12 DAYS KENYA AND TANZANIA SAFARI ITINERARY

DAY 1. ARRIVAL DAY

Arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and transfer to the Ibis Style Hotel or a similar hotel. Check-in, relax, and get oriented with the help of your guide. We are able to organize a city tour of Nairobi in case you have a morning arrival and would like an activity to do for the day.

DAY 2 NAIROBI-LAKE NAIVASHA

Lake Naivasha You will start your trip to Lake Naivasha with a stopover at the Great Rift Valley viewpoint for photos. Next, head straight to Hell’s Gate National Park for a mini-safari. In the evening, go for an hour boat ride on Lake Naivasha.

Hell’s Gate National Park lies south of Lake Naivasha in Kenya, North West of Nairobi. Hell’s Gate National Park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It was established in 1984. Here is the only park where you can bike while seeing the wild animals, we will provide you with all the bikes and arrange for you to walk down the gorges. If you cannot bike, we are happy to have a car game drive and lots of scenery to see.

Rift valley was originally named the ‘Great Rift Valley by British Explorer John Walter Gregory, the Rift Valley is a geographic stretch extending 6000km across the Middle East and Africa from Jordan to Mozambique. The valley encapsulates tremendous changes in topographic diversity with its scarps and volcanoes, lakes, ancient granitic hills, flat desert landscapes, and coral reefs and islets. The astounding view, as you approach from Nairobi, Kenya is quite unbelievable. To show you just how expansive the rift is, the ground unexpectedly disappears from under you, extending thousands of kilometers in either direction. An excellent starter to the Kenyan Rift Valley, it may appear, the most amazing part of this experience is sinking deeper to explore the Lake System. We will stop at the viewpoint to learn more and take photos. Accommodation at Lake Naivasha Simba lodge.

DAY 3 LAKE NAIVASHA- LAKE NAKURU

Morning departure to Lake Nakuru National park for a special sighting of the rare black rhino (an endangered species), one of the big five game animals. After, enjoy a full-day game drive with a picnic lunch

The lake’s abundance of algae used to attract a vast quantity of flamingos that famously lined the shore. Other birds also flourish in the area, as do warthogs, baboons, and other large mammals. Eastern black rhinos and southern white rhinos have also been introduced.

Accommodation at Lake Nakuru lodge

DAY 4 LAKE NAKURU-MASAI MARA.

You will start the safari to Maasai Mara National Reserve. Lunch will be served on arrival at the camp. Arrival will be in the early afternoon for check-in. After getting settled, there will be a 2-hour evening sunset game drive in Maasai Mara from around 4 p.m. until 6.30 Pm.

Maasai Mara is one of the most famous and important wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lion, leopard, cheetah, and African bush elephant. It also hosts the Great Migration, which secured it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten Wonders of the World.

Accommodation at Mara fig tree or a similar hotel.

DAY5 MASAI MARA FULL DAY GAME DRIVE.

Full-day game drives all the way to the Mara River, the site of the great migration. On this day we cover as much of the park as possible. Few places have a higher concentration of wildlife than the Masai Mara, and sightings of four of the Big Five are almost a guarantee on any trip (although rhinos are harder to spot). The Mara is also one of the best reserves on the planet for seeing the three big cats: leopard, lion, and cheetah. It’s no wonder that the BBC TV show Big Cat Diaries is filmed on the reserve. Picnic lunch in the park we will provide an Evening visit to a Maasai village to see their culture. Dinner and an optional campfire.

An optional visit to Masai Village for a cultural tour can be arranged on this after the day’s tour – $20 per person. Also, an optional hot air balloon ride can be arranged this morning, then proceed with your game drive – $430 per person.

DAY 6 MASAI MARA –SERENGETI

6 am Eat early breakfast and then depart for Serengeti through the Isebania border. Arrive at the border at around lunchtime, and spend 30 minutes processing visas. Meet our Tanzanian driver. Have a picnic lunch and depart for Serengeti. Take an evening game drive en route to the lodge.

Serengeti national park is the reason you came to Africa. Charge your camera, grab your binoculars, and set out on safari. Your eagle-eyed driver will keep an eye out for wildlife – buffaloes, elephants, lions, wildebeests, zebras, and more. Tanzania’s Serengeti tends to be less crowded than some of Kenya’s reserves, so enjoy the scenery, the vast expanse of the grasslands, the play of light and shadow, and the up-close look at wild Africa.

Accommodation at Serengeti safari lodge or a similar one.

DAY 7 FULL-DAY GAME DRIVE.

Set out for the endless open plains and stunning skies of the Serengeti. A scenic 4-hour drive, full-day game drive together with late evening game drive.

Serengeti Hippo Pool Lots of hippo families stay in this stretch of pools bathing and fighting for space during the day.

DAY 8 NGORONGORO CRATER- MTO WA MBU

Enjoy a leisurely game drive and picnic lunch on your way out of the park today. Soak up final views of the animals and landscapes that make the national park such an incredible spot, before entering the Ngorongoro Conservation area. Your destination today is the rim of the crater about 3 hours away. Your campsite overlooks jagged volcanic peaks and rolling grasslands thousands of feet below.

Later, join the local community for a guided afternoon stroll around the farming areas, milling machines, and local homes before enjoying a traditional meal. Your campsite this evening is located in Mto wa Mbu.

Overnight at mto wa mbu

DAY 9 MARANGU.

Early morning breakfast and drive to marangu the foothills of MT Kilimanjaro. In the early evening there is a group meeting and kit inspection by an experienced Kilimanjaro climber in the early evening there is a group meeting and kit inspection by an experienced Kilimanjaro.

We will patiently wait for our permits to be issued while watching the hustle and bustle of operations as many crews prepare for the journey ahead Enjoy the beautiful rainforest scenery and windy trails while your guide tells you about the local flora and fauna and natural wildlife. At these lower elevations, the trail can be muddy and quite slippery. We highly recommend gaiters and trekking poles here.

DAY 10 MANDARA- HOROMBO HUTS.

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, we emerge from the rain forest and continue on an ascending path, through heathland, looking for giant lobelias and groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, to enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts late afternoon beneath the spectacular Kibo Summit viewpoint. Temperatures begin to drop.

NB If you want to climb to Uhuru peak you can extend your trip.

DAY 11 HOROMBO HUTS- ARUSHA/MOSHI

After breakfast and a heartfelt ceremony of appreciation and team bonding with your crew, it’s time to say goodbye. We continue the descent down stopping at the Mandara Huts. You return back to the Marangu Park Gate. As the weather is drastically warmer, the terrain is wet, muddy, and steep and we highly recommend Gaiters and trekking poles. From the gate, a vehicle will meet you to drive you back to your hotel in Moshi (about 45 minutes). Enjoy a long overdue hot shower, dinner, and celebrations!!

DAY 12 MOSHI- KENYA.

After breakfast, catch up with your flight at Moshi to Wilson airport where you will meet with our guide/driver to transfer you to Jomo Kenyatta international airport for your flight back home.

Your trip ends here.