Sept Safari- Serengeti?
 

Hi- I'm doing a honeymoon in Tanzania Sept 17-29. We're going to do Safari and Zanzibar. For Safari, we'll leave Arusha on Sept 19 and return Sept 24. We want to do Tarangire and Ngorongoro. Is the Serengeti a good choice this time of year?

I know the Migration will be up in the Mara, but my wife to-be has already been there, so we don't want to go up to Kenya.

Any suggestions for the best parks/places to visit during this time would be helpful. We're looking at midrange places in terms of budget. Thanks.

Charlie

It sounds possible to do Tarangire and Ngorongoro in 5 days. Tarangire Swala Camp would be wonderful for Honeymoon from the pictures and Crater Lodge for romantic elegant stay. Of course, many on this board opt for a moderate stay and have some great feedback from mobile camping and Serena or Sopa lodges at the Crater.

Given the time of year and since S. Tanzania is shown on charts to have good game viewing - might consider seeing some of S. Tanzania and include Tarangire (which should be good too).
Starting the discussion - let's see what others think - how about:

2 nights Swala Tarangire
4 nights Selous Safari or Sand Rivers Selous
On to Zanzibar from there...

There are more moderately priced choices in Selous too, Rufiji River and Sable Mountain are two. It might help if you give a $ range.

If you ar considering Selous, it is better combined with say, Ruaha in the southern circuit.....it doesnt make any logic to do tarangire and then use a lot of travel time to go to Selous. Especially, since you hv such a short trip.........

Hari

I would either do a Tarangire/Ngorongo safari or a Selous/Ruaha safari. The flight down to Selous leaves from either Arusha or Dar, so you will end up taking up most of the day to leave Tarangire and take the flight down to Selous. September is an awesome time at Tarangire, though!!!

In September, most of the action is in the Masai Mara in Kenya. That said with your short time and already being in Arusha, Tarangire and the Crater can easily fit into your time. You even have time to stop in Manyara if you wish.

19 Sep - drive to Tarangire - o/n
20 Sep - Tarangire - o/n
21 Sep - drive to Ngorongoro - crater tour in afternoon - o/n
22 Sep - morning crater tour - o/n
23 Sep - drive back to Manyara - o/n*
24 Sep - drive to Arusha; fly to ZNZ.

*or return to Arusha and take in some cultural activities.

The Southern parks are lovely, but as mentioned above, getting to Selous will get you there early afternoon. The park here, the largest in Africa, deserves at minimun 3-days, even 4. Though many combine Selous w/Ruaha, you don't really have sufficient time. But from Selous, you need only fly to DAR for flight to ZNZ (a much shorter trip -like 15-minutes).

I actually *love* camping in the Serengeti in September, around the Mara River. With nobody around, the game is quite plentiful with many lion, hyena, buffalo and impala. There are often many stragglers of the migration still on the Tanzania side of the border, contrary to what most people think or have heard. Think of it this way. The Serengeti National Park is roughly 6,000 square miles. The Masai Mara is about 600 square miles. The large herds are mostly in Tanzania for most of the year, and the migration is usually very spread out. You can find large herds in Tanzania for most of the year, but most people do not see then due to the proximity of their lodge or camp. There are not many roads, camps in the northern Serengeti. And there are no lodges at all (a good thing).

Andy I have opted for Nomads mobile camp in the Nothern serengeti at the very end of August in an attempt to avoid the crowds but still see game. I'm there for 4 days what do you think are our chances of seeing some cats?

That is a tough one. Remember that a good safari experience is made up of all sightings, whether big cats, large mammals or interesting insects. But I suspect you will do quite well with cats.....

Thanks guys! I think we are leaning on skipping the serengeti and pursuing an itinerary somewhat akin to what Sandi put forth. Here's what we are thinking....

Sept 18- Day 0: Arrive Arusha
Sept 19- Day 1: Arusha Nat'l Park
Sept 20- Day 2: Tarangire
Sept 21- Day 3: Tarangire
Sept 22- Day 4: Manyara
Sept 23- Day 5: N'goro
Sept 24- Day 6: N'Goro, return to Arusha.
Sept 25- To ZNZ.
Sept 29- Return to Arusha, fly out of Kilimanjaro.

CCPringle,

I agree with Andy biggs and his comments. The serengeti is a huuuuuuuge park. The migration branches out into different wings around july. So all the herds do not go away into the Masai Mara. Some stay in the northern serengeti.

Besides, IMO the serengeti is one place that is good all round the year......without any exceptions.....even if you miss the huge herds, so what???? there's plenty of resident game around.

Hari