12-Days African Safari to Kenya and Tanzania for wild experiences

• Kenya Safaris
• Tanzania Safaris And Tours

The 12-days African Safari to Kenya and Tanzania starts and ends at Jomo Kenyatta international airport in Kenya. This is a magical safari that promises you the most adventurous and magical wildlife experiences that are filled with back-to-back fun such as catching up with the massive annual migration of wildebeest and zebra that are seeking for a new pasture, meeting eye-to-eye with the African big five mammals like leopards, lions, elephants, rhinos, and Cape buffalo entirely in their natural habitats, as well as enjoying the beautiful landscapes and experiencing the breathtaking beauty of the Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara national game reserve. This 12-day African safari involves a visit to the Lake Eyasi where we shall be Observing an early morning hunting display, gathering honey, and traditional dance performances are all part of the experience. It is a cultural experience not to be missed, and it all happens against the backdrop of beautiful Lake Eyasi, Masai Mara National Game Reserve for the great migration watching and spotting the African big five, Serengeti national park, one of Africa’s finest conservation areas to encounter a number of great mammals, reptiles, bird species and scrubs, proceed to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, also in northern Tanzania, which is known as home to the vast, volcanic Ngorongoro Crater and “big 5” game (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and rhino). Huge herds of wildebeests and zebras traverse its plains during their annual migration. After Ngorongoro craters, return to Kenya to visit Amboseli national park one of the best national parks in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. Nature lovers can explore five different habitats here ranging from the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, wetlands with sulphur springs, the savannah and woodlands. This is an ideal African safari to fully enjoy nature, exploring an abundance of wildlife species such as lions, elephants, buffaloes, rhinos, leopards, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, Uganda kobs and other antelope species, Warthogs among others, beautiful scenery, and catching up with the massive annual migration of wildebeest and zebras.

Detailed itinerary

Day1,     Pick up at Jomo Kenyata airport and transfer to your booked hotel  in Nairobi

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi you will be met by our representative who will transfer you to the Hotel overnight.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Dinner

 Day 2,   Drive to Masai Mara National Game Reserve – Evening game drive safari

 After breakfast, we travel to the Masai Mara Game Reserve, the most famous wildlife reserve in Africa. We stop briefly at the entrance for registration procedures before continuing on to the lodge/tented camp for a cooked lunch and doing game drives along the way. The Big 5 and large cats both call Masai Mara home, so after lunch we head out to the plains to look for the wildlife. The game drive with our experienced safari guide will keep your eyes and ears peeled for movement and memories. Watch elephants and giraffe grazing, photograph zebras and wildebeest, and with a little luck, you’ll even spot animals feasting on a recent kill. After the game drive, return to your camp to relax, dinner and an overnight

The Mara offers wildlife in such variety and abundance that it is difficult to believe: over 450 species of animals have been recorded here. You will easily see lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, buffalo, leopard, many kinds of antelopes and elephant. It is in the Mara that perhaps the most spectacular event of the natural world takes place. This is the annual migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra from the Serengeti (Tanzania) in search of water and pasture. Following on their heels are the predators of the savanna- lion, cheetah, wild dog, jackal, hyena and vultures.

Accommodation:

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Day 3, Masai Mara National Game Reserve – Full day wildlife sighting game drive

 Today, rise up very early in the morning to have breakfast (0630 hrs.) and then go for an early morning full day wildlife sighting game drive to fully explore the Magical Mara national game reserve. During game drive, you will encounter several wildlife species such as lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, buffalo, leopard, many kinds of antelopes and elephant. Masai Mara National Reserve is one of the most popular wildlife destinations in Kenya and Africa. The reserve is regarded as the jewel of Kenya’s wildlife viewing areas with over 95 mammal species, several amphibians and reptiles and over 400 bird species recorded on the reserve. It is one of the reserves where the annual most spectacular wildlife event of wildebeest’s migration involving over 1.5 million animals take place. This annual migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra from the Serengeti (Tanzania) and Masai Mara of Kenya takes place between July when they are arriving in the Masai Mara national game reserve and November when they are departing back to Serengeti national game reserve in search of water and pasture. Masai Mara National Game Reserve has several predators of the savanna such as lion, cheetah, wild dog, jackal, hyena and vultures and on a lucky day during game drive you may see them killing a prey. After the game drive, return to the lodge to relax, have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation:

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

 Day 4, Visit the Masai community and Transfer to Serengeti National Park For an evening game drive

