Northern Tanzanian Safaris
Tailor-made multi-stop journeys through Africa’s most iconic landscapes – from the Serengeti plains to the tropical shores of Zanzibar.
Why Choose A Dotcom Safari?
Dotcom Safari is the local expert. We focus on the portion of Tanzania that we know first-hand. Our superior reputation allows us to employ the best safari guides. We offer both private and open group safaris and specialize in seasonal Great Migration itineraries.
One seamless itinerary
Handpicked accommodations
Expert logistics + transfers
Diverse ecosystems & experiences
Northern SAFARI Circuit
Northern Circuit of Tanzania is the most popular circuit, containing some of Africa’s best safari destinations – the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Dotcom Safaris is perfectly located to arrange your Northern Circuit safari. The Northern Circuit destinations have long formed the heart of our business. With years of experience in planning and leading customized safari expeditions throughout Tanzania, we at Dotcom Safaris are passionate about what we do. We are committed to providing unforgettable experiences for our guests. We offer a wide range of itineraries to suit anyone’s expectations, including luxury lodge safaris, camping safaris, fly-in safaris, authentic tribal tours, and migration safaris to the Serengeti.
The Northern Circuit is the home of the classic safari experience from the endless short-grass plain of Serengeti to the dense river lying forest of Tarangire to the blended ecosystem of Ngorongoro an abundance of wildlife the perfectly capture the safari experience.
In addition to our safari packages, we are happy to create a bespoke itinerary based on your desires.
Serengeti
Africa's top safari destination. Dependable year round for excellent game viewing. See the section further down this page dedicated to the Great Migration located here.
Ngorongoro
One of Africa's top safari destinations with a huge density of animals. Only being 20km in diameter makes one day here sufficient.
Tarangire
The park’s permanent water supply ensures a huge and varied animal population. This park is especially known for its large elephant population.
Olduvai
The site of some of the most important finds of early hominid fossils of all time The “Nutcracker Man”
Arusha Park
Only 20km from the city of Arusha, this is surpisingly not a heavily visited park. Beautiful scenery including Mt Meru and plenty of antelopes and giraffes.
Lake Manyara
A small park where baboons, elephants, buffalos, zebra, hippo, giraffes, lions, and flamingoes are among the most common animals found here.
Mkomazi
A hidden gem. This park is best known for its excellent black rhino sanctuary. African wild dogs, elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, and cheetahs are among the animals common here.
Lake Natron
In northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border, sits Lake Natron, a soda lake rich in minerals. Thousands of lesser flamingos breed there, despite the fact that the strikingly crimson waters are extremely alkaline.
Serengeti Migration
The great Migration of the Serengeti is considered one of “The Ten Wonders of The Natural World”, and one of the best events in Tanzania to witness. A truly awe-inspiring spectacle of “life and death“ in an expansive ecosystem ruled by rainfall and the urge for survival amongst the herbivores of the Serengeti plains.
The journey for the key players in this circular great wildebeest migration is highly weather dependent and dynamic, it begins in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of the southern Serengeti in Tanzania and loops in a clockwise direction through the Serengeti National Park and north towards the Masai Mara reserve in Kenya.
You should know that migration is a natural phenomenon determined by the availability of grazing. The initial phase lasts from approximately January to March, when the calving season begins in what is called Ndutu, an area that straddles the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (but not the crater). During this time there is plenty of rain-ripened grass available for the 260,000 zebra that precede 1.7 million wildebeest and the following hundreds of thousands of other plains game, including around 470,000 gazelles. It is a favourite season for many of the seasoned Serengeti guides: the air during these months is full of new life and action. Predators like lions and hyenas are constantly hunting for babies, thousands and thousands of calves are born within a couple weeks of each other – a feast for the eyes of true wildlife enthusiasts.
As the rains come to the north, the lure of fresh grass drives the herds northward. There is no natural leader of the herds but once a few decide it is time to go, many others follow. The herds fragment but a single fragment can be up to 40km long (25 miles). Some of the herds move through the Seronera (central Serengeti) while others travel further west, through the Western Corridor of the Serengeti. The Grumeti and Mbalageti Rivers with its Nile crocodiles pose a risk along the wqy, but the worst is yet to come.
Typically from early July, the herds reach northern Serengeti (Kogatende) and the Mara River. While a portion of the herds choose to remain south of the river, many risk the obstacles of lions, hyenas, and crocodiles to make the spectacular crossing. What is not commonly known is at this portion of the Mara River, both sides of the river are in the Serengeti. The Masai Mara is further to the north and less than half of the herds enter the Masai Mara.
With the beginning of the short rains, typically in October, the migration makes its way back south into the Seronera portion of the Serengeti where the official Serengeti Visitors’ Centre is located. By late December the herds have returned to their calving grounds again in Ndutu and the circle is ready to repeat.
