Serengeti National Park
Expert Reviews (18)
Tanzania Parks
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Mary is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including South Africa, Tanzania, East Africa and Africa.
31 people found this review helpful.
One of Africa's Greatest Parks & the Annual Wildebeest Migration
Serengeti is Tanzania's most visited park, and with good reason. Almost from the moment you enter the gates, wildlife surrounds you in astounding numbers and variety, together with an incomparable sense of space. The headline event is the annual wildebeest migration, and being able to witness a part of this (which takes both planning and luck) is an unforgettable experience. The Serengeti is also known for its high density of predators, and the chance to watch lions and other cats - often at very close range - is another treat. I also like the Serengeti's quieter side - its wealth of birds and its nature-filled stillness. Most shorter safaris concentrate on the well-visited central Serengeti. With more time (and depending on the season), I’d also recommend spending at least part of your Serengeti itinerary in the western corridor around the Grumeti River or in the far north.
Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.
28 people found this review helpful.
Classic Africa
What can be said about the Serengeti that hasn’t already been said? This is simply Africa as you always imagined it. Endless rolling bleached grasslands with scattered flat-topped acacia trees and animals everywhere. This is the Tanzania’ mirror image of Kenya’s Masai Mara and it’s physically much the same but on a much larger scale. Kenya’s Masai Mara is probably my single favourite park in Africa but the only reason it beats the Serengeti is because I know it better. If I had to choose between the two though, then it would simply come down to the time of year. Between roughly late-October and early June the Serengeti is home to over a million wildebeest and thousands of other grazers, but from June to October the majority of those animals head north to the Masai Mara in what’s known as the wildebeest migration. My decision as to which of the two parks would basically come down to where the wildebeest were at the time of my visit.
Whenever you visit the Serengeti you’re guaranteed a lifetime of memories. All of the Big Five are present, but while rhino aren’t that easily seen, lions are common and if you’re staying in one of the smaller, quieter camps then there’s a better than average chance that their deep throaty roars will seep into your dreams at night. Nerve wracking the first few times it quickly becomes a noise you’ll relish.
Parts of the Serengeti can get busy, especially the central Seronera zone which has the easiest access and highest concentration of camps and lodges. But it’s not hard to get a great slice of the Serengeti to yourself. Indeed on my last trip to the region (April 2016) to the far northwest of the park I actually didn’t see another safari vehicle for three days. The far east of the Serengeti is also very quiet and in the Namiri Plains, an area that until very recently was closed to all but scientists and park staff, there’s actually only one camp which means that absolute solitude is almost a given. The western corridor, the humid, fairly wet, finger of land that almost touches Lake Victoria, can also be much quieter than other parts of the park.
As well as looking at where the wildebeest will likely be at the time of your visit it’s worth considering what you yourself want out of a visit. This is a national park and so rules on what is and isn’t allowed are generally much tighter than in the nearby Ngorongoro Conservation Area (off-road driving isn’t allowed here which can make for some rather distant, and frustrating, wildlife viewing), but in some areas and from some camps short walking safaris can be arranged – a wonderful way to view the Serengeti. For this, I would strongly suggest the Namiri Plains area as the most pleasant area to walk.
To really get the most out of the Serengeti you need to allow plenty of time. This is a massive park and the landscapes, environments and wildlife differs from north to south, east to west and season to season. Ideally it’s best to allow time to see a bit of every area and allow for some rest days, but even if your schedule does only allow for a few days in the Serengeti you can rest assured that it will be a couple of the most memorable days of your life.
Mark is a travel writer who grew up in Africa and has written over 700 titles for Condé Nast Traveller, Travel Africa, BBC Wildlife and others.
24 people found this review helpful.
In Northern Serengeti Only the Wildebeest Travel in Crowds
A lot has been said about the justifiably famous Serengeti ecosystem, home of the world’s greatest wildlife show. The great migration attracts hordes of wildlife-watchers that are topped in numbers only by the herds themselves. As with the wildebeest, the main points of the migration are the calving grounds of south and central Serengeti. I spent part of my visit exploring this legendary area. Since I’d visited the Serengeti several times though, I was keen to focus more on the northern sector this time.
