No matter how long you stay in the Serengeti, you'll leave feeling you only scratched the surface. This legendary park covers about 5,700 square miles of northern Tanzania, and its endless golden plains are the setting for some of the most dramatic wildlife encounters on Earth. When American hunter-turned-conservationist Stewart Edward White first reached it in 1913, after miles of scorched country, he wrote that he had found paradise.

Out on the plains, the soundtrack is pure Africa: hyenas calling in the night, hippos splashing in the water holes and elephants rumbling along the tracks. More than 2,000 lions roam the park, stalking prey through the tall grass, while giraffes lope across the horizon and monkeys rustle through the trees. The highlight of all is the Great Migration, when more than a million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles sweep across the land in search of fresh grazing.

Where the herds are depends on the month, and that makes timing and camp location everything. I'll match your travel dates to the migration, choose the right lodges or tented camps and connect your flights, so every game drive counts.