Kenya & Tanzania · Budget
A 13-day budget safari through the Maasai Mara, Nakuru, Naivasha, Amboseli, Manyara, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. Budget nights at Miti Mingi Eco Camp (Maasai Mara), Buraha Zenoni (Lake Nakuru), Leisure Apex (Lake Naivasha) and Nyati Safari Camp (Amboseli), with camp or lodge stays at the other stops.
Price per person
Places as named in the journey title. Nights in each are set out in your itinerary.
Starts in Nairobi · finishes in Arusha
The route, days and named stays are as planned. What is included at each stop, from food, park fees and drinking water to room types, permits and border arrangements, and any camp or lodge not named here, is set out in your written quotation. Game drives on travel days depend on arrival and departure times, timings can change with road and park conditions, and wildlife sightings are never guaranteed. Photographs illustrate each day’s destination; they are not pictures of a particular departure.
Nairobi → Maasai Mara
A journey of this length rewards a steady start, and it begins with the drive from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara in a 4×4 Land Cruiser. Miti Mingi Eco Camp, named in our catalogue for the Mara, is the base for three nights, so there is no need to unpack and repack for a while. Where arrival time allows, an afternoon game drive is an unhurried first look at the reserve, its long grass, its scattered acacias and the animals that live among them.
Maasai Mara
The first full day in the Mara is a good time to understand who lives here and who is passing through. The Mara Conservancy explains that the reserve once had its own resident wildebeest, which migrated in from the Loita Plains and have declined as farming narrowed their routes, while the great migration from the south arrives around June or July and stays until November. Lions, elephants, giraffes and topi are here all year, and the day’s drives can follow any of them.
Maasai Mara
With a second full day, the drives can range further towards the Mara River and the Mara Triangle, the part of the reserve that the Mara Conservancy runs, with community scouts along the Siria Escarpment. In migration season, crowds of wildebeest may gather on the river banks; the Conservancy asks visitors to keep quiet and well back and never to block moving herds. Out of season the river is still worth a visit for its setting and the animals that come to drink.
Maasai Mara → Lake Nakuru
Three nights in the Mara end with the drive north-east to Lake Nakuru, where Buraha Zenoni, our catalogue’s property for the lake, is the next base. Kenya Wildlife Service describes the park as centred on a semi-alkaline lake, with grassland, acacia woodland, hills and rocky escarpments added in 1974. An afternoon drive, if time allows, is a first chance to look for the park’s black and white rhinos and its waterbirds, which vary in number through the year.
Lake Nakuru → Lake Naivasha
Where time allows, a morning game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park gives the best light for finding rhinos among the woodland. The journey then continues to Lake Naivasha, where Leisure Apex, named in our catalogue, is the stop for the night. The two lakes are close together but very different: Nakuru semi-alkaline, Naivasha fresh water, with papyrus fringes and lakeside grassland that the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute counts among its internationally important habitats.
Lake Naivasha → Amboseli
This is one of the long transfer days, from the Rift Valley to Amboseli near the Tanzanian border. Before leaving, there may be a moment by Lake Naivasha, where hippos graze the grassland, often out of the water, so keep your distance. The road then heads south, reaching Amboseli through one of its gates from the Nairobi side, Iremito or Meshanani. Nyati Safari Camp, our catalogue’s camp for Amboseli, is the base for two nights.
Amboseli
A full day in Amboseli is spent among its elephants, which move between the dry plains and the swamps in family groups. Kenya Wildlife Service asks visitors in its parks to stay on established roads, keep at least 20 metres from wildlife and stay in the vehicle except in designated areas, which keeps encounters calm for both elephants and people. The swamps, marshes and lake basin also make Amboseli an Important Bird Area, with flamingos at times.
Amboseli → Kenya–Tanzania border → Arusha
After a final look at Amboseli, perhaps with Kilimanjaro clear in the morning, the journey heads for Tanzania. The border crossing is confirmed in your quotation, and entry requirements for each nationality should be checked on official government websites before travel. The night is spent in the Arusha area, ready for the parks of the northern circuit. The second half of the journey starts tomorrow.
Arusha → Lake Manyara
The first Tanzanian park is Lake Manyara, reached from Arusha on a good tarmac road and entered by the main gate near Mto wa Mbu. TANAPA describes towering mahogany and fig trees sheltering blue monkeys and bushbuck, lesser flamingos on the soda lake and lions known for resting in the trees. The park also has one of Africa’s longest canopy walkways; whether it is included is confirmed with your booking.
Lake Manyara → Serengeti
Today the road climbs from the Rift Valley floor to the Ngorongoro highlands and then descends to the Serengeti. TANAPA describes the road journey as long but scenic, and the moment the plains open up beyond the highlands is one of the great arrivals of the safari. Where arrival time allows, an afternoon game drive begins the search for the herds and the predators before the night at a camp or lodge in the park.
Serengeti
The full day in the Serengeti is spent wherever the wildlife is to be found. TANAPA counts more than a million and a half wildebeest in the migration and points to June to October for the herds and January and February for calving in the south; at any time, lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and rhinos live here. Having seen the Mara earlier in the journey, you may find it striking how the same story continues on the Tanzanian side.
Serengeti → Ngorongoro Crater
Leaving the Serengeti, the journey reaches the Ngorongoro Crater and descends to the floor for a game drive among more than 25,000 animals. The NCAA describes grasslands, swamps, rivers and woodland enclosed by the crater walls, and animals moving freely in and out all year. Only four-wheel-drive vehicles may enter, and walking is not allowed on the crater floor. The night is spent at a camp or lodge on or near the rim.
Ngorongoro → Tarangire → Arusha
The last park of the journey is Tarangire, on the way back towards Arusha. TANAPA counts more than 3,000 elephants here, Tanzania’s densest population, among giant baobabs and old termite mounds. A game drive along the Tarangire River closes thirteen days of safari before the Land Cruiser returns to Arusha via Minjingu and Makuyuni. The journey finishes in Arusha, where onward travel is arranged with you. Keep generous distances from elephants and buffalo on this last drive, as TANAPA asks.
Like the shape of these days? Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and our team will set out the stays, meals and inclusions in a written quotation.
Maasai Mara · Budget
Lake Nakuru · Budget
Lake Naivasha · Budget
Amboseli · Budget
Other stops: overnight at a camp or lodge. The camp or lodge is discussed with you during planning and confirmed with your itinerary, subject to availability. How accommodation works on our safaris
Big Time pick
Maasai Mara · Lake Nakuru · Amboseli · Lake Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro
Budget nights at Miti Mingi Eco Camp (Maasai Mara), Buraha Zenoni (Lake Nakuru) and Nyati Safari Camp (Amboseli), with camp or lodge stays at the other stops.
Maasai Mara · Nakuru · Amboseli · Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro
Budget nights at Miti Mingi Eco Camp (Maasai Mara), Buraha Zenoni (Lake Nakuru) and Nyati Safari Camp (Amboseli), with camp or lodge stays at the other stops.
Samburu · Aberdares · Nakuru · Maasai Mara · Amboseli · Ngorongoro · Serengeti · Manyara
Lodge accommodation, with Buraha Zenoni (Lake Nakuru).
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and anything you would like to change. Our team will tell you what this journey can include.
