9 days · Tanzania · Photographic safari
Serengeti Photographic Safari
A safari planned around light, not a timetable. You travel in a vehicle set up for cameras, with a guide who understands angles, backgrounds and patience, through four of Tanzania's most photogenic landscapes: the baobabs of Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater, the open plains of Ndutu and the kopjes of the central Serengeti.
Enquire about this safariDuration
9 days / 8 nights
Route
Arusha · Tarangire · Ngorongoro · Ndutu · Serengeti
Best time
January–March for calving · June–October for dry-season light
Ideal for
Photographers of every level
Built around the light
On a standard safari the day is shaped by meal times. On this one it is shaped by the sun. We leave camp before first light so you are with the animals in the soft, low glow of early morning, take a long break through the flat midday hours to rest and back up your cards, then head out again for the warm late-afternoon light and the minutes after sunset. Your vehicle carries no more than three guests, so everyone has a window and a roof hatch of their own, and comes fitted with bean bags, camera mounts and charging points. Your guide is used to working with photographers: they read animal behaviour to predict where the action will be, turn off the engine so your frames stay sharp, and will reposition patiently for a cleaner background or a better angle of light. Days are flexible, and if a cheetah is about to hunt, we stay.
Itinerary
Day by day
A sample route. We tune camps and timing to the season, the wildlife and the kind of images you want to come home with.
Day 1 · Arrive in Arusha
Your guide meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and takes you to a garden lodge outside Arusha. Over dinner you talk through your gear, what you want to shoot and how you like to work, so the days ahead are built around you.
Days 2–3 · Tarangire: elephants and baobabs
Drive to Tarangire, where large elephant herds gather along the river beneath ancient baobab trees. It is a superb place for wide environmental frames, dust-lit elephant portraits in the late afternoon and close views of the park's many birds.
Day 4 · Ngorongoro Crater
Down to the crater floor at first light, when mist still lies on the caldera walls and the lions are most active. Lion, buffalo, hippo and the chance of black rhino against a backdrop of 600-metre cliffs. Overnight in the highlands.
Days 5–6 · Ndutu and the southern plains
Ndutu allows off-road driving in its conservation area, so your guide can position the vehicle for the light rather than staying on the track. From January to March this is calving season, with newborn wildebeest, big herds and predators close by. Later in the year it is quieter, with cats among the acacias and around the lakes.
Days 7–8 · Central Serengeti
Leopards in the sausage trees along the Seronera River, lions on granite kopjes and wide plains that turn gold at sunset. A dawn balloon flight can be added for aerial images of the plains.
Day 9 · Departure
A last sunrise drive, then a light-aircraft flight back to Arusha for your connection, or onward to Zanzibar to rest and edit by the beach.
Included
— Private photographic vehicle, maximum three guests
— A window and roof hatch for every guest
— Bean bags, camera mounts and in-vehicle charging
— Professional guide experienced with photographers
— Flexible early-start and late-return game drives
— All park and conservation fees
— Accommodation and meals as per itinerary
— Return light-aircraft flight from the Serengeti
— Airport transfers and 24/7 support
Not included
— International flights and visas
— Travel insurance (required)
— Camera equipment and lens hire
— Optional balloon safari
— Tips for guides and camp staff
— Premium drinks and personal items
Join us for a photographic safari
Tell us what you shoot with, what you most want to photograph and when you can travel. We will match you with the right guide, season and camps.
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