfer to Zanzibar Airport, with a relaxed morning if your flight is later.

That is the end of your 15-Day Great Migration and Zanzibar Luxury Safari with Warriors of Africa Safari.