Itinerary

Day 1: Nairobi

Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to the historic 5-star Sarova Stanley Hotel. One of Nairobi's oldest and best renowned city hotels, it stands in the city centre within easy reach of both shops and tourist attractions, and offering a health club, roof-top swimming pool and a wide selection of restaurants and bars.  Overnight Sarova Stanley Hotel.

Day 2: Nairobi to Samburu (Distance/drive time: 380 km / 5.5 hours)

After an early breakfast, drive north to the Samburu National Reserve arriving in time for a late lunch at the Samburu Sopa Lodge. Standing at the centre of this pristine reserve, it features a curve of cottages clustered around a waterhole, which attracts a wide range of wildlife both day and night. Overnight Samburu Sopa Lodge. (BLD)

About the Samburu National Reserve

A place of endless skies, dust-red plains and palm-fringed rivers, Samburu National Reserve lies on the fringes of the vast and arid desert once known as the Northern Frontier District, whose heat-scorched scrublands extend all the way to the jade-green waters of Lake Turkana and beyond. Physically dramatic, the 104 sq kilometre landscape of the Reserve features rocky battlements, craggy scarps, dry river beds and fallen boulders rising out of the thorn scrub against a backdrop of the far-distant hills and the great red table mountain known as Ololokwe.

Day 3: On Safari in Samburu 

Enjoy a full day on safari in Samburu followed by sundowners and dinner at the lodge.  Overnight Samburu Sopa Lodge. (BLD)

Day 4: Samburu to Ol Pejeta (Distance/drive time: 220km / 3.5 hours)

Leave the lodge after breakfast and travel south along the flanks of Mount Kenya to enter the Serena Sweetwaters Tented Camp.  The camp is gathered around a waterhole and features two rows of tents, which are reached via a series of stone pathways, which wind through our landscaped grounds.  Overnight Sweetwaters Tented Camp.  (BLD)

About the Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Ol Pejeta Game Conservancy boats a higher wildlife‐to‐area ratio than any of Kenya's national parks, the camp offers unprecedented opportunities for wildlife watching, either by guided walks, camel treks, or by day and night game drives, while likely sightings include all the members of ‘The Big Five' (elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard).

Day 5: Ol Pajeta to Lake Nakuru (Distance/drive time: 200 km / 3 hours)

After breakfast, drive to Lake Nakuru National Park in time for a late lunch at Lake Nakuru Lodge. After lunch, enjoy a game drive in the park before returning to the lodge in time for a swim, cocktails and dinner.  Overnight Lake Nakuru Lodge.  (BLD)

About Lake Nakuru

Entitled ‘the greatest bird spectacle on earth' thanks to the millions of fuchsia-pink flamingo that flock to feed on the teeming algae of its alkaline waters, the pink-frosted shores and sky-mirrored waters of Lake Nakuru yield some of the most evocatively beautiful photo-images in Africa. As Kenya's first and largest rhino sanctuary, sightings of both black and white rhino are almost guaranteed, while plentiful waterbuck, warthog, zebra, gazelle and buffalo graze the shoreline. Echoing to the haunting cries of the numerous fish eagles, this is also the park in which you have the best chance of seeing a leopard.

Day 6: Lake Nakuru to the Mara (Distance/drive time: 350 km / 4.5 hours)

After breakfast depart very early and drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve in time for a late lunch at Ashnil Mara Camp, which offers 30 luxury tents close to the Mara River. After lunch, enjoy your first game drive in the Mara. In the evening, perhaps take an early swim before enjoying sundowners in the bush or back at the lodge, followed by dinner. Overnight Ashnil Mara Camp.  (BLD)

About the Masai Mara National Reserve 

Offering an abundance of herbivores, the Mara makes the ideal hunting ground for Kenya's famous ‘big cats' and hosts her largest population of lions. It also offers the best chance of spotting a leopard in the wild. Other predators include cheetah and spotted hyena. Historically teaming with wildlife, the Mara is famous for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that meander its plains; also for the fat pods of hippo that wallow in its mud-brown rivers. Other stars include the distinctive Masai giraffe, plum-coloured topi, Coke's hartebeest, Grant's and Thomson's gazelle, zebra, impala, Kirk's dik-dik, bushbuck, waterbuck and red duiker. The Reserve also boasts plentiful Nile crocodile, monitor lizard, baboon, vervet; blue and red-tailed monkeys, nocturnal bush babies, and tree hyrax. There are over 550 resident and migratory species of birds.

Day 7: On Safari in the Mara

With a full day to enjoy all that the Mara has to offer, your options are wide. The camp offers guided nature/bird-spotting walks, game drives morning and afternoon, and cultural visits to local Maasai villages. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the lodge.  Overnight Ashnil Mara Camp.  (BLD)

Day 8: The Mara to Lake Victoria (Distance/drive time: 305km / 4.5 hours)

After breakfast cross the border between Kenya and Tanzania at Isabenia and drive to the shores of Lake Victoria with a picnic lunch on the way. Check into the Speke Bay Lodge, which is on the lake shore, and spend a restful afternoon on the largest inland lake in the world. The white‐painted lodge, which offers a series of traditional round or ‘rondavel’ thatched buildings, has been styled to resemble a small village of the local Sukuma people and offers guided walks, biking, fishing, canoeing and more (some or all of which may be charged additionally).  Overnight Speke Bay Lodge. (BLD)

About Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is the source of the Nile and the largest body of fresh water in Africa. Only 5% of the lake belongs to Kenya, with its neighbours Uganda and Tanzania owning the rest. The Kenyan section of the lake in the far north-eastern corner, contains a few islands with simple fishing villages along the shores of the larger ones. Whether fishing, bird watching, boating or resting, these islands induce extreme relaxation and the light breeze keeps most mosquitoes away.  Lake Victoria's birdlife is staggering. Tiny islets contain huge nesting colonies of egrets, cormorants and gannets and territorial fish eagles patrol every 100 yards. Some of the fish eagles have become habituated to being thrown fish from the boat and swoop down to claim an easy prey, just feet away from you and your camera lens. There are of course hippos and crocodiles in Lake Victoria and the locals will tell you if they frequent the area where you are staying.

