14-Day Kenya & Tanzania Budget Holiday Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Masai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Lake Naivasha → Amboseli → Arusha → Tarangire → Serengeti → Ngorongoro → Lake Manyara → Arusha / Nairobi

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Masai Mara

   After breakfast you leave Nairobi and travel on toward Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, depending on movement and conditions on the day. 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 spend the day in Masai Mara, heading out early and returning as the light goes. The drives cover open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, moving between habitats as conditions change. 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. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. The evening returns you to your Masai Mara accommodation for dinner and overnight.

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. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into a Rift Valley soda lake ringed by yellow-barked acacia woodland and steep escarpment viewpoints. Your guide works the area for black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife, with sightings varying by season and conditions. 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. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Lake Nakuru.

4. Day 4

   Lake Nakuru to Lake Naivasha

   You leave Lake Nakuru after breakfast and head for Lake Naivasha, following the Rift Valley escarpment road with its long views over the valley floor. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across a freshwater Rift Valley lake fringed by papyrus, fever trees and flower-farming country. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes hippo, waterbuck, colobus and an exceptional range of resident and migratory waterbirds. Naivasha is one of the few freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley, which is why boat trips and walking safaris are possible here rather than vehicle drives alone. Dinner is served at your Lake Naivasha camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

5. Day 5

   Lake Naivasha to Amboseli

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Lake Naivasha 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. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes 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. The evening is spent at your Amboseli accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

6. Day 6

   Full-Day Amboseli Safari

   A full day in Amboseli allows you to explore well beyond the areas reached on a short visit. 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. Keep watch for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps as you move between the different habitats. 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.

7. Day 7

   Amboseli to Arusha

   After breakfast you leave Amboseli and travel on toward 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.

8. Day 8

   Arusha to Tarangire

   The day opens in Arusha with a morning departure for Tarangire, driving south-west from Arusha through Maasai grazing country. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into rolling country of ancient baobabs, seasonal swamps and the year-round Tarangire River. Your guide works the area for large elephant herds, zebra, wildebeest, eland and a notably rich birdlife, with sightings varying by season and conditions. In the dry season the Tarangire River draws wildlife from a wide area, and the park is famous for its baobab-studded landscape. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Tarangire.

9. Day 9

   Tarangire to Serengeti

   The morning starts in Tarangire, from where you continue overland to Serengeti, crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descending onto the open plains. Once you reach Serengeti there is time to check in before heading out among vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses. This is good country in which to look for 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.

10. Day 10

    Full-Day Serengeti Safari

    The day is set aside for Serengeti, with drives timed around the first and last hours of light. The drives cover vast short-grass plains broken by granite kopjes and seasonal watercourses, moving between habitats as conditions change. 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.

11. Day 11

    Serengeti to Ngorongoro

    Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Serengeti to Ngorongoro, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. This is good country in which to look for 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.

12. Day 12

    Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Manyara

    After breakfast you leave Ngorongoro Crater and travel on toward 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. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes 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. Dinner is served at your Lake Manyara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

13. Day 13

    Lake Manyara to Arusha

    The morning starts in Lake Manyara, from where you continue overland 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. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Arusha.

14. Day 14

    Arusha to Nairobi / Departure Endpoint

    Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Arusha bound for Nairobi / Departure Endpoint, returning through the highland approaches to the city. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into 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. The day ends with a drop-off in Nairobi at your hotel or the airport.