12 Day Luxury Kenya & Tanzania Safari

Day 1: Nairobi Arrival – Transfer to the Nairobi Serena Hotel

Arrive in Nairobi, where you are met and transferred to Nairobi Serena Hotel. This premium city hotel offers a laid-back, comfortable start or end to any safari adventure. It has a convenient location overlooking Central Park and its various facilities mean that you don’t even have to leave the hotel during your stay.

The in-house restaurants and bars serve exquisite regional and international specialties, and leisure options include a swimming pool and a gym.

Overnight Accommodation: Nairobi Serena Hotel
Meal Plan: {Bed & Breakfast}

Day 2: Nairobi – Drive to Amboseli National Park

Drive to Amboseli National Park, known for its thriving big-game population, especially elephants, more than 1,000 of which live in the park. From a distance, take in views of the highest mountain in Africa, the snowcapped Mount Kilimanjaro, with its impressive Uhuru Peak soaring to 19,341 feet.

Arrive at your lodge set beneath acacia trees in the shadow of Kilimanjaro. After lunch, explore the acacia woodland, freshwater swamps, scrub brush and open plains in search of wildlife. Part of the park is composed of a dried-up lake bed, where mirages rise from the shimmering heat. This evening, share in a special welcome dinner with your fellow guests.

Overnight Option:  Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 3: Amboseli National Park

Set out on early morning and afternoon game drives, crisscrossing the landscape in search of the park’s large herds of elephants, as well as zebras and wildebeests, along the salt pan trails.

Prepare for predator sightings, as opportunistic animals begin roaming the plains in search of prey. Return to your lodge for dinner followed by a relaxing evening under African skies.

Overnight Option:  Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 4: Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast we transfer to Namanga crossing the border into Tanzania, continue by road to stop for lunch in Arusha. Then, continue to Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, located in a picturesque spot above the Great Rift Valley.

On arrival, settle in, freshen up and relax a bit before venturing to a nearby escarpment for stunning views of the valley below. Here, enjoy a refreshing Scenic Sundowner as the equatorial sun slips toward the horizon. This evening, gather with fellow guests for a hearty dinner.

Overnight Option:  Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 5: Lake Manyara – Drive to the Ngorongoro Crater

Set out this morning on a game drive in Lake Manyara in search of nonchalant baboons; dik-diks, which forage for food beneath acacia trees; and large herds of buffalo, wildebeests and zebras, which gather on the grassy, sun-drenched plains.

Along a narrow belt of acacia woodland, you may even spot the region’s storied tree-climbing lions, which ascend branches for a cool breeze. After a farm-fresh lunch, travel to the Ngorongoro Crater, ascending its outer wall through dense vegetation.

Ngorongoro is the largest unbroken ancient caldera in the world and a likely place to view lions, elephants, hyenas and gazelles. This afternoon, participate in a Chef’s Table demonstration in the hotel kitchen, where you prepare and sample local dishes.

Overnight Option: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater

This morning, descend into the crater, arriving ahead of most visitors — thanks to the ideal location of your accommodations on the crater’s rim — to view the resident wildlife at its most active time of day.

The prairies of this “Lost World” are great spots for watching buffalo and elephants as well as the countless other species that roam the crater’s 100-square-mile floor. You may even sight flamingos (when in season) or the rare black rhino. Following lunch, visit a Maasai village to gain a better understanding of the nomadic cattle-herders’ daily life and culture.

Overnight Option: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 7: Ngorongoro – Drive to Serengeti National Park

Drive to vast, wildlife-rich Serengeti National Park and through its spectacular mix of savanna grassland and volcanic hills, stopping en-route for a privately guided tour of Olduvai Gorge, one of the key sources of prehuman hominid fossils. Renowned paleontologists Mary and Louis Leakey made many notable finds here, including “Nutcracker Man,” who lived approximately 1.75 million years ago.

Visit the on-site museum, take in views from the lookout point and examine the excavations, which revealed 3.7-million-year-old footprints and the 1.8-million-year-old skull of a human. Continue to your lodge, which is framed by commanding views of this land of lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, giraffes and topi.

The park also serves as a setting for the Great Migration when it passes through each year. Enjoy your rondavel room with private balcony and unique decor styled to showcase cultural heritage and traditional art.

Overnight Option: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 8: Serengeti National Park

Today, revel in true safari country, as you Ride Like a Local, searching for the Big Five (lions, leopards, Cape buffalo, elephants and rhinos), along with giraffes, gazelles and zebras. Along the rivers, plains and rocky outcroppings, you may also spot some of the Serengeti’s more diminutive denizens, such as leopard tortoises and rhinoceros beetles.

Overnight Option: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 9: Masai Mara National Reserve

Fly to the vast Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya’s finest wildlife spectacle, offering excellent game viewing year-round. The unending landscape hosts some 450 bird species, 95 animal species and all of the great predators, including the country’s largest lion population.

After familiarizing yourself with your luxurious tented accommodations, ideally situated at the confluence of the Mara’s four game-viewing regions, drive through the famed reserve.

Overnight Option: Mara Intrepids Camp
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 10: Masai Mara National Reserve

Explore a region bestowed with over 500 square miles of savannas, woodlands and tree-fringed rivers on morning and afternoon game drives. You may observe crocodiles basking in the sun, see ever-alert hippos wallowing in muddy water and catch the antics of mischievous monkeys overhead.

Watch, too, as African elephants rumble along the forest edge and giraffes snatch leaves from branches high above.

Overnight Option: Mara Intrepids Camp
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 11: Masai Mara National Reserve

Venture forth on a morning game drive. After lunch, enjoy one of these Design Your Day activities:
* Set Out on a Guided Bird Walk for the opportunity to spot some of the nearly 500 species of birds in the region.
* Make Beads with the Maasai, learning the craft of beading from tribal members and creating your own jewelry.
* Throw the Rungu with Maasai Warriors, testing your skills with their traditional wooden hunting club.

Then, go on a late-afternoon game drive for a final look at the Mara’s treasures. Later, enjoy a Scenic Sundowner, sipping traditional cocktails while marveling at the incredible open plains just before dusk — a relaxing prelude to a memorable farewell dinner with your fellow guests.

Overnight Option: Mara Intrepids Camp
Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 12: Masai Mara – Fly to Nairobi – Depart

Return to Nairobi. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure in a reserved day-room before your international departure flight home.

Overnight Option: Nairobi Serena Hotel (dayroom)
Meal Plan: {Breakfast}