Serengeti · Ngorongoro · 8 days

the photographicSafari

Built around the light rather than the clock: a guide who knows photography, bean bags and charging in the vehicle, long stays at every sighting and out at gate opening every day. A dawn descent into the crater, then five nights in the central Serengeti and a flight home.

8days
7nights
2parks
Privatephoto 4×4

01 · Overview

The route, and why it runs this way

Good wildlife photographs come from time and position, not distance covered. So this route moves as little as possible: one night on the crater rim, five in the central Serengeti, and a flight out so the last morning is still a shoot.

From Arusha you drive to the Ngorongoro rim and arrive for the evening light over the crater. Next morning you are on the floor at first light, then cross the highlands to Seronera, where the next four days are spent entirely on game drives: out at gate opening, packed breakfast and lunch, and back when the park rules say so. Your guide positions the vehicle for the light, switches off the engine and waits. On day 8 you shoot the dawn and fly from Seronera to Arusha.

Starts

Arusha or Kilimanjaro airport

We meet you at Kilimanjaro International (JRO) or your Arusha hotel.

Ends

Arusha airport, day 8

A light-aircraft flight from Seronera lands you in Arusha around midday.

Style

Private, photo vehicle

Your own 4×4 with a pop-up roof, bean bags, charging points and a guide who knows light and angles.

Pace

Long days, few moves

Out from gate opening to the evening cut-off, with a midday rest when the light is flat.

Arrival · Dinner

Karibu to Arusha

Your guide meets you in arrivals at Kilimanjaro International and drives you the hour west to Arusha. Land early and there is time to rest; land late, and it is dinner and bed.

In the evening your guide looks over your kit with you and decides which lenses to keep on the bodies. You also see how the bean bags sit on the window sills and where to charge batteries in the vehicle.

Meals: Dinner
Highlight: A kit check with your guide
Sleep: Garden lodge, Arusha named when you book

Road day · evening light · B L D

To the rim for the evening light

A relaxed start and three hours on tarmac, through the Rift Valley at Mto wa Mbu and up the escarpment to Karatu. Your guide stops wherever the landscape asks for a frame.

You reach the rim in the afternoon, at about 2,300 metres, with the crater laid out 600 metres below. The late light across the crater wall is the first shoot of the trip, and the night is cold, so pack a fleece.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Highlight: Sunset over the crater
Sleep: Lodge on the crater rim named when you book

Crater descent · road day · B L D

First light on the crater floor

You are at the gate when it opens and down on the floor while the light is low and the vehicles are few. Lion, buffalo, hippo and flamingos share the bowl, with the crater wall as a backdrop, and with patience a black rhino.

Time on the floor is limited by park rules, so by midday you climb out and cross the highlands to the Serengeti in the flat light. The afternoon is a game drive from Naabi Hill to Seronera, arriving for the golden hour.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Highlight: The crater at dawn
Sleep: Tented camp, central Serengeti named when you book

Full game drive day · B L D

Out at gate opening

The pattern for the next four days starts here. You leave camp in the dark, and your guide positions the vehicle for sunrise with the light behind you, near a pride on the kopjes or a leopard tree on the Seronera River.

Breakfast and lunch are packed, so a good sighting never has to be left for a meal. In the middle of the day, when the light is flat, you rest in the shade or back up your cards, then work the afternoon until the evening cut-off.

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner
Highlight: Sunrise with the light behind you
Sleep: Tented camp, central Serengeti named when you book

Full game drive day · B L D

Staying with a sighting

The advantage of a private vehicle is that nobody is waiting to move on. If a cheetah is scanning the plains from a termite mound, you can wait an hour for her to hunt, engine off and bean bag on the sill.

The central Serengeti is good for big cats in every month. The kopjes, sausage trees and open grass also give very different backgrounds within a short drive of each other.

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner
Highlight: Cheetah on the open plains
Add-on: Balloon flight at sunrise

Full game drive day · B L D

Following the herds and the weather

A day to follow the news. If the herds are within reach of Seronera in your month, your guide takes you to them for dust, movement and lines of animals across the plains. If not, there are always the resident prides.

Storm light in the green season and dust at sunset in the dry months both make strong pictures. Your guide reads the sky as well as the radio.

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner
Highlight: Herds, if they are near
Sleep: Tented camp, central Serengeti named when you book

Full game drive day · B L D

A last full day of light

By now you know what is missing from your cards. Your guide plans the last full day around it: a particular pride, a den, a leopard that has been seen on the same stretch of river all week.

Lunch can be a picnic on a kopje with the plains all round. You stay out for the last of the light, then a final dinner at camp.

Meals: Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Highlight: Filling the gaps
Sleep: Tented camp, central Serengeti named when you book

Dawn drive · flight · B

One more sunrise, then the flight home

A last dawn drive around Seronera, then your guide takes you to the airstrip for the light-aircraft flight to Arusha. Keep a camera out: the plains and the highlands from the air are worth a frame or two.

We meet you at Arusha airport and take you to your hotel or on to Kilimanjaro International, about an hour’s drive. That leaves plenty of time for an evening flight home.

Meals: Breakfast
Ends: Arusha airport, then hotel or JRO
Next: Or fly straight to Zanzibar

When to go

Where are the herds?

