Kenya & Tanzania Safari

First-Class Properties
16 Days / 13 Nights

This 16-day program takes in the best of Kenya, including visits to the Samburu National Reserve, the Mt. Kenya area, Lake Nakuru, and the Maasai Mara.  In addition, it continues to Tanzania, where participants experience Lake Victoria, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara.  The tour offers the possibility of experiencing the Big 5, flamingos, and dozens of other species, as well as the Maasai people.  The accommodations are First-Class throughout, and all meals are included while outside Nairobi.

Sample Group Itinerary 

Day 1  -  Depart USA
Depart the USA today and fly to Europe, where we connect to flight bound for Nairobi.

Day 2  -  Arrive Nairobi
Arrival this evening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where we are met and transferred to our hotel.  Nairobi Serena Hotel.

Day 3  -  Nairobi – Samburu
After breakfast, we drive north to Samburu, on the south bank of the Uaso Nyiro River, downriver from Archer’s Post.  North of the Equator some of the animals and vegetation are a little different from those commonly found in the south. Elephant, black rhino, lion, buffalo and cheetah, as well as the usual buck and antelopes are common to both north and south of the equator.  However unusual animals in this area are the Grevy’s zebra, the reticulated giraffe and the Somali ostrich.  There is also the long neck gerenuk, beisa, and hunting dog.  Crocodiles in the river can be seen from the lodge.  The vegetation is usually dry grass with a few swampy patches. There is some forest cover along the Uaso Nyiro River and an abundance of doum palms.  Samburu Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 4  -  Samburu National Reserve
A full day of game viewing and exploration is planned for today in this harshly beautiful terrain where wildlife abound, especially near the river which is their only source of drinking water.   The Uaso Nyiro River flows gently through the dry landscape sustaining life in this harsh land.  In addition to Samburu, we’ll visit the Shaba National Reserve is where the famous conservationist George Adamson did his research on lions.  Samburu Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 5  -   Samburu – Tree Hotel
Depart Samburu to visit the fast growing market town of Nyeri in time for lunch.  This is where Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boys’ Scout movement, spent the last years of his life.  Then we proceed to the Mt. Kenya area, and the Serena Mountain Lodge, Kenya’s only “tree hotel,” for lunch.  Spend the afternoon in comfort, watching the forest animals that come to the waterhole and salt lick.  In the late afternoon the waterhole is floodlit so that the tourists are able to watch in silence and undercover.  As night falls the place gets crowded with large and small forest animals.  Serena Mountain Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 6  -   Tree Hotel – Lake Nakuru
After breakfast the tour leaves for Nyahururu to visit Thompson’s Falls, at an altitude of 7,738 feet.  The falls are named after the Scottish geologist and explorer Joseph Thompson, who was the first European to discover the falls in 1884.  Then we descend into the Rift Valley to reach Lake Nakuru National Park, where we’ll have lunch at one of the hotels.  An afternoon drive in the park to enjoy the sight of pelicans bathing in the fresh water streams which terminate in Lake Nakuru.  Since there is no existing drainage, Lake Nakuru is alkaline, the perfect place for flamingos to feed on the blue-green algae.  The greater flamingo attains a height of about 4.26 feet, its plumage is almost white with a pale pink, black-tipped beak.  It is the lesser flamingo that has the more exotic color, and is about 2.72 ft. in height, with a rosy plumage and dark red, black-tipped beak.   Lake Nakuru National Park has a great variety of bird life which includes the Egyptian goose and a variety of ducks that come from Europe to winter.  This park is truly a bird watchers paradise. The game animals include hippos, waterbuck, gazelles, colobus monkeys, buffalo, leopard and the Rothschild giraffe.  The park is also a sanctuary for the white rhino.  This park has an abundance of acacia trees, both yellow barked (fever tree) the umbrella-topped acacia and the candelabra cactus.  Sarova Lion Hill Lodge.   (B,L,D)

