10-Day Luxury East Africa Signature Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Amboseli → Maasai Mara → Isebania / Sirari Border → Serengeti → Ngorongoro Highlands → Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Amboseli

   The day opens in Nairobi with a morning departure for Amboseli, travelling south past Kajiado and through Maasai rangeland toward the Tanzanian border country. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. This is good country in which to look for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps. Amboseli is known for its free-ranging elephant families, and on clear mornings Mount Kilimanjaro often rises above the plains, though cloud can hide it. Your safari vehicle and guide are used by your party alone. The evening is spent at your Amboseli accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Amboseli Safari

   Explore plains and wetlands at a flexible pace, with any Kilimanjaro view treated as weather-dependent. The drives cover open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro, moving between habitats as conditions change. Keep watch for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps as you move between the different habitats. The swamps stay green through dry months, drawing elephants and plains game into concentrated, highly photographable groups. Amboseli is known for its free-ranging elephant families, and on clear mornings Mount Kilimanjaro often rises above the plains, though cloud can hide it. Your safari vehicle and guide are used by your party alone. Dinner and overnight are again at your Amboseli camp or lodge.

3. Day 3

   Amboseli to Maasai Mara

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Amboseli bound for Maasai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. Once you reach Maasai Mara there is time to check in before heading out among open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. This is good country in which to look for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Dinner is served at your Maasai Mara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

4. Day 4

   Full-Day Maasai Mara Safari

   Use a full day for private game drives and time at camp or lodge between the cooler wildlife windows. You travel through open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, working the areas your guide judges most productive on the day. Sightings may include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, depending on season and conditions. A full day allows morning and late-afternoon drives when animals are most active, with the option of a picnic lunch out in the reserve. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Dinner and overnight are again at your Maasai Mara camp or lodge.

5. Day 5

   Full-Day Maasai Mara Safari

   Return to productive areas or explore another Mara sector according to current wildlife conditions. The drives cover open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, moving between habitats as conditions change. Sightings may include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, depending on season and conditions. A full day allows morning and late-afternoon drives when animals are most active, with the option of a picnic lunch out in the reserve. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Dinner and overnight are again at your Maasai Mara camp or lodge.

6. Day 6

   Maasai Mara to Serengeti

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Maasai Mara to Serengeti. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. Your guide works the area for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, with sightings varying by season and conditions. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Serengeti.

7. Day 7

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   Follow the Serengeti’s seasonal wildlife rhythm with a full private safari day and no guaranteed species or migration event. The drives cover vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, moving between habitats as conditions change. Sightings may include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, depending on season and conditions. The scale of the plains rewards a full day, with time to work several areas rather than rushing between them. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. The evening returns you to your Serengeti accommodation for dinner and overnight.

8. Day 8

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   Explore a complementary Serengeti area before another night in the selected seasonal or permanent property. You travel through vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, working the areas your guide judges most productive on the day. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, though wild sightings are never guaranteed. The scale of the plains rewards a full day, with time to work several areas rather than rushing between them. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. Dinner and overnight are again at your Serengeti camp or lodge.

9. Day 9

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro Highlands

   The morning starts in Serengeti, from where you continue overland to Ngorongoro Highlands, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. Your guide works the area for lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen, with sightings varying by season and conditions. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Ngorongoro Highlands.

10. Day 10

    Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

    The morning starts in Ngorongoro Crater, from where you continue overland to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. You reach Arusha in the afternoon, with the final stretch of road giving time to look back over the journey. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. The day ends with a drop-off in Arusha at your hotel or the airport.