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3-Day Serengeti Safari Tours
The Serengeti National Park is one of those special safari destinations in Africa where the reality exceeds the hype, and it’s the perfect destination for a 3-day safari. This vast park is best known for the annual migration of around 2 million wildebeest, zebra and Thomson’s gazelle that make their way through the park. But this is a remarkable park at any time. The wildlife is as extraordinary as the landscapes that include seemingly endless savannah grasslands, bouldered kopjes (rock formations) rising from the plains, and so many perfectly formed acacia trees of the kind synonymous with an East African safari. But it’s the wildlife that most people come to see on their 3-day safari, and the Serengeti never disappoints.
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Top Rated Operator
3-Day Jewels of Tanzania - Mid-Range
$1,280 to $1,620 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Unlimited Expeditions: The Soul of Tanzania
4.9/5 – 490 Reviews
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Top Rated Operator
3-Day Fly in-out Zanzibar to Serengeti Exclusive Safari
$2,090 to $2,200 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tourLuxuryTented Camp
You Visit: Zanzibar (Start), Serengeti NP, Zanzibar (End)
Serengeti Wakanda Tours and Safaris
5.0/5 – 574 Reviews
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Top Rated Operator
3-Day All Inclusive Luxury Fly into Serengeti
$2,585 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tourLuxuryLodge
You Visit: Zanzibar (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Highlands, Zanzibar (End)
Meru Slopes Tours & Safaris
5.0/5 – 416 Reviews
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3-Day Mid Range Safari - Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater
$1,250 to $1,275 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Serengeti Green Tanzania
5.0/5 – 88 Reviews
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3-Day Top Notch Tanzania Safari
$1,100 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Tarangire NP, Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Safari360
4.9/5 – 117 Reviews
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Top Rated Operator
3-Day Winter Great Migration Serengeti & Ngorongoro Trip
$1,451 to $1,623 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Ndutu (Southern Serengeti NP), Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Serengeti Smile
5.0/5 – 483 Reviews
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Top Rated Operator
3-Day Fly in Safari from Arusha
$1,760 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range LodgeYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Safari Soles
5.0/5 – 320 Reviews
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3-Day Serengeti Fly-in with Ngorongoro Crater
$1,513 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Central Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Serengeti Mystery Adventures
4.8/5 – 33 Reviews
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3-Day Your Holiday from Zanzibar to Northern Circuit
$1,730 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Zanzibar (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Zanzibar (End)
Mountain Warriors Tours and Safaris
5.0/5 – 153 Reviews
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3-Day Awesome Serengeti and Ngorongoro Wildlife Safari
$1,392 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Ozon Light Tours
4.9/5 – 143 Reviews
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3-Day The Serengeti Trails - 2 Night into the Wild Camp
$1,823 to $1,846 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Kojuu Safaris Africa
5.0/5 – 58 Reviews
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3-Day Zanzibar to Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari
$1,540 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Tented CampYou Visit: Zanzibar (Start), Southern Serengeti NP, Serengeti NP, Zanzibar (End)
Professional Safaris
4.8/5 – 72 Reviews
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3-Day A Wonderful Safari in Tanzania
$1,371 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
kiliclimb Africa Safaris
5.0/5 – 73 Reviews
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3-Day Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari (Wildebeest Calving)
$1,432 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Southern Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
FIF (T) Tours and Travel
4.9/5 – 27 Reviews
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3-Day Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater - Camping Tents
$1,370 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tourBudgetCamping
You Visit: Arusha (Start), Central Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Highlands, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Lappet Faced Safaris
5.0/5 – 92 Reviews
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3-Day Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater Camping Safari
$1,137 to $1,152 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tourBudgetCamping
You Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Ernest Magic Tours and Safaris
5.0/5 – 12 Reviews
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3-Day Serengeti Big 5 Budget Safari
$1,086 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tourBudgetGuest House
You Visit: Mwanza (Start), Western Serengeti NP, Central Serengeti NP, Mwanza (End)
Ngao Africa
5.0/5 – 10 Reviews
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3-Day Luxury Zanzibar to Serengeti National Park
$2,310 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tourLuxuryLodge & Tented Camp
You Visit: Zanzibar (Start), Central Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Highlands, Ngorongoro Crater, Zanzibar (End)
Allen Tanzania Safaris
5.0/5 – 22 Reviews
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3-Day Best Southern Serengeti Wildebeest Calving Season
$1,101 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Southern Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Ndutu Green Explorers
5.0/5 – 15 Reviews
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Top Rated Operator
3-Day Mid Range Group Tour Adventures
$1,210 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Shared tour (max 6 people per vehicle)
Mid-range Tented Bush CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha (End)
Suricata Safaris
5.0/5 – 2,597 Reviews
6 Questions About 3-Day Serengeti Safaris
Answered by
Anthony Ham
Anthony fell in love with the Serengeti the very first time he visited, and each time he explores this incredible park, the love affair deepens. He is an expert on Tanzania’s Northern safari circuit and author of Lonely Planet’s ‘Tanzania’ and ‘East Africa’ guides. He wrote ‘The Last Lions of Africa’.› More about Anthony
6 Questions About 3-Day Serengeti Safaris
Is 3 days enough time for a trip in Serengeti National Park?
