Kenya and Tanzania safari

Itinerary Description

Day 1: Arrival, Tour Briefing and Resting

• You will be picked up from the airport in Nairobi ( Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) and be transferred to the booked hotel in Nairobi
• Get the safari general briefing from the prepared safari consultant/guide
• Dinner and overnight stay at your booked hotel in Nairobi

Day 2: Drive from Nairobi to Maasai Mara Game Reserve for game viewing

• Leaving Nairobi after breakfast, you’ll meet up with your traveling companions and head with your guide towards Kenya’s fertile highlands down the Rift Escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners of war during World War II
• Look for the charming chapel they built at the foot of the escarpment
• You’ll pass the impressive Longonot earth satellite station as you head across the Valley to Narok, and then travel across acres of wheat and barley, before you reach the Maasai Mara in time for lunch
• Following lunch and a siesta, there is an afternoon game drive returning to the lodge as the sun sets
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked lodge in Maasai Mara

Day 3: Full day game drive at Maasai Mara Game Reserve

• Have an early breakfast early in the morning the drive for a full day game drive at Maasai Mara
• The Masai Mara borders the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and is the same eco-system
• The landscape is mostly open Savannah grasslands and acacia scrubland
• Many times of the year you will see a large number of lion, hippo, crocodile and vultures – all of which prey on the weak and young migrating animals
• Other game to be found in the Masai Mara at any time of the year include: elephants, cheetahs, baboons, gazelles, giraffes, jackals, leopards, hyenas, water buffalo, ostriches and a large variety of antelope and birdlife
• Return in the evening to have dinner and overnight stay at your booked lodge in Maasai Mara

Day 4: Maasai Mara to Great Rift Valley then to Lake Nakuru National Park

• Leave the Maasai Mara after breakfast, travel across the ‘breadbasket’ of Kenya, where acres of wheat and barley litter the landscape as you head north to Narok, the district headquarters of this part of Maasai land
• We travel across the vast floor of the Rift Valley, keeping an eye out for herds of giraffe and gazelle as you head up the Mau Escarpment, before arriving at Lake Nakuru lodge for lunch
• The waters here are often colored shimmering flamingo pink, from thousands of the beautiful birds lining its shores
• After lunch, head into the park for game viewing then continue to Lake Nakuru
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked hotel/lodge in Lake Nakuru

Day 5: Drive to Amboseli Game Reserve for game viewing

• After breakfast depart for Amboseli and the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro
• Once in the park, proceed on an afternoon game drive enroute to your lodge, arriving in the early evening
• Amboseli is a place of stark contrast, the name meaning “salty dust” in Maasai
• Amboseli, despite its sometimes dry and dusty appearance, has an endless supply of water filtered through thousands of feet of volcanic rock from Mt. Kilimanjaro’s snow melt
• These underground streams converge into clear fresh water springs in the heart of the park
• The powder like dust is volcanic ash, which was thrown from Kilimanjaro millennia ago
• The main attraction of Amboseli is its vast herds of elephant within the park
• The bull elephants here have some of the largest tusks in Kenya
• Early morning and late afternoon photographic opportunities are incredible, with plentiful game and Mt. Kilimanjaro (the highest freestanding mountain in the world) providing an impressive and majestic backdrop
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked hotel/lodge in Amboseli

Day 6: Full day game drive at Amboseli Game Reserve

• Up early this morning with the hopes of seeing the magnificent snow-capped peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro
• After breakfast, head out on a full game drive searching for elephant, cheetah, Cape buffalo and the many other plains game that inhabit this area
• In the afternoon break for a while to have picnic lunch
• After lunch continue with an afternoon game drive until evening
• In the evening drive back to your booked hotel/lodge for dinner and overnight stay

Day 7: Drive from Amboseli to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive

• After breakfast, board your vehicles and head to the Tanzania border post
• Today’s drive will be rather long but rewarding
• Arrive in Arusha in good time for lunch
• Then head out across the Masai Steppe to the Great Rift Valley
• Your hotel is perched high on the escarpment overlooking the park below