 This evening, close to a million zebras from Serengeti in Tanzania northwards into the adjoining Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya which is one of the world’s most spectacular and thrilling display of wildlife behaviors. The migration takes place every year with the animals’ primal instincts guiding them towards greener pastures following the climatic rain fall patterns over the Serengeti-Maasai Mara eco system. Their journey is especially fraught with danger as they cross the crocodile infested Mara and Talek rivers along the way, during which many cannot escape the giant Nile crocodiles lying in wait for their prey. After the game drive, start your road drive for the Isebania/Sirare Border, where you will stop for a brief while to obtain a visa to enter Tanzania. According to the new legislation, you will switch jeeps at the border on the Tanzanian side (Sirare) and continue from there with a Tanzanian-registered safari jeep and a safari guide from the Tanzanian side. Depending on where your camp is in the Serengeti, you will travel via the Nyamongo mining settlements and Mugumu Township on your way to the Serengeti National Park. You will enter the park at the Ikoma Gate. Right away, you’ll go out on your first Serengeti game drive in pursuit of the vast array of animals and birds that the park has to offer.  Serengeti national park is the most famous safari park in the World for its predators and being a home to the Great Migration and to two million wildebeests, hundreds of thousands of zebras and all kinds of antelopes including the abundant impalas and Thomson’s gazelles. As for Big Cats and large predators, it’s the place of choice to see lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. Many television films such as the famous river crossings have been filmed in this park. Smaller animals like foxes, mongoose, honey badgers, jackals, monkeys, baboons, rock hyrax and African hares, together with more than 500 species of birds, also inhabit this park. The park has 6,900 sq. km (18000 sq.km) and for most of it, the plains will stretch to the horizon, defying your senses and perception of distance. Later check in at your lodge to refresh, have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Acacia Migration Camp (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

 Day 5: Northern Serengeti national park – Whole day wildlife sighting game drive – Drive to Central Serengeti

This day, an early morning game drive is a fantastic option for spotting nocturnal and diurnal species as they awaken for the day. Many animals will be easily visible by the track sides in the morning as they escape the morning dew and enjoy the songs of the rising birds. Depending on when you visit the Serengeti, you might be lucky enough to watch the Great Wildebeest Migration (ask our experts for their location). Even without the wildebeest migration herds, the Serengeti is home to thousands of resident creatures including as buffaloes, leopards, cheetahs, lions, elephants, topis, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelles, impalas, warthogs, and numerous bird species. The Northern sector of Serengeti national park is a fascinating safari spot with incredible numbers of wildlife for you to spot on Safaris. The region is unspoiled, beautiful and quiet in comparison to the southern Serengeti plains. The area stretches from the Lobo Hills southwards to Seronera. It is typified by green rolling hills, which is a pleasant diversion from the much flatter southern plains – with incredible numbers of wildlife. The northern Serengeti is a famous for wildebeest calving and Migration and perhaps a must visit for witnessing new birth and on top of the famous the sheer diversity here is incredible with a single visit offering a lot of sightseeing experiences. So, while in the northern Serengeti, you will be rewarded with views of gorgeous landscapes of green rolling hills, granite outcrops and acacia woodlands dotting open savanna, incredible wildlife, and most importantly, with massive herds of wildebeest and zebra making dangerous crossing of the croc-infested Mara River during the Great Migration in June and July and again in September, October and November. This sector of the park is also home to the greatest concentration of elephant in the Serengeti, as well as good numbers of lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena and diverse resident animals such as giraffe, topi, eland and hippo. Later in the day, drive to the central parts of Serengeti national park where you will arrive in the evening hours to check in at your booked camp to refresh, have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Serengeti Matawi Camp (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

 Day 6, Serengeti national park – Morning game drive safari – Drive to Ngorongoro Craters

 Rise up very early in the morning, to be served breakfast, have all your travel bags loaded into your safari vehicle and do a last game drive in the Serengeti national park. Serengeti national park is one of the only few places left with such un spoilt nature splendor, exhilarating wildlife and which makes it an answer to all questions you might have regarding how it feels to be on an African safari. This will be a last game drive in the Africa’s finest wildlife capital and the source of happiness to the wildlife lovers. After the game drive safari, leave Serengeti national park and then drive to the Ngorongoro craters in the Northern Tanzania, once a gigantic volcano and now the largest intact caldera in the world. The Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area is home to more than 30 000 protected animals. It is an area of spectacular beauty and excellent game viewing, an utterly unique safari destination in Africa. When you arrive at the Ngorongoro Craters, check in at your booked lodge to refresh and later spend the rest your evening time at leisure till it is time to be served dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Tloma Lodge (Mid-range)

Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch/ dinner

 Day 7, Ngorongoro Crater – Morning game drive safari – Drive to Kalatu

 Wake up very early in the morning to the views of the Craters to be served breakfast and then head off for a full day game drive on the Crater floor, abundant with wildlife – view black rhino that are protected within its rim, giant tusked elephants, big-maned lions stalking the grasslands, and bright pink flamingos crowding the soda lakes, an extraordinary experience awaits you both here. The crater spreads for 102 sq. miles and has 2.000 ft high walls, making it virtually a Noah’s ark and inhabiting almost every species of wildlife that is indigenous to East Africa. It’s one of the very rare destinations in the whole continent where you can witness the black Rhino. The crater has a river, several swamps, a soda lake with a great concentration of flamingos, a forest and open plains. It’s also famous for its elephants which are the largest in the world and have huge tusks. This is due to the rich mineral content of the volcanic soil and its grasses. Apart from the elephants and rhinoceros, also in crater there are about 30 thousand animals said to live in such as Lions, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, Gazelles, warthogs, Jackals and bird life as well, you cannot find a giraffe in the crater nor impalas and Kirk’s dik dik. Ngorongoro Crater is one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. After the game drive safari in Ngorongoro craters, have lunch and then drive to Kalatu to check in at your hotel to refresh, have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 8, Drive to Lake Eyasi- The Hadza, or Hadzabe cultural people

Lake Eyasi is well worth visiting provides opportunities for birding, hiking, and fascinating cultural experiences!Observing an early morning hunting display, gathering honey, and traditional dance performances are all part of the experience.It is a cultural experience not to be missed, and it all happens against the backdrop of beautiful Lake Eyasi.

