The Great Kenya & Tanzania Escape Safari 13 Days

Enjoy a relaxed day in Nairobi or take any of the tours below

Arts & Culture: Nairobi isn’t New York City or London, but it does offer a number of opportunities to explore the local culture, view art, watch sports, and take in performing arts. Ask your guide or check out local newspapers or websites (such as Nairobi Now and Up Nairobi) to find out about local events, games, and performances during your visit. Below is a list of some of the most popular cultural attractions in Nairobi.

African Heritage House: Designed by American Alan Donovan, co-founder of the African Heritage Pan African Galleries, the house overlooks Nairobi National Park and is a combination of mud architectures from across Africa. Tours, as well as meals and lodging, can be arranged.

Bomas of Kenya: A tourist village where you can learn more about traditional Kenyan culture by experiencing living styles, crafts, music, and dancing.

City Tour: The best way to get to know more about a city is to take a guided walking or driving tour. While we did not get a chance to do this, our driver highly recommended this and said the views of the city center in the evening are quite nice. If you are looking for great sweeping views of the city, you might want to plan a stop at the 28-story Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC). On most days, for a few shillings, the security guard will escort you in an elevator to the top floor where you’ll be treated to amazing city views (there is a revolving restaurant here but it is was closed during our visit)

Karen Blixen Museum: You can tour the famous home and grounds of Danish writer and coffee farmer Karen Blixen. The house has been converted into a museum and the exterior of the house was also used in the film based on Blixen’s famous book Out of Africa.

Kibera Tour: Kibera is a very poor and crowded neighborhood in Nairobi and one of the largest urban slums in Africa. Many companies offer tours and although these can be very educational and eye-opening, slum tourism is quite controversial and can have negative effects on the locals. If you decide to do this, do your research on reputable and responsible Kibera tour companies. 

Nairobi National Museum: This museum covers the history of Kenya and Kenya culture, early human ancestry, and specializes in natural history. Other attractions within the grounds include the Nairobi Snake Park, a botanic garden, and a nature trail. 

Nairobi Railway Museum: Nairobi traces its modern roots back to being a simple rail depot along the rail route from Mombasa to Uganda. Located near the Nairobi railway station, this museum provides a history of rail travel in East Africa, a chance to see old locomotives, and even some functioning models.

National Gallery: This gallery houses temporary exhibits so you’ll want to check the current exhibit before deciding to visit. The museum currently hosts the Murumbi Collection exhibition, which includes artifacts from across Africa collected by former Vice President Joseph Murumbi, including art, jewelry, postage stamps, books, and other cultural items. 

You will  have Lunch at the Famous Utamaduni Restaurant located within Bomas of Kenya. Bomas of Kenya is home to one of largest auditoriums in Africa and displays traditional villages belonging to the several Kenyan tribes.

Main Destination: NairobiKenya 

Accommodation: Nairobi Sarova Panafric Hotel

Enquire to add the Bucket-list breakfast: If you upgrade to STAY AT Giraffe Manor (Luxury Lodge, Nairobi)This classic ivy-clad manor house is home to a tower of Rothschild’s giraffes that live in the grounds of the hotel. The large veranda and terrace is perfect for feeding them by hand*. These giraffes are all wild and there’s a breeding and conservation programme at the Giraffe Centre located in Giraffe Manor’s grounds, which we invite you to visit. There’s lots to do here including visiting the Karen Blixen Museum, dedicated to the great Danish explorer and a visit to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust where you can meet orphaned elephants. We also offer the chance to shop for art and gifts from local Kenyan designers, artists and craftspeople. Enjoy your stay at  Giraffe Manor, an exclusive boutique hotel often referred to as one of the most instagrammed properties in the world, Giraffe Manor is set in 12 acres of private land within 140 acres of indigenous forest in the Langata suburb of Nairobi. Explore Nairobi after you check in. 

At 8am, your guide will pick you up from the Hotel or Airport and travel to Masai Mara through The Great Rift Valley and Narok, a Masai Mara Town. Masai Mara is an enormous reserve; actually part of the vast Serengeti plains famously known for its spectacular great wildebeest migration and is home of the “Big Five” including lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo and rhino You will arrive at the Game Lodge where you will check-in and have lunch.

