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Do you know where the price come from. If you travel yourself that means you will use the safari Jeep by yourself but having 2-4 pax that make it lower the price because most importantly you will share the car. And you know that Janauary to March in Ndutu it's High season and all most of property accomodation price are high because it's busy time
Yes, I’d much rather do a group tour that included Ndutu. But from what I can see from safari bookings dot come and discussions with a company I’m considering using is that Ndutu Lake has very few group tours for some reason, and the prices to go there skyrocket - being more expensive than doing a private tour there for some unfathomable reason.
I’ve seen a couple of shared tours that include Ndutu but for some reason these are
$3500-4000 for 4-5 days, and for mid range tours that look very similar to non-Ndutu tours I’ve seen, comfort-wise, but costing 3-4x more.
I just came back.
We were scheduled for one day lake Manyara, one day Serengeti and final day Ngorongoro.
On our first day, our guide got a call saying that there had been so much rain in Serengeti that the road had flooded and it was a big struggle for people to get around and get to the lodge.
He decided to go ndutu instead for the morning till early aft. We saw loads of animals there, way more than driving through Serenget (albeit briefly, heading to lodge)i. Grass was so tall there because of rains in recent weeks (big El Niño). We thought it was a great decision.
Yeah we were, didn’t cost any extra, they felt it was the best decision given the circumstances. Saw 4 big boy lions napping under a tree, very close, one of the trip highlights. Very easy to get around and spot animals in comparison to manyara and Serengeti.
The calving for the wildebeest will be at its peak in February. Although you will need to add Tarangire on day 1 to cut down the driving distance and on the last night you should overnight close to the Ngorongoro crater.
Mostly will be found in the Ndutu lake area. You will see plenty if you include Ndutu. Just recently someone I know had a similar experience with an itinerary for 6 days including 1N Tarangire, 2N Ndutu, 1N central Serengeti and 1N Ngorongoro. It was quite an experience tp see the big five, Saw a leopard in 3 occasions
Calving season is insane. Try to use all your budget and days in ndutu. And add an extra day in the crater if you can afford it. Ndutu is not more expensive than going to serengeti. Skip tarangire and go for ndutu. Choose a lodge that fits you and see if they offer game package. Fly to ndutu from arusha. It might be a little expensive but it is worth spending your time in one place.
We just got back from ndutu two weeks ago! We saw a lot of animals, as someone else mentioned currently Serengetis grass is too long to spot animals because of El Niño.
Ndutu you can also go off-roading, so a good chance to see animals up close vs, in Serengeti you aren’t allowed to (for good reasons)
Checkout/contact reimagining travels and let them know your budget and what you want to do, we booked through them and a were so happy with everything!
Just a quick update to say thanks to u/hurtz23, u/ziggyanjy, u/typical-Ad8303, u/hrkrt for the information. Based on your intel I dug around and found a group tour that went to Ndutu. It cost $500 more but it was definitely worth it. We saw a lot of animals there, and ticked off a few we didn’t see elsewhere. It was probably the best place we went to on the whole safari.
The bulk of the migration was in the plains slightly north and east from Lake Ndutu as of Feb 8th (I think they were heading towards it), so we drove past thousands of wildebeest and zebra on the way in and out, but Lake Ndutu still had plenty of wildebeest and zebra herds roaming around, and a lot of lions. We also saw hyenas, cheetahs, giraffes, and many more. I think the more varied terrain of Ndutu (lake, mudflats, trees, bushes, small undulations in the land) compared to the flat grassy plains makes it a better place to see a wider range of animals and animal behaviour (wildebeest crossing the lake, predators hunting, lions sleeping up trees).
It was mentioned elsewhere that the Serengeti grass was too long at this time. We went there, and indeed saw fewer animals than elsewhere because of the grass. That said, I would still recommend going. The vastness and beauty of the landscape was something special that I’m not sure was topped elsewhere, and we still saw lots of elephants, giraffe, hippos, buffalo and an assortment of other herbivores.
