Tips for a Serengeti Trip
 

I found this forum via reddit :)

So I am currently planing a self driven Safari in the Serengeti National Park but I am having a hard time finding Maps of the National Park. Has anyone here done a Safari in the recent years? It would be in September this year

Where are the public campsites located?

Any touristy spots to avoid?

what was your itinerary in the park itself? (I know the great migration should be in the northern part)

how many days is enough? I was thinking around 8 (with the drive from and to arusha)

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Would be greatful for any kind of input/advice

Welcome to HU!

Not sure where to find maps, but someone will know, and I'm pretty sure you can get them as needed in Arusha.

It's ALL touristy! We did a guided tour with two other people only in Serengeti to "learn the ropes", and then did it by ourselves in Namibia and elsewhere.
Our method was to be early, and if there was a large crowd, keep going. If people are leaving somewhere, it's a good time to go in. Be PATIENT and be quiet and wait, and you'll see a lot - when the crowds are gone.

For us, 8 days isn't near enough, but I know some people think 3 is plenty. Stay until you're done, don't lock yourself into a specific length of time.
Note: You'll see balloons flying over at sunrise/set - BOOK MONTHS in advance if you want to go on one. We missed out and were annoyed - and still are!

hope that helps!

Hi and thanks! :)

I have a written guide arriving monday and I hope that that should provide me with some maps/insights.
Do you maybe remember where aboout in the park your guide took you? Anything thing else important that you learned on your self driven safari then? Right now I am in contact with my rental company if an 'open ended' safari is possible. And for those balloon rides, I looked them up but 700 bucks is too much haha.

Sorry don't remember - it was a long time ago, and we went loads of places, as well as other parks.
Learned: You need a pro to teach you what to look for, how to spot the animals hiding in the long grass, what their feeding and drinking habits are etc. There's some books that are really helpful, but nothing like an expert pointing it out on the ground.
I think it's worth paying for a guide for a few days.
700 - if each, yes it's high, if for two, a bargain. Regardless - it's a once in a lifetime experience you'll never forget. I think it's worth it if you can possibly manage it - and if you've gone that far, you can, you just have to want to. If you don't, when you see them going over at sunset, you'll kick yourself.

Guides also know where animals habitually hang out--many are real creatures of habit, like a leopard which sits on a particular branch in a particular tree, surprisingly well-camouflaged unless you know where to look. And they share information in passing (speaking Swahili or tribal languages), which you won't share unless with a guide.

It's not the end of the world to self-drive; I had guides in Masai Mara, Samburu, and some parks in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zaire, but went without in Kruger, Kalahari, and a bunch more in southern Africa. Without guides we saw less and our photos were far less spectacular, but that wasn't a big deal given we'd already taken plenty of good ones in East Africa.

I'm a person who tends not to hire guides, but in this case I was glad when I did....some of the time.

Mark

Q. Maps of the National Park:

T4A is good - better further south but reasonably good in Serengeti. DO a google search for images and you'll find several good ones.

Q. Has anyone here done a Safari in the recent years? It would be in September this year

2017 in August (have a look at https://unochoenafrica.blogspot.com/...-shocking.html and the next couple of posts).

Q. Where are the public campsites located?

Check T4A and the maps you find on google. Our experience was that Lobo camp was in disgusting condition - too many tour groups for the infrastructure, the additional fee for "wild campsites" was worth it. I hope things have improved.

Q. Any touristy spots to avoid?

Stay away from places where there are lots of safarimobiles, or more accurately if there aren't too many spend a short time to see why there are so many but move away unless it's something amazing. We prefer to see wildlife. Be patient.

Q. What was your itinerary in the park itself? (I know the great migration should be in the northern part)

We entered from the west - Serengeti Stopover camp, headed east through Grumeti to Lobo, from there to the Mara River, from there to Seronera (Pimbi, then Dik Dik), then to the Naabi Gate.

Q. how many days is enough? I was thinking around 8 (with the drive from and to arusha).

We spent 5 days in Serengeti, then 5 days in Lake Nduti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire. Double this would have been good, however we also wanted to spend time on the coast, Rwanda, Uganda, and back in Kenya within the following 3 months or so.

Good advice! Especially if you're not familiar with the environment.

I thought about our last big trip in Africa - we visited 65 national parks/reserves and I find that we had guides at 18 of them:

- Mapungubwe NP, RSA – for a walking “safari”
- Mavela (Manyoni PGR), RSA – required to go along the river bed.
- Tsodilo Hills WHS, Botswana – to learn about the rock art
- Makgadikgadi Pans NP, Botswana – to know where to find meerkat
- Tuli Block, Botswana - for a walking “safari”, twice
- Ngonye Falls Community Partnership Park, Zambia – to know how to get to the falls
- Kafue NP, Zambia - for a walking “safari”
- Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust, Malawi – to lead us on the trails
- Nkotakhota NP, Malawi – opportunitistic, when elephants came down to the river
- Mahale Mountains NP, Tanzania – required to look for chimpanzees
- Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania – came with the boat
- Nyungwe NP, Rwanda – to guide us birdwatching
- Volcans NP, Rwanda – required to look for gorillas
- Queen Elizabeth NP, Uganda – opportunistic, from the park entry to lead us to tree-climbing lions
- Kibale NP, Uganda – required to look for chimpanzees
- Mabamba Wetland IBA, Uganda – to go looking for shoebills with the boat
- Saiwa Swamp NP, Kenya – to guide us birdwatching
- Central Island NP, Kenya – came with the boat

The rest of the time we guided ourselves, and this worked well - in fact many times we enjoyed things more - the safarimobile drivers were under pressure to show their passengers animals and tended to leave a given location after 10 minutes or so if there weren't prides of lions playing golf (or whatever) - we were happy to stay in the same place for a couple of hours, being rewarded often by wildlife which was not immediately apparent.

We found that too, often the guides came in for 10 minutes, then left when there wasn't enough happening - and then the animals came out of hiding "just for us", as we sat there quietly waiting patiently. :) Patience is rewarded!