Experience the very best of East Africa across two countries in ten days, moving from Kenya's iconic Rift Valley lakes and the world-famous Masai Mara into the vast plains of the Serengeti and the spectacular confines of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. This midrange private safari crosses the Isebania border overland, giving you a genuine cross-country adventure.
Your guide meets you at your Nairobi hotel or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the morning and drives north along the Rift Valley escarpment to Lake Nakuru National Park. You reach the park in time for an afternoon game drive along the lake shore, where flamingos, pelicans and great white pelicans gather in the shallows while giraffes and zebras graze on the surrounding plains. Lake Nakuru is a designated rhinoceros sanctuary and both black and white rhinos are regularly sighted in the open acacia woodland surrounding the water. You arrive at your lodge in time for dinner and overnight stay.
After breakfast you leave Lake Nakuru and make the scenic drive southwest to the Masai Mara National Reserve. The road drops through the Rift Valley and climbs again across rolling Maasai grazing lands before arriving at the reserve boundary. You spend the afternoon on game drives in the open grassland where the concentration of large mammals is among the highest in Africa. The Mara River provides a natural focal point for wildlife throughout the year, and even outside the migration season hippos and crocodiles are permanent residents. Lions are frequently seen resting in the shade of acacia trees or moving purposefully across the plains in the afternoon warmth. You overnight at your tented camp inside or adjacent to the reserve.
A complete day in the Masai Mara with both morning and afternoon game drives maximises your time in one of Africa's finest wildlife environments. The morning drive sets out before seven to catch predators returning from nocturnal hunts. Cheetahs are reliably spotted on raised termite mounds scanning for prey, while lion prides with cubs are frequently found resting near rivers and kopjes. If your visit falls between July and October the riverbank areas are the place to watch as wildebeest gather in their thousands before launching into the crocodile-filled Mara River in one of nature's most dramatic spectacles. A picnic lunch is taken in the bush before the afternoon session continues until dusk.
A final early morning drive in the Masai Mara captures the last of the reserve's wildlife before the drive towards Tanzania. The morning light in the Mara is extraordinary, with the long grass lit gold at sunrise and predators still active in the cool air. After the drive and a late breakfast you begin the journey south towards the Isebania border crossing, completing immigration and customs procedures before continuing into Tanzania. The drive takes you through the Mara ecosystem's transition zone where the vegetation changes character as you move further from the river. You arrive at your accommodation in or near the Serengeti in the early evening.
This is the day the Serengeti reveals itself. After border formalities are completed you enter through the western corridor of the park and begin driving east, watching the landscape open progressively from riverine woodland into the boundless short-grass plains that define the Serengeti's character. You head for the Seronera area in the centre of the park, one of the most productive wildlife zones in East Africa year-round. The Seronera River draws hippos, crocodiles and a rich variety of waterbirds while the surrounding plains support permanent populations of lion, cheetah, leopard and the large herbivore herds that sustain them. You arrive at your tented camp as the sun begins to dip.
Two alarm calls and two full game drive sessions make this the single most wildlife-rich day of the entire journey. The Serengeti at dawn is extraordinary: lions returning from hunts, elephants moving in family groups across the plains in the amber light, and cheetahs beginning their morning scan from elevated ground. Your guide is expert at reading the landscape and positioning the vehicle for the best possible encounters. A bush picnic lunch is followed by an afternoon drive as the light turns warm and golden, often producing some of the finest photographic opportunities of the trip.
A final morning game drive in the Serengeti is followed by the drive southeast towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The road climbs steadily through highland forest and Maasai grazing lands, offering excellent roadside wildlife sightings and panoramic views back over the plains you have just explored. You arrive at the crater rim in the late afternoon as the light softens and the scale of the ancient caldera becomes fully apparent. Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge perched on the crater rim.
One of the most anticipated days of the entire safari begins before dawn with breakfast and the descent into the Ngorongoro Crater. More than six hundred metres below the rim lies a completely enclosed wildlife ecosystem covering approximately two hundred and sixty square kilometres. The crater supports around thirty thousand large animals living in permanent residence, including one of Africa's healthiest populations of black rhinoceros. Lion prides with cubs, spotted hyena dens, enormous buffalo herds, elephant families, flamingo-lined Lake Magadi and the Lerai Forest with its yellow fever trees all await exploration on the crater floor. A full morning game drive and picnic lunch are followed by the afternoon ascent back to the rim.
The final full wildlife day takes you to Lake Manyara National Park, a narrow strip of extraordinary ecological diversity sandwiched between the western wall of the Rift Valley escarpment and the shores of a shallow alkaline lake. The entrance forest is a dense groundwater woodland inhabited by olive baboon, blue monkey and a remarkable variety of forest birds. Beyond the forest the terrain opens to grassland plains and mudflats where buffalo, wildebeest and zebra graze in large numbers. Lake Manyara is celebrated for its tree-climbing lions and for the flamingo flocks that turn the lake shoreline a vivid shade of pink. An afternoon drive is followed by transfer to your overnight accommodation near Arusha.
After a final breakfast your guide transfers you to Arusha town centre or Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward journey. Depending on your departure time there may be an opportunity to visit the Arusha Cultural Heritage Centre to browse locally made jewellery, textiles and wood carvings before continuing to the airport.
All prices are per person. Select your group size and we will put together a personalised quote.
Rates are subject to availability and lodge tariffs at time of booking.
| Group Size | Price (USD) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1Person | $6,200 | |
| 2People | $4,620 | |
| 3People | $4,280 | |
| 4People | $3,990 | |
| 5People | $3,800 | |
| 6People | $3,650 | |
| 7People | $3,530 |
Rates are per person. Shared border crossing via Isebania included. Tour can begin from Arusha if preferred.
The figures shown are indicative and give you a general guide to costs. They are subject to change based on availability, lodge rates, park fees and seasonality. For an accurate personalised quote please hit the "Book This Safari" button and our team will come back to you within 24 hours.
Our team will get back to you within 24 hours with a personalised itinerary and detailed quote.
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10 days · Masai Mara National Reserve
Safari is 10 days
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