9-Day Luxury Kenya & Tanzania 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

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Nairobi for the drive to Maasai 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. The vehicle and driver-guide are private to your party throughout. Dinner is served at your Maasai Mara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Maasai Mara Safari

   Explore the reserve with a private guide, using flexible morning and afternoon drives around current conditions. Your route takes in open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, with your guide reading recent movement to decide where to spend time. 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. The vehicle and driver-guide are private to your party throughout. The evening returns you to your Maasai Mara accommodation for dinner and overnight.

3. Day 3

   Full-Day Maasai Mara Safari

   Spend another full day in the Mara, allowing time for both wildlife searching and the comfort of the lodge or camp. Much of the day is spent among open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. 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. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a third night at Maasai Mara.

4. Day 4

   Maasai Mara to Serengeti

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Maasai Mara to Serengeti. Travel through the confirmed Isebania–Sirari border plan or use an approved flight combination; immigration and team handovers remain explicit in the final arrangements. This is good country in which to look for 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. The evening is spent at your Serengeti accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

5. Day 5

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   Follow the Serengeti’s open plains and river systems with a private vehicle and a route matched to the season. 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. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Serengeti.

6. Day 6

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   Use a second complete day for a different sector or a slower return to productive wildlife areas. Your route takes in vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, with your guide reading recent movement to decide where to spend time. 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.

7. Day 7

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro Highlands

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Serengeti for the drive to Ngorongoro Highlands, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through 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. Dinner is served at your Ngorongoro Highlands camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

8. Day 8

   Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. On arrival in Arusha you check in, and the rest of the day is at leisure ahead of the next leg of the journey. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. Dinner and overnight are at your hotel in Arusha.

9. Day 9

   Departure from Arusha

   Enjoy a measured final morning before the private transfer to the airport or another confirmed Tanzania arrangement. There is a last chance to enjoy the northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru before you leave. Transfer timings are set around your confirmed departure, so the team will agree the pick-up time with you the day before. Your Land Rail arrangements end with the drop-off for your onward journey.