How is the safari in Serengeti ?
It is magical to live and see closely a cheetah hunting for an antelope, a herd of elephants walking a few meters from his car, the dance of giraffes lacing their necks, a group of lions smearing themselves with their game. We had been on safari before, but the feeling is always unique. Let’s look at some places in Tanzania safari . Today, we are going to discuss safari in Serengeti.
The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania
Serengeti, from the Maasai language, means “Plain without end”, which expresses exactly our first impression when stepping on this environmental reserve, recognized since 1981 as World Heritage by UNESCO.
It’s more than 14 thousand km² (between Tanzania and Kenya) are home to an impressive animal diversity and where the largest terrestrial migration of mammals in the world occurs, staging the largest and most incredible theater of nature.
The Maasai tribe, the African ethnic group best known internationally, also moves freely between the two borders, especially for the culture of high jumping and the nomadic way of living.
How to get to Serengeti ?
Serengeti is still not a common destination for Brazilians, so there are no direct flights from here to Tanzania.
Generally, those traveling to Tanzania opt for airlines that go to Johannesburg, South Africa (direct flights from São Paulo with an 8:30 min duration) and from there to the most populous city in Tanzania, Dar Es Salaam or Zanzibar, one of the main destinations in the country (beautiful beaches – I’ll tell you in another post).
We were in India, flying with Qatar and for that reason, we need to make a connection in Doha and then head to Dar Es Salaam.
There we bought our flight to Zanzibar, where we stayed for 5 days. Then we bought a flight to Arusha, a city that works as a base for leaving any part of the park, be it buses, airplanes or 4 × 4 cars, as well as the other base, in the Kilimanjaro region.
However, whether by bus or car, trips can take up to 14h, as the roads are few and bad. Air travel, however, takes about 1 hour to any airport within the park. I confess that it is not simple, let alone move around the entire Serengeti, so there are several airstrips for the ceilings.
Serengeti on Airplane
The airports that receive the most flights are Seronera and Grumeti, but obviously, we need to search the closest to the place of accommodation and this information is usually available on the websites of the hotels.
My husband and I usually book hotels as the trip goes on. However, for Serengeti, a minimum of planning is necessary, as it involves purchasing flights, transfers provided by hotels and you cannot sleep at the “airport”!
We left for Seronera airport and it is during the flight that, crossing the plains of the Serengeti, we have already begun to liven up with beautiful landscapes and the huge scale of the savannah. After landing, we traveled about an hour to our hotel – we started our first safari there.
When to go to Safari in Serengeti?
The Serengeti can be visited all year round, but to keep up with the great migration it is necessary to pay attention to the location of the animals throughout the year.
Of course, the number of each species is so great that, regardless of their location, the encounter with them will be accurate. There is a large volume that for various reasons end up not going to the great migration with the group.
The rainy season is in November, December, and March to May. Winter lasts from April to September and summer from October to March, but it is not synonymous with cold. Only the dawn and the end of the night become colder, but during the day the temperatures are pleasant.
Of course, nature is often unpredictable. We went at the end of March and the weather was great, we didn’t even get a rainy day. There was a nice temperature to enjoy the whole structure of the hotel, while we were not venturing on safaris.
The Great Migration
Between December and April of each year, almost 2 million wildebeests, 260,000 zebras, and about 470,000 gazelles are in the south of the park, where wildebeests give birth to their babies.
At that time there is enough pasture for everyone, perfect undergrowth to protect the young from predators and in this region, there are no crocodiles in rivers and lakes, which makes the place safer.
After the rainy season, between June and July, this crowd of animals migrate in search of water to the region of Rio Grumeti, taking their predators with them, where they cross the river and some end up being devoured by crocodiles.
Finally, from August to October, the animals go to the north of the park in search of food and soon after the cycle begins again. Certainly the most impressive of Africa’s wildlife sanctuaries!
Types of Safari in Serengeti
Everyone who visits Serengeti has safari as its main focus. For this, there are options to do it in 4 × 4 cars, on foot, and by balloon.
a) 4 × 4 car safari in Serengeti
Generally, safaris in the park are held twice a day, at times when the animals are most active, with departures between 6:30 am or 7 am and the afternoon, starting at 3 pm, both lasting 4 to 5 am.
We did private safaris in a super comfortable car fully equipped with chargers for any cell phone brand, camera sockets, wifi (seriously!), Fridge stocked with various drinks, lots of snacks, blankets to protect us from the cold in the mornings and dusk, repellents (super important because it is a malaria zone) and even, believe it or not, world news of the day printed by the hotel!
Also, the roof of the car opens upwards and you can stand at any time, perfect for shooting! There is an option to hire consecutive 12h safaris to explore other regions further away.
b) Walking safari
An intimate experience with the savannah during a hike that explores the most subtle and unusual features of the wildlife sanctuary.
Led by local guides who point and guide on animal trails, interesting insects and useful plants. We’ve had this experience before and recommend it!
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