$5,528 to $6,429 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Nairobi to Amboseli National Park
Nairobi to Amboseli National Park
Your driver-guide meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and the safari begins immediately — a 200km, four-to-five-hour drive south toward the mountain that gives this circuit its name.
You'll reach camp in time for lunch, then head straight into your first game drive: acacia woodland, freshwater swamp and open plain, with Kilimanjaro presiding over all of it.
Watch for elephant, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and hippo as the light turns gold and you return to camp at sunset.
Prefer to ease in first? Arrive a day early and spend it in Nairobi — the Giraffe Centre, David Sheldrick's orphaned-elephant nursery, a game drive in Nairobi National Park, and lunch at the Carnivore or Tamarind Brasserie are all easy additions.
Stay: Amboseli Sopa Lodge — mid-range, just outside the park boundary
Best months: June–October and January–February.
- Main Destination:
- Amboseli National Park (Kenya)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Amboseli Sopa Lodge
Wildlife in Amboseli NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Amboseli National Park in Full
Amboseli National Park in Full
A full day inside 392 square kilometres of swamp, marsh and plain, fed year-round by underground channels off Kilimanjaro's glaciers — which is why Amboseli holds some of the densest elephant populations in Africa regardless of season.
You'll carry a packed lunch into the park, with the option to start before dawn for the golden hour when predators are most active. Midday is yours to slow down at the lodge; a second drive at 4 pm chases the last light before you return for dinner under the mountain.
Wildlife: Elephant, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest in abundance; giraffe, hippo, cheetah and gazelle regularly seen.
- Main Destination:
- Amboseli National Park (Kenya)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Amboseli Sopa Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Amboseli to Lake Naivasha, via the Great Rift Valley
Amboseli to Lake Naivasha, via the Great Rift Valley
A six-hour drive north gives you two of Kenya's classic stops: lunch at the Carnivore or Tamarind, then the Great Rift Valley viewpoint, where the escarpment falls away toward Mt Longonot and Mt Suswa in one of the most photographed panoramas in East Africa.
You arrive at Lake Naivasha in the late afternoon — a freshwater lake ringed by acacia, home to resident giraffe, hippo and well over 400 recorded bird species — with time to settle in poolside before dinner.
Stay: Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort — lakeside, mid-range.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Naivasha (Naivasha, Kenya)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Hell's Gate, Crescent Island and Lake Nakuru
Hell's Gate, Crescent Island and Lake Nakuru
Morning in Hell's Gate National Park — one of the few reserves in Kenya you can explore on foot or by bicycle, weaving between towering red cliffs and geothermal vents that give the park its dramatic, otherworldly skyline.
From there, an optional boat crossing to Crescent Island Game Sanctuary, where giraffe and antelope graze unfenced and close enough for a photograph without a long lens. After lunch, continue to Lake Nakuru National Park for an afternoon game drive through the park most famous for its rhino density and, in the right season, its flamingo-lined shoreline.
Stay: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge — luxury, inside the park
Wildlife: White and black rhino, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, hippo.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan), Nature hikes/walks & Boat trip
- Accommodation:
- Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge
Wildlife in Lake Nakuru NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Into the Masai Mara National Reserve
Into the Masai Mara National Reserve
Four to five hours across the Rift Valley floor bring you into the reserve most safari-goers picture when they close their eyes: 1,500 square kilometres of rolling savannah and riverine forest holding the highest concentration of big cats in Kenya.
You'll be on your first game drive within hours of arrival, searching the golden grass for lion, leopard and cheetah alongside the elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest that make the Mara feel perpetually alive. Bring binoculars — over 500 bird species have been recorded here.
Stay: Mara Sopa Lodge— mid-range lodge, inside the reserve.
- Main Destination:
- Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Masai Mara Sopa Lodge
Wildlife in Masai Mara NR
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Masai Mara Game Reserve discovery
Masai Mara Game Reserve discovery
Nothing on the itinerary but the Mara itself. A full-day game drive across grassland and hill country, lunch as a picnic box beneath a flat-topped acacia while herds graze in the distance, and the chance — for those who want it — to add an optional sunrise hot air balloon safari, drifting silently above the plains before touching down to a bush breakfast laid out in the grass. Currently 20% off per person for bookings confirmed before 30 June 2027 — ask your safari architect to lock in a slot.
