Game drives in Serengeti national park

Game drives in Serengeti national park : Game drives around Serengeti national park are among the activities which are carried out during safaris around the national park in the northern part of Tanzania.

Park entrance fee is among the requirements for tourists to be allowed into the national park. This fee is about 71 USD for nonresident adults and from 1^st July 2021, the park entrance fee for Serengeti national park will change to 82.6 USD for adult nonresidents.

Children aged between 5 years and 16 years are charged park entry fee of 23.6 USD while children below the age of 5 years are not charged park entry fee for Serengeti national park.

Game drives in Serengeti national park include morning game drives, afternoon or evening game drives and also full day game drives as tourists enjoy driving around the savannah in the national park in search of different wildlife species.

Morning game drives around Serengeti national park are interesting since many wildlife species are actively moving and grazing around the open savannah plains of the national park which makes them easy to see during a game drive.

In the afternoon wildlife species can also be seen around the grassy plains of Serengeti national park. During full day game drives, tourists enjoy exploring the national park for the whole day in search of different wildlife species across Serengeti national park.

During game drives around Serengeti national park, tourists are not allowed to drive off the tracks, they are also discouraged from making noise, littering and also feeding the wildlife as they drive around the national park.

The different areas around Serengeti national park which are visited during safaris include northern Serengeti, southern Serengeti, central Serengeti or Seronera and also the western part of Serengeti national park.

There are different wildlife species which can be spotted during game drives around Serengeti national park and they include wildebeests, elephants, buffalos, rhinos, lions, leopards, giraffes, elands, impalas, waterbucks, gazelles, cheetahs, hyenas and many others.

The big 5 such as elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards and buffalos which are considered the most difficult wildlife species to hunt can also be seen during a game drive around Serengeti national park.

Serengeti national park is managed by Tanzania National Park’s Authority (TANAPA) which promotes conservation of the resources around the destinations. The national park is also known for having one of the 8 natural wonders of Africa which is the annual wildebeest migration.

Serengeti national park is also famous for the great wildebeest migration which takes place annually across the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. Watching over 1.5 wildebeest move around the savannah plains is another safari experience at the destination.

This migration also involves other wildlife species like gazelles and zebras which move along with the wildebeest herds and also predators such as lions which prey on the unknowing wildebeests.

Serengeti national park is also made up of vast savannah plains, woodlands, forest, kopjes such as Simba kopjes and Moru kopjes where lions can be spotted during safaris. The national park is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

The best time to visit Serengeti national park on safari is around the months of June to October which is the dry season. The national park can also be visited at other times of the year during safaris to the northern part of Tanzania.

Other activities apart from game drive which are carried out around Serengeti national park include the following;

Hot air balloon safaris

This activity gives an aerial view of Serengeti national park during safaris and the hot air balloon safaris start very early in the morning.

A guide drives the passengers to the landing site of the hot air balloons where they are briefed about the activity before getting onto the balloons. The direction of the wind determines where the balloon will be floating over the grassy plains and woodlands of the national park.

Wildlife species such as elephants, giraffes, wildebeests among others can be spotted during the hot air balloon activity in Serengeti national park. After landing, the passengers share breakfast and champagne before being driven back to their lodges.

The cost of the hot air balloon safari in Serengeti national park is about 599 USD and the activity can be carried out in the northern part of Serengeti and also around the central part of the national park.

Guided nature walks

A walk around the vast savannah of Serengeti national park is another way to enjoy the nature around the national park and also search for different wildlife species in the national park on foot.

The guided nature walks are carried out with the help of an armed ranger guide and during the safari experience, tourists get to learn how to track the wildlife species by following footprints along different trails.

This activity is very rewarding since tourists do not follow the usual tracks which are used during game drives. Guided nature walks also give the tourists a closer encounter with the wilderness around Serengeti national park.

Bird watching

Serengeti national park is home to over 400 bird species which can be spotted around different locations in the national park.

The best time to engage in bird watching is during the months of November to April when migratory bird species can also be seen around Serengeti national park. The bird species include crowned cranes, kori bustards, rufous tailed weavers, black headed gonoleks, secretary birds, grey chested helmet shrike, yellow necked francolin among others.

Maasai community tour

Interactions with the Maasai people are also part of the safari experience during visits to Serengeti national park. The Maasai community tours involve visiting the Maasai villages and getting to know more about the way of life and culture of the Maasai people.

This activity also involves visiting the traditional homesteads of the Maasai which are enclosed in thorn fences. Watching traditional dance performances of the Maasai is also an activity which tourists carry out during their interactions with the Maasai people.

Book a safari to Serengeti national park and enjoy a game drive around the vast savannah at the destination as you search for different wildlife species.