Day 8: Lake Manyara /Olduvai Gorge / Serengeti National Park

• After breakfast, depart for a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park returning to the lodge for lunch
• Lake Manyara National Park is located 75 miles south west of Arusha
• More than two thirds of this small park (127 square miles) is covered by lake
• The park lies at the foot of the escarpment of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley at an altitude of 3,100 feet
• Lake Manyara National Park has five different vegetation zones including groundwater forest with giant fig and mahogany trees, marshlands and reedbeds, stretches of open grassland, acacia woodland, and, on the escarpment slopes, thorn bushes and baobabs
• The highlight of the park’s wildlife is the wonderful hippo population
• Elephant, giraffe, monkeys, lion and impala are also to be found
• Over 380 species of birds have been identified within the park
• Leaving Lake Manyara, the journey continues northwest across the stunning hilly countryside of Karatu and the highlands which is filled with wheat and coffee plantations, and then into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
• We go off the main road to travel to OLDUVAI GORGE, the site of the discovery of one of the oldest known human skulls
• From here lies the vast plains of the Serengeti, where you’ll hopefully start spotting game well before you enter into the park
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked hotel/lodge in Serengeti

Day 9: Full day game drive in Serengeti National Park

• Have an early breakfast at your hotel and leave for a full day game drive in Serengeti National Park
• The world famous Serengeti National Park, the largest in Tanzania, occupies about 14,763 square kilometers
• The name Serengeti means endless plains and is derived from the Maasai word ‘siringiti’
• You are now in the southern eco-system of the Mara plains
• This is the area of the world-famous migration
• However, as in the Mara, the Serengeti has year round resident game
• As in all ecosystems, the vegetation and types of animals you find are closely correlated
• The principal features of the park are the short and long grass open plains in the southeast, the acacia savannah in the central are, the hilly, more densely wooded central northern section and the extensive woodland and black clay plains, dominated by the central ranges of mountains in the western corridor
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked hotel/lodge in Serengeti

Day 10: Drive from Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive

• Depart after an early breakfast and drive back across the Serengeti plains and onto Ngorongoro with a picnic lunch
• Upon arrival, immediately descend into the crater for game viewing in this magnificent area
• Ngorongoro is one of the largest collapsed calderas in the world and home to elephant, black manned lion, rhino and beautiful pink flamingos
• After game viewing head back up the wall for dinner and overnight stay on the rim of Ngorongoro

Day 11: Drive from Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire for a game drive

• After breakfast, you depart Ngorongoro and drive to Mto Wa Mbu Village arriving in time for an excursion to the local village
• After lunch, experience the local culture – feel the heartbeat of an authentic African village with every step you take
• After the walk we gather at a private, local banana-leaf bar, for a one in a million African fruit tasting
• A wide variety of local fruits will be presented to you to taste and appreciate
• Following the excursion you continue to Tarangire National Park with a game drive enroute
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked lodge/hotel in Tarangire

Day 12: Full day game drive in Tarangire National Park

• Have a morning game drives in Tarangire National Park
• Following breakfast at the lodge, continue your explorations with your group with a game drive in the park that is the quintessence of Old Africa
• Tarangire has not only excellent wildlife but also features over 300 bird species!
• The intriguing atmosphere seems quite prehistoric with ancient baobab trees, scrub bush and outlines of strangely horned antelopes and tall giraffe
• This area has a very different and magical feel that makes it so unique – even without the wildlife, the visit is worthwhile
• Fewer tourists visit this park than all the other parks
• It is one of the best areas on the Tanzania northern circuit to see elephant
• The wildlife viewing is excellent, with many migratory animals returning in early summer to the only permanent water source in the area – the Tarangire River and its tributaries
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked lodge/hotel in Tarangire

Day 13: Drive from Tarangire to Arusha

• After breakfast early in the morning go for a game drive to explore Tarangire
• Continue with a game drive until afternoon
• Break for a while in the afternoon to have picnic lunch
• After lunch drive back to Arusha City
• Arrive in Arusha for a good time for dinner
• Have dinner and overnight stay at your booked hotel in Arusha