10-Day Private Kenya & Tanzania Circuit Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Lake Nakuru → Masai Mara → Isebania / Sirari → Serengeti → Ngorongoro → Arusha → Namanga → Amboseli → Nairobi

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Lake Nakuru

   The day opens in Nairobi with a morning departure for Lake Nakuru, travelling through the Rift Valley floor and the farming towns of the Nakuru region. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through a Rift Valley soda lake ringed by yellow-barked acacia woodland and steep escarpment viewpoints. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife. The park operates as a sanctuary and is one of Kenya's more reliable places to look for rhino; flamingo numbers on the lake rise and fall with water levels. The vehicle and driver-guide are private to your party throughout. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Lake Nakuru.

2. Day 2

   Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Lake Nakuru bound for Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, depending on movement and conditions on the day. 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 Masai Mara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

3. Day 3

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   The whole day is given to Masai Mara, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. The drives cover open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, moving between habitats as conditions change. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, though wild sightings are never guaranteed. 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 Masai Mara camp or lodge.

4. Day 4

   Masai Mara to Serengeti via Isebania / Sirari

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Masai Mara bound for Serengeti via Isebania / Sirari, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. Once you reach Serengeti via Isebania / Sirari there is time to check in before heading out among vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. The crossing involves border formalities on both sides and an operating-team handover between the Kenyan and Tanzanian crews. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra. 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 is served at your Serengeti via Isebania / Sirari camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

5. Day 5

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   The day is set aside for Serengeti, with drives timed around the first and last hours of light. 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. Species commonly associated with the area include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra. 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.

6. Day 6

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Serengeti to Ngorongoro, 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. There is the possibility of seeing lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen, depending on movement and conditions on the day. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Ngorongoro.

7. Day 7

   Ngorongoro to Arusha

   The morning starts in Ngorongoro, from where you continue overland to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Arusha.

8. Day 8

   Arusha to Amboseli via Namanga

   The morning starts in Arusha, from where you continue overland to Amboseli via Namanga, travelling south past Kajiado and through Maasai rangeland toward the Tanzanian border country. Once you reach Amboseli via Namanga there is time to check in before heading out among open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. The crossing involves border formalities on both sides and an operating-team handover between the Kenyan and Tanzanian crews. 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. The evening is spent at your Amboseli via Namanga accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

9. Day 9

   Full-Day Amboseli Safari

   The whole day is given to Amboseli, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. The drives cover open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro, moving between habitats as conditions change. There is the possibility of seeing large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps, though wild sightings are never guaranteed. 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. Dinner and overnight are again at your Amboseli camp or lodge.

10. Day 10

    Amboseli to Nairobi

    The day opens in Amboseli with a morning departure for Nairobi, returning through the highland approaches to the city. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through Kenya's highland capital and the usual start and end point for road safaris. Nairobi is the arrival and departure hub for most Kenyan safari itineraries. You are dropped at your Nairobi hotel or the airport in the late afternoon.