The Migration and the Beach

This is the trip for travellers who want both the great Mara crossings and the time to recover from them. Thirteen days. The full Northern Circuit with three of them on the Mara river. Four nights on the Indian Ocean after. The flagship long-format Tanzania safari and Zanzibar combination in the catalogue, and the answer to the question every well-travelled client asks when they want the whole experience without flying home tired.

The route opens in Arusha for an arrival night, then a single Tarangire night to start the safari softly. Two Seronera nights move you west across the central Serengeti plains. Three nights at Kogatende put you on the Mara itself for the August-to-September crossings — the herds, the crocodiles, the Mara Triangle lion prides tracking the migration night by night. A closing Crater day seals the safari with the Big Five inside the caldera. Then a short flight to Zanzibar and four nights on the warm sea, long enough to actually unwind, not just touch down before the long flight home.

Every camp on the safari is yours to choose — from authentic tented to flagship private. The Zanzibar coast and lodge are yours to pick, and the activities at every stop are yours to layer in. Park fees, lodge nights, and vehicle days are itemised on the page before you book. Same seasonal window as our shorter Mara Crossings trip: July through October, peak August and September. Outside that window, the Classic Hybrid covers the same parks year-round.