Classic Kenya & Tanzania Safari
This 14 day safari by road and air sees the highlights of Kenya & Tanzania. After excursions in Nairobi, proceed on safari in search of Africa’s Big Five in Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve, the Aberdares, Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara before taking the short flight to Tanzania for a night in Arusha followed by Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tour includes comfortable lodges and transport by 4×4 safari vehicles. Operates weekly starting in Nairobi on a Friday.
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The tour starts with a night in Nairobi, at the Tribe Hotel on bed & breakfast.
The next morning we set off for the Samburu National Reserve. This offers a breathtaking sun baked landscape surrounded by mountains – to the west, the sheer sided slopes of majestic Ol Olokwe Mountain form a perfect back drop to any photograph. Animals commonly seen are elephants, lions, cheetahs, grevy zebras, reticulated giraffes, gerenuks, buffalos, oryx, grants gazelles, dikdiks and waterbucks. There are over 350 varieties of birds. These include the famous somali ostriches (distinguished by their unique purple / blue legs during mating season), kingfishers, humming birds, eagles, guinea fowls and vultures. The reserve is also home of the Samburu tribe, cousins of the Maasai, who share the same nomadic, cattle-herding existence and a strict adherence to their age-old rites and customs.
The tour continues to the Aberdare National Park – an area of 767 Km2 covering the higher areas of the Aberdare Mountain Ranges of Central Kenya. The topography is quite diverse with deep ravines that cut through the forested eastern and western slopes. Animals easily observed in the park include; the black rhino, leopard, baboon, black and white colobus monkey and sykes monkey. Rare sightings include those of lions, the golden cat and the bongo- an elusive forest antelope that lives in the bamboo forest. Animals like the eland are spotted and melanistic serval cats can be found higher up in the moorlands. Bird viewing is rewarding, with over 250 species of birds in the park, including the Jackson’s francolin, sparry hawk, goshawks, eagles, sunbirds and plovers. On this safari, the animals are viewed from the Ark Lodge which overlooks a floodlit waterhole visited by a variety of wildlife species.
We then move on to Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru was crowned a national park in the sixties and – in addition to its attractive lakeland scenery – it offers opportunities to see lion, leopard, black rhino, hippos, giraffe, reedbuck, waterbuck, hundreds of species of bird and much more.
Continue to the Masai Mara National Game Reserve – a magnificent landscape of open plains bisected by the Mara River and its tributaries, and punctuated by marshes and forests. This reserve supports the highest density of game to be seen anywhere considering its size. During the seasonal migrations, the reserve is home to up to a million wildebeest and an equally impressive number of zebra that move into the area from the neighbouring Serengeti National Park, in Tanzania. The reserve is home to all the “Big Five” and it is also possible to observe; baboon, eland, ostrich, bat-eared fox, jackal, and the rivers abound with hippos and crocodiles.
Travel back to Nairobi and take the afternoon flight to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania where you will be met and transferred to Arusha Coffee Lodge for dinner and overnight.
The following day the itinerary takes us to the stunning Lake Manyara National Park with its vast soda lake and wonderful scenery of the Great Rift Valley. This terrain is so diverse that its mammal and bird lists are most impressive. From the famous tree climbing lions, hippos, elephants, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, monkeys, the elusive leopard, monitor lizards, pythons, to the flamingos and other birds all attracted to the area. Large areas of ground water forest with giant fig and mahogany trees alternate with acacia woodland and open spaces make this a photographers paradise. As many as 380 bird species have been recorded in the park.
We then continue to the Serengeti National Park in search of Africa’s “Big Five” safari species.
This is the largest and best known of all the Tanzania National Parks covering an area of 14,500 sq km (5,600 sq miles). Most of the Serengeti is vast open plains with lofty rocky outcrops giving character to the landscape. There are also acacia and savannah woodland and scrub, forested and well-treed rivers, and the occasional swamp and small lake. The granite outcrops formed many millions of years ago and through the passage of time have become exposed and broken to form the rocky outcrops.
The tour then heads for the unique Ngorongoro Conservation Area – a UNESCO World Heritage area with the opportunity for great game-viewing in the Crater. Spanning roughly 8,300 sq kms (3,192 sq miles), the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a perfect microcosm of East Africa: it combines spectacular scenery and valuable archeological sites with mountains, forests, grassland plains, extinct volcanoes and a staggering profusion of wildlife.
The itinerary then returns to Kilimanjaro for the flight back to Nairobi.
