You probably already know of Tanzania as a Safari heavyweight. The Serengeti is an iconic destination with images of herds of wildebeest being stalked by hungry lions being one of the first things most people imagine when thinking about an East African safari, but does it live up to the hype and how does it compare to it’s closest competitor, Kenya?

Read on for a recap of my trip around Tanzania’s Northern Circuit and the pros, cons and low down on when, where and how to get the most out of a Northern Tanzania Safari, and how to enjoy some R&R on the Indian ocean afterwards…

Two female lions head rubbing as a greeting in Tanzania — 📸 : Lions are frequent sightings in the Serengeti

Planning a Tanzania safari can feel quite daunting, there are a huge number of options and a lot of conflicting advice. After spending an intensive but enlightening few weeks exploring the legendary Northern Circuit, however, I'm really please to share what I've discovered about this corner of East Africa. From the first heart-stopping glimpse of the Ngorongoro Crater to watching the sun set over the endless Serengeti plains, this guide should help you understand what's possible - or better still, allow me to design your perfect itinerary!

What is Tanzania's Northern Circuit Safari?

The Northern Circuit Tanzania represents one of Africa's most established safari experiences. The route begins at Kilimanjaro International Airport, where most travellers will spend their first night in Arusha getting acclimatised before embarking on their adventure.

Your journey typically unfolds in a private 4x4 Land Cruiser, specially adapted for safari conditions – reinforced suspension, pop-up roof, fridge and air con! The route takes you through either Tarangire National Park or Lake Manyara (both have their distinct charms), onwards to the stunning Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and after a couple of nights here finally into the world-famous Serengeti National Park.

Most visitors conclude their safari with a flight from the Serengeti back to Kilimanjaro providing one last spectacular aerial view of the landscape you've just explored. From there, you're either heading home with a memory card full of photographs and a head full of stories, or extending your East African adventure with a beach holiday (which I absolutely recommend – more on that prospect shortly).

This circuit has earned its stellar reputation for excellent reason: it combines jaw-dropping landscapes with some of the most spectacular wildlife viewing in Tanzania. The beauty lies in the flexibility – how many nights you spend in each location, your choice of accommodation, and the type of safari experience you're seeking all depend entirely on your available time, budget, and personal preferences.

📸 : Lions feasting on the Serengeti plains as Wildebeest look on nervously!

Understanding Tanzania's Great Migration: Separating Myth from Reality

What Actually is the Great Migration?

Clients often ask whether they’ll witness the Great Migration. This refers to the continuous clockwise movement of immense herds – primarily wildebeest and zebra – through the Serengeti ecosystem and Kenya's Maasai Mara, as they follow fresh grasses brought by seasonal rainfall. Thompson's gazelles and eland also join this epic journey, though they don't complete the full circuit.

The spectacle varies tremendously, and this unpredictability is part of its magic. Sometimes you'll encounter wildebeest scattered into modest groups that seem almost domesticated. Other times they appear as an endless column stretching to the horizon and occasionally they mass into a vast, snorting mega-herds that quite literally take your breath away.

Climate change has significantly impacted these movements, making migration patterns less predictable than they once were. During my visit, the herds were running behind schedule, congregating in the Central Serengeti where abundant rainfall had created excellent grazing, when historically they should have been in the Western Corridor.

The Truth About River Crossings in Tanzania

When people speak of seeing "The Migration," they usually mean witnessing a river crossing – those dramatic scenes familiar from National Geographic documentaries featuring panicked animals running the gauntlet of massive crocodiles and strategically positioned big cats.

These crossings occur when herds traverse the Mara and Grumeti Rivers into Kenya (typically July through September) and return to the Serengeti around October. However, the documentaries don't reveal the full picture…

It's peak season, so safari prices reach their absolute highest and Camps near crossing points command premium rates. You'll encounter large numbers of vehicles jockeying for position along riverbanks, creating what can only be described as a wildlife traffic jam. Some less scrupulous operators will actually block animals' paths, forcing them into more dangerous crossings – behaviour that is abhorrent to anyone that cares about the natural world. And perhaps most frustratingly, you might wait for hours in clouds of choking dust for a crossing that may never materialise.

This may or may not align with your vision of the perfect safari experience, and I completely understand if it doesn't. My advice? Focus on the incredible wildlife viewing opportunities throughout the year, seek out peace and seclusion wherever possible, and watch the dramatic crossings on television where clever editors can remove the less appealing elements.

That said, if witnessing a crossing remains absolutely non-negotiable on your bucket list – and I do understand the pull – I can certainly help position you with ethical operators who prioritise wildlife welfare alongside guest satisfaction.

A queue of safari vehicles in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park — 📸 : Avoiding the crowds is easier when you know how

Serengeti Safari: The Honest Assessment

The Challenges You Should Know About

The Serengeti National Park is absolutely massive. On traditional driving safaris, you'll spend a lot of time in your vehicle navigating what are optimistically called "roads" but are actually dusty, corrugated tracks at best. In remoter areas, these can become bumpy, muddy trails involving small river crossings that might unsettle nervous travellers.

If you've got a dodgy back seriously consider fly-in safaris between camps instead. Your spine will thank you, and the aerial views are absolutely stunning.

Unlike Kenya, the Serengeti lacks private conservancies – except the exclusive Grumeti Game Reserve – meaning most areas are accessible to all operators. Some radio their colleagues when they spot big cats, resulting in too many vehicles for my taste. During my visit to the central Serengeti near Seronera, i encountered around twenty vehicles surrounding a pair of utterly unbothered lions who were having their afternoon snooze up on a Kopje. We promptly departed and discovered another pride just ten minutes away, which we enjoyed in complete, blissful solitude.