Accommodation: Kalatu

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 9, Visit to lake Manyara national park and then to Moshi Town

There are a number of fascinating tourist attractions that can be explored within Lake Manyara National Park. Located in the northern part of Tanzania, this National Park is 126 kilometers west of Arusha Town. The park is sized 330 square kilometers of which 220 sq kilometers form the lake when the water levels are high in the rainy season. Alternating to the nearest Park of Tarangire National Park through the kwakuchinja corridor the parks share world animals. They can be seen easily nearby the roads towards Lake Manyara and Serengeti National parks.

The game in Lake Manyara includes plenty of elephants, wildebeests along with so many giraffes, and buffaloes. In addition, the park is also very famous for its large number of zebras, impalas, warthogs and waterbucks. On the slopes of the escarpment, you may need to search a little hard for the tinny and renowned shy kirk’s dik dik and klipspringer.

Moshi is a town in northern Tanzania, near the Kenyan border. It’s known as a gateway to Kilimanjaro National Park, home to Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. Trails run up the mountain’s cloud-ringed, snow-capped dome, through alpine forests and meadows home to elephants and leopards. One of Tanzania’s major coffee-producing hubs, Moshi is known for its coffee farms and auctions.

Accommodation: Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 10, One day Kilimanjaro hike and drive to Arusha

 Wake up very in the morning to be served breakfast, from here you’ll depart with your guide after an early breakfast to start the drive to Kilimanjaro National Park and begin the Kilimanjaro day hike.

The Kilimanjaro day hike begins on the western side of the mountain and goes up through the forests to the Londorossi Gate. Here, at an altitude of 2,100m, the hike begins. The ascent is over 1,000m, moving steadily up through tropical mountain forests, home to a variety of animals and birdlife. With the help of your guide, you may spot colobus monkeys, crested turacos and more. It is not uncommon to hear elephants rumbling through the forest; you may even catch sight of them through the trees.

The Kilimanjaro day hike takes you up to the vast Shira Plateau, at 3600 m. A 500,000-year-old volcanic caldera that is now a World Heritage Site. You can stop for lunch here, or continue on to Shira 1 Camp, Lion Gorge and the foothills of the Shira Pinnacles. Kilimanjaro’s iconic snow-covered table top, Kibo Peak, should be visible from here, as well as neighboring glaciers.

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch

Day-11, Arusha city- to Amboseli national park  for an evening game drive

Game Drive in Amboseli National Park: The game drive is the most emotional experience on an African safari and here in Amboseli national park is truly off- beaten activity which can be adventured in open savannah grassland, acacia trees on off-road safari vehicle with open proof guided with armed guide who must be holding a caller radio for easy location of mammal’s species.

Day-12, Morning game drive and drive back to Nairobi city as you will be ending the safari.

Game drive is best done especially in morning hours when the sun has just come out as well as animals coming out of their hiding places to look for food and in the late evening hours which starts at 2pm to 6:30pm and to those who enjoy night game drive starts at 6pm to 8pm.

End of trip

The tour price includes;

• Pick up from your hotel in Nairobi city and drop off at Jomo Kenyatta international airport ,
• Private transport using a well-modified safari land-cruisers (1x4WD, pop up roof, and air-conditioned) for 12 days
• Private Spanish speaking safari guide for 12 days
• Fuel for 12 days
• Private mid-range accommodation for 11 nights on full boarder meal plan
• All enroute meals and bottled drinking water
• All Kenyan and Tanzanian park entrance and activities fees
• All game drives as mentioned in the itinerary
• Value Added Tax by Tanzania Revenue Authority Concession fees for lodges and camps in Tanzania WMA fees in Tanzania (where applicable) Tanzanian lodges and camps
• Game drives in Masai Mara national game reserve
• Game drives in Serengeti national park
• Game drive in Ngorongoro craters
• Game drives in Amboseli national park

The tour price excludes;

• Domestic and International flight
• All items of a personal nature
• Gratuities for safari guide and lodge staff (please tip separately)
• Personal travel insurance
• Country visa fee (50 US$ /100 US$ for American or Irish Passport holders – to be paid upon arrival)
• Alcoholic and soft drinks (Sodas, special juice order at the lodge and wines)
• Hot Air Balloon Safari at Serengeti (599 USD per person), including concession fees
• Hot Air Balloon Safari at Masai Mara Game Reserve (485 USD per person).
• Accommodation at Nairobi on arrival or on the last day if needed Airport transfer on arrival at Nairobi if you need (only if staying a night at Nairobi on arrival)