8 Days Kenya and Tanzania Safari

Day 1: Nairobi to Masai Mara National Reserve

Your unforgettable Kenya and Tanzania safari holidays adventure begins with an early morning pickup from your Nairobi hotel. Our professional guide will meet you at 7:00 AM and provide a comprehensive briefing about your upcoming journey to Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves.

The scenic drive to Masai Mara takes you through Nairobi’s suburbs, beautiful savanna grasslands, and the dramatic landscapes of the Great Rift Valley. We’ll make two strategic stops along the way: one for an optional breakfast and another at a spectacular Great Rift Valley viewpoint that offers perfect photography opportunities.

Upon arrival at Masai Mara, you’ll check into your carefully selected accommodation in time for lunch. After refreshments, embark on your first evening game drive into Kenya’s premier wildlife sanctuary. Keep your camera ready for encounters with elephants, hippos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, and numerous other species that call this remarkable ecosystem home.

Return to your accommodation as dusk falls for dinner and your first night surrounded by the authentic sounds of the African wilderness.

Accommodation: Options range from luxury lodges to authentic tented camps based on your preference

Day 2: Full Day Masai Mara Game Drives

Today is devoted entirely to exploring the magnificent Masai Mara, one of Africa’s most wildlife-rich destinations. You’ll enjoy two comprehensive game drives: a morning excursion with a special bush breakfast and an afternoon wildlife safari.

Each drive offers opportunities to spot the legendary Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino) alongside diverse wildlife including Masai giraffes, baboons, warthogs, wildebeest, buffaloes, zebras, jackals, spotted hyenas, and various antelope species. The Mara and Talek Rivers provide habitat for impressive pods of hippos and massive Nile crocodiles.

If your Kenya and Tanzania safari coincides with the July to October migration season, you’ll witness one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena, the Great Wildebeest Migration. This extraordinary movement of over 4 million grazers from Tanzania’s Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara represents one of the world’s greatest natural wonders.

After a day filled with remarkable wildlife encounters, return to your accommodation for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3: Extended Masai Mara Exploration

Your third day provides another opportunity to discover different zones within the expansive Masai Mara ecosystem. With your expert guide from the Kenya and Tanzania best safari company, you’ll explore varied habitats that support different wildlife communities.

Today offers optional cultural enhancements to your wildlife experience:

• Visit a traditional Maasai village to learn about their distinctive culture, customs, traditional lifestyle, and participate in their vibrant cultural dances
• Experience the Masai Mara from a completely different perspective with an optional hot air balloon safari (available at additional cost), providing breathtaking aerial views of the landscapes and wildlife at dawn

After another remarkable day of wildlife viewing, return to your accommodation for dinner and your final night in the Masai Mara.

Day 4: Cross-Border Journey to the Serengeti

After an early breakfast and a final morning game drive in the Masai Mara, bid farewell to Kenya as you journey to the Isebania border crossing. Our Kenya and Tanzania holiday package includes a seamless border transition, your Kenyan guide will assist with exit procedures before smoothly transferring you to your waiting Tanzanian guide and vehicle.

Once border formalities are complete, continue your journey into Tanzania’s northern wilderness areas, heading to either Northern or Western Serengeti depending on the current migration patterns. Arrive at your Serengeti accommodation in time for lunch before setting out on an afternoon game drive in this legendary national park.

The afternoon exploration introduces you to the Tanzanian portion of your Kenya and Tanzania safari holidays, showcasing the distinct landscape and wildlife viewing opportunities of the Serengeti. Return to your accommodation as evening approaches for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 5: Northern/Western Serengeti to Central Serengeti

Begin your day with an early morning game drive in Northern or Western Serengeti, taking advantage of the cooler hours when predators are most active. Return to camp for breakfast before checking out and embarking on a scenic game drive to the central Seronera region of the Serengeti.

The Seronera Valley represents the heart of the Serengeti ecosystem, offering exceptional year-round wildlife viewing regardless of migration patterns. This region’s diverse habitats, riverine forests, kopjes (rocky outcrops), and open plains, support remarkable biodiversity, including dense populations of resident big cats.

Your Kenya and Tanzania vacation package deal includes two nights in this wildlife-rich region, allowing comprehensive exploration of its various habitats. Arrive at your central Serengeti accommodation in time for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6: Full Day Central Serengeti National Park

Today is devoted entirely to exploring the magnificent central Serengeti, one of Africa’s most celebrated game parks. This vast savanna landscape covers approximately 14,736 square kilometres and hosts an extraordinary concentration of wildlife.

Your full-day game drive provides opportunities to encounter the Serengeti’s famous big cats, lions lounging on kopjes, leopards resting in acacia trees, and cheetahs scanning the plains for prey. Beyond predators, the central Serengeti supports huge populations of elephants, giraffes, hippos, and diverse antelope species.

Your guide from the Kenya and Tanzania best safari company knows exactly where to position your vehicle for optimal wildlife viewing, ensuring remarkable encounters throughout the day. A picnic lunch in a scenic location allows uninterrupted immersion in this iconic wilderness.

Return to your accommodation as evening falls for dinner and your second night in the central Serengeti.

Day 7: Serengeti to Ngorongoro Conservation Area

After breakfast, bid farewell to the Serengeti plains as your Kenya and Tanzania safari continues southeast to the magnificent Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The drive itself offers fascinating transitions between ecosystems as you ascend from the plains to the highlands surrounding this ancient volcanic caldera.

Arrive at your accommodation located on the crater rim, where you’ll enjoy lunch while absorbing breathtaking views into the crater below. This afternoon, descend 2,000 feet to the crater floor for an unforgettable game drive in what’s often described as a natural “Garden of Eden.”

The Ngorongoro Crater represents the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera at 8,300 square kilometres and hosts Africa’s highest concentration of wildlife in a self-contained ecosystem. The crater’s diverse habitats support approximately 30,000 animals, including dense populations of predators and some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos.

As evening approaches, ascend the crater rim and return to your accommodation for dinner and overnight stay, perhaps reflecting on the extraordinary diversity of landscapes and wildlife you’ve experienced on your journey through Kenya and Tanzania.

Day 8: Ngorongoro to Lake Manyara and Arusha

Your final day of wildlife exploration begins with breakfast at your crater rim accommodation before departing for Lake Manyara National Park. Though relatively small at 205 square miles, this park offers stunning landscapes and remarkable biodiversity.

A half-day game drive introduces you to Lake Manyara’s unique features—lush groundwater forests filled with baboons and blue monkeys, acacia woodlands where elephants browse peacefully, and the alkaline lake that attracts thousands of flamingos when conditions are right. The park is also famous for its tree-climbing lions, a behaviour rarely seen elsewhere.

Lake Manyara provides perfect photographic opportunities with wildlife framed against the dramatic backdrop of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. Your guide will ensure you capture the most spectacular vistas and wildlife encounters before concluding your safari.

In the afternoon, continue to Arusha where you’ll check into your accommodation, marking the end of your extraordinary Kenya and Tanzania safari holidays. This evening provides time to reflect on the remarkable journey you’ve experienced across two countries and multiple ecosystems.