12 days Kenya and Tanzania safari
12 days Kenya and Tanzania safari takes you the most visited in Kenya and Tanzania. The safari starts in Kenya and ends in Arusha in Tanzania. This safari offers you the spotting of the wildebeest migration, various animal species including the big five mammals, many beautiful and colorful bird species, exploring Ngorongoro crater and among many others. Consider this 12 days Kenya and Tanzania safari you will have unforgettable safari memories.
Day 1: Transfer to Masai Mara Game Reserve from Nairobi
Leaving Nairobi early morning, we travel along the Great Rift Valley, taking in the scenery en route to our booked accommodation in Masai Mara National Reserve. After lunch at our camp or lodge, we set off on a game drive in the world-famous game reserve. This is one of the best game-viewing destinations in the world, considered the heartland of authentic African safaris. Returning to our accommodation, we have dinner and relax after our first game drive in Kenya, East Africa.
Our accommodation options for this safari depend on your package type preference.
Accommodation: Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Day 2-3: Full Day Following the Migration – Optional Maasai Community Visit
The next 6 to 10 hours are spent game viewing in Kenya’s leading Masai Mara National Reserve. You will embark on two game drives in the Masai Mara National Reserve and Naboisho Conservancy following the Migration.
Morning game drive and the afternoon game drive with organized bush breakfast in search of the big five and other wildlife species to include: Masai giraffe, baboons, warthogs, Wildebeest, buffaloes, zebras, jackals, spotted hyenas, topis, impala, Hartebeests, nat eared foxes, the crocodiles and hippopotamus of the Mara and Talek Rivers.
Should your planned time to visit be in the months (July-Sept), you should brace yourselves to witness the thrilling Great Wildebeest Migration as it happens in the Mara.
This natural movement of over 4 million grazers from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to Masai Mara National Reserve is the sole reason why many visitors opt to come to Masai Mara National Reserve at this time of the year.
To Note:
There is an optional cultural visit to the Maasai tribe community within the park; this visit grants you a chance to learn about the Maasai culture, customs, ways of living and their exercising cultural dance.
After the amazing full-day game-viewing experience, we transfer back to lodge/Camp for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4: Morning game drive and cultural tours.
On the fourth day of the safari, wake up and be served with hearty breakfast, you will meet your safari driver and explore the remaining parts of the reserve while in the safari vehicle through admiring the beautiful landscape of the reserve and spotting the wildlife. After the game drive you will be transferred to the lodge for lunch. After lunch you will embark on the cultural tours to the Maasai village or Loita hills where you are going to meet the local Maasai people and interact with them, enjoy their music and many others after the experience you will embark to your lodge for dinner, relaxation and overnight stay.
Day 5: Transfer to Serengeti National Park.
After breakfast, you will check out of the lodge and embark on a journey to Serengeti National Park through the Isebania Border.
At the border, you will change vehicles to Tanzania Vehicle and Tanzania safari guide and continue to Serengeti National Park with en-route lunch.
Serengeti National Park is one of the leading safari destinations in Africa, seen as the original home of the traditional African safari, along with Masai Mara. Forming part of the same ecosystem as Mara, the Serengeti Plains also offer the quintessential African savannah setting, only more vast than the Kenyan counterpart, at 14 763 km².
With en-route game drive, head to the lodge to have dinner at your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Day 6 and 7: Full Day Serengeti National Park.
Day 6 and 7 is set aside for exploring the legendary Serengeti National Park on game drives. This massive wildlife reserve is famous for the same annual migration as Masai Mara, whereby over a million herbivores move south from the northern to the southern plains of Serengeti, in the short rainy season (October and November), returning north after the long rainy season (April to June). Serengeti Park offers superb wildlife viewing year-round, so we should see plenty of plains game and predators roaming the grasslands.
At the end of the day, we transfer to our Serengeti accommodation in Central Serengeti for dinner and another
Day 8: Central Serengeti to Ngorongoro via Olduvai Gorge
This morning we embark on an early morning game drive in Serengeti National Park, before having breakfast back at the lodge. Then we make our way to Olduvai Gorge, a deep ravine in the East African Rift Valley. En route we stop for a picnic lunch and enjoy game viewing. The gorge features one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites, hosting some of the earliest fossils of our humanoid ancestors. We visit the Olduvai Gorge Museum to see the excavated remains of our ancestors, with Homo erectus remains that date as far back as 1.2 million years ago.
From Olduvai, we continue to our accommodation in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where we have dinner and spend the night.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Day 9: Ngorongoro Crater.
On day seven we enjoy breakfast early in the morning and dip some 600m down into the crater for an action-packed day of game viewing in this wildlife paradise. Our 4×4 game drive takes us through the diverse habitats of the crater floor, where we encounter a variety of wild animals.
While in the crater we have a picnic lunch. The Ngorongoro Crater is renowned for its high concentration of animals, with most wildlife species represented here. Due to the high density of animal populations, we are likely to see an excellent array of animals in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Ascending the crater walls after our game viewing adventure, we return to our accommodation for dinner and our last overnight stay.
Day 10: Walking safari and game drives.
On the 10th day of the safari, wake up early in the morning and, meet your safari guide and go for a massive walking safari with your guide in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with your packed lunches. During the walking safari you will encounter the incredible animal species with the company of armed ranger. You will enjoy a sumptuous breakfast in the scenic environment. After you will proceed for the game drives to spot the animal species that you did not encounter the previous game drives. After you will proceed for the amazing picnic from where you shall get relaxed as you watch the wildlife roam around, enjoy your packed lunch in the wonderful scenic area. After you will be returned back to lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 11: Ngorongoro to Arusha.
On 11th day of the safari, morning starts with a leisurely breakfast before we travel to Arusha. We take packed lunches along with us from the lodge to enjoy en route. Arriving in Arusha by midday, you have the option of with a fascinating location inside a fortified German compound, the Old Bomas Museum is Arusha’s top destination for natural history. Check out displays on human evolution and Tanzanian fossils, along with taxidermy, images of native plants, and information about the country’s magnificent animals. The Old Bomas Museum sometimes called the Natural History Museum is included on some guided tours of Arusha. After you check out wings dedicated to natural history, visit a section that explores Tanzania’s time under German colonial rule. After you will be transferred for dinner, and relaxation at your lodge.
Day 12: Departure.
On the final day of the safari, you will enjoy your breakfast check out from your lodge and meet your safari guide and he will transfer you to the airport for you flight back to your home, this will make your safari come to end.
Safari includes
All-day game drives as per sample itinerary
Hotel/lodge accommodation for the duration of the safari
Private 4×4 safari land cruiser with a roof hatch
Professional English speaking safari guide/driver
All national park fees
All meals on the safari as indicated
All game viewing activities specified
Kenya and Tanzania VAT on tourism activities and park fees
Concession and Crater fees
Drinking water in the safari vehicle
Safari excludes
Flights and visas
Hotel accommodation before/after the safari
Travel insurance
Extra activities not on the itinerary
Personal expenses like laundry, beverages, etc.
Tips and gratuities [Tipping guide: minimum 15$ per person per day for your safari guide, 20$ or more for your lodge of stay, 10-15$ for your activity guides]