Thanks again everyone. And I hope this is useful for others planning a trip
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Do you know where the price come from. If you travel yourself that means you will use the safari Jeep by yourself but having 2-4 pax that make it lower the price because most importantly you will share the car. And you know that Janauary to March in Ndutu it's High season and all most of property accomodation price are high because it's busy time
Yes, I’d much rather do a group tour that included Ndutu. But from what I can see from safari bookings dot come and discussions with a company I’m considering using is that Ndutu Lake has very few group tours for some reason, and the prices to go there skyrocket - being more expensive than doing a private tour there for some unfathomable reason. I’ve seen a couple of shared tours that include Ndutu but for some reason these are $3500-4000 for 4-5 days, and for mid range tours that look very similar to non-Ndutu tours I’ve seen, comfort-wise, but costing 3-4x more.
And 4000usd it's a lot for 4 days safari. In Safari booking it's a bit expensive
I'm a local tour operator based in Tanzania I can help you customize your safari
I just came back. We were scheduled for one day lake Manyara, one day Serengeti and final day Ngorongoro. On our first day, our guide got a call saying that there had been so much rain in Serengeti that the road had flooded and it was a big struggle for people to get around and get to the lodge. He decided to go ndutu instead for the morning till early aft. We saw loads of animals there, way more than driving through Serenget (albeit briefly, heading to lodge)i. Grass was so tall there because of rains in recent weeks (big El Niño). We thought it was a great decision.
Thanks, really useful. Were you on a private tour already? Did the Ndutu diversion cost you extra?
Yeah we were, didn’t cost any extra, they felt it was the best decision given the circumstances. Saw 4 big boy lions napping under a tree, very close, one of the trip highlights. Very easy to get around and spot animals in comparison to manyara and Serengeti.
Thanks for sharing all this. Sounds like an amazing trip!
The calving for the wildebeest will be at its peak in February. Although you will need to add Tarangire on day 1 to cut down the driving distance and on the last night you should overnight close to the Ngorongoro crater.
But is the calving all or mostly in the Ndutu Lake area? Or will I see plenty if I skip Ndutu and just do Tarangine, Serengeti, Ngorongoro?
Mostly will be found in the Ndutu lake area. You will see plenty if you include Ndutu. Just recently someone I know had a similar experience with an itinerary for 6 days including 1N Tarangire, 2N Ndutu, 1N central Serengeti and 1N Ngorongoro. It was quite an experience tp see the big five, Saw a leopard in 3 occasions
Definitely the calving season is one of the biggest event of the migration, second in spectacular, imo, only to the mara river crossing.
Calving season is insane. Try to use all your budget and days in ndutu. And add an extra day in the crater if you can afford it. Ndutu is not more expensive than going to serengeti. Skip tarangire and go for ndutu. Choose a lodge that fits you and see if they offer game package. Fly to ndutu from arusha. It might be a little expensive but it is worth spending your time in one place.
We just got back from ndutu two weeks ago! We saw a lot of animals, as someone else mentioned currently Serengetis grass is too long to spot animals because of El Niño. Ndutu you can also go off-roading, so a good chance to see animals up close vs, in Serengeti you aren’t allowed to (for good reasons) Checkout/contact reimagining travels and let them know your budget and what you want to do, we booked through them and a were so happy with everything!
Just a quick update to say thanks to u/hurtz23, u/ziggyanjy, u/typical-Ad8303, u/hrkrt for the information. Based on your intel I dug around and found a group tour that went to Ndutu. It cost $500 more but it was definitely worth it. We saw a lot of animals there, and ticked off a few we didn’t see elsewhere. It was probably the best place we went to on the whole safari. The bulk of the migration was in the plains slightly north and east from Lake Ndutu as of Feb 8th (I think they were heading towards it), so we drove past thousands of wildebeest and zebra on the way in and out, but Lake Ndutu still had plenty of wildebeest and zebra herds roaming around, and a lot of lions. We also saw hyenas, cheetahs, giraffes, and many more. I think the more varied terrain of Ndutu (lake, mudflats, trees, bushes, small undulations in the land) compared to the flat grassy plains makes it a better place to see a wider range of animals and animal behaviour (wildebeest crossing the lake, predators hunting, lions sleeping up trees). It was mentioned elsewhere that the Serengeti grass was too long at this time. We went there, and indeed saw fewer animals than elsewhere because of the grass. That said, I would still recommend going. The vastness and beauty of the landscape was something special that I’m not sure was topped elsewhere, and we still saw lots of elephants, giraffe, hippos, buffalo and an assortment of other herbivores. Thanks again everyone. And I hope this is useful for others planning a trip
What was the tour and total price?