After a 7:30 am pickup from your Nairobi hotel, we drive to Amboseli National Park to start your Kenyan safari. With ever-present views of Mount Kilimanjaro in neighbouring Tanzania, it’s one of Kenya’s best parks to see the safari animals including Amboseli’s famous big-tusked elephants.
Arrive mid-morning, and then the afternoon will be spent game-driving across the savannah scattered with beautiful yellow-barked acacia woodland. You will see the abundance of herbivores including wildebeest, Burchell’s zebra and Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelle, while large herds of buffalo and elephant roam across the vast dusty plains. Dinner will be served at your camp/lodge and you can reflect on your first day on African safari.
Amboseli has the constant backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro, and as the cloud cover breaks at dusk and dawn the dazzling glacier-capped peak is spectacularly revealed. After an early breakfast, we spend the day game-driving through Amboseli’s varied landscapes and hopefully find the big cats like lion and cheetah. Take a break from the vehicle for lunch at the viewpoint on Observation Hill, and then explore Amboseli’s marshlands and seasonal lakes fed by the melting snows of Kilimanjaro to see wallowing buffaloes and hippos and extraordinarily rich birdlife. After a rewarding day, you can share your exciting safari stories over dinner.
An easy drive back via Nairobi takes you to picturesque Lake Naivasha—a beautiful freshwater lake fringed by lush acacia woodland and open grassland in the Great Rift Valley. On the way, stop on the edge of the escarpment for tremendous views over the Rift Valley as far as the Masai Mara and arrive at Naivasha in time for a leisurely lunch at your lakeside lodge. In the afternoon, visit the towering cliffs and water-gouged gorges of Hells Gate National Park where you can go mountain-biking among the grazing herds of antelope or hike in the rocky crevices. Later take a pleasant boat ride to spot Naivasha’s many hippos and water birds, and alight on Crescent Island for a short walk to view the impressive numbers of pelicans, cormorants and fish eagles, and perhaps have the opportunity to stroll close to antelope, zebra and giraffe. Back at your lakeside lodge, look for vervet and black-and-white colobus monkeys in the tall acacia trees before dinner.
Depart from Lake Naivasha for the Masai Mara National Reserve, an enormous wildlife haven that is Kenya’s leading safari destination.
It is geographically part of the vast Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, and combined,they stage the spectacular annual wildebeest migration as the massive herds cross back and forwards over the Mara River to follow the new rains and fresh pastures. It is home to the Big Five, among numerous other interesting species of animals and birds, and your expert Kenyan guide will help you find them.
Arrive in time for lunch, then explore the Mara on an afternoon game drive, and in the evening, relax around the fire at our camp/lodge before dinner.
After an early breakfast and with packed lunches, a full day is spent exploring the reserve in search of the Big Five and other animals including antelope, cheetah, giraffe, hyena, warthog and jackal on the grassy plains and rocky kopjes, while in the many rivers and watercourses you may spot crocodiles and hippos. An optional hot air balloon safari can be arranged for US$425 per person, and it’s a wonderful experience to float over the plains and rivers in the dawn light watching the wildlife below.
This is a day to relax and enjoy the scenic beauty of the Masai Mara from the comfort of your camp/lodge. Spa treatments are available at most accommodation options for an extra cost, and visiting a Maasai village is another optional extra for US$20 per person. This is a wonderful introduction to the culture of Maasai warriors who have a deep and symbolic relationship with the lands and animals of the Mara. You’ll be greeted with traditional song and dance and invited to explore a Maasai home to further learn about their traditional way of life.
Included in this day of your Kenya safari is:
Our morning drive goes from the Masai Mara to the Isebania border with Tanzania where we swap from Kenyan to Tanzanian guides and vehicles and begin your Tanzanian safari.
Continue to the western gate of the Serengeti National Park—meaning ‘endless plains’ in the Maasai language, it is one of Africa’s largest and most celebrated wilderness areas and home to all the animals people expect to see on safari. There is the option to stop for a packed lunch on the shores of Lake Victoria and visit a fishing village, or head straight into the park for game-viewing on the way to your camp/lodge. Dinner is served and you can rest and prepare for the adventures of the next day on your first Tanzania safari.