LENGTH
13 NIGHTS / 14 DAYS
BEST MONTHS TO VISIT
ALL YEAR
FROM
US$6,690
Itinerary in Detail
DAY BY DAY
Tour Experiences
Day 1
Meet and greet at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. After clearance with customs, transfer (minivan) to The Tribe Hotel (or Trademark Hotel in a Suite) for check in. Time at leisure. Overnight on bed and breakfast.
Day 2
After breakfast, check out of the hotel and board the 4×4 safari vehicle to drive north to Samburu National Reserve, arrive for check in and lunch at Samburu Sopa Lodge. After relaxation, proceed on an afternoon game drive in the reserve returning later for dinner and overnight.
Day 3
Full day in Samburu National Reserve with early morning, mid morning and afternoon game drives in 4×4 pop-up roof safari vehicle. All meals and overnight at Samburu Sopa Lodge.
Day 4
After breakfast, check out and drive by 4×4 pop-up roof safari vehicle towards the Aberdare National Park arriving at Aberdare Country Club for lunch. Later in the afternoon you will be transferred into the Aberdare National Park to stay at The Ark Tree Lodge where you will spend the late afternoon and evening observing wildlife from the lodge as the animals come to the nearby saltlick and waterhole in front of the lodge. The waterhole is floodlit after dark and some of the species which may be seen are elephant, black rhino, Cape buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck and warthog. (Note: this is a “Tree Lodge” where the wildlife is viewed at the waterhole from the lodge and not while on a game drive) Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Day 5
After a cup of tea or coffee check out of the Tree Lodge and board the transfer vehicle to the Aberdare Country Club for breakfast after which our driver will assist you with collecting the rest of your luggage. Continue by the 4×4 pop-up roof safari vehicle down the Great Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park with an en route game drive, arriving at Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge for check in and lunch. After relaxation, proceed on an afternoon game drive in the park returning later for dinner and overnight.
Day 6
After breakfast, check out and drive Southwest in the 4×4 pop-up roof safari vehicle to Masai Mara National Game Reserve arriving for check in and lunch at Keekorok Lodge. After relaxation, proceed on an afternoon game drive returning later for dinner and overnight.
Day 7
Full day in Masai Mara National Game Reserve with early morning, mid morning and afternoon game drives in 4×4 pop-up roof safari vehicle. All meals and overnight at Keekorok Lodge.
Day 8
After breakfast, check out and drive back to Nairobi in 4×4 pop-up roof safari vehicle. Drop off at Wilson airport for the 12.40h flight to Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro airport (arrives approx 13.35h). Met on arrival to transfer to Arusha Coffee Lodge for dinner and overnight in a Plantation Room. (Lunch not included on this day but can be purchased at Wilson).
Day 9
After breakfast you’ll be met at the hotel by your expert driver-guide with a private 4×4 safari vehicle. Take a short tour of the town and have lunch. Later drive to Lake Manyara. Dinner and overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.
Day 10
Enjoy a morning game drive in Lake Manyara National Park whose inhabitants include hippos, monkeys, tree climbing lions, flamingos and other varieties of birdlife. Lunch at the lodge. Then, drive to Serengeti National Park. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge.
Day 11
Enjoy morning and afternoon game drives in the endless plains of the Serengeti for a chance to see the great herds of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles or a pride of lions lounging in the shade. Meals and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge.
Day 12
Depart for a morning game drive in the Serengeti National Park. Lunch at the lodge. After lunch drive to Olduvai Gorge, site of Louis and Mary Leakey’s renowned archaeological discoveries. Their findings include some of man’s earliest known ancestral remains. Continue driving to Ngorongoro Conservation Area for dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.
Day 13
Today you will descend 2000 feet (over 600 metres) to the floor of the crater for a day crater tour with picnic lunches. Explore the forest areas that are inhabited by monkeys and elephants, the lake area, where you may see the flamingos and the open savannah where the lions hunt for food. Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.
Day 14
After breakfast, drive back to Kilimanjaro airport to check-in for the 13.40h flight back to Nairobi Wilson airport (arrives approx 14.45h) from where you will be met and transferred across to the international airport for your onward flight.
Optional: from Kilimanjaro you could continue your adventure by adding a beach-extension to the Spice Island of Zanzibar. We can arrange flights and a choice of hotels (see here for details).
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Choose a Safari Specialist in your time zone and start planning your tailor-made safari to Tanzania.
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Choose a Safari Specialist in your time zone and start planning your tailor-made safari to Kenya.