Day 7   -  Nakuru – Maasai Mara
After breakfast, there is a chance to savor the beauty and tranquility of the lake, with its varied bird life, before driving across the lunar landscape of the Rift Valley, to arrive at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in time for lunch.  An afternoon game drive is planned, during which it may be possible to see the huge black-maned lions, for which the reserve is famous.  Mara Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 8  -  Maasai Mara
Today we have a full day of game viewing and exploring of this -- Kenya’s finest reserve.  We may witness a lion making a kill or a leopard enjoying the meal, after dragging it up the tree with him.  The vegetation is mostly savanna type, with forested areas near the rivers, and of course the dwarf acacias which the giraffes cater on.  More than 60 species of animals are found here, as well as countless bird species, including the Maasai ostrich and the secretary bird.  This is where the great migration of the wildebeest takes place.  Mara Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 9  -  Maasai Mara – Lake Victoria
After breakfast, we depart with box lunches.  Drive to the Isebania border where we will meet with the Tanzania driver and after some brief border formalities, we will proceed on safari.  Lunch will be en route to the Dutch-owned Speke Bay Lodge situated on the shores of Lake Victoria.  Different bird spices may be seen, like the giant kingfishers, dwarf bitterns and Senegal lapwings on the shore, as well as yellow white eyed and yellow throated greenbuls.  You might want to take part in an excursion from the lodge, such as:  a canoe-trip on Lake Victoria to a fishing village; a mountain-bike trip through the Masamba Hills;  Fishing on Lake Victoria;  a lake cruise;  and a bird walk.  Speke Bay Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 10  -   Speke Bay – Serengeti
We depart this morning for the Serengeti, arriving in time for lunch.  A game drive will be conducted on your way to the lodge.  Another game drive is planned for the afternoon.  Serengeti Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 11  -  Serengeti
After breakfast proceed on a morning game drive to explore this park famous for large concentrations of plains game such as zebra, wildebeest and gazelle.  Return to the lodge for lunch.  In the afternoon, another game drive can be taken.  Serengeti Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 12  -  Serengeti – Ngorongoro
In the morning we depart for the Ngorongoro Crater via the Olduvai Gorge, a site of archaeological findings, where traces of pre-historic people dating back 3.5 million years have been discovered.  Picnic lunch will be enjoyed at the Olduvai Gorge.  We continue to Ngorongoro, arriving in the evening.
Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 13  -  Ngorongoro
After breakfast at the lodge, we proceed on a half-day crater tour.  In the crater you can see a spectacular array of wildlife including the big five.  The crater has a variety of ecosystem including grassland forest and swamp.  The lake on the crater floor is home to Flamingos and many other species of birds.  The rest of the day at leisure.  Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 14  -  Ngorongoro – Lake Manyara
This morning we drive to Lake Manyara where we have lunch.  The lodge is situated on the Mto wa Mbu Escarpment, overlooking the Great Rift Valley, and nearby are a large number of game, including baboons, elephants, monkeys, gazelles, hippos, giraffe, wildebeest and zebras.  Manyara Serena Lodge.  (B,L,D)

Day 15  -  Ngorongoro – Arusha – Nairobi – Depart Africa
After breakfast drive to Arusha, where we will have lunch.  After lunch, we proceed to Nairobi via Namanga border point.  We arrive in Nairobi this evening, and proceed to the airport for our return trip.  (B,L)

Day 16  -  Arrive USA
We arrive back home today, after an unforgettable experience in Kenya and Tanzania.

 Included Meal Codes:
B  -  Breakfast
L  -  Lunch
D  -  Dinner.

Tour Price Will Include:
  -  Round-Trip Airfare from USA to Kenya
  -  Meet and greet service by our local representatives at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport     
  -  Round trip private transfers airport/hotel in Kenya
  -  13 Nights Accommodation as described (or similar) with private facilities, based on double occupancy
  -  Meals as indicated
  -  1-litre bottled mineral water per person per day whilst on safari
  -  Transportation by specially equipped 7-seater safari minivan in Kenya
  -  Transportation by specially equipped 4x4 7-seater safari minivan in Tanzania
  -  Services of a professional English speaking driver/guide
  -  Game drives, sightseeing and excursions as described in the itinerary, inclusive of applicable entrance fees
  -  Complimentary safari hat per person
  -  Temporary membership to Emergency Medical Evacuation Service whilst on safari
  -  Applicable local and government taxes on accommodation and transportation.

Tour Price Will Not Include:
  -  Taxes, Fuel Surcharges, and other fees applicable to the airfare
  -  Tips to guides, driver, and tour director
  -  Excess baggage fees
  -  Items of a personal nature, such as telephone calls, internet access fees, laundry, etc.
  -  Travel Insurance.

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