Tanzania: The Great Migration 

Our Journey Begins in Arusha 

We'll begin with a night at the beautiful Gran Meliá Arusha, where you can settle in, relax after your international journey and enjoy a comfortable night's sleep before our safari adventure begins.

From Arusha, we'll travel to the gorgeous, brand-new Nyota Rift Valley Lodge, our home for the next three nights.

From here we'll experience three wonderfully different sides of Tanzania.

We'll spend a full day exploring Tarangire National Park, renowned for its large elephant population, magnificent baobab trees and beautiful landscapes.

Another day takes us into Lake Manyara National Park, where lush forests, wetlands and open grasslands create an ecosystem dramatically different from Tarangire.

We'll also dedicate a day to something especially important to Grace in Nature Travel— connecting with the people and culture of the country we're visiting.

We'll step away from the safari vehicles to visit a banana plantation, spend time in a local village and visit a school, giving us an opportunity to learn, interact and experience a glimpse of everyday Tanzanian life. 

Into the Southern Serengeti

Next, we'll make our way toward Ndutu, where the Great Migration becomes the focus of our journey.

We'll spend two nights at Masek Tented Lodge near Lake Masek, beautifully situated for exploring the region during calving season.

Our days will be spent on game drives, following the herds and allowing our experienced guides —and nature itself—to determine what each day brings.

There will also be an opportunity to experience an optional hot-air balloon safari, floating silently above the African landscape as the morning sun rises.

It is difficult to imagine a more beautiful perspective from which to experience the Serengeti. 

The Endless Plains of the Central Serengeti

From Ndutu, we'll continue into the Central Serengeti for three nights at beautiful Nyota Serengeti.

Here we'll have time for game drives into different areas of the Serengeti in search of lions, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, hippos, hyenas and the countless other species that call this remarkable ecosystem home.

But this itinerary has also been intentionally designed to give us something that can be surprisingly rare on safari: Time to simply be.

There will be opportunities to enjoy our beautiful lodge, relax between game drives, sit with a cup of coffee or glass of wine overlooking the landscape, share photographs and stories, and absorb the experience rather than rushing from one activity to another. 

Ngorongoro Crater

Our journey then takes us to the rim of the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, where we'll stay at Neptune Lodge.

The following morning, we'll descend early into this extraordinary natural wonder.

The crater floor supports an incredible concentration of wildlife, offering another completely different safari experience and one final opportunity for unforgettable animal encounters.

And Finally...Time to Exhale

After days filled with early mornings, game drives, wildlife encounters, laughter, photographs and adventure, I didn't want our journey to end with a rushed drive straight to the airport.

Instead, we'll spend our final two nights at beautiful Kitela Lodge.

Our last full day will intentionally be left open.

Sleep in. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Relax by the pool or wander the beautiful grounds. Look through the hundreds—or perhaps thousands—of photographs you've taken. Share stories and favorite moments with the people who began this journey as fellow travelers and will very likely be leaving as friends. And simply allow everything we've experienced to soak into our souls before we return home.  

Luxury... and Adventure

We call this a luxury safari because of the beautiful accommodations we'll stay in, the wonderful meals we'll enjoy, the exceptional guides who will care for us and the level of comfort and attention provided throughout our journey.

But we also want to be very clear: luxury does not mean effortless.

A true African safari is an adventure—and it isn't for the faint of heart. There will be early mornings and long days. We'll spend many hours in our safari vehicles traveling over bumpy, dusty roads, sometimes covering significant distances to reach the places where the wildlife is.

Safari also requires something we don't always practice enough in our everyday lives: patience.

The animals don't perform for us, and nature doesn't follow our itinerary. Sometimes we'll sit quietly and wait. We may wait for a lion or cheetah to make its move. We may watch a herd for a long time because our guides sense something is about to happen. And sometimes we'll wait...and absolutely nothing will happen.

But then there are those extraordinary moments when patience is rewarded—and suddenly we are witnessing something we will remember for the rest of our lives.

And because we'll be traveling during calving season, it's also important to understand that we may witness the circle of life in its most beautiful—and sometimes most difficult—form. We'll see newborn animals taking their first steps. We'll witness mothers protecting their young. We'll marvel at thousands of animals moving across the plains. But we may also witness predators hunting and animals being killed.

Safari doesn't edit nature for us. We experience the wilderness as it truly is—beautiful, powerful, unpredictable and sometimes heartbreaking. That's part of what makes this journey so profound.

So yes, we'll return from our game drives to gorgeous lodges, comfortable beds, delicious meals and perhaps a glass of wine while watching the African sunset. But we'll have earned that glass of wine!

This is luxury with a sense of adventure. It requires stamina, patience, flexibility, curiosity and a willingness to embrace whatever Africa chooses to show us that day.

And for the traveler who understands that? There is simply nothing else quite like it.

Safety & Comfort Are Our Top Priorities

Rest assured, as always on a Grace in Nature trip, the safety and comfort of all our participants is our utmost priority. We work with an extremely professional and experienced Safari Tour Operator for the entirety of this journey. We promise you will be in the best of hands! Our guides are THE best - professional, experienced and, yes, lots of fun to be with! They have a knack for spotting all the animals and will make sure we see everything we had hoped for.

We understand that this safari trip is fast approaching but please don't worry! You will be fully informed about everything you need to know leading up to your departure so that you'll be fully prepared and confident. We'll even help if you're confused about booking flights or applying for your Visa! We are here for you every step of the way from the moment you register — that's a promise!