- Main Destination:
- Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Masai Mara Sopa Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Masai Mara to Serengeti National Park
Masai Mara to Serengeti National Park
You'll cross the Isebania border post from Kenya into Tanzania, clearing immigration and switching to your Tanzanian driver-guide before continuing into the Serengeti — 'endless plains' in Maa, and still living up to the name.
Expect the road itself to be part of the story: rough, unhurried, and lined with more wildlife than most parks see in a season.
We can also arrange a four-hour flight transfer in place of the eight-to-nine-hour drive. You'll arrive at camp, inside the park, in time for a safety briefing and dinner as the bush comes alive after dark.
Stay: Serengeti Bush Camp — luxury tented camp, Central Serengeti.
- Main Destination:
- Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
-
Serengeti Bushtops Camp
Wildlife in Serengeti NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Serengeti National Park in Full
Serengeti National Park in Full
An early game drive for the cooler, more active hours, breakfast and lunch back at camp, then a second drive as the light softens in the afternoon. Between drives, the middle of the day is built for stillness — journaling, birdwatching from the deck, or simply watching the plains do nothing in particular, which in the Serengeti is rarely true for long.
A full-day drive or an early balloon safari can be arranged on request.
Wildlife: Elephant, lion, cheetah, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest in vast numbers.
- Main Destination:
- Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Serengeti Bushtops Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater
Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater
A final dawn game drive as you exit the Serengeti, then two to three hours to the rim of Ngorongoro — a collapsed volcanic caldera 20km wide and 600m deep, and the most concentrated wildlife arena on the continent. Only two roads lead down to the crater floor; you'll descend one of them for a half-day tour among roughly 20,000 resident mammals, including some of the last free-ranging black rhino in East Africa, largely unbothered by vehicles at close range. You'll exit by the second road and reach your camp on the rim for a late hot lunch.
Stay: Ngorongoro Wild Camp — mid-range tented camp, near the crater rim
Wildlife: Black rhino, lion, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, hyena — roughly 20,000 large mammals on the crater floor.
- Main Destination:
- Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Ngorongoro Wild Camp
Wildlife in Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 10
Ngorongoro to Zanzibar's Nungwi Beach
Ngorongoro to Zanzibar's Nungwi Beach
The safari ends where the ocean begins. A drive to Arusha Airport and a short self booked flight deliver you to Zanzibar — the Spice Island, with all its coral-stone alleyways and centuries-old trade routes.
An optional spice plantation tour lets you handle, smell, and taste cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger fresh from the source before you continue to Nungwi, on the island's northern tip, where the Indian Ocean turns the exact shade of blue that photographs never quite capture.
Stay: Z Hotel, Nungwi — luxury beachfront.
- Main Destination:
- Nungwi (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Z Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 11
Nungwi Beach, at Leisure
Nungwi Beach, at Leisure
Powdery white sand, warm turquoise water and reef close enough to reach by snorkel from shore. Days here are unstructured by design — scuba diving, snorkelling, sailing on a traditional dhow, or nothing more ambitious than a hammock under a coconut palm. We recommend booking water activities directly through the hotel.
- Main Destination:
- Nungwi (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Z Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 12
Extra Nungwi Beach Extravaganza
Extra Nungwi Beach Extravaganza
A second full day on the island, and this one is entirely yours to shape. Head back out to Mnemba Atoll, where spinner dolphins ride the bow wake, and the reef drops into impossibly clear water; or stay ashore, watching dhow sails cross the horizon as fishermen bring in the day's catch. Nothing scheduled, nothing missed — just Zanzibar, unhurried, for one more day before Stone Town and the flight home.
- Main Destination:
- Nungwi (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- Z Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 13
Departure
Departure
Check out and transfer back to Stone Town, then on to Zanzibar Airport for your onward flight — the recommended departure point for this itinerary. Travelling via Dar es Salaam instead requires a ferry connection (7:30am, 9:30am, 12:30pm or 3:30pm); we'll help you time it. Flight connections back through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport can also be arranged, ideally departing after 3pm.
- Main Destination:
- Zanzibar Stone Town (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
- Activities:
- Game drives (Pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, Pop-up roof minivan)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
