Itinerary

Day 1 Nairobi

Nairobiis the least expensive arrival city for flights with a full range of hotels and local attractions. Dubbed the “Safari Capital of the World,” cool, clear and cosmopolitanNairobiis the natural departure point for most safari itineraries. A city of contrasts, it is simultaneously the largest, the youngest, the most modern, the highest (1700m) and the fastest growing city inEast Africa. High-altitudeNairobienjoys a pleasant tropical climate all year round. There are ATMs and banks to stock up on cash, great restaurants, and malls where you can purchase any forgotten items.

You will receive a private airport transfer to/from the airport.

In the event of serious illness, all travellers are covered by Flying Doctors Insurance. This covers the cost of emergency air evacuation service needed to fly back to Nairobi for treatment. This insurance does not cover the cost of medical treatment.

Kensington Tours donates a portion of proceeds to our charitable initiative www.kensingtoncares.com which supports education-based initiatives in disadvantaged communities.

Ngong House is a private, serene and luxurious home stay situated in Karen / Langata area of Nairobi. The lodge overlooks the Ngong Hills, only a few minutes away from what used to be Karen Blixen’s coffee farm. Secluded in 10 acres of private land, it is close to Nairobi National Park, 30 to 40 minutes from Nairobi International Airport, 15 minutes from Wilson airport (where all fly safaris depart from) and 20 minutes from the city center.

Overnight at Ngong House .

Day 2 Meru

Meru is located on the Kathita River, on the northeast slopes of Mount Kenya. It is situated about five miles north of the equator, at approximately 5,000 feet altitude, in an area of mixed forest, rivers and clearings. Such an abundance of water flowing through a predominantly arid part of Kenya creates a mosaic of different habitats making Meru one of the most diverse Parks in the whole Africa. Meru N. P. is home to species typical of northern Kenya such as reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, gerenuk, oryx, lesser kudu, which are not to be found in many other National Parks or areas in Kenya.  A specific mention has to be made for the Rhino Sanctuary. The area devoted to the protection and population increase of rhinos is today about 50 square kilometres and is located on the Western boundary of the Park. Here 40 white and 20 black rhinos roam freely.

You will receive a private airport transfer to/from the airport.

You will board your flight enroute to Meru landing strip.

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

Head out in the afternoon on a game drive with others at the lodge. Drives typically head out around 4pm when the game is becoming more active and emerging out from shade as the hot sun decends.

Elsa’s Kopje is a luxurious oasis in the wilds of Meru National Park. Elsa’s Kopje was named after Elsa the lioness made famous by George and Joy Adamson in the film ‘Born Free’, released into the wild here in Meru. The word Kopje means ‘small hill’. The lodge blends into the hillside of Mughwango Hill, site of George Adamson’s original camp. Meru is vast with arid, open plains dotted with Doum Palms and Baobab trees and lush vegetation along 13 rivers, like green ribbons, bisecting the Park. The atmosphere induces a feeling of peace thanks to a highly trained, unobtrusive team of staff and a skilled hosts that manage the lodge. Each cottage is attended by a butler who also waits on the guests at mealtimes.

Overnight at Elsa`s Kopje.

Day 3 Meru

Game drives in open-sided vehicles are provided daily by Elsa's Kopje during your stay. Head out in the early morning to view some of the rare game of Kenya's north. Rustic, arid landscapes provide stunning scenery as you drive.

Time permitting, there are many optional activities. Activities range from nature walks to cultural village visits. Some of these can be pre-booked through your destination specialist while others can be booked directly with the lodge upon arrival.

Head out in the afternoon on a game drive with others at the lodge. Drives typically head out around 4pm when the game is becoming more active and emerging out from shade as the hot sun decends.

Overnight at Elsa`s Kopje.

Day 4 Masai Mara

Masai Mara is the northernmost portion of the larger Serengeti ecosystem and features the best game viewing in the region. The small size funnels animals into a tight space, and park rules allow for off-road driving which means that guests can venture into plains covered with hundreds or even thousands of animals. Take an optional hot air balloon ride over the plains, with the opportunity for amazing pictures of the animal herds below.

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

Catch your chartered game flight to Masai Mara airstrip. Flight time is approx. 45mins.

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

Your expert guide will meet you, and other guests, at your lodge for an afternoon game viewing drive in and around Masai Mara.

