11-Day Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli, Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Masai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Amboseli → Arusha / Cross-Border Transit → Lake Manyara → Serengeti → Ngorongoro → Arusha

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Masai Mara

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Nairobi to Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. Look for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game as the light softens through the afternoon. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. Dinner is served at your Masai Mara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   You have a complete day in Masai Mara, starting early while the air is still cool and animals are active. 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. Sightings may include lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, depending on season and conditions. 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. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Masai Mara.

3. Day 3

   Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru

   The morning starts in Masai Mara, from where you continue overland to 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. The evening is spent at your Lake Nakuru accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

4. Day 4

   Lake Nakuru to Amboseli

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Lake Nakuru bound for Amboseli, travelling south past Kajiado and through Maasai rangeland toward the Tanzanian border country. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. This is good country in which to look for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps. 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 is served at your Amboseli camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

5. Day 5

   Full-Day Amboseli Safari

   You have a complete day in Amboseli, starting early while the air is still cool and animals are active. Your route takes in open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro, with your guide reading recent movement to decide where to spend time. Sightings may include large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps, depending on season and conditions. The swamps stay green through dry months, drawing elephants and plains game into concentrated, highly photographable groups. 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. The evening returns you to your Amboseli accommodation for dinner and overnight.

6. Day 6

   Amboseli to Arusha

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Amboseli for the drive to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. The evening is spent at your Arusha accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

7. Day 7

   Arusha to Lake Manyara

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Arusha for the drive to 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.

8. Day 8

   Lake Manyara to Serengeti

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Lake Manyara bound for Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra. 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Serengeti.

9. Day 9

   Full-Day Serengeti Safari

   The whole day is given to Serengeti, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. You travel through vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, working the areas your guide judges most productive on the day. Keep watch for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe and immense herds of wildebeest and zebra as you move between the different habitats. 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. Dinner and overnight are again at your Serengeti camp or lodge.

10. Day 10

    Serengeti to Ngorongoro

    You leave Serengeti after breakfast and head for 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. Your guide works the area for lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen, with sightings varying by season and conditions. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. Dinner is served at your Ngorongoro camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

11. Day 11

    Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

    You leave Ngorongoro Crater after breakfast and head for Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. You are dropped at your Nairobi hotel or the airport in the late afternoon.