11 Days kenya and Northern Encounter Safari

The day starts with a pick up from your hotel, residence, or directly from the airport. Immediately, you’ll leave the city and set out into the Great African Rift Valley with its volcanic mountains and epic scenery.

Probably the first thing that you’ll notice as you enter Amboseli is the mountain that will provide the backdrop for your time here – Mount Kilimanjaro. The highest peak in Africa dominates the landscape of rolling hills pocked by boulder and trees. Entering the park will give you chance to take a brief game drive as you head to your chosen accommodation for lunch.

After a short time to rest, you will embark on a game drive proper. The animals of Amboseli range across the plains and through the patches of woodland that are characteristic of the landscape. The falling sun offers cooling respite to the animals, who play, feed, and hunt across the vast savanna. After this first, amazing experience you will be returned to your accommodation where dinner will be served.

After your first encounter with Mount Kilimanjaro, an early morning game drive will introduce you to a different aspect. Rise early and you may be lucky enough to see the peak unclouded, with the snow-capped range atop the mountain before the clouds roll in for the day. Along with this stunning sight, there will plenty of animals stirring for the day, readying for their day of hunting, grazing, or scavenging.

After breakfast back at your camp or lodge, you will spend the whole day exploring the national park and spotting the fauna within. There are animals aplenty, including the big five of African safari:

Elephants
Buffalo
Lions
Leopards

As well as plenty of other icons of the plains. Your expert Kenyan tour guide will be on hand to help your find and identify the creatures as your marvel at them and capture their images. To ensure you get the most of your time in Amboseli, your lunch will be served picnic style and at then end of the game drive you will return to your accommodation for dinner and relaxation.

Begin the day with an early breakfast and make your way to Lake Nakuru, at the heart of the Rift Valley. The scenery along the way will afford you views of deep valleys and craggy rock formations, and you will arrive at your accommodation in time to take lunch and a short rest.

Lake Nakuru is synonymous with ornithology, with over 400 species of birds know to spend at least part of their year on these shores. The lake is often turned all shades of pink imaginable as flocks of flamingos take to the waters for feeding, displaying, and dancing.

Along with the airborne creatures in this national park, there is a small population of extremely rare white rhinos. You may be lucky enough to encounter these great creatures that have been hunted almost to extinction yet find protection within the park bounds.

Your evening will be spent at your camp or lodge, with dinner served before time to relax within earshot of the nightly activity.

An early start for breakfast will see you bid farewell to Lake Nakuru and the birds and mammals that call it home. From here, you head south to the Masai Mara, where the volcanic landscape begins to morph into plains with rolling hills and scrub lands dotted with trees.

You will arrive at your camp or lodge in Masai Mara in time for lunch to be served, after you have taken a short game drive through the reserve to reach your destination. With there being no time like the present, you will go straight out for an extensive game drive through the Masai Mara where you will no doubt spot plenty of animals since the concentration of game is one of the highest in all of Africa.

Look out for the big five of African safari, along with:

Giraffe
Wildebeest
Crocodiles
Hippos
Zebras

And plenty more creatures that are so closely tied with your ideas of African safari. The Masai Mara hosts these animals and more and your game drive, ending at sunset, will be the perfect introduction to the nature that surrounds you. The evening returns you to your accommodation for dinner and rest time.

Starting the day with breakfast will prepare you for a full day exploring the stunning landscape and majestic creatures of the Masai Mara. The early morning sunlight is a great opportunity to take wonderful photographs of the animals as they have sprung to life and are readying for the day.

Lunch will be served picnic style next to the Mara River to ensure that you don’t miss a beat in your expedition through the territory. The afternoon will give you an opportunity to visit a village of the Masai people; a community of people who have spent millennia learning how to thrive within the grasslands of what is now Kenya.

Your visit will start with a welcoming song and dance, followed by the chance to look around the village and visit one of the homes. This is a unique experience that allows you to gain an understanding of the human element of the lands that you have been exploring. This activity is optional and has an additional fee of $20 per person. Head back to the camp or lodge to take dinner and a chance to recharge and ready for the next day.

As another day breaks over the Masai Mara, you will once again set out to visit the reserve after you have taken breakfast. A second day in the park will lead you to different areas, still with an abundance of wildlife to find, identify, and photograph with the assistance of your expert Kenyan safari guide.

