The Makoma Northern Circuit

Eight days across Tanzania's northern circuit, weighted to the Serengeti.

Private throughout, your own guide and vehicle from the first morning to the last.

The route takes in three parks. Tarangire, known for its elephant herds and old baobabs. The Ngorongoro Crater, a collapsed volcanic caldera that holds all of the Big Five, including resident black rhino. And the Serengeti, where you spend three nights at a single camp in the Seronera region, the part of the park that holds resident lion, leopard and cheetah year-round.

Three nights in one place means you wake where the animals are, and your guide plans each day around what's being seen rather than the drive to the next lodge.

The whole trip is private. That suits a first safari, a family, or anyone who would rather set their own pace than share a vehicle with strangers.

From £3,895 per person, based on two sharing, excluding international flights.

Fly-in options and a Zanzibar beach extension are available.

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A safari scene with elephants and zebras near a river in a dry landscape with sparse trees.
Sunset over a savanna landscape with scattered trees and a mountain in the distance.
Two rhinoceroses in a grassy field near a body of water.
People gathering outdoors at sunset with mountains in the background, a large tree and some benches, with ambient lighting on the ground.

  • Your guide meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfers you to your lodge on the edge of Usa River. The afternoon is free to rest, with dinner and a briefing on the days ahead.


    Accommodation: Mount Meru Game Lodge, or similar


    Meals: Dinner

  • Day 2: Tarangire National Park

    A full day in Tarangire. In the dry season the park holds the highest elephant density on the northern circuit, concentrated along the Tarangire River as the surrounding land dries out. The landscape is defined by baobab and the river valley, with resident lion and leopard. Lunch is taken in the park.


    Accommodation: Korongo Luxury Camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A morning game drive at Lake Manyara, a groundwater forest fed by springs beneath the Rift escarpment, with flamingos on the alkaline lake. The park suits a half day, so you continue in the early afternoon into the highlands around Karatu, at around 1,500 metres.


    Accommodation: Marera Valley Lodge, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • The drive from Karatu into the Serengeti crosses the short-grass plains and passes the entry gate at Naabi Hill. The open country here holds Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, zebra and ostrich, with cheetah on the plains and lion around the isolated kopjes. You reach the central Seronera region by the afternoon, with a game drive on arrival.


    Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A full day in the Seronera region. Standing pools and a high water table under the riverine woodland hold water year-round, which sustains resident lion, leopard and spotted hyena after the migration has moved through. This is the most reliable resident-game area of the park in any month. Along the river lines you find hippo and elephant, giraffe and buffalo in the woodland, and topi and impala on the grassland between. Lunch is taken as a picnic in the field or at camp.


    Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A second full day in the Seronera region from the same camp. Your guide plans the day around current sightings, working the granite kopjes for lion, the Seronera valley woodland for leopard in the yellow fever trees, and the open plains for cheetah in the early morning. Smaller resident species are throughout, black-backed jackal and bat-eared fox on the plains, dwarf mongoose on the termite mounds, warthog and dik-dik in the scrub, with baboon and vervet along the watercourses.


    Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • You depart Seronera after breakfast, with a game drive as you leave the park, and reach the Ngorongoro rim through the morning. The crater is a caldera roughly 19 kilometres across, formed when the original volcano collapsed inward on its magma chamber. It holds all of the Big Five, including a resident population of black rhino, alongside dense concentrations of lion, wildebeest, zebra and buffalo, with flamingo on the soda lake at its centre. An afternoon game drive on the crater floor, then up to the highlands.


    Accommodation: Marera Valley Lodge, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A final morning in the highlands, then the descent toward Arusha. You can stop at Mto wa Mbu for lunch, with the option to visit a tanzanite workshop or browse the craft markets along the way. From Arusha, a scheduled flight connects to Zanzibar for those adding the coast.


    Accommodation: None, or first night on Zanzibar if the beach extension is booked


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

What's Included

  • Private guide and 4x4 vehicle for the duration of the safari

  • All accommodation as listed, or similar

  • All meals as specified, full board throughout the safari

  • All national park entry fees and Ngorongoro Conservation Area fees

  • Ngorongoro Crater descent fee

  • Government taxes and levies on the safari

  • Airport transfer on arrival, and transfer to Arusha for the onward flight on departure

  • Scheduled flight from Arusha to Zanzibar, for those adding the coast

  • Unlimited bottled water and on-board refreshments in the vehicle

  • Fresh fruits as you pass through Mto wa Mbu

What's Not Included

  • International flights to and from Tanzania

  • Tanzania tourist e-visa, around USD 50, arranged online before travel

  • Personal Travel insurance

  • Gratuities for your guide and lodge staff

  • Alcoholic and soft drinks at lodges

Want to extend your trip?

Learn about our Fly-In Safaris or add a Zanzibar Beach Extension

Enquire About This Trip