Day 9: Lake Victoria
Today you get to spend the day exploring the peaceful shores of Lake Victoria.  You will enjoy a 1.5 hour boat ride on the Lake and a cultural visit to a local village.  Overnight Speke Bay Lodge. (BLD)

Day 10: Lake Victoria to the Serengeti (Distance/drive time: 250km / 3.5 hours)

After breakfast drive to the Serengeti National Park and to Serengeti Serena Lodge, which is ideally located for safari game drives as well as optional activities such as balloon safaris, guided walks etc. Lunch and afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.  Overnight Serengeti Serena Lodge. (BLD)

About the Serengeti National Park
With 14,500 sq kms., the Serengeti plain is undoubtedly the most famous wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and the greatest concentration of plains game anywhere. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the east and the Maasai Mara to the northwest. Serengeti is renown for its black-maned lion and other predators including wild dog, spotted hyena, jackal, cheetah and leopard. The wealth of birdlife is of a special interest including colourful rollers, bee-eaters, kingfishers and sunbirds and a large number of birds of prey. During May and June, Lake Ndutu at the foot of the Ngorongoro highlands, is the starting point for one of the great natural wonders of nature - the famous annual migration. Nearly 2 million wildebeests and a quarter of a million zebra move in winding columns several miles in length towards the Maasai Mara.

Day 11: On Safari in the Serengeti 

With a full day's game-driving in the park, your options are wide. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at the camp, where guided nature walks can also be taken. Game drives can be taken morning and afternoon. Whilst the annual migration is the Serengeti's most famous attraction, the Park is also renowned for its lion, many of which have been fitted with radio-transmitter collars so that their movements may be tracked, and additionally for its wealth of cheetah, zebra, giraffe, Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, eland, impala, klipspringer, hippo and warthog.  Overnight Serengeti Serena Lodge. (BLD)

Day 12: The Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater (Distance/drive time: 195 km / 3 ½ hours)

After breakfast and a morning game drive, drive through the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, stopping en route for a picnic lunch and a visit to the world-famous Olduvai Gorge Palaeolithic site and reputed ‘Cradle of Mankind'. Scale the side of the crater, circle the rim and descend to the Ngorongoro crater for afternoon half‐day guided tour of the crater. Picnic lunch will be taken at the crater floor. Ascend to your lodge for the evening and dinner at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, which offers the finest location of all the crater rim lodges, lying on the southern rim of the crater, directly above the yellow fever trees of the Lerai Forest.  Overnight Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. (BLD)

About the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area

Often referred to as ‘the eighth wonder of the world' the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa's best-known wildlife arenas. A World Heritage Site, it is also one of the largest volcanic craters in the world (almost 20 kilometres wide, 610-760 metres deep and covering a total area of 264 square kilometres). An utterly unique biosphere, the Crater harbours grasslands, swamps, forests, saltpans, a fresh water lake and a glorious variety of birdlife, all enclosed within its towering walls. Due to its high concentration of wildlife, close-range viewing opportunities and striking scenery it is also Tanzania's most visited destination.

Day 13: Ngorongoro Crater to Amboseli (Distance/drive time: 200 km / 3 hours)
After breakfast drive to Arusha and the Namanga Kenya/Tanzania border. Complete immigration formalities and change vehicles. After a picnic lunch, drive to Amboseli National Park and enjoy an afternoon game drive before checking in to the Amboseli Serena Lodge, which is one of Amboseli’s best‐known lodges and lies at the very centre of the park. After dinner in the
atmospheric central dining room, enjoy a display of traditional Maasai dance or a wildlife talk.  Overnight Amboseli Serena Lodge. (BLD)



About the Amboseli National Park 

Towered over by the magnificent bulk of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,896 m), Africa's highest mountain, Amboseli is one of Kenya's oldest, famous and most-visited parks. Endlessly panoramic, yet comparatively compact, it is dotted with emerald green swamps in which great herds of elephant wallow; half submerged in the papyrus grasses. The permanent marshlands also provide a potent draw to hippos and buffaloes, while offering a haven for the abundant water birds. An International Biosphere Reserve, the park largely constitutes the usually dried-out lakebed of Lake Amboseli, which is surrounded by flat grasslands relieved by very few trees. On the plains are numerous antelopes, spotted hyenas, jackals, warthogs, olive baboons and vervet monkeys. Lions are rare. Observation Hill, a conical peak, which is easily climbed, offers stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Day 14: On Safari in the Amboseli
Spend the entire day game‐driving in the park, which is an International Biosphere Reserve featuring the dried‐out lakebed of prehistoric Lake Amboseli, rolling savannah and lush green swamps. The plains offer numerous antelopes, spotted hyenas, jackals, warthogs, olive baboons, vervet monkeys and the chance of spotting a lion, leopard or cheetah. Observation Hill, a conical peak, which is easily climbed, offers stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro. Lunch and dinner will be taken at the lodge, whose grounds also offer the opportunity of optional nature walk with bird‐spotting (150 species in the grounds alone).  Overnight Amboseli Serena Lodge. (BLD)

Day 15: Amboseli to Nairobi (Distance/drive time: 240 km / 4 hours)

After breakfast at the lodge, drive to Nairobi and take lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant with its glowing BBQs serving all manner of meats to include ostrich, gazelle, crocodile and more (plus fish, vegetarian choices, salads etc). Depart for your flight home. (BL)

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