With the trees that are dotted around the landscape, you have the perfect opportunity to look for the elusive big cats of the Masai Mara; cheetahs and leopards. Time spent near the river can yield views of crocodiles and hippos and as you cross the plains you can try and see herds of buffalo and zebra grazing the day away.

After a further picnic lunch, the afternoon will see you continue on your journey through the Masai Mara and see the change of pace as the sun begins to drop and the temperature begins to cool. Ending the day with dinner at your accommodation and prepare for another day and another country.

After two full days spent in the Masai Mara, it’s time to watch the day break over the grasslands and listen to the daw chorus from the animals rousing for the day and the birds who will start their day. Breakfast comes after the dawn game drive and you will then depart towards the Tanzanian border.

The trip to the crossing will include a final drive through the Masai Mara and upon arriving at the checkpoint you will stop for lunch before heading into the second country of your African safari adventure. Your introduction to Tanzania is a drive through the famed Serengeti National Park as you move to your accommodation.

The Ikoma gate is the entrance you take into the Serengeti, and you’ll head through the park to arrive at your chosen accommodation. After a long day of travelling, the afternoon is your own to take advantage of the facilities at your camp or lodge and rest up before your exploration of Tanzania begins in earnest the next day.

Early morning game drive and then back for breakfast. After breakfast, leave the lodge with game viewing en route to Serengeti. Upon arrival at the Isebania border, have a stop over for lunch. Here, your safari in Tanzania begins.

You have the chance to choose how you would like to structure your day in conjunction you’re your safari guide. You have the option to choose a full day game drive, or a morning and evening game drive with a rest period in the middle of the day. These days will be best planned between the clients and their safari guide-either choosing to embark on a full day game drives half day or evening game in the plains of Serengeti.

Whichever option you choose, there will be myriad animals on show for you since the Serengeti is one of the most densely populated parks in Africa. With chances to see the big five of African safari:

Lions
Buffalo
Elephants
Leopards
Rhinos

You will be given a fantastic opportunity to fall in love with the new country with a familiar landscape.

A full day game drive will see you take lunch as a picnic within the park whilst a day with two separate game drives will give you lunch at your accommodation. Whichever structure you select, your dinner will be served at your camp or lodge where you can also reflect on the day you’ve experienced.

With an early start, you will have breakfast and leave Serengeti National Park and make your way to the Ngorongoro Crater. On the journey you will have the opportunity to visit Olduvai Gorge, the setting of major archaeological site from Dr Leakey. Here, some of the earliest remains of human activity have been found and a visit will add a fresh element to your understanding of the area. For this optional extra visit there is a fee of $45 per person.

You will be provided a packed lunch on your travels towards the Conservation area. Once at Ngorongoro, you will head into the impacted volcanic crater and descend into a sheltered world. Your accommodation options are within the crater area.

With lakes, rivers, and plains playing host to herds of elephants, families of rhinos, zebras, and plenty of other creatures, the largest caldera in the world is a joy to explore. After experiencing the beauty of this land, you will head to your accommodation for dinner.

Leaving your accommodation after your breakfast, you will have a morning game drive through the crater lands again, with the early morning sun spilling over the edges and illuminating the beautiful plains. Your lunch is picnic style so that you can continue straight on to Lake Manyara.

Although relatively small, this national park has some marvellous animals, such as tree climbing lions and a large troop of baboons for you to try and spot as you take your afternoon game drive through the grasses. A highlight of the nature of the lake are the more than 350 bird species here. Among them are two types of flamingo that light up the lake bight pink.

Your evening will be spent at your chosen camp or lodge within the national park so that you can remain as close to the animals and nature as possible.

The day starts with an early morning game drive around Lake Manyara, where the dawn chorus from the birds and awakening wildlife will be a fitting experience to end your safari. Return to your accommodation for breakfast and then you will depart to one of the primary cities of Tanzania, Arusha.

The final travels through the country will take you through more of the Great African Rift Valley and enter the quaint town in the north of the country. You will be given lunch and then the option to be dropped off at your hotel, residence, or at the international airport, depending on your onwards plans.