8-Day Kenya & Tanzania Mid-Range Safari: Maasai Mara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro

Day-by-day itinerary

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

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Maasai Mara

   You leave Nairobi after breakfast and head 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. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes 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. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. Dinner is served at your Maasai Mara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

2. Day 2

   Maasai Mara to Isebania / Sirari Border

   You leave Maasai Mara after breakfast and head for Isebania / Sirari Border. On arrival at Isebania / Sirari Border you check in and the remainder of the day is at a relaxed pace. The crossing involves border formalities on both sides and an operating-team handover between the Kenyan and Tanzanian crews. Dinner is served at your Isebania / Sirari Border camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

3. Day 3

   Isebania / Sirari Border to Serengeti

   After breakfast you leave Isebania / Sirari Border and travel on toward 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. The crossing involves border formalities on both sides and an operating-team handover between the Kenyan and Tanzanian crews. 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. Dinner is served at your Serengeti camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

4. Day 4

   Maasai Mara to Serengeti

   The day opens in Maasai Mara with a morning departure for Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into 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. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Serengeti.

5. Day 5

   Ngorongoro Highlands to Ngorongoro Crater

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Ngorongoro Highlands to Ngorongoro Crater, 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. Look for lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen as the light softens through the afternoon. 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 Crater.

6. Day 6

   Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

   The day opens in Ngorongoro Crater with a morning departure for 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.

7. Day 7

   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. 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. The evening is spent at your Ngorongoro Highlands accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

8. Day 8

   Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

   The day opens in Ngorongoro Crater with a morning departure 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. Arrival back is normally in the afternoon, with a drop-off at your hotel or the airport.