Why the Serengeti & Northern Circuit Remain Unmatched

Here's the thing though – the Serengeti's extraordinary scale works in its favour too. It operates on a level unlike anywhere else I've experienced, and I've been fortunate enough to explore quite a few corners of our planet. The lodge density remains lower than Kenya's Maasai Mara, and beyond the central tourist areas, you might encounter only a couple of other vehicles throughout an entire day.

The wildlife viewing truly is spectacular – and I don't use that word lightly. We observed lions every single day, often in the most relaxed circumstances. We encountered cheetahs doing what cheetahs do best – looking impossibly elegant whilst surveying their territory. The sheer numbers of wildebeest and zebra exceeded anything I'd previously witnessed, creating those iconic East African scenes that you've probably glimpsed in documentaries but never quite believed were real.

The Northern circuit offers a combination of parks: Lake Manyara with a great range of ‘out of the vehicle’ activities; canoeing on the lake, walking safaris, and night drives that reveal an entirely different cast of characters. Tarangire provides some great elephant encounters and the Ngorongoro Crater delivers sheer landscape drama that actually made me cry when I first saw it, and the Serengeti itself serves up classic East African savanna vistas that fulfil every childhood dream of Africa.

The range of safari accommodation options allows for significant customisation too. You can choose anything from expedition-style mobile camps – where you'll fall asleep to the sounds of the African night just metres away – through to luxurious fixed camps complete with spas and swimming pools.

Tanzania vs Kenya Safari: The Big Question

I discuss Kenya Conservancies frequently and I really do adore these tranquil, undisturbed spaces around the Maasai Mara and on the Laikipia Plateau.

However, off the beaten track in the Serengeti, there are areas with identical appeal. The Namiri Plains area to the East of the Serengeti was particularly impressive, offering fantastic big cat sightings with scarcely another vehicle in sight. So choose your location carefully and you can find (big) corners of peace and quiet.

The beauty lies in having both worlds available, really. Flights between Kenya and Tanzania are remarkably straightforward making combined Kenya Tanzania safari itineraries entirely feasible. Why limit yourself to one extraordinary country when you can experience both?

Zanzibar Beach Extension: The Perfect Safari Finale

Personally I think you’d be nuts to come out to East Africa without adding on a few days on the beach to relax away your knotted muscles post-safari and catch up on some sleep after all your early starts.

The islands off the coast of East Africa have some of the best, least developed beaches in the world, almost year round sunshine, great hospitality and lots of sights and activities to suit all travellers from honeymooners to families.

On the Zanzibar Archipelago’s main island of Unguja - what most think of as Zanzibar - there are loads of different accommodation options, from luxury all-adult villa type resorts through to budget friendly family hotels and everything in between. On some of the smaller islands there are barefoot luxe get-aways perfect for honeymooners and eco-resorts with amazing snorkelling - great for adventurous families and couples.

If you’d like to do more than laze on white sands and float in clear, blue, warm water there is a lot to do …. Zanzibar’s capital, Stone Town, has a fascinating and rich history based on it’s trade of slaves and spices. It is worth spending a few hours on a guided walking tour of the maze of narrow streets to learn about Swahili culture and the influences that have shaped the island. There is even a Freddie Mercury Museum celebrating the life of it’s most famous recent export.

In the centre of Unguja island you can take a walk around Jozani Forest to try and spot it’s rare Red Colobus Monkeys, for snorkellers and divers Mnemba Island has a coral reef which is within a marine conservation area with great snorkelling and just off Stone Town Chumbe island is home to an eco-resort and has a perfectly preserved reef on which to snorkel.

Best Time to Visit Tanzania: A Seasonal Planning Guide

Tanzania weather patterns feature two distinct rainy seasons. The heaviest rains – called masika locally – typically fall from mid-March through May, transforming the landscape but making game viewing challenging and roads occasionally impassable.

The shorter rains, known as vuli, occur from November to mid-January. These tend to be more sporadic – dramatic afternoon thunderstorms that clear the air and create the most spectacular skies, but can still affect your daily plans.

The optimal Tanzania safari season runs from June through October, offering what I consider the sweet spot: dry weather that keeps the animals congregated around water sources, comfortable temperatures during the day, and cool, star-filled nights that make you understand why people fall in love with camping under African skies. This is when I always recommend first-time visitors plan their trips.

Getting to Tanzania: Your Journey from the UK

Reaching Tanzania from Britain proves pretty straightforward, though sadly no direct flights currently operate. I flew from Heathrow to Kilimanjaro International Airport via Doha on Qatar Airways. For the return journey, I flew back to London from Zanzibar via the same route – quite convenient when you're planning that essential beach extension I mentioned earlier.

Alternative routing options include KLM via Amsterdam into Dar es Salaam, which some prefer for the European connection and generally reliable service. British Airways and Kenya Airways both offer routes via Nairobi with short connections to Kilimanjaro – a routing that works particularly well if you're considering a combined Kenya-Tanzania experience.

Internal flights within Tanzania operate with impressive frequency to accommodate safari logistics. The pilots possess an almost supernatural ability to spot wildlife from the air, often providing impromptu game viewing that serves as a lovely bonus to your ground-based adventures.

The journey proves well worth every mile travelled – East Africa will capture your heart and leave you already planning your return before you've even departed.

Planning your own Tanzania safari adventure? I'd be absolutely delighted to help craft your perfect East African experience, drawing on my extensive knowledge of the region's finest lodges, most ethical operators, and those special hidden gems that transform a good safari into something genuinely extraordinary. Please get in touch!

The Complete Guide to Tanzania's Northern Circuit Safari: Everything You Need to Know