13-Day Mid-Range Kenya and Tanzania Wildlife Safari

On your arrival and after immigration procedures at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by your safari guide and proceed to your accommodation in Nairobi Boma Inn. You'll take the rest of the day to relax and unwind. The hotel has air-conditioned rooms, a swimming pool, a patisserie, gelateria, a coffee shop and restaurants as well as spa and health club. This combination of comfort should serve to refresh you before you set off on your grand safari. Your overnight stay will be at Ole Sereni Hotel.

Have breakfast at the hotel then depart for Lake Nakuru. On the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park. You will enjoy the wide ecological diversity and varied habitats that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges. 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. As well as flamingos, there are a myriad other bird species that inhabit the lake and the area surrounding it, such as African fish eagle, Goliath heron, hamerkop, pied kingfisher and Verreaux eagle among others of their kind. Dinner and overnight stay at Buraha Zenoni Resort.

After an early breakfast, the safari now heads to Masai Mara. Arrive at your camp in Masai Mara for a leisurely lunch. Your afternoon game drive starts at 3.30 pm, allowing spotting of the amazing wildlife in the reserve ranging from the big cats such as lion, leopard and cheetah to rhino, elephant and wildebeest. Our driver-guide will try his best to show you not just the ''Big Five'' animals but the ''Big Nine'' as well. Return to your tented camp by 6:30 pm. Dinner and your overnight stay are at Rhino Camp.

Today you will be taken on two game drives, one in the morning and the other in the late afternoon after lunch or you may opt to go out for a full day of game viewing. Early mornings and late afternoons are considered the best time to spot animals at their most active. As your safari is private, your game drive timings are flexible and convenient. If travelling with children or if on a honeymoon, you'll perhaps want to lie in longer on some of the days. You may also choose to have a full-day game drive [one for the whole day] with a packed picnic lunch at no extra cost. Return in the evening for dinner and your overnight stay at Rhino Camp.

You will have breakfast at the Lodge, with a packed lunch heading off to the Isebania border. Today, you’ll drive from Kenya’s Masai Mara into Tanzania, spotting game along the way. On your arrival at the Isebania border, you will clear with the customs office and proceed to Serengeti National Park. Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some two million wildebeests the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebras and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelles join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. The Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa. You will see great herds of buffalos, smaller groups of elephants and giraffes, and hundreds upon hundreds of elands, topis, kongonis, impalas and Grant's gazelles. A picnic lunch will be provided. After stopping for your picnic lunch on a kopje (rock outcropping) in Serengeti, you will continue further into the park and go on a game drive.

After breakfast at your lodge, you will go for a full day of game drives around Central Serengeti. This opens onto the Serenora Valley, a vibrant wildlife area at the heart of the Serengeti. The valley is famous for its resident animal population where you can expect to see wildebeests, lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos, antelopes, many birds, and other species.

Early departure to southern Serengeti, game drive along the route. Today’s highlight is unknown as the animals don’t publish their schedule and what we see also depends on the season, but this area is where bushland meets grassland, a favorite spot for big cats looking for prey. Along the drive, you will be able to spot giraffes, zebras, and other animals. Prepare to be amazed when you catch your first glimpse of the endless plains of the Serengeti.

You will have breakfast at the lodge, with a packed lunch, and drive to Ngorongoro Crater for a wonderful game drive. The Ngorongoro Crater is just one of those places that have to be seen, words alone cannot do it justice. Leaving your lodge, you’ll drive down into what was once, many eons ago, the fiery heart of a huge volcano. Today this natural amphitheatre has a much more peaceful atmosphere as wildebeests, Coke’s hartebeests, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, and common zebras feed contentedly, or at least as contentedly as the ever-present lions and cheetahs will allow. However, the black rhinos here will be less concerned about these predators. The birdlife in the crater varies according to the seasons. Still, during your visit, you should see grey-crowned cranes, lappet-faced vultures, black-bellied and Kori bustards, Fischer’s lovebird and Northern anteater, and chat among many others.

After breakfast at your lodge with a packed lunch, you'll drive to Lake Manyara National Park. The Park has breathtaking scenery and is well famous for its lush acacia forest, giant figs and mahogany trees, as well as a growing population of baboons and blue monkeys. Permanent residents of this park also include giraffes, elephants, impalas and a huge number of buffaloes. The lake is also home to a large number of hippos. Some unique facts about this park include the tree-climbing lions, flamingos on the lake shore, as well as the Ground Hornbill and the Crested Eagle. The landscapes of Lake Manyara are something that cannot be described with words, and the game drives along the lake provide stunning photo opportunities of giraffes and buffaloes in the foreground and the lake background. During this day, some extra tours are possible, including a bike tour or a boat excursion.

After breakfast at the camp, you will begin your drive to Tarangire National Park. As you enter the park, you’ll be greeted by a landscape dominated by majestic baobabs rising out of the acacia parkland, forming a perfect backdrop for the large herds of African elephants wandering among them. Other mammals sharing this habitat range from lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, black-backed Jackals, Kirk’s dik-dik, dwarf and banded mongoose, impala, Beisa oryx, Steinbok and African hares. You should expect to see buffalos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests and waterbucks. The variety of birds you may see include Maasai ostrich, white-headed vulture, African scops owls and the endemic ashy starling. A picnic lunch will be saved at the designated picnic site.

Later, you will drive back to Moshi for dinner and an overnight stay at Weruweru River Lodge.

After breakfast at your hotel, you'll depart for Materuni Village. Upon arrival, you will register at the village office and your trip will begin. First, you will visit the waterfalls, which are around 40 minutes’ walk away. The views are truly breathtaking, and with some luck, you will see the summit of Kilimanjaro. The pool at the bottom of the waterfall is an inviting place for a refreshing swim so don ‘t forgets your swimwear!

After having enjoyed the scenery, you will return with your guide to Materuni village, where you will experience a traditional Chagga lunch. You also will have the opportunity to taste our local banana beer and a coffee experience afterwards. Here you will learn how coffee is cultivated, dried, roasted and further processed. You will be invited to help with the grinding of the coffee, traditionally accompanied by Chagga songs and dances, a fun way to immerse yourself in the local culture. You'll depart to AA Lodge Amboseli for dinner and an overnight stay.

After breakfast at the Lodge and with a packed lunch, you will start a full game drive at Amboseli National Park. A beautiful drive through the lush and green eastern and southern sides of Mount Kilimanjaro. You'll take your cue from the animals and rise up early today for morning game drives to catch a glimpse of predators before they sleep off the heat of the day. With 1,700 elephants in this park, it’s impossible not to see them on a game drive. There are more than 420 species of birds too, including 10 varieties of eagles, and 12 types of herons. Your dinner and overnight stay are at AA Lodge Amboseli.

After a good night's sleep, you'll have an optional early morning game drive in the park. You'll return for breakfast at the AA Lodge Amboseli, then it's departure time. Your safari vehicle will be taking you to Nairobi. You'll stop for a picnic lunch on the way, and have time to do some last-minute gift shopping on the way to Nairobi and at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport you will take flight to home.