Northern Serengeti, where the Mara River enters Tanzania from Kenya’s Masai Mara, was once considered off-limits as a poaching hot spot. Those days are over, however. A few exclusive camps have been established here. The pristine wilderness, with soaring kopjes and dramatically craggy valleys, contrasts with the classic Serengeti savannahs. I spent four days watching the migration in full swing with spectacular river crossings every day and predators at every turn.
The best of the northern Serengeti camps are concentrating on sustainable tourism by hiring staff and trackers, often ex-poachers, from the local Kuria communities. Two examples are Serengeti Bushtops and Nimali Mara. I was in Serengeti on assignment covering the Kuria people for ‘BBC Wildlife’ magazine. The mysterious Kuria have a rich tradition that is culturally on a par with the iconic Maasai and yet they remain almost unknown. Getting to see the wilderness through their eyes added immensely to the fascination of this uniquely overlooked part of the Serengeti.
Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
21 people found this review helpful.
A quintessential ecosystem of endless plains and spectacular rivers with awe-inspiring numbers of African animals
With its natural splendour and greatest concentration of game you are ever likely to see, the Serengeti is faultless as a safari destination. The vast ecosystem features rolling golden plains, intricate river systems, the Big Five, and the annual wildebeest migration is the largest single movement of wildlife on earth. After many visits, and in each of the seasons, it never fails to surprise me. Massive crocodiles lick their thickset jaws in anticipation in the Grumeti River, large prides of lion move stealthily through the long grass on the savannah, leopard loll in acacia trees, cheetah sun themselves on the flat rocks of the distinctive kopjies, and many thousands of grunting and snorting wildebeest gather in their masses; the weak at the tail end of the procession, and the patient, vigilant predators hot on their heels. For me, the drama of the Serengeti’s animal action is simply unrivalled.
Kim is a travel writer who authored and updated over 15 guidebooks, including Lonely Planet's South Africa and Bradt's Tanzania guides.
16 people found this review helpful.
The greatest (natural) show on earth
One of the best game reserves in the world, the Serengeti is without a doubt my all-time favourite game park. The Serengeti is one of those places that had long lived in my imagination, before I’d even laid eyes on it. Happily, it more than lived up to my expectations – in fact, it surpassed them. With sweeping savannahs that seem to stretch on and on forever and an ever-changing parade of animals, there really is nowhere else on earth like it. What’s more, if you time your trip carefully you can witness one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles: the annual migration. Watching as an endless stream of wildebeest and zebra driven by a deep-rooted instinct darken the vast plains in a long dust-raising column in search of greener pastures is in a word, mesmerising. But it was when I witnessed the frenzied crossing of the Grumeti River where gigantic crocodiles lay in wait for hesitant or feeble to stumble, that I truly felt like I was caught in the middle of a National Geographic wildlife special. Beyond the migration, I’ve had plenty of other magic moments is the Serengeti: spying a pride of lions feasting on a kill, seeing a leopard laze languidly in the crook of a tree, watching Hyenas fight over scavenged leftovers, witnessing the sunrise over the veld as a hot-air balloon silently drifted by, and waking up in the middle of the night and unzipping my tent to find the Southern Cross lighting up the night sky. All I can say is: asante sana!
Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.
16 people found this review helpful.
African Splendor
The Serengeti holds a very special place in my heart. I’ve been privileged to visit this vast ecosystem many times over the last 30 years (in and out of season). I’ve traveled the highways and the byways; the busy Seronera area, the Western Corridor north and south of the Grumeti River, Lobo Hills and the Mara River area in the north. No trip is ever the same, but I’ve never been disappointed.
Although I’ve never planned my visits to coincide with the wildebeest migration, I’ve stumbled across the migrating herds many times. Unsurprisingly, as the migration is somewhere in the Serengeti most of the year (from January in the south until around October when big herds move into Kenya). The famous river crossings are all they promise to be: an adrenaline-pumping spectacle you’ll never forget. Unfortunately, the crowds follow the migration, and these days you’ll be sharing this incredible experience with about 50 other vehicles at least. Now I prefer to visit the beautiful Mara River area in northern Tanzania when the wildebeest and the tourist crowds are gone. Even out of season, there is always plenty of resident wildlife around.
