Safari and beach across East Africa: the Masai Mara and Amboseli, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, then a flight to Zanzibar for Stone Town and the beach.
This fifteen-day journey combines Kenya’s and Tanzania’s greatest parks with the beaches of Zanzibar. It starts with the Masai Mara and Amboseli, crosses into Tanzania for Tarangire, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, and ends with five nights on Zanzibar, including Stone Town.
Tented camps and lodges on safari, a boutique hotel in Stone Town and a beach hotel on the north or east coast of Zanzibar.
The safari crosses from Kenya to Tanzania at Namanga, and the beach section begins with a short flight from Lake Manyara or Arusha to Zanzibar. Every transfer, flight and border crossing is arranged for you, with a guide meeting you at each step.
Honeymooners and couples, families and first-time visitors who want to see the very best of East Africa’s wildlife and then truly relax.
Travel from Nairobi to the Masai Mara by road or air.
In the afternoon, set out on your first game drive across the grassland. The Mara has Africa’s highest concentration of predators, and even a first drive often brings lions, elephants, giraffes, zebra and herds of antelope against the backdrop of the Oloololo escarpment. Return to camp as the sun sets.
Spend a full day exploring the reserve with a picnic lunch. Leave at sunrise, when lions and cheetahs are most active, and follow your guide’s knowledge of the prides and their territories across the open plains. Look for elephants and buffalo along the rivers, topi standing sentry on termite mounds, and leopards resting in the riverine forest. In migration season (usually July to October) you head for the Mara River, where great herds of wildebeest and zebra gather and, if you are patient, plunge across the crocodile-filled water. Return to camp at sunset.
After an early game drive, fly from the Mara to Amboseli via Nairobi’s Wilson Airport and take an afternoon game drive among the elephants, with Kilimanjaro rising behind them as the clouds lift towards sunset.
Spend the day in Amboseli National Park. Begin at sunrise, when Kilimanjaro is most often clear and elephant families walk out across the plains in front of it. Drive to Observation Hill for a view over the swamps, where elephants, buffalo and hippos feed among pelicans and crowned cranes, and look for lions, cheetahs and hyenas on the open plains. Return to the lodge for lunch and a rest, then head out again in the late afternoon for the golden light.
After an early game drive in Amboseli, drive west to the Namanga border, about 1.5 hours, where your guide helps with formalities. On the Tanzanian side, a new guide and vehicle meet you for the drive to Arusha, about 2 hours, with Mount Meru rising ahead. Spend the afternoon relaxing at your lodge among coffee gardens.
Spend the afternoon on a game drive along the Tarangire River, the park’s lifeline. In the dry season (June to October) herds of elephants, sometimes hundreds strong, gather to drink and dig for water in the sandy riverbed, alongside zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffes and impala. Look for lions resting in the shade, leopards in the sausage trees, and the colourful yellow-collared lovebirds that are found only in northern Tanzania.
Drive up through the cool highland forest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with a stop at the rim viewpoint, then descend past Maasai villages to the plains. Stop at Olduvai Gorge, one of the world’s most important sites for human origins, where a small museum overlooks the gorge. Enter the Serengeti at Naabi Hill gate and game drive across the short-grass plains to the Seronera area in the afternoon, arriving at camp by sunset.
Spend a full day exploring the Serengeti with a picnic lunch. In the central Seronera valley, permanent water supports resident wildlife all year: lions on the kopjes, leopards in the sausage trees along the rivers, cheetahs on the open plains, and herds of giraffe, buffalo, topi, hartebeest and gazelles. Your guide follows the latest sightings and positions the vehicle for the best views and light, returning to camp at sunset.
After a final morning drive in the Serengeti, cross the plains to Naabi Hill gate and climb into the Ngorongoro highlands, stopping at the crater rim viewpoint, then continue to your lodge in Karatu among coffee farms.
Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater as soon as the gates open, dropping 600 metres down the steep crater wall to the floor of the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. In about six hours on the crater floor you can see lions and spotted hyenas, herds of zebra, wildebeest and buffalo, old elephant bulls with huge tusks and, with luck, one of the crater’s protected black rhinos. Stop for a picnic lunch by the Ngoitokitok hippo pool, then visit the soda lake, often pink with flamingos, before climbing back up to the rim in the afternoon. Then fly from Lake Manyara or Arusha to Zanzibar and check in to a boutique hotel in Stone Town.
After breakfast, explore Stone Town with a local guide: the narrow lanes and carved wooden doors, the Darajani market, the Old Fort, the Palace Museum area and the former slave market memorial at the Anglican cathedral, which tells the story of the East African slave trade. After lunch, transfer about 1–1.5 hours to your beach hotel on the north or east coast in time for a swim and sunset.
A free day to settle into island life. Swim and snorkel off the beach at high tide, walk along the sand at low tide to watch the fishermen and seaweed farmers, or relax by the pool. In the afternoon, take an optional spice farm tour to see cloves, nutmeg and vanilla growing, or visit Jozani Forest to see the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey up close.
Take an optional boat trip to Mnemba Atoll, a protected marine area off the north-east coast, to snorkel or dive over coral gardens with turtles and colourful fish, often with dolphins on the way. Return for lunch and a lazy afternoon on the beach.
A final free day at your own pace: kitesurfing on the east coast, a spa treatment, or lunch at a beach restaurant. In the late afternoon, sail on a traditional wooden dhow as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean, then enjoy a farewell seafood dinner.
Transfer to Zanzibar airport for your flight home.
Lodges shown match the quoted price. Ask us about mid-range and luxury upgrades.
Yes. It covers five major parks and gives you five nights on Zanzibar, with flights for the longest legs.
Yes, the mandatory US$44 inbound travel insurance for all visitors.
Yes, starting in Tanzania and ending in Kenya with a beach at Diani instead.
Yes, with luxury camp and beach hotel upgrades.
June to October and December to February for both safari and beach.
Yes. A Kilimanjaro climb fits naturally between the safari and Zanzibar, starting from Moshi near Arusha.
Adventure 6 daysAfrica’s second-highest mountain, with far fewer people than Kilimanjaro: up through the Mackinder Valley to the foot of the jagged peaks, sunrise on Point Lenana, and down the dramatic lakes and gorges of the Chogoria side.
Adventure 7 daysThe only route from the north, close to the Kenyan border: quiet, drier trails, wide views over the plains and a night beneath the jagged spires of Mawenzi before the climb to Uhuru Peak.
Adventure 8 daysThe quiet western approach to Africa’s highest mountain: eight days from remote rainforest across the Shira Plateau and round the southern slopes, with the slow ascent that gives climbers the best chance of reaching Uhuru Peak.
Change the dates, add a night, upgrade a lodge or combine it with Rwanda or Kenya. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll send a revised plan and price.
