Serengeti Safari Packages5 Day Serengeti Safari: Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Camping
This 5 day Serengeti safari from Meru Slopes Tours and Safaris costs $1,320 per person and adds a full Tarangire day before the Serengeti. A full day in Tarangire National Park comes first, then two nights at Seronera campsite in the central Serengeti, a crater rim night at Simba campsite, and the Ngorongoro Crater floor before a village stop at Mto wa Mbu. All fees and taxes are listed as included, breakfast, lunch and dinner are covered each day, and you get a free Arusha hotel night before and after. It carries a 5.0 rating from 319 reviews. This page sets out the route, the costs and who should book something else. Compare it with the other Serengeti safari tours.
About This Tour
Meru Slopes Tours and Safaris runs this 5 day Serengeti safari as a shared camping trip from Arusha. A safari jeep with free Wi-Fi inside carries the group, a driver-guide leads the game drives, and the listing says a multilingual guide may run the tour. All ages can book, an adult must be on the booking, and the listing says it suits all fitness levels.
The route is road-based, with no flights. Day 1 is a full day in Tarangire, days 2 and 3 cover the Serengeti with a full game-drive day at Seronera, day 4 moves to the crater rim and day 5 is the crater floor plus a Mto wa Mbu village visit. You sleep in tents at Seronera and Simba campsites, with hotel nights in Arusha at the start and end.
$1,320 per person. The listing includes all fees and taxes, three meals a day, unlimited drinking water, camping nights and a free Arusha hotel night before and after. Tips and flights are not included.
5 days and 4 nights, plus the hotel night before and after the safari.
Hotel pickup in Arusha around 8:00 AM, with pickups starting 30 to 60 minutes earlier. Staff wear a Meru Slopes shirt and hold a name sign.
Jambo campsite near Tarangire on night 1, Seronera campsite in the Serengeti for 2 nights, Simba campsite on the Ngorongoro rim, then an Arusha hotel. The day 1 text calls Jambo a lodge, so confirm what you are booking.
Tips and flights are named as not included. No other mandatory extras are stated. The optional balloon flight over the Serengeti is a separate product.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund. Inside 24 hours it is not refundable.
Check Dates and Availability
Pick a date to see live places on this shared departure. Check the date you want before you plan around it.
You'll confirm the exact date and time on the secure booking page.
Quick answer The short answer
This 5 day Serengeti safari costs $1,320 per person, runs from Arusha with hotel pickup around 8:00 AM, and covers Tarangire, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and Mto wa Mbu with all fees and taxes listed as included.
Key takeaways
- Two Serengeti nights at Seronera mean a full game-drive day the 3-day trips never get. Compare the 4-day camping safari for a shorter version.
- Tents not your thing? The 4-day mid-range safari sleeps in lodges for $1,750.
- The listing puts the Mara River crossing in the northern Serengeti from July to September, which this central-Serengeti route only reaches on luck. The 8-day migration safari puts you there.
- See how all Serengeti safari packages stack up on price and inclusions before you commit.
What the Price Actually Covers
The listing is unusually clear about inclusions, and that matters at $1,320. Here is what the price covers and where you still spend.
Included
The inclusions list names breakfast, lunch and dinner, unlimited drinking water, all fees and taxes, free accommodation the night before and after the safari, and free Wi-Fi inside the safari jeep. A vegetarian option is available if you ask at booking. Camping at Seronera and Simba is part of the trip, and the game drives in all three parks are the core of what you pay for.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Park and crater fees | Yes, listed as all fees and taxes | The listing does not break the figure down. Ask the operator which permits it covers |
| Meals | Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily | Vegetarian option on request at booking |
| Drinking water | Unlimited | Other drinks are not mentioned, so budget for them |
| Arusha hotel nights | One before and one after | Named as Arusha Tourist Inn or Green Mountain hotel on day 5 |
| Flights | No | Named in the exclusions. This is a road safari |
| Tips | No | Named in the exclusions |
| Balloon flight | No | It is a separate product from Seronera |
| Visa and insurance | No | Not mentioned in the inclusions, so plan for them separately |
The Honest Note on Fees
All fees and taxes being listed as included is stronger wording than most camping listings manage, but it does not itemize the permits. For context, the TANAPA tariff sets the Serengeti conservation fee for non-East African adults at $70 per day in peak season and $60 in low season, VAT exclusive, and Ngorongoro carries its own fees. If the breakdown matters to you, ask Meru Slopes for it in writing before you pay.
