11-Day Best of Kenya & Tanzania Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Masai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Amboseli → Namanga / Arusha → Lake Manyara → Serengeti → Ngorongoro → Tarangire → Arusha

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Masai Mara

   The morning starts in Nairobi, from where you continue overland to Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across 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. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Masai Mara.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   You have a complete day in Masai Mara, starting early while the air is still cool and animals are active. 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. Keep watch for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game as you move between the different habitats. 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. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Masai Mara.

3. Day 3

   Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Masai Mara for the drive to Lake Nakuru, travelling through the Rift Valley floor and the farming towns of the Nakuru region. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across a Rift Valley soda lake ringed by yellow-barked acacia woodland and steep escarpment viewpoints. Look for black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife as the light softens through the afternoon. 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Nakuru.

4. Day 4

   Lake Nakuru to Amboseli

   After breakfast you leave Lake Nakuru and travel on toward Amboseli, travelling south past Kajiado and through Maasai rangeland toward the Tanzanian border country. Once you reach Amboseli there is time to check in before heading out among open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. Your guide works the area for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps, with sightings varying by season and conditions. 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Amboseli.

5. Day 5

   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. Species commonly associated with the area include large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps. 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.

6. Day 6

   Amboseli to Lake Manyara via Namanga and Arusha

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Amboseli bound for Lake Manyara via Namanga and Arusha, driving west from Arusha past Maasai settlements and the escarpment wall. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into groundwater forest, open floodplain and an alkaline lake beneath the Rift Valley escarpment. 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 elephant, baboon troops, hippo, giraffe and large numbers of waterbirds including flamingo. Manyara is known for its groundwater forest fed by springs at the base of the escarpment, and for lions that are sometimes seen resting in trees. Dinner is served at your Lake Manyara via Namanga and Arusha camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

7. Day 7

   Lake Manyara to Serengeti

   The day opens in Lake Manyara with a morning departure for Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, depending on movement and conditions on the day. 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.

8. Day 8

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   A full day in Serengeti allows you to explore well beyond the areas reached on a short visit. Much of the day is spent among vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. 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

   After breakfast you leave Serengeti and travel on toward Ngorongoro, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Ngorongoro.

10. Day 10

    Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire

    The day opens in Ngorongoro Crater with a morning departure for Tarangire, driving south-west from Arusha through Maasai grazing country. Once you reach Tarangire there is time to check in before heading out among rolling country of ancient baobabs, seasonal swamps and the year-round Tarangire River. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes large elephant herds, zebra, wildebeest, eland and a notably rich birdlife. In the dry season the Tarangire River draws wildlife from a wide area, and the park is famous for its baobab-studded landscape. Dinner is served at your Tarangire camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

11. Day 11

    Tarangire to Arusha

    Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Tarangire 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 are dropped at your Nairobi hotel or the airport in the late afternoon.