11 Days Mid-Range Kenya & Tanzania Wildlife Escape

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 Eka Hotel. 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 & Health Club. This combination of comfort should save to refresh you before we set off on our grand safari. Dinner and your overnight stay are at Nairobi Eka Hotel.

Depart for Lake Naivasha, a freshwater lake which is a popular tourist spot in Kenya for locals and foreigners alike. Arrive in time for lunch. The rest of the day is spent at leisure—the lodge we book at the lake offers beautiful natural spaces where you can see numerous bird species among the trees as well as spot some animals ranging from waterbucks to warthogs. You may also choose to book a one-hour lake boat safari at an extra cost during which you get to see some of the lake's wildlife such as hippos. You'll also enjoy the picturesque views of the lake and surrounding highland landscapes. Dinner and your overnight stay are at Lake Naivasha Country Club.

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 Sentrim Mara.

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 Sentrim Mara.

Have breakfast at the hotel, with a packed lunch heading off to the Isebania border. Today, we’ll drive from Kenya’s Masai Mara into Tanzania, spotting game along the way. On our arrival at the Isebania border, we will clear with the customs office and proceed to Lake Victoria, only two hours away from the border. Arrive at your lodge and have dinner and your overnight stay at Serenity on the Lake.

Have breakfast at the hotel then go for a morning Lake Victoria excursion—Africa’s largest freshwater lake and source of the ancient Nile. Being a fisherman is a tough life, with no guarantees of a good catch. We’ll have a chance to ask some questions and find out what life is like on the banks of this gigantic tropical lake, inhabited by crocodiles and hippos. We will also interact with the locals at the fishing village and make good friends with village kids. Visit a school, fish market, etc. Have lunch at Speke Bay Lodge. Later, drive into Serengeti for a game drive en route towards Osinon Camp. Have dinner and your overnight stay at the camp.

After breakfast at your camp, 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 that one can expect to see wildebeest, lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos, antelopes, many birds and other species. All meals and your accommodation are at your Osinon Camp.

Have breakfast at the camp, with a packed lunch, 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 our lodge, we’ll drive down into what was once, many aeons 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 but during our visit, we should see grey-crowned cranes, lappet-faced vultures, black-bellied and kori bustards, Fischer’s lovebird and Northern anteater, chat among many others. Later, we will drive to Eileen's Trees Inn.

On this day, you can opt to do Tarangire National Park or Lake Manyara National Park. Depending on the time of year, each of these parks offers different safari experiences. After breakfast you will drive to Tarangire National Park or Lake Manyara National Park. Along the way, you'll pass bustling Maasai villages and the vast, open plains that have become synonymous with images of Africa. Driving through the parks, you'll also have the opportunity to see lions, leopards, Cape buffalo, and a huge variety of antelopes. If you're particularly lucky, you might even see endangered animals such as the greater kudu or the fringe-eared oryx. Dinner and Overnight stay at Pazuri Inn in Arusha. At night you can opt to see Night life in Arusha.

We'll take our 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 heron. Have lunch at the lodge, in the afternoon, head off for another game drive. Dinner and your overnight stay are at Sentrim Lodge.

After a good night's sleep, this morning, it's departure time. Take your breakfast at the Lodge. Your safari vehicle will be taking you to Nairobi. Stop for a picnic lunch on the way, still, you'll have time to do some last-minute gift shopping on the way to Nairobi and at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.