One of my go-to areas in the park is Gol Koppies. Here, the savannah grassland is dotted with big granite boulders known as kopjes. It is a favorite hunting ground for cheetahs and these sleek cats can often be found scanning for prey from one of these vantage points. If not cheetahs, you might find lazy lions napping on top. Another rewarding area is Ndutu in the south. Especially around January and February, the wildebeest calving season. The newborn calves attract a lot of predators and you will certainly see some action at this time.
Even with limited time, you’ll see lots of big cats in Serengeti. However, for quality sightings, you need to be out early in the morning when predators are active. You might see a leopard on the move, a cheetah hunting or lion cubs playing. While I love spending time with big cats, I get even more excited when I spot one of the less-common predators. I’ve had fantastic sightings of bat-eared fox, honey badger, serval and wild cat in the Serengeti. And in most cases, there wasn’t another vehicle in sight.
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Tim is a travel writer who has covered 10 African countries for Lonely Planet's Africa, East Africa and West Africa guidebooks.
14 people found this review helpful.
As good as it gets
Talk about the Serengeti almost invariably revolves around the ‘great migration,’ where some 1.5 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras and other ungulates follow a primeval circuit in search of grass and water. No surprise, since this is one of the most incredible and, thanks to the annual crossing of the crocodile-filled Mara River that features in countless nature documentaries, best-known wildlife spectacles in the world. But even without this amazing event, Serengeti National Park would still be a contender for Africa’s best safari destination due to its abundance and variety of wildlife. In particular there’s an especially large number of predators: in just one lucky day I saw one leopard, three lions, four cheetahs and seven hyenas. Plus a few black rhinos offer the chance to score the Big Five.
The down side to the Serengeti is its popularity. It’s quite common to get stuck in a four-wheel-drive traffic jam in the central Seronera area, the busiest part of the park. While the congestion destroys the wilderness vibe it does offer one significant benefit – the wildlife here is well habituated to vehicles. Generally you can escape the worst of the crowds by visiting the west, where the Grumeti River is full of crocs and hippos, and the north, which has the most elephants. Seeing a single lioness strolling along a ridge in the distance without another car around was a more thrilling and satisfying experience for me than seeing a whole pride while in the company of a dozen other cars.
Balloon safaris are a popular add-on to the Serengeti experience and, in one of the most exciting recent developments in the safari world, walking safaris and bush camping are now allowed here, albeit on a limited scope.
Sue is an award-winning writer who specializes in African travel and conservation. She writes for national newspapers, magazines, Rough Guides and Lonely Planet.
14 people found this review helpful.
The iconic African Safari
If you only ever go on one safari, it should perhaps be to the Serengeti. Wildlife is here in abundance, but it’s best known for the greatest wildlife show on earth starring over a million wildebeest frantically racing for their lives on their annual migratory route to the Masai Mara. Every December – April, this incredible sight ensures that the Serengeti remains one of Africa’s most popular destinations. It also ensures brilliant opportunities for predator sightings, as lion, cheetah and leopard follow the herds – I’ve seen several leopards particularly near the Seronera River, dozing in trees in the heat of the day. I’d highly recommend a short walking safari while you’re here – even a brief walk around Lake Ndutu or the Grumeti River gives you a fantastic sense of freedom in the bush, and longer three day walks are also available, eg in the Lobo area, staying in lovely unpretentious bush camps that enhance that wilderness feeling and make a refreshing change from the sometimes unnecessarily lavish lodges or soulless hotels.
Of course, this place is more than the migration. It’s well worth visiting the north of the park after the wildebeest hordes have gone – you get the chance to see the prolific resident wildlife in peace and tranquility and without the crowds. And head to the east, to the Soit le Motonyi area, which has recently opened up to tourism, for the best big cat sightings in the park: we saw 57 lions here in just three days!
Stephen is a travel writer and avid conservationist whose work appears in prestigious magazines such as Africa Geographic and Travel Africa.
14 people found this review helpful.
A Wildlife Wonderland where Wildebeest Steal the Show
During migration season herbivore populations explode as wildebeest and zebra arrive in their hundreds of thousands. The cacophony that accompanies the plodding herds, drawn forward by the promise of life-giving rain and fresh grazing, is indescribable. Lions and other predators trail behind the herds, picking off old, weak and sick animals with consummate ease. The migration is a spectacle on a scale that defies belief and should feature prominently on every safari wish-list.
