Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in 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 Stanley Hotel.

Day 2: Nairobi to Amboseli National Park
After breakfast, drive to Amboseli National Park in time for lunch at the luxurious Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge. After lunch enjoy an afternoon's game drive before arriving at with time for a swim and cocktails before dinner.  Overnight Amboseli Serena Lodge. (BLD)

About 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.

Distance/drive time: 260km / 4 ½ hours

Day 3: 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 4: Amboseli to Ngorongoro
After breakfast, drive to the border town of Namanga where you will clear customs and immigration formalities for entry into Tanzania. Drive to Arusha, where lunch will be served in a local restaurant. After lunch drive to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and check into the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, which stands on the rim of the immeasurably ancient Ngorongoro crater, the largest perfect volcanic caldera in the world. A unique biosphere, the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area shelters some 25,000 large mammals: dominated by bull elephants, rhinos and lions. Overnight Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. (BLD)

About the Ngorongoro Crater
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.

Distance/drive time: 381 km / 5 hours

Day 5: Ngorongoro to the Serengeti National Park
After breakfast descend into the crater for a half-day tour with picnic lunch. Leaving the crater, drive to the Serengeti National Park stopping on route for a visit to Ol Duvai Gorge, the ‘Cradle of Mankind' and one of the most famous Palaeolithic sites in the world. In the late afternoon arrive at the Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge. Set high on the saddle of tree-clad ridge commanding panoramic views across the endless plains of the Serengeti, the lodge draws its inspiration from the circular ‘Rondavel' dwellings and winding paths of a traditional Maasai village. Below the Lodge is a sky-blue pool and a hilltop vantage point from which to view the world famous annual ‘migration'. Dinner at the lodge. Overnight Serengeti Serena Lodge. (BLD)

About the Serengeti National Park
The vast and sensational Serengeti, covering 14,763 sq km of endlessly rolling savannah plains, is Tanzania's first-established, largest and most famous park wherein tens of thousands of hoofed animals roam in a constant and unremitting search for the fresh grasslands upon which their survival depends. The million-plus wildebeest are the predominant herbivore and also the main prey of a huge cast of large carnivores, principally lion and hyena. 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.

Distance/drive time: 170 km / 3 hours

Day 6: On Safari in the Serengeti
Spend the day on safari in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives and all meals at the lodge.
 Overnight Serengeti Serena Lodge. (BLD)

Day 7: On Safari in the Serengeti
After breakfast game drive through the vast Serengeti National park with a picnic lunch en route to Mbalageti Serengeti Lodge, which is situated in the western corridor of the Serengeti National Park, in the heart of ‘big game' country. Overnight Mbalageti Serengeti Lodge. (BLD)

Distance/drive time: 380 km / 4 ½ hours

Day 8: Into Kenya and the Masai Mara
After breakfast drive to the Tanzanian border, complete immigration formalities and change vehicles for your onward journey to the Masai Mara National Reserve (with a picnic lunch enroute), where you will check in to the Mara Serena Safari Lodge, which stands high on a hill with spectacular views of the river and plains. Overnight Mara Serena Lodge. (BLD)

About the Masai Mara
World renowned for the breathtaking spectacle of ‘the greatest wildlife show on earth', the awe inspiring annual migration of the wildebeest, the Mara is Kenya's most visited protected area. Technically an extension of Tanzania's renowned Serengeti National Park, the Mara constitutes only 4% of the entire Serengeti ecosystem but its rolling grasslands, meandering rivers and towering escarpments offer one of the world's most rewarding and evocative wildlife arenas.

Distance/drive time: 380km / 7 hours

Day 9: On safari in the Masai Mara
Spend the day on safari in the Mara with morning and afternoon game drives and all meals at the lodge. 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. Overnight Mara Serena Lodge. (BLD)

Day 10 - 11: On safari in the Masai Mara
Spend two days game-viewing in the Mara with early morning and afternoon game drives taking in the awe-inspiring Migration. Overnight Mara Serena Lodge. (BLD)

Day 12: Masai Mara to Nairobi
After breakfast drive to Nairobi in time for lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant which is rated as one of the top 500 restaurants in the world. After lunch check-in to the Sarova Stanley Hotel and spend the afternoon either relaxing by the rooftop pool or seeing the city sights. Overnight Stanley Hotel. (BL)

Day 13: Departure
Leave the hotel after breakfast and drive to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your onward flight. (B)

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