Separately, the listing calls the night 1 accommodation Jambo campsite in one place and Jambo lodge in the day text, so confirm which one you get.
Sources: TANAPA tariff
Elephants at a waterhole in Tarangire National Park. Photo: Eric Kilby, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Route Day by Day
The itinerary below comes from the operator's own listing. Distances and hours are quoted as the listing gives them, and the drives between parks are the long part of each day.
Day by Day
Pickup is at your Arusha hotel at 8:00 AM. Day 1 drives about 3 hours to Tarangire, 115 km from Arusha, for a full-day game drive listed at 8 hours, then dinner at Jambo. Day 2 is a 9-hour stage through Karatu farmland and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area down to the Seronera area of the Serengeti, arriving for lunch and an afternoon game drive.
Day 3 is a full day of game drives from Seronera, listed at 10 hours. Day 4 starts with a 5:45 AM wake-up, an early drive until 11:30 AM, hot lunch at camp, then game viewing on the way out to Simba campsite on the crater rim. Day 5 is a full crater tour listed at 8 hours, then a 1-hour village stop at Mto wa Mbu before the road back to Arusha.
| Day | Route | Night at |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arusha to Tarangire National Park, about 3 hours and 115 km, full-day game drive | Jambo campsite near Tarangire |
| 2 | Tarangire through Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Seronera, about 9 hours | Seronera campsite, Serengeti |
| 3 | Full day of game drives in the central Serengeti, about 10 hours | Seronera campsite, Serengeti |
| 4 | Early drive until 11:30 AM, then out of the Serengeti to Ngorongoro | Simba campsite, crater rim |
| 5 | Crater floor tour, then Mto wa Mbu village and the drive back to Arusha | Arusha hotel |
Who This Trip Rules Out
No trip suits everyone. These are the limits of this listing and the alternative to pick instead.
Tents and Long Drives
You sleep in tents at three campsites, with no lodge comfort. If that sounds like a hardship after a 9-hour drive, the 4-day mid-range safari puts you in lodges and camps near Tarangire, in the Serengeti and in Karatu for $1,750 per person. The drives here are also long: day 2 alone is stated at about 9 hours.
If your holiday cannot absorb that, the 3-day camping safari at $770 skips Tarangire and shortens the trip, though its listing does not state park fees, so ask before booking.
Shared Vehicles and Fixed Dates
This is a shared tour, up to 15 people per booking and up to 30 in the shared tour. You do not choose who sits where or how long the group lingers at a leopard. If you want control, the 3-day private Serengeti safari is private for up to 7 at $2,206.35 per person.
It needs a minimum of 2 people. If the migration is your whole reason for coming, note this route sleeps in the central Serengeti, and the listing puts the Mara River crossings in the north from July to September. The 8-day migration safari spends 2 nights at Heritage Mara Camp in the northern Serengeti.
A giraffe feeding in the Serengeti. Photo: Maximilian Staub, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Season, Fees and Paperwork
What the herds do, what the gates charge and what your passport needs. All of it moves with the rain, so plan loosely.
When to Go
The listing itself gives the migration its best chance from June to September, with calving from January to March, and puts the Mara River crossing in the northern Serengeti from July to September. The herds move with the rain, so no month guarantees them. The dry season runs June to October and the wet season November to May with the heaviest rain in March and April, and daytime highs average about 27 °C with chilly nights.
Tarangire, your first park, has its elephants most abundant from July to November. For month-by-month detail, see the best time to visit Serengeti guide.
Fees, Visa and Health
Because this listing says all fees and taxes are included, you should not pay park entry at the gate, but it is worth knowing the scale: the TANAPA tariff sets the Serengeti conservation fee for non-East African adults at $70 per day in peak season and $60 in low season, VAT exclusive, with children aged 5 to 15 at $20 and under-5s free. A single-entry Tanzanian tourist visa is listed at $50 valid up to 90 days, though US passport holders are reported paying $100 for a multiple-entry visa. Ask your doctor about yellow fever certificates and malaria prophylaxis before travel.
The Tanzania visa guide covers the paperwork.
What to Pack
Expert Africa says warm layers matter most for Ngorongoro and the Serengeti from June through August. Pack light summer clothing for midday heat, brown, khaki and green tones, and avoid white and bright colours. Since you are camping for 4 nights, a torch, a power bank and a soft bag all earn their place.