Cottar’s Camp is an intimate family built camp located in a private reserve near the Masai Mara National Park, in Kenya. With eighty years of Safari service on their sleeves, the Cottar family leads you by the hand in exploring this diverse landscape. The camp provides tents for up to 12 guests in a relaxing setting built with a 1920's antique charm. Dining consists of local bush cuisine, often taken beside the waterfalls or on game drives. The outdoor veranda offers a stunning view of the surroundings and the opportunity to take a bush bath and perhaps a massage on the doorstep of this backdrop is swoon-worthy.

Overnight at Cottars Camp.

Day 5 Masai Mara

Early this morning you will meet up with others at the lodge for your game drive. Drives are typically done in the morning at 6:30am for a few hours.

As the concession is outside the game parks, guided walks and night drives are allowed and highly recommended. By walking, guests can get that much closer to nature, and if an opportunity to track wild game presents itself, there trained trackers will take guests even closer. On a more self indulgent note, there masseuse will now be based full-time at the camp for complimentary massages, manicures and pedicures. Any other needs that guests may have will be met by butlers who have been trained to provide guests with discreet, yet attentive service. Activities also include game drives in 4-wheel drive vehicles, night game drives, guided bush walks, river swimming, river fishing and swimming pool.

On today’s afternoon game drive the choice is up to you: search for the Big 5 or expand your horizons to discover something different. Masai Mara not only has a rich mix of animals – it also has an incredible array of bird life with almost 450 different species.

Overnight at Cottars Camp.

Day 6 Masai Mara

Depart early this morning to meet up with others for your sunrise hot air balloon ride. Soar into the skies and watch as the sun dawns across the plains. The balloon will float up for a wide view of the park, then sweep down almost to the treetops so you can see the animals up close, sometimes dropping to just inches above the animals and ground. This ability to quietly ascend and descend allows you to get closer to the animals, affording some of the most incredible views of game and the park. Afterward, enjoy a freshly cooked breakfast right in the middle of the game park complete with champagne. This is one of our most highly rated activities.

This afternoon you'll meet up with your guide and head out on your game drive. Mara is one of the few places you could spot the rare rhino. Stay alert as you track these elusive lumbering giants.

Overnight at Cottars Camp.

Day 7 Serengeti

Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti is massive in size, 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq miles). Famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers the most diverse game-viewing in Africa.

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

Today is a long day as you drive to the airstrip to catch your charter flight to Migori. You'll be met upon arrival and tranferred over the border into Tanzania. Be sure to have your passport, money for your visa along with your Yellow Fever Certificate handy. You'll continue on to Tarime where you'll board your charter flight to Serengeti.

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

While at Singita, your luxurious all-suite accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner, daily, teas and coffees are all included. Along with this, you'll also enjoy two game drives per day in an open Land Rover, accompanied by an experienced game ranger. Other activities include mountain biking, walking, tennis and archery. Laundry and valet services are also included but subject to certain conditions and restrictions. Also included are all of your drinks while on the Land Rover safaris and all drinks, including premium wines, spirits and liqueurs (excluding vintage champagne and vintage wines on the connoisseurs wine list).

Situated beside the Grumeti River near the Serengeti Park, the Faru Faru River Lodge is a new branch of the Singita Game Reserves lodges. Recognized for camp safaris that consistently exude an exclusive, impressive air, Faru Faru River Lodge boasts 6 luscious suites to fit 12 people, each accompanied by deck and Swarovski spotting scope with which one may observe the surroundings and wildlife. Dining is special, with elegant touches and tasteful choices made by the chef to ensure an experience that lingers on ones palate. Activities at the lodge include the game drives, while others stay back at times and take advantage of the heated plunge pool and spa.

Overnight at Singita Faru Faru River Lodge.

Day 8 Serengeti

While at Singita, you'll have access to a wide range of activities, including: Game drives and walks with professional guides. Fun activities such as archery, lawn croquet, badminton, star-gazing safaris and mountain biking are all available. There are tennis courts at Sabora Tented Camp and Sasakwa Lodge with a choice of surfaces. Spa facilities are available at all three lodges.Yoga and gym facilities are available at Sasakwa Lodge and Faru Faru. Wireless internet access and satellite television at all three lodges.

You'll join up with others at the lodge for your game drive. Drives are typically done in the morning at 6:30am for a few hours and/or 4pm for a few hours. Head out into the park to explore the vast expanse of the Serengeti.

