7-Day Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Arusha, Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Group Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Masai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Nairobi → Namanga → Arusha → Lake Manyara → Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha → Nairobi / Onward

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Masai Mara

   The day opens in Nairobi with a morning departure for Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes 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. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Masai Mara.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   The whole day is given to Masai Mara, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. 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. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, though wild sightings are never guaranteed. 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

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Masai Mara for the drive 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. 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Nakuru.

4. Day 4

   Lake Nakuru to Arusha via Nairobi and Namanga

   You leave Lake Nakuru after breakfast and head for Arusha via Nairobi and Namanga, 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. The crossing involves border formalities on both sides and an operating-team handover between the Kenyan and Tanzanian crews. Nairobi is the arrival and departure hub for most Kenyan safari itineraries. The evening is spent at your Arusha via Nairobi and Namanga accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

5. Day 5

   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. Once you reach Lake Manyara there is time to check in before heading out among groundwater forest, open floodplain and an alkaline lake beneath the Rift Valley escarpment. There is the possibility of seeing elephant, baboon troops, hippo, giraffe and large numbers of waterbirds including flamingo, depending on movement and conditions on the day. 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 and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Lake Manyara.

6. Day 6

   Lake Manyara to Ngorongoro and Arusha

   The morning starts in Lake Manyara, from where you continue overland to Ngorongoro and Arusha, 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 and Arusha.

7. Day 7

   Arusha to Nairobi or Onward Departure

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Arusha for the drive to Nairobi or Onward Departure, 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.