10-Day Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara & Amboseli Circuit

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Lake Nakuru → Masai Mara → Serengeti → Ngorongoro → Lake Manyara → Amboseli → Nairobi

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Lake Nakuru

   After breakfast you leave Nairobi and travel on toward Lake Nakuru, travelling through the Rift Valley floor and the farming towns of the Nakuru region. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through a Rift Valley soda lake ringed by yellow-barked acacia woodland and steep escarpment viewpoints. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife. The park operates as a sanctuary and is one of Kenya's more reliable places to look for rhino; flamingo numbers on the lake rise and fall with water levels. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Nakuru.

2. Day 2

   Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Lake Nakuru bound for Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. Once you reach Masai Mara there is time to check in before heading out among open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. This is good country in which to look for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Masai Mara.

3. Day 3

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   A full day in Masai Mara allows you to explore well beyond the areas reached on a short visit. You travel through open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, working the areas your guide judges most productive on the day. Species commonly associated with the area include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game. A full day allows morning and late-afternoon drives when animals are most active, with the option of a picnic lunch out in the reserve. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Dinner and overnight are again at your Masai Mara camp or lodge.

4. Day 4

   Masai Mara to Serengeti

   The day opens in Masai Mara with a morning departure for Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. Your guide works the area for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, with sightings varying by season and conditions. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. Dinner is served at your Serengeti camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

5. Day 5

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   You spend the day in Serengeti, heading out early and returning as the light goes. The drives cover vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, moving between habitats as conditions change. Sightings may include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra, depending on season and conditions. The scale of the plains rewards a full day, with time to work several areas rather than rushing between them. The Serengeti's wildlife moves with the seasons, so the sector visited is chosen to match where the herds and predators are likely to be at that time of year. The evening returns you to your Serengeti accommodation for dinner and overnight.

6. Day 6

   Serengeti to Ngorongoro

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Serengeti for the drive to Ngorongoro, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Ngorongoro.

7. Day 7

   Amboseli to Nairobi

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Amboseli for the drive to Nairobi, returning through the highland approaches to the city. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through Kenya's highland capital and the usual start and end point for road safaris. Nairobi is the arrival and departure hub for most Kenyan safari itineraries. Dinner is served at your Nairobi camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

8. Day 8

   Ngorongoro to Lake Manyara

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Ngorongoro bound for Lake Manyara, driving west from Arusha past Maasai settlements and the escarpment wall. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through groundwater forest, open floodplain and an alkaline lake beneath the Rift Valley escarpment. This is good country in which to look for elephant, baboon troops, hippo, giraffe and large numbers of waterbirds including flamingo. Manyara is known for its groundwater forest fed by springs at the base of the escarpment, and for lions that are sometimes seen resting in trees. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Manyara.

9. Day 9

   Lake Manyara to Amboseli

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Lake Manyara to Amboseli, travelling south past Kajiado and through Maasai rangeland toward the Tanzanian border country. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. Your guide works the area for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps, with sightings varying by season and conditions. Amboseli is known for its free-ranging elephant families, and on clear mornings Mount Kilimanjaro often rises above the plains, though cloud can hide it. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Amboseli.

10. Day 10

    Amboseli to Nairobi

    Breakfast is taken before you set out from Amboseli for the drive to Nairobi, returning through the highland approaches to the city. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through Kenya's highland capital and the usual start and end point for road safaris. Nairobi is the arrival and departure hub for most Kenyan safari itineraries. Arrival back is normally in the afternoon, with a drop-off at your hotel or the airport.