safaridude

I have heard that the drive from the Ngorongoro Crater to Serengeti National Park (Kirawira camp) can be brutal on your body. Is it worth it? I am scheduled to do that as part of my trip in September and having second thoughts...

waynehazle

It is awful! Dusty and bumpy. It made me (almost) cry. It is a barren wasteland. Somewhere in the middle of that I did see a lone lioness and her cub. Certainly I would fly if doing it again. But it won't kill you.

if you have the bandwidth you can watch my Serengeti movie at waynehazleDOTcom/eastafrica/

janischa28

hmm, i didn't think it so bad, but then again i slept almost the entire road trip there and back.. coming back we even did the drive northwest serengeti over ngorongoro to lake manyara... and i survived

countingdown

safaridude,
The drive is indeed long and bumpy, but "is it worth it"? Are you considering omitting NGO??? Or just trying to catch a flight? To me, as bumpy and L O N G as it was, I was in Africa, seeing things I had never seen before, and had not a care in the world. We made a couple of stops along the way..Massai Village and Oldupai Gorge, so it was nice to get out and stretch a bit. Not sure I have answered your question, but for me, YES it was definitely worth it, even thought I did wonder if there was a chiropractor waiting for us at the end of the drive available to realign all things rattled out of place.
Teri

safaridude

I am just trying to figure out if I would rather catch a flight (I have no intention of skipping the Crater)...

cybor

Tough question. I personally enjoyed the ride, although I didn't make it as far into the Serengeti as you on the first ride in. I didn't find it at all brutal on my body but did have to occasionally hang on to the door straps. There's lots to see in MHO on the way.

I would check to see that you are going to be in a good quality (newish with good suspension) 4x4 and nothing less. My guess is that bucket seats would be better than getting tossed around on a bench seat. I would also evaluate your own fitness level and tolerance to make that decision.
Best of luck!
Sherry

Toshi

We went from the Creater Serena to the Serengeti Serena in about 5 hours if I remember - although we did stop for a long time to watch four cheetah hunt and kill a gazelle. There were some other folks who left the crater before us, had lunch at the Serena, and relaxed at the pool for a while before heading out to Kirawira. If I had to go any farther than the Serena I would have opted for the lunch/pool stop.

Safaris (and travel in general) is as much about the "getting there" as it is the destinations and the animals.

andybiggs

It is all an adventure...........

sandi

I've done the drive and though bumpy and long it was wonderful. We did stop at Oldupai, had lunch at the Serena, then continued to Kirawira.

But, may I ask - why Kirawira in September?

If you wish to fly from the Crater, you will have to drive back to Lake Manyara (2 to 2.5/hrs) to catch the scheduled early morning flight to Grumeti River airstrip to enjoy a full day. If you're not keen on another very early morning... the flight is a bit after 8am, so you'd have to be on the road by 5:30am. There is an afternoon flight, but by the time you wait for that and still have to drive back to Manyara, you can be at or near Kirawira already.

The actual drive time was about 4.5 hrs, but will all our stops - potty, game viewing, lunch, Oldupai, we didn't arrive at Kirawira till about 4pm (our choice to take it slow).

safaridude

Sandi, I have seen the migration three times. Although it is, of course, stunning, it's not the end-all for me. I have never been to the western corridor, so Kirawira it is in September. There should be more than enough game then.

sandi

safaridude -

It was just a heads-up. And if you've already done the "migration thing" then go for it in the West.
Kirawira is lovely as is this area of the Serengeti. Try to arrange a day to Lake Victoria, to one of the villages.

We enjoyed this area in November and but for the resident wildie herds, there was plenty of other game.

And, yes, a bumpy ride, but unless you have a "bus to catch" what's the rush? take your time on the drive. It took us most of the day, but it was beautiful and we stopped, saw plenty of game and enjoyed the trip. It cost less then the flight and driving back (to Manyara) to go forward (which most people know I'm not keen on doing), it's the adventure and journey that matters.

But the choice has to be yours. I'm sure either will be fine. And if you don't like the drive, you won't do it next time!!!!

TC

I hated the drive. It was very, very bumpy, long, hot, boring, etc etc. By all means fly. The flight out of the crater is exciting and the view is lovely. Kirawira is DIVINE!

jasher

Hello,

Personally, I'm flying this transfer on my October trip -- faster, far less painful, and I'll get the chance at some great aerial photography. Too bad there are no helicopter transfers in Tanzania - those photos would be brilliant!

Cheers,
Julian