Two million wildebeest and zebra walk a year-long loop through the Serengeti, following the rain. Choose a season to see where they will be, and what that means for your week.

CalvingDec – Mar

Good

calving season

December to March

The herds gather on the short-grass plains around Ndutu in the south, and around half a million calves are born in a few weeks. The predators are never far away.

On this tripThe herds are on the southern plains around Ndutu; we can spend days 5 and 6 there for newborns and the cats that follow them.

Green seasonApr – May

Green season

the long rains

April and May

Afternoon rain, emerald plains and very few vehicles. The herds start drifting north-west through the centre of the park.

On this tripDramatic skies, green backgrounds and few vehicles. Afternoon storms can cut a drive short, so bring rain covers.

The great trekJun – Jul

Best for this trip

the great trek

June and July

Columns of wildebeest move through the central Serengeti and the Western corridor on their way north. The dry season begins.

On this tripThe herds are usually in the centre and west, so day 6 is often spent with them. Clear light, and dust at sunset.

River crossingsAug – Oct

Good

the far north

August to October

The herds are on the Mara River in the far north, crossing back and forth. The rest of the country is dry, golden and full of game.

On this tripThe herds are in the far north, beyond this route, but Seronera’s cats stay put and the dry grass makes them easier to find.

Short rainsNov

Green season

the return

November

The short rains bring the plains back to life, and the herds stream south again through the east of the park.

On this tripThe herds often pass back through the centre, the dust settles and the light is clean. Some showers, fewer vehicles.

Best for this trip
Good
Green season, fewer vehicles

Herd positions follow the rains and shift a little from year to year. We tell you where they are likely to be before you book.

What it costs

Fill the vehicle, pay less each

Game drives, park and crater fees, seven nights’ accommodation, a private photo vehicle with your own guide, and the flight from Seronera to Arusha, priced per person. The more of you share the vehicle, the less each of you pays.

Mid-range fromUS$2,980per person sharing

Important information

All prices are per person and exclude international flights. Final rates depend on your travel dates, seasonal park fees and availability; we confirm them in writing with your quote.

Mid-range

Luxury

Mid-range

Lodges and tented camps, en-suite

Mid-range prices, Photographic Safari

Single supplement to confirm

Group size	1 person	2 persons	3 persons	4 persons	5 persons	6 personsbest value
Per person, 2026	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm
Rooms	1 single	1 double	1 double, 1 single	2 doubles	2 doubles, 1 single	3 doubles

Luxury

Premium camps and lodges

Luxury prices, Photographic Safari

Single supplement to confirm

Group size	1 person	2 persons	3 persons	4 persons	5 persons	6 personsbest value
Per person, 2026	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm	to confirm
Rooms	1 single	1 double	1 double, 1 single	2 doubles	2 doubles, 1 single	3 doubles

Your selection · click a group size2 guests · Mid-range1 double

Travelling with children

Children are welcome on this trip, and a private vehicle makes it easy to travel at their pace. Ask us for child rates and family rooms for your dates; they depend on each lodge’s own policy.

in the price

Private 4×4 with pop-up roof, bean bags and charging
A guide who knows photography, all 8 days
Seven nights as described, full board on safari
Park, conservation and crater service fees
Light-aircraft flight, Seronera to Arusha
Kilimanjaro airport transfers
Bottled water in the vehicle

not in the price

International flights and visa
Travel and medical insurance
Camera equipment and insurance for it
Tips for your guide and lodge staff
Drinks at the lodges
Optional activities

Make it yours

Add to the week

Tick anything you like the sound of. It goes straight into your enquiry, and we will price it with the trip.

Day 5 · SerengetiBalloon flight at sunriseAn hour over the plains, and a very different angle.Add

Day 2 · HighlandsAn evening in a Maasai bomaHosted by a family our guides know. Ask before photographs.Add

Day 6 · SerengetiBush lunchA table under a tree in the flat midday light.Add

After day 8Zanzibar beach daysFly from Seronera straight to the coast.Add

Send my enquiry →

Before you go

The practical part

Flights

Other costs

Why Simba Pride

Flights

Other costs

Why Simba Pride

Questions

Is a professional photographer coming with us?

No. Your guide is an experienced safari guide who understands light, angles and positioning. It is a safari designed for photographers, not a photography course.

Do I need professional equipment?

No. A phone and patience produce good images, but a 200 to 400 mm lens helps a great deal. Bring spare batteries and cards, and a dust cover.

How many photographers per vehicle?

We suggest no more than four, so everyone has a window and room to work. The vehicle is private, so there is never anyone else waiting to move on.

What does extended hours mean?

You are out from gate opening until the park’s evening cut-off on every full day, with breakfast and lunch packed, rather than coming back to camp between drives.

Can we go off-road for a better angle?

No. Off-road driving is not allowed in the central Serengeti, and our guides follow the park rules. Positioning, patience and a long lens do the work instead.

ready when you are

Eight days, one vehicle, all the light

Tell us when you would like to travel, how many photographers are coming and what you most want to shoot. We reply with a day-by-day plan and an exact price.

Admit

guests

SPS · 08

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