The safari packing list has the full rundown.
Sources: TANAPA tariff, SafariBookings, SafariFind
Your 5 Days in Order
The operator's own day plan, with its stated times and hours.
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Pickup
Arusha to Tarangire
Hotel pickup at 8:00 AM, then about 3 hours and 115 km to Tarangire National Park for a full-day game drive among the baobabs and elephant herds. Dinner and the night at Jambo campsite near the park.
-
Into the park
Tarangire to Seronera
A long stage of about 9 hours through Karatu's highland farmland and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, down onto the Serengeti plains. Arrive at Seronera for lunch, then an afternoon game drive until sunset.
-
Game drives
Full day in the Serengeti
A 10-hour day around the Seronera River and the key wildlife areas, with the listing saying the driver aims to follow the wildebeest migration, which no one can promise. The listing gives June to September as the best window and the Mara River crossing in the north from July to September.
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Early start
Serengeti to the crater rim
Wake at 5:45 AM for a sunrise game drive until 11:30 AM, hot lunch at camp, then game viewing on the way out of the park and on to Simba campsite on the Ngorongoro rim.
-
Crater floor
Ngorongoro and Mto wa Mbu
Down into the crater, 610 m deep and 260 km² on the floor, for a full tour among what the listing puts at roughly 25,000 animals. After lunch you climb out and stop an hour at Mto wa Mbu village, with its banana plantations and a local guide, before the drive back to your Arusha hotel.
What Works and What Does Not
The strengths are real and so are the limits.
What we genuinely like
- A full Tarangire day comes before the Serengeti, which the 3-day listings do not include
- All fees and taxes are listed as included, unlike the cheaper $770 3-day listing, which leaves fees unstated
- Two Seronera nights give a full uninterrupted Serengeti game-drive day
- A free Arusha hotel night before and after saves a hotel booking
- Free Wi-Fi in the safari jeep and unlimited drinking water are stated inclusions
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund
The honest downsides
- Day 2 is a stated 9-hour drive, and day 4 starts at 5:45 AM
- The listing calls night 1 accommodation both Jambo campsite and Jambo lodge, so confirm what you are booking
- Camping at three sites means shared facilities and no lodge comfort at the end of long days
- Up to 15 people per booking and up to 30 in the shared tour, so no control over the day's pace
- The route sleeps in the central Serengeti, far from the July to September Mara River crossings
- Tips and flights are excluded, and no amounts are suggested
Who it's NOT for: Not for travellers who want lodges, a private vehicle or a realistic shot at the Mara River crossing.
Questions About This 5 Day Serengeti Safari
How much does this 5 day Serengeti safari cost?
$1,320 per person, which the listing says covers all fees and taxes, three meals a day, camping, the jeep with free Wi-Fi and a free Arusha hotel night before and after. Compare it with the 3-day camping safari at $770 to see what the two extra days add.
Are park fees included in the price?
Yes, the inclusions list names all fees and taxes, though it does not itemize which permits that covers. For the raw numbers, see the Serengeti conservation fee on the park fees page.
When is the best time to book this trip?
The listing gives June to September as the best chance of seeing the migration, with the Mara River crossing in the northern Serengeti from July to September. The herds move with the rain, so check the Great Migration calendar before fixing a month.
What do I sleep in, a tent or a lodge?
The listing's accommodation list names campsites at Jambo, Seronera and Simba, but its day 1 text calls Jambo a lodge, so ask the operator to confirm. If you would rather not camp at all, the 4-day mid-range safari uses lodges throughout.
Can I see the Mara River crossing on this route?
Not by design. You sleep at Seronera in the central Serengeti, and the listing puts the crossings in the far north from July to September. The 8-day migration safari spends 2 nights at Heritage Mara Camp in the northern Serengeti.
What is not included in the $1,320?
Tips and flights are named in the exclusions, and nothing else is stated as mandatory. Tanzania Specialist suggests $10 per day per person for the driver-guide, while Duma Explorer suggests $50 per vehicle per day shared among passengers. The the dawn balloon flight from Seronera is a separate booking.
Who can join and how do I cancel?
All ages can book with an adult on the booking, and the trip suits all fitness levels. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund. See how this listing sits against all Serengeti safari packages before you decide.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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