“The simple answer is that 3 days is a minimum for exploring the Serengeti. But plan to stay longer if you can. You won’t be able to see all of the Serengeti in 3 days. But if you concentrate on one area, you’ll see enough to understand why this is the favorite safari park in Africa for so many people. Which area you choose may depend on the time of year you visit. If you’re here during the migration, your focus is likely to be on the area where the animals are during those months. If you happen to be where the migration is, then 3 days is all you’ll need to catch a glimpse of one of the greatest wildlife shows on earth. If not, you’ll be surprised at how much of the Serengeti you can see in a relatively short space of time. After all, the Serengeti is one place where one thrilling sighting or wildlife encounter is all it takes to have a safari experience that makes the whole trip worthwhile.”
1What are the accommodation options?
“The Serengeti has an exceptional array of accommodation choices, but the mainstays are lodges and tented camps. Lodges are usually four-walled structures with rooms, often decked out in safari colors. The lodges offer accommodation that usually combines an excellent location (you often find them deep in the Serengeti’s best wildlife areas) with all-round luxury and good service. Tented camps consist of large canvas safari tents, where you can lie awake at night and listen for lions. These tents range from simple to downright luxurious. Some of these tented camps are mobile camps. That means that they follow the migration’s usual route through the park, staying until the animals have left the area. Then they’re dismantled and moved to where the animals are headed. These mobile camps are necessarily less luxurious but many are still extremely comfortable. These mobile camps move between two, or sometimes even three, Serengeti locations. There is also a handful of camping options, but only in the central Seronera area.”
2Which animals am I likely to see on a 3-day Serengeti safari?
“Where you are in the Serengeti will, to some extent, determine what you see. If you’re following the migration, you’ll see more zebra and wildebeest than you ever imagined possible. The noise of the passing migration is constant and, when seen from afar, the animals look like a moving river. Where there is this much prey, the predators are surely never far away, especially lions, leopards, cheetahs and spotted hyenas. You don’t have to be tracking with the migration to see most of these species. My most rewarding big-cat encounters have taken place far from the migration. The Serengeti has an endless array of antelope species. Also commonly seen are elephants, giraffes, black-backed jackals and buffalo, as well as an impressive portfolio of birds. Black rhinos also lurk in the Serengeti shadows, although it’s really hitting the jackpot if you see one.”
3How much will this safari cost?
“How much you pay for a 3-day Serengeti safari depends on a number of factors. At the top of this list is the level of luxury you’re looking for. If you plan on staying in high-end tented camps or lodges, you can expect to pay more than US$2,000 per person, more if you include local flights to, from or within the Serengeti. If on a budget and/or a camping safari, the costs will be considerably lower, starting at around US$850 per person and rising to around US$1,250. There are, of course, a number of other variables. These include which season you plan on traveling in, whether you’re staying for 2 or 3 nights, and transport options such as flights and the number of people per vehicle. At the lower end of the price range, if you’re on a camping safari, you may be expected to participate in setting up camp, cooking and other responsibilities while out on safari.”
4What can I expect from a 3-day Serengeti safari?
“You can expect to see lots of animals. In many ways, this is a classic East African safari experience with lots of animals to see against a backdrop of vast savannah grasslands stretching to a very far horizon. Expect to be out early as the activities of night predators spill over into the early daylight hours, and again in the hours before sunset as they get ready for the night ahead. Game drives usually last for anywhere between two to four or even five hours. In the hot hours in the middle of the day, you’ll often be back at camp or at your lodge for lunch and relaxation time, before heading out again in the mid- to late afternoon. A particular highlight of the late-afternoon drive is the sundowner, a most agreeable safari tradition whereby you’ll stop for drinks at a scenic spot close to sunset. A hot-air balloon safari is an incredible experience, but it’s usually an add-on to a standard 3-day safari.”
5What kind of vehicle can I expect?
“You will almost certainly be traveling in a 4WD vehicle while you’re in the Serengeti. Although you’re not allowed to stray from established trails while you’re in the park, many of these can be bumpy and often muddy, depending on the time of year, hence the need for a high-clearance 4WD. There are no paved roads within the park. Most often, your transport will be an open-sided vehicle with a canopy roof covering and tiered seating in anywhere between three and five rows. It’s a wonderful way to explore the wilds of the Serengeti. With no walls to separate you from what you’ll be seeing, you’ll catch a breeze, and you’ll feel really close to the animals, so close that you’ll feel like you can almost reach out and touch that lion as it passes (don’t!). There are other 4WDs that are enclosed, and these are used more often for smaller groups.”
6Serengeti Reviews
Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.
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...
Mary is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including South Africa, Tanzania, East Africa and Africa.
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...
The Serengeti was an absolute highlight of our trip. The vast plains, teeming with wildlife, left us in awe. We were fortunate to witness the Great Migration, which was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The diversity of animals,...
This is my number one park. There is always a new road to take and to spot another animals as there are so many. We spotted the big 5 and so much more. From a Cheetah posing for us on a rock to going to hunt a Warthog. Unfortunatly for the...
Vast area of land, few trees therefore excellent visibility. Millions of animals. Wherever you go, wherever you look, lots of animals. You don't meet a lot of other vehicles as the park is huge and the vehicles are not concentrated. We have...
The Serengeti National Park is HUGE! Our guide informed us that it would take roughly 14 days to see the full thing. I am glad I took a tour with an overnight in the park so I could at least have 2 days there. This is the park of CATS! Many...