Today go on morning/afternoon or full-day game-drives to explore the park’s varied and scenic landscapes from flat short grasslands to forested valleys following the river courses. The annual migration is the Serengeti’s most famous attraction, when an estimated two million hooved animals—mostly wildebeest and zebra—move in and out of Kenya’s Masai Mara following the rains.It’s also an excellent park to spot the big cats, especially families of cheetah that can be often seen around the granite outcrops known as kopjes, and many prides of lions, some of which have been fitted with radio-collars so that their movements may be tracked. Other predators include spotted hyena, jackal and bat-eared fox, while plains game is abundant. Back at your camp/lodge, where dinner will be served, you may catch a famous Serengeti sunset over the ‘endless plains’.
Depart the Serengeti with a picnic lunch, and drive into the neighbouring Ngorongoro Conservation Area—Tanzania’s highland region of plains, woodlands and forests that protects the 600-metre-deep Ngorongoro Crater, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the world’s largest caldera and was formed when a volcano erupted and collapsed on itself approximately two and a half million years ago. The well-fertilised volcanic soils create some of the most fertile and richest grazing grounds in Africa and it is often referred to as ‘the Garden of Eden’. From the crater rim we descend to the crater floor, which is a natural wildlife sanctuary attracting an array of wildlife from lion and leopard to elephant and rhino.Your expert Tanzania guide will show you every corner of the dramatic landscape where you will easily see all the major safari animals, and when we ascend back to the crater rim, you may catch a glimpse of a magnificent sunset before heading to our camp/lodge.
This morning proceed to the Tarangire National Park arriving in time for lunch at your safari lodge. Then on an afternoon game drive spot numerous species of wildlife which inhabit this small but beautiful park including large families of elephant, while lion and other predators are frequently seen. Zebra, giraffe, buffalo and wildebeest congregate at the Tarangire River—‘river of warthogs’—which is the primary source of fresh water for the animals. It boasts over 500 species of birds, including eagles, falcons and owls, and species endemic to Tanzania like the ashy starling and rufous-tailed weaver. The features of the park’s scenic hilly landscape include granite ridges, extensive green marshlands, and Tarangire’s famous giant baobab trees. The last dinner on your safari part of the tour will be on an open deck overlooking the African bush.
After another rewarding morning game drive in Tarangire, drive to Arusha town for lunch and then transfer to the airport for your afternoon flight to Zanzibar. Located in the Indian Ocean and with an all-year-round hot, sunny climate, this beautiful island is conducive to a beach holiday and is the perfect way to relax at the end of a wildlife safari. Upon arrival, you will be met by our local representative and transferred to your resort. You will meet the exceptionally friendly Swahili people, and at dinner, enjoy the delicious coastal cuisine which could be seafood combined with Zanzibar’s famous aromatic spices.
Enjoy Zanzibar’s palm-fringed white sandy beaches, crystal-clear turquoise warm sea, and coral reefs teeming with colourful marine life. Not forgetting the delicious Swahili cuisine and friendly people. The island’s dramatic history includes Arab sultans, Portuguese seafarers, European explorers and the slave trade; all of which have left their mark in the capital Stone Town, one of Africa’s best-preserved historical cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Admire the beautiful Arabic architecture and sultans’ palaces, and discover eclectic shops and markets in the labyrinth of narrow alleyways.
Enjoy another day relaxing on the beach, or explore Zanzibar on optional excursions. Half day trips include: a Swahili Cultural Tour, Spice Tour, Stone Town Tour, or a Spice Tour combined with a Swahili cooking lesson. Full day tours include: Dolphin Sandbank Picnic, Prison Island &Mangapwani Beach, Spice & Stone Town, Slave Market, or Spice Farm & Cultural Village. We can book tours in advance or arrange a reception at your accommodation upon check-in.
Enjoy a leisurely last breakfast in the Zanzibar sunshine and reflect on your exciting two week East African holiday before transferring to Zanzibar Airport for your flight back to Nairobi. On arrival you will be shown to the terminal for your departure flight back home.
Cost Per Person Sharing : EUROS 8,600
Zanzibar – The Z Hotel Zanzibar