But what I personally like about this gigantic national park is that even outside of migration season you will still enjoy spectacular year-round wildlife viewing. The wide-open savannahs of the Serengeti are renowned as one of the best places on earth to view Africa’s big cats, especially cheetah chasing down gazelles and impala. The recent reintroduction of five wild dog packs is another key attraction. Wildlife is for the most part well habituated to vehicles and you can happily sit for hours observing a pride of feeding lions or playful cheetah cubs.
Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.
14 people found this review helpful.
Plains of Plenty
This world-famous reserve is probably my favourite safari destination anywhere in Africa. Although it is not scenic in the conventional manner of, say, the nearby Ngorongoro Crater, the flat grassy plains of the Serengeti – studded with isolated granite inselbergs – possess an uplifting sense of vastness and space. The game viewing is reliably superb.
Lions are abundant in the Serengeti, and often seen in prides numbering 15–25 individuals. The solitary cheetah is very common in certain areas, particularly in the south, while the central Seronera Valley is one of the most reliable sites in Africa for leopards (in recent years, it has also become a good place to look for tree-climbing lions).
Above all, Serengeti offers the singular thrill of encountering the world’s greatest annual animal migration, consisting of some two million bleating wildebeest, together with a supporting cast of zebra, gazelle, eland, hartebeest and predatorial hangers-on such as hyena, vulture and jackal.
Unfortunately, the very popularity of the Serengeti means that the central plains around the Seronera headquarters can be quite overpopulated with 4x4s. For those seeking more of a wilderness experience, better to head to one of the camps in the surprisingly untrammelled northern and western two-thirds of this vast park (though even these areas can become very busy with tourist vehicles when the migration passes through).
Serengeti is less well-known for birds than mammals, but more than 500 species have been recorded. Raptors are well represented, as are large ground birds such as kori bustard, common ostrich, southern ground hornbill and secretary bird. Other species to look out for include the dazzlingly colourful Fischer’s lovebird and the endemic grey-throated spurfowl.
Brian is an award winning travel writer, author of safari books and regular contributor to magazines such as BBC Wildlife and Travel Africa.
14 people found this review helpful.
The Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth
We’re talking about the Serengeti migration, the year-round spectacle of a million wildebeest and maybe 200,000 zebras chasing the rains on an endless journey in search of grass and water. Come in Jan-Feb to see them massed on the short grass plains in the south of the park. This is where the wildebeest drop their calves, and where the cheetahs and hyenas have a field day. But be aware: when the green season ends the migration resumes and the herds move on. I watched them once at the end of May, streaming away for three days and nights like a retreating army, leaving nothing behind but an emptiness of dust and stubble. With so much meat on the hoof it’s no wonder the Serengeti lions are doing well. Right now there are around 3,000 – perhaps more than at any time in the park’s history. Leopards are also plentiful and I love to look for them along the Seronera Rive where they hang out in the figs and sausage trees. Seronera is a lovely area but there are lots of others, notably the Moru Kopjes, the Namiri Plains and the classic parkland savannahs of the Western Corridor.
Heading north from Seronera you pass through monotonous acacia woodlands but it’s worth it to arrive in the Lamai Wedge, the Serengeti’s remote top end on the Kenyan border, with its kopjes and cats and elephant herds. No wonder Myles Turner, the park’s legendary warden, loved this area above all others. But for me it’s the south that sums up the vastness of the Serengeti; an ocean of grass broken only by the beckoning shadows of distant kopjes – and a lion with his mane blowing in the wind.
Anthony is a photographer and writer for travel magazines and Lonely Planet, including the guides to Kenya and Botswana & Namibia.
12 people found this review helpful.
Serengeti: A Wildlife Spectacular
If I had to choose my favourite wildlife-watching destination, I’d probably choose the Serengeti. Where else could I indulge my passion for big cats? On my last visit, for example, I saw more than fifty lions, six leopards and five cheetahs in just three days, not to mention a spotted hyena den and a successful hyena hunt, some of the best savannah scenery anywhere in Africa, and elephants at every turn. And I wasn’t even there for the migration! The iconic kopjes, the famous Grumeti River, the leopards along the Seronera, the sense of light and space and a horizon that never seems to end… The Serengeti is simply unforgettable, a vast place where the seasons bring mass calvings of wildebeests (February), iconic river crossings by wildebeest while crocodiles lie in wait (May to July), and the arrival of massed ranks of wildebeest (December). Put simply, the Serengeti is the drama of the East African safari writ large.
