This 10 day safari combines the Masai Mara, Kenya, and northern safari circuit of Tanzania.
Day 1 Arrive in Nairobi, where you are met and transferred to your hotel. Overnight: Nairobi Serena Hotel BB
Day 2 Morning departure by road to the Rift Valley. Your panoramic journey will then take you past Lake Naivasha, with its Crescent Island and onto Lake Nakuru. Lunch and afternoon game activity. Overnight: Sarova Lion Hill Lodge FB
Day 3 Transfer back to Nairobi by road. Lunch and fly to the Masai Mara. Afternoon game drive. Overnight: Mara Serena Lodge FB
Day 4 Morning and afternoon game activities in the Masai Mara. Overnight: Mara Serena Lodge FB
Day 5 Transfer to the Isebania border post. This is approximately a 3 hour drive. You will be driven a short distance to the airstrip (on the Tanzania side) and fly to the Serengeti. You will fly to Seronora airstrip in the central Serengeti (approximately 30 minutes). Afternoon game drive. Overnight: Serengeti Serena Lodge FB
Day 6 Morning and afternoon game activities in the Serengeti. Overnight: Serengeti Serena Lodge FB
Day 7 After breakfast you depart for Ngorongoro Crater, viewing game across the vast Serengeti plains and stopping off at Olduvai Gorge en route. Lunch and a nature walk. Overnight: Ngorongoro Serena Lodge FB
Day 8 Ngorongoro Crater safari - A highlight awaits you this morning as you depart by 4x4 to explore what is commonly referred to as the World’s largest wildlife zoo. After breakfast, you’ll descend through the early morning mists and 2,000 feet into the crater for a full day of game viewing with a picnic lunch. Ngorongoro Crater is the World’s largest intact volcanic caldera and is also one of the World’s seven natural wonders. Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct habitats, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes and springs, to open grassland and some sandy dunes Overnight: Ngorongoro Serena Lodge FB
Day 9 Depart to Mto wa Mbu Village for lunch and a Masaai cultural experience. From here, continue to Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive. Overnight: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge FB
Day 10 Morning depart for Arusha. This is approximately a 2 hour drive on good tarred road. Lunch and afternoon flight to Nairobi for your onward arrangements.
The above itinerary uses Serena Lodges throughout. Using the same basic route, the safari can be easily adapted to incorporate smaller private camps to provide more of a personalised safari.
The Masai Mara and Serengeti form a natural eco-system. The wildebeest migration crosses freely between the two reserves. Unfortunately, most safaris cannot do the same as travelling between the Kenya and Tanzania is restricted.
At the moment (2007), you can get a permit to cross directly within the two reserves at Sand River Gate within the parks, but this permit can only be obtained in Nairobi before travelling into the parks. Even then, you are not guaranteed of crossing unless you are lucky at the actual border. It has been reported that bribes have been paid in the past. Please do not support this practice if you do decide to cross at Sand River Gate. Hopefully, one-day, the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments will see the light and create a transfrontier park (Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Grumeti Reserve, Loliondo Game Controlled Area and various other reserves and concessions) as is the trend in Southern Africa. Until then, most safari visitors will use Nairobi to get between the two destinations or Isebania border crossing is a good compromise.