12-Day Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Masai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Lake Naivasha → Amboseli → Arusha → Lake Manyara → Serengeti → Ngorongoro → Arusha

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Masai Mara

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Nairobi 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. Look for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game as the light softens through the afternoon. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Masai Mara.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   You spend the day in Masai Mara, heading out early and returning as the light goes. The drives cover open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, moving between habitats as conditions change. Species commonly associated with the area include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game. 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. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Masai Mara.

3. Day 3

   Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru

   The day opens in Masai Mara with a morning departure for Lake Nakuru, travelling through the Rift Valley floor and the farming towns of the Nakuru region. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into 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. The evening is spent at your Lake Nakuru accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

4. Day 4

   Lake Nakuru to Lake Naivasha

   After breakfast you leave Lake Nakuru and travel on toward Lake Naivasha, following the Rift Valley escarpment road with its long views over the valley floor. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into a freshwater Rift Valley lake fringed by papyrus, fever trees and flower-farming country. This is good country in which to look for hippo, waterbuck, colobus and an exceptional range of resident and migratory waterbirds. Naivasha is one of the few freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley, which is why boat trips and walking safaris are possible here rather than vehicle drives alone. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Naivasha.

5. Day 5

   Lake Naivasha to Amboseli

   The day opens in Lake Naivasha with a morning departure for 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. Look for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps as the light softens through the afternoon. 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.

6. Day 6

   Full-Day Amboseli Safari

   The whole day is given to Amboseli, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. You travel through open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro, working the areas your guide judges most productive on the day. Sightings may include large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps, depending on season and conditions. 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. The evening returns you to your Amboseli accommodation for dinner and overnight.

7. Day 7

   Amboseli to Arusha

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Amboseli to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. Once you reach Arusha there is time to check in before heading out among 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. The evening is spent at your Arusha accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

8. Day 8

   Arusha to Lake Manyara

   The day opens in Arusha with a morning departure for Lake Manyara, 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. This is good country in which to look for 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 and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Lake Manyara.

9. Day 9

   Lake Manyara to Serengeti

   The morning starts in Lake Manyara, from where you continue overland to Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. Look for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra as the light softens through the afternoon. 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 camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

10. Day 10

    Full-Day Serengeti Safari

    The day is set aside for Serengeti, with drives timed around the first and last hours of light. 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. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Serengeti.

11. Day 11

    Serengeti to Ngorongoro

    The day opens in Serengeti with a morning departure for Ngorongoro, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. This is good country in which to look for lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen. 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.

12. Day 12

    Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

    Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Ngorongoro Crater bound for Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. Once you reach Arusha there is time to check in before heading out among 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.