Overview
Day by day
Price
Kenya & Tanzania combined safaris are the definitive East African journey. Travelers who only have one Africa trip in their lives consistently choose the combination over either country alone, because it delivers both sides of the great wildebeest migration (the Mara from July to October, the Serengeti from January to March), both flagship national park systems, and the cultural depth of two countries with very different identities — cosmopolitan Nairobi vs Arusha's coffee-country calm; the open Maasai Mara vs the endless Serengeti; the rhinos of Lake Nakuru vs the volcanic spectacle of the Ngorongoro Crater. Our combined catalog covers everything from a 10-day budget camping itinerary that crosses the border at Isebania to a 15-day grand lodge safari with Sweetwater's chimpanzees, two days in the Mara, two in the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and four nights on Zanzibar to finish. Cross-border transfers are seamless (we handle immigration assistance), and the same trip can be flown between countries on scheduled bush flights for travelers who want to skip the road days. The most rewarding way to do East Africa.
- You visit
- Nairobi(Start) NairobiMasai MaraSerengetiNgorongoroTarangire Nairobi(End)
- Highlights
- Wildlife safarisBirding toursGreat migrationCultural experience
- Vehicle used
Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi Kenya
Welcome to Kenya. Your driver-guide meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with an Adventure Family Holiday Safaris name board and transfers you to your Nairobi hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. In the evening, your guide returns for a briefing on the safari ahead. Welcome dinner and overnight in Nairobi.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 2: Nairobi - Masai Mara
A long morning game drive at Nakuru, then the four-hour transfer south through Masai country to the Masai Mara National Reserve. After lunch at your camp, an afternoon Mara game drive among Africa's densest concentration of big cats. From July to October, the wildebeest migration is on these plains. Dinner around the campfire and overnight.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3: Masai Mara - Full Day
A full Mara day with morning and afternoon game drives — leopards in the riverine forest, lion prides on the open savanna, elephant herds at the Mara River, and (in season) wildebeest crossings of the Mara River with crocodiles waiting below. Optional sunrise hot-air balloon safari and bush breakfast.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: Masai Maria - Full Day
A full Mara day with morning and afternoon game drives — leopards in the riverine forest, lion prides on the open savanna, elephant herds at the Mara River, and (in season) wildebeest crossings of the Mara River with crocodiles waiting below. Optional sunrise hot-air balloon safari and bush breakfast.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Masai Mara - Serengeti via Isebania
An early breakfast and morning game drive in the Mara, then transfer to the Tanzania border at Isebania (or by scheduled bush flight if upgrading). Border formalities take about an hour; your Tanzania driver-guide meets you on the far side. Continue to a northern Serengeti camp for the late afternoon game drive — same migration, different country. Dinner and overnight on the Serengeti side.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: Serengeti Full Day
After breakfast and a morning Serengeti game drive en route, climb back up the escarpment to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Lunch at your lodge perched on the crater rim, with vertiginous views into the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera — 19 kilometers wide, 600 meters deep. Afternoon at leisure to enjoy the lodge facilities and acclimatize to the cooler high-altitude air. Optional walking tour to a Masai village inside the conservation area — uniquely, the Masai still live and graze cattle within Ngorongoro alongside the wildlife. Sundowners on the rim as the crater fills with mist below you. Dinner and overnight at your crater rim lodge — the night cold and crisp at 2,400 meters elevation.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7: Serengeti - Ngorongoro
After breakfast and a morning Serengeti game drive en route, climb back up the escarpment to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Lunch at your lodge perched on the crater rim, with vertiginous views into the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera — 19 kilometers wide, 600 meters deep. Afternoon at leisure to enjoy the lodge facilities and acclimatize to the cooler high-altitude air. Optional walking tour to a Masai village inside the conservation area — uniquely, the Masai still live and graze cattle within Ngorongoro alongside the wildlife. Sundowners on the rim as the crater fills with mist below you. Dinner and overnight at your crater rim lodge — the night cold and crisp at 2,400 meters elevation.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8: Ngorongoro - Lake Manyara
A pre-dawn breakfast and an early descent into the Ngorongoro Crater — Africa's Eden. The crater floor supports one of the highest concentrations of large mammals on Earth: lion prides, the densest population of spotted hyena anywhere, an estimated 30 black rhino, vast herds of wildebeest and zebra, hippo pools, flamingos on Lake Magadi, eland, gazelle, and Cape buffalo. The crater is a self-contained ecosystem and the wildlife rarely leaves. Spend the entire day on game drive, with a picnic lunch at the Ngoitokitok Springs hippo pool. Late afternoon, climb back up the crater wall to your lodge for dinner. For most travelers, the crater day is the single most memorable of any Tanzania safari.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lake Manyara Safari Lodge
Day 9: Lake Manyara - Tarangire
An early breakfast precedes a final morning game drive in Tarangire when the elephant herds are at the river. Mid-morning, depart for the short drive northwest to Lake Manyara National Park. After lunch at your Manyara lodge perched on the rim of the Rift Valley escarpment, descend into the park for an afternoon game drive. Manyara is small — 330 square kilometers — but extraordinarily diverse: groundwater forest of giant fig and mahogany, acacia woodland, open floodplain, alkaline lake. Look for the famous tree-climbing lions draped in the limbs of acacia, hippo pods at the lake edge, large troops of olive baboons, and over 400 bird species including pink flamingos and yellow-billed storks. Dinner with sunset views over the lake.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10: Tarangire - Arusha - JRO
An optional morning game drive on the crater rim or Lake Manyara if time permits, then descend to Karatu for a coffee-plantation visit en route. Continue across the Manyara escarpment and back to Arusha, arriving mid-afternoon. Drop-off at your Arusha hotel, Kilimanjaro International for international flights, or transfer onward to a Zanzibar flight. Hot lunch en route. End of safari — and we hope the start of a long love affair with Tanzania.
Breakfast, Lunch
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