Mike is an award-winning wildlife writer, former editor of Travel Zambia magazine and author of the Bradt Guide to Southern African Wildlife.
12 people found this review helpful.
Endless Space
The Serengeti remains the most famous park in Africa, with its annual migration of wildebeest and other hooved grazers routinely hailed as the most spectacular wildlife experience on the planet. My most recent visit took me to the central region a month or so after the migration had moved on and so there was not a wildebeest in sight. This was, in a way, something of a relief. While the tourist crowds gathered up north, hoping to catch the drama of a Mara River crossing, we were able to enjoy the resident wildlife around our bush camp with far less pressure. And though the big herds may have dispersed, the predators were certainly around. We had excellent leopard and cheetah sightings, plus the most lions I have ever seen on safari. This included a pride that downed a buffalo within 50m/55yd of our safari tent and growled over the kill throughout one memorable, sleepless night.
The place did feel busier than I remember from my previous visit, some 20 years earlier. In the Seronera area, especially, cat sightings drew a considerable retinue of vehicles. This was perhaps inevitable, given the proliferation of lodges since then. But the sheer sense of space, with that famous sea of grass punctuated by sculpted granite kopjes and crisscrossed by snaking ribbons of riverine forest, felt undiminished. And when exploring the woodland fringes and some of the more far-flung kopjes, we felt we had the place to ourselves. Among our highlights were some of the more seldom-seen antelope, including eland, hartebeest and Kirk’s dik-dik. Also, an enchanting evening spent at a hyena den. Best of all was a rare black rhino, one of only 30 or so in the park, and far from the area where these endangered beasts are usually sought. The mammal count was impressive, as were the birds, with kori bustards especially numerous, foraging over the newly burned grasslands. Small breeding herds of elephant and browsing groups of giraffe were common.
The great migration is, of course, spectacular – and if this is your focus, then a little homework will tell you where and when to catch the herds. But there is so much else besides, and the park’s reputation remains fully justified. Whatever the season, get there any way you can.
Christopher is a British travel writer and has contributed to various Fodor's guidebooks and a range of travel magazines.
11 people found this review helpful.
Endless Plains & Lions Galore
The Serengeti is surely the most famous national park in Africa and nowhere is more synonymous with romantic images of safari. Serengeti translates as ‘endless plains’ in English, an apt description for this enormous swathe of iconic African wilderness. There are few experiences that can compare to watching vast herds of wildebeest marching through the low savannah and wide-open landscapes in the south of the park, with nothing but an occasional acacia or giraffe punctuating the hazy horizon behind them.
At least in part due to the very ready supply of prey, the Serengeti’s big cat population is second to none. There are an estimated 3,000 lions in the park, more than 10% of Africa’s entire lion population. Over the course of 3 days in the park, I would estimate we saw more than 100 lions, sometimes in prides of up to 15.
There are also good leopard sightings to be had around the rugged granite koppies that characterize the Seronera region of the park, though this region can get rather busy. For the most part though, considering the Serengeti’s celebrity status, it’s surprisingly easy to get away from the crowds. In the south of the park, we spent at least 20 minutes watching a cheetah and her 2 young cubs devouring a recently killed gazelle without a single other vehicle in sight.
Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.
9 people found this review helpful.
Lion King Country
The Serengeti would have to be my favourite safari destination in all of Africa. It is the Lion King brought to life (if only Disney didn’t give the hyenas such a bad wrap)! The Serengeti is breath-takingly beautiful with sweeping grassy plains, stuffed full of wildlife. This reserve is of course synonymous with “the migration” but there is so much more. I have never seen such an abundance of game – so many different antelopes, majestic elephants, more unusual species such as bat eared foxes and serval, and of course the big cats. You stand a good chance of seeing cheetah hunting, you can be lucky with leopards and then there’s the lions. Lots of lions. Every rocky outcrop seems to have its resident pride.
If you want to see the migration, tell your travel agent to make sure you go to the right area, at the right time of year. Some short tours just go to the central Seronera region of the Serengeti and may miss the migration.
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