You will visit those areas in Serengeti that are particulary promising at this time of the year. We choose camps of the highest standards with access to private areas.
Would you like to add some days on Zanzibar? Zanzibar Accommodation
Travel by road to Legendary Lodge
Accommodation Set in lush tropical gardens on a working coffee farm just outside Arusha, the Legendary Lodge features ten beautiful garden cottages and two family cottages, each with an inspiring view of Mount Meru from its own private veranda.
Designed with a unique blend of colonial heritage and electic accents from local artisans and craftsmen, the cottages offer king sized beds, a separate lounge with fireplace and ensuite bathrooms with bath tubs and refreshing showers.
Meals are served in the gracious Old Farmhouse, while the Legendary Therapies Spa offers rejuvenating treatments in the elegant therapy room or in the privacy of the guest cottages. Gym, sauna and swimming pool are located at a nearby Members Club.
The Lodge is located on the western outskirts of Arusha, Arusha Airport is only 15 minutes’ drive from Legendary Lodge.
Arusha has grown quite rapidly in the past few years and is now home to some 650’000 people. Most visitors spend one night here after arriving on their international flight before beginning their safari the next day. Kilimanjaro International Airport is located approximately one hours’ drive from Arusha on the road to Moshi. The closest safari area is Arusha National Park, which is only a short distance away but we hardly visit the park due to a lack of animal. Arusha National Park’s most famous landmark is Mount Meru, a dormant volcano that rises more than 4500 m out of the ground in the west. The Ngurdoto Crater is located on the other side of the park, and the Momella Lakes sit between.
Travel by road to Arusha Local Airport
Flight to Sabora Tented Camp
Accommodation
Sabora Tented Camp is set in 350,000 acres of protected wilderness in Singita Grumeti, which provides guests with a front-row seat to some of the most prized game viewing on the continent – including the Great Migration.
Singita Sabora is an elegant tented camp, light & modern in style. Each of the nine suite includes a private meditation deck, an outdoor sala with daybeds and a lifestyle unit with a perfectly curated in-room pantry and dining space. Each of the tented suites have beautiful views of one of Sabora’s two waterholes, where game regularly gather to drink.
The main area consists of the restaurant, lounge, large outside sitting areas and a fire pit in front of camp. There is also a swimming pool, a fitness centre, a wellness treatment tent and a safari boutique. The unique ‘Guest Deli’ featuring wicker baskets and fridges filled with gourmet delights allows guests to pick and choose treats to enjoy in the privacy of their suites or picnic spots around the camp.
The camp is accessed by air via Sasakwa Airstrip. The journey from airstrip to Sabora Tented Camp takes approximately 50 minutes.
The reserve was created by the Tanzanian government in 1994 in order to protect the path of the annual wildebeest migration and the indigenous biodiversity of this vast and important ecosystem. In 2002, the Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund (now known as the Grumeti Fund), a not-for-profit organisation, was granted the right to manage and conserve these 350,000 acres, for the benefit of Tanzania, Africa and the world. Four years later, Singita took over the management of the property to enhance low impact, luxury tourism, at the request of the concessionaire.
As the custodian of more than 350,000 acres of the world-renowned Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania, the Grumeti Fund is responsible for the reintroduction and recovery of stable wildlife populations, while ensuring that neighbouring rural communities benefit tangibly from these natural areas.
Faced with challenges including uncontrolled illegal hunting, rampant wildfires and spreading strands of invasive alien vegetation when they took over the management of the area in 2003, the Fund dedicated itself to transform severely depleted wildlife numbers into thriving populations once more.
Restoring this once barren and highly degraded region to a flourishing wilderness, their successes include the remarkable recovery of many species – including buffalo, wildebeest and elephant populations, and in 2019, the Fund carried out the largest single relocation and reintroduction of 9 critically endangered Eastern Black Rhino.
The Trust also manages an onsite Environmental Education Centre for school teachers and children to immerse themselves in Outdoor Education and fieldwork, and a world-class culinary school.
Flight to Mwiba Lodge
Accommodation
Mwiba Lodge is by far the best lodge in Southern Serengeti. It is set among massive stone boulders, ancient coral trees and acacias, overlooking a rocky gorge on the seasonal Arugusinyai River. With only ten canvas-sided suites, the lodge guarantees a private and high-quality safari experience.
The rooms offer total privacy, king-size beds, a living space with sofas, en-suite bathroom with tub, indoor and outdoor showers are. The main area, connected to the rooms by wooden walkways, is covered by a massive thatched-palm-roof with elegant sitting and dining areas. There is also a stone fireplace, a bar, a separate library and an infinity pool that overlooks the gorge, offering fantastic views over the grasslands of the Serengeti.
Guests either fly to Ndutu airstrip from where it is a 1.5 hour game drive, or they use the private charter that takes them directly to the Mwiba airstrip, just a 15 minute drive from the lodge.
Maswa itself is comprised of two private reserves – Mbono and Kimali – with a combined area of over 500,000 acres. The 60,000 acre Mwiba Wildlife Reserve sits south of Maswa Game Reserve and the southern Serengeti, west of Ngorongoro Conservation Area and just to the north of Lake Eyasi. Maswa & Mwiba offer beautiful open plains along the Southern edge of the Serengeti. Rolling hills covered in thickets and rock kopjes are interspersed with seasonally dry rivers containing permanent water holes. Maswa & Mwiba have plenty and varied wildlife including big game with a high density of lion and leopard. From January – March it is possible for guests to drive over to the Ndutu area and view the migration herds and slowly, but surely, the wildlife is becoming less skittish.
As the reserves lie outside Serengeti National Park, there is more flexibility in terms of activities. The safari operators offer not only day game drives but also night drives and guided bush walks. Especially from the Mwiba Wildlife Reserve, visits to the Hadzabe & Datoga tribes are an additional activity not to be missed.
The Datoga are a warrior tribe with a lifestyle akin to the Masai, and therefore ancient enemies of theirs. The opportunity to visit them in their village is a magical way to gain insight into a proud and vibrant culture.
The Hadzabe are a hunter-gatherer tribe indigenous to the area, and live in perfect symbiosis with their environment, which provides them with all their needs for food, medicine and shelter. Guests can accompany them for a morning as they move through the wilderness, foraging for food.
Flight to Arusha
Basic Information
Individual journey. The journey will be planned on your preferred dates.
Duration 7 nights. Min 2 guests. Minimum age 8 years. Weight limit of luggage 20 kg. Luggage in one soft bag only.
Includes all transfers from Arusha to the hotels/camps to Arusha
- Legendary Lodge: Double Room. Dinner, breakfast.
- Sabora Tented Camp: Double Room. All meals, drinks (including wines from the cellar, only french champagne exlcluded), laundry service, twice daily shared activities with one of the camp guides.
- Mwiba Lodge: Double Room. All meals, drinks (except premier brands), laundry service, private vehicle / guide provided by the lodge. Private Vehicle.
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