&Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas
Mobile camps across the Serengeti — &Beyond
&Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas relocates several times a year. Two intimate camps of nine tents each reposition to anticipate the Great Migration’s movement through the park. Rather than asking guests to travel to a fixed location, the camp itself moves. The southern plains host it during calving season. Early summer then draws it west, into the Grumeti corridor. By the time the Mara River crossings begin, it has settled further north.
Each camp sits on a private campsite, away from other lodges. The experience deliberately keeps the form of classic safari camping. Canvas walls, bucket showers and paraffin lanterns set the scene. However, the service level and finish match a permanent luxury lodge.
Location and Landscape
The camps follow a broadly predictable pattern through the year. From before Christmas to early April, they sit in the southern Ndutu area for the calving season. Through April and May, and again from November to mid-December, they move to central Serengeti around Seronera. From June to mid-July, they shift to the western Grumeti corridor. From mid-July to early November, finally, they settle in the northern Kogatende area for the river crossings. Because park authorities allocate campsites, and the migration’s timing shifts with rainfall, exact dates vary from year to year.
This mobility changes the camp’s resident wildlife with its position. Substantial lion prides and elephant herds appear across the central and southern plains. Rhino sightings occur in the north, while cheetah turn up more commonly on the southern grassland.
Accommodation
Each of the two camps holds nine Meru-style canvas tents, including one tent configured for families. Every tent includes a proper bed and an en-suite bathroom with a flush toilet. An outdoor heated bucket shower completes the setup. Chandeliers, crystal, silverware, custom-made rugs and polished brass samovars, meanwhile, distinguish the central mess and lounge tents from ordinary camping.
A private butler attends to each tent throughout the stay. Wi-Fi, too, remains available despite the camp’s otherwise deliberately simple, under-canvas character.
Safari Experience
Twice-daily game drives form the core of a stay. Guides position these according to the camp’s current location and the migration’s movement at the time. Hot air balloon safaris can run where the camp’s position allows, generally followed by a bush breakfast. A day trip to Olduvai Gorge and the Shifting Sands, in addition, becomes possible when the camp sits in the Ndutu area.
Evenings gather around the campfire for drinks and storytelling. Dinner follows, served under canvas or beneath the stars. The camp’s seasonal sightings, whether Grumeti and Mara River crossings or the wildebeest calving season at Ndutu, build directly into where and when each camp sits.
When to Visit
Because the camps relocate to follow the migration, timing depends on which phase a traveller wants to witness. December through March puts guests in the south for calving season on the short-grass plains. June through mid-July, meanwhile, moves the camp into the western corridor. Mid-July through early November, finally, positions the camp in the north for the Mara River crossings, the most sought-after window of the year.
Practical Information
Flights run from Arusha or Kilimanjaro to whichever airstrip sits nearest the camp’s current position. These include Seronera, Ndutu, Grumeti or Kogatende. From there, a drive of roughly 15 to 45 minutes reaches camp, depending on the exact site. Children aged 6 and older are welcome. However, the nature of mobile camping rules out children under 6, and the camp limits in-house children to a maximum of four at any one time.
Combining &Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas with Other Tanzania Destinations
Serengeti Under Canvas pairs naturally with a stay at a fixed lodge elsewhere in the Serengeti. This combines the mobility of a migration-tracking camp with facilities only a permanent property can offer, such as swimming pools and spa treatments. Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire, similarly, both extend into a wider northern Tanzania circuit. Zanzibar, meanwhile, offers a coastal close to the journey.
Our Tanzania Safari Guide covers wider planning. Nearby options, meanwhile, sit within Serengeti Safari Lodges. The full country collection, finally, appears at Luxury Tanzania Safari Lodges.
If you are considering &Beyond Serengeti Under Canvas as part of a Tanzania safari, we would be pleased to begin with a conversation.