Today head out with your guide to explore the wide expanse of the Serengeti. The park is well known for its healthy stock of resident wildlife, particularly the "Big Five", named for the five most prized trophies taken by hunters: lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros, and African buffalo. Though there are now few black rhino in the park, you may still spot them. The Serengeti has the largest population of lion and giraffe in all of Africa and the largest concentration of topi and Coke's hartebeest (kongoni). Enjoy the challenge of spotting other game such as cheetah, Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, eland, waterbuck, hyena, baboon, impala, African wild dog and giraffe. The park also boasts about 500 bird species, including ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, crowned crane and marabou stork.

Overnight at Singita Faru Faru River Lodge.

Day 9 Serengeti

Tanzania’s phenomenal annual wildebeest migration passes through Singita Grumeti Reserves during June/July, moving on to the Northern Serengeti area in pursuit of the rain. The wildebeest leave behind immaculately trimmed grasses, attracting huge volumes of plains game to the area making September through November one of the best times to visit. Singita has introduced day trips to the Northern Serengeti during these months, providing the opportunity to enjoy the abundant game on the reserve and the migration.A quick 20 minute flight takes you to Kogatende landing strip where you are met by a Singita guide and vehicle. The day is spent experiencing the migration along the Mara River and in the surrounding area. The flight returns at around 4pm the same afternoon.

Spend the day taking in the spectacle of the famous wildebeest migration. This annual migration through the Serengeti and Masai Mara is one of the safari highlights of Africa. The wildebeest migration moves in a basic clockwise direction throughout the year in Serengeti eco-system and move north into Masai Mara, Kenya from June/July through to Sep/October. Sightings cannot be guaranteed as the herds move according to availability of food source and migration movements can be erratic. The herds are accompanied by zebra and Thomson's gazelle and are stealthily hunted by local predators such as leopard, lion and hyena.

Overnight at Singita Faru Faru River Lodge.

Day 10 Ngorongoro

"The Ngorongoro Crater is often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th Natural Wonder of the World’. A massive extinct volcano, the sheet walls drop thousands of feet to a "Noah's Ark" of animals on the verdant floor below. Large herds of zebra, buffalo, antelope and wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist.

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

Take your flight from Serengeti to Manayara today. The flight duration is approximately 1.5 hr. Dep 10h30 - 12h00

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

Hanging off the edge of the world-renowned Ngorongoro Crater, which is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site, sits the opulent Crater Lodge. On the eastern side of the Serengeti in Northern Tanzania, the lodge is an astonishing example of accommodations somehow built in the great African wilderness. It comprises three separate camps totaling 30 suites of the highest standard and most breathtaking views. Dining is a gala event, where one may put on their best etiquette and flaunt the outfits that have been collecting dust when roughing it during the day. Here, one may feast on cuisine from the American chef’s world-knowledge. Activities include game drives involving visits to the Ngorongoro Crater.

Overnight at Crater Lodge.

Day 11 Ngorongoro

Descend into the Ngorongoro caldera to view the wildlife on the crater floor. The crater is roughly 20 km/12 mi wide and 600 m/2,000 ft deep, once you've reached the top of the caldera it takes about 45 minutes to descend to the crater floor. The floor is home to a rich and highly concentrated wildlife. Some 20,000 mammals of size live there, including about 20 black rhinoceros, making the crater the best place in Tanzania to see the rhino. The crater floor also has one of the highest carnivore densities in the world. Lions, cheetahs, hyenas and jackals are commonly seen, while leopards, servals and bat-eared foxes may be seen with some good luck. You'll spend most of the day in the crater.

Overnight at Crater Lodge.

Day 12 Nairobi

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip.

Take your flight from Manyara to Nairobi (Wilson) today. The flight duration is approximately 3hrs.

Included in your stay, stop at the famous Carnivore restaurant. The Carnivore first opened in 1980 and is a meat specialty restaurant. Commonly referred to as the ultimate 'Beast of a Feast' - here you will enjoy a variety of meat roasted over charcoal and carved at your table. Meats commonly include beef, chicken, and options to try game meat such as crocodile or ostrich. Delicious side dishes and an array of sauces complement the meats served. Your meal also includes soup, a selection of desserts and Kenyan coffee. Set in attractive tropical gardens, the restaurant remains a local attraction for international visitors.

Please let us know in advance if you have any dietary restrictions, requirements or food requests.

You will receive a private airport transfer to/from the airport.

Depart from Nairobi international airport - end of itinerary.

Overnight at Depart.

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