After lunch you will take off on an afternoon game drive through the park in search of the lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo and other animals. Later in the evening you will return to the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

Main Destination:Masai Mara National Reserve

Accommodation: Mara Serena Safari Lodge 

Meals All meals included and Drinking Water 

Enjoy a morning Safari and return for breakfast.

Other things to do in Masai Mara

Hot Air Balloon Safari – This optional activity is an additional cost of $ 550 by pre-arrangement

After breakfast you can be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Mara Plains. Experience floating silently above the awakening bush while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages. 

On the plains, enormous herds of grazing animals, plus the elusive cheetah and leopard hiding amidst acacia boughs can be seen. 

After this optional balloon ride, the search for great predators and perhaps even cubs continues during an extensive game drive after lunch.

Masai Village Visit –  This optional activity is an additional cost of $ 70 by pre-arrangement

During your stay you also have an optional opportunity to visit a village of the Maasai people where you will witness singing and dancing; part of their daily lives and sacred rituals. A glimpse into their homes and social structure is a poignant experience. Later in the evening you will return to the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

Main Destination:Masai Mara National Reserve

Accommodation: Mara Serena Safari Lodge 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water 

After breakfast you check-out of the lodge and make your way to Lake Nakuru National Park. On the floor of the Great Rift Valley surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful park. Lake Nakuru National Park is ideal for bird watching, hiking, picnicking and game drives. 

You will see flamingos and other waterfowl and a variety of terrestrial birds numbering about 450 species. You will see over 56 different types of animal including white rhino, waterbuck and more! Key view-points to see are Lion Hill, Baboon Cliff and Out of Africa Hills including Enasoit, Honeymoon, Lion Hill Ridge, as well as the Makalia Waterfalls.

There are over 550 different plant species including the unique and biggest euphoria forest in Africa Picturesque landscape and yellow acacia woodlands to view. Later in the evening you will head to Sarova Lion Hill for dinner and your overnight stay.

Main Destination: Lake Nakuru National Park 

Accommodation: Serena Elementaita Camp 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water 

You will rise early, have breakfast, check-out and head to Naivasha. The biodiversity of this area will absolutely amaze you. If planning a trip to Kenya, Naivasha is a must. One day and night is good enough unless you want to spend more time hiking and trekking at Hell’s Gate National Park. 

Optional Things to Do – Boat Ride

You can take a boat ride on Lake Naivasha where bird-watching is the biggest draw and the best way to see the beautiful winged creatures is on this two-hour boat-ride. Your boatman will likely show you how eagles prey on fish on the lake. Later you can go for a tour of Hell’s Gate National Park.  The park got its name from the vast open areas, dry grasses and passage created by the steep walls of very high cliffs. In prehistoric times a river flowed through this gap. The river has long since dried up. The gap was christened as Hell’s Gate. This trip is available at supplementary cost of by pre-arrangement). Later in the evening you will head to Sawela Hotel for your dinner and overnight stay.

 Main Destination: Lake Naivasha

Accommodation:Sawela Lodge 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water (Other drinks not included)

After breakfast you will check-out and drive to Amboseli National Park. The Park is famous for the large herds of elephants and the majestic view of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. You will arrive at your Lodge where you will have lunch. After lunch is served you will have time to relax or enjoy the sun heated swimming pool before leaving for another game drive in the afternoon. You will be back in time for a warm shower or a cocktail before dinner is served and then you will turn in for the night.

Main Destination: Amboseli National Park 

Accommodation: Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water 

After breakfast you will take part in two game drives for this day. The open flat plains are ideal places to search for pride of lions, buffalo, cheetah, zebra, and wildebeest. The swamps are good places to catch elephants as they bath in the mud. There is a wealth and diversity of waterfowl and other bird species. 

Things to do in Amboseli

Hot Air Balloon Safari – This optional activity is an additional cost of $ 550 by pre-arrangement

After breakfast you can be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Amboseli. Experience floating silently above the awakening bush while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages. 

On the plains, enormous herds of grazing animals, plus the elusive cheetah and leopard hiding amidst acacia boughs can be seen. After this optional balloon ride, the search for great predators and perhaps even cubs continues during an extensive game drive after lunch.

 You can also discover the African Culture by visiting a local Maasai Village before returning to the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

Main Destination: Amboseli National Park 

Accommodation: Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water 

After breakfast you will check-out and head towards the Serengeti National Park, traveling through the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Leaving the highlands behind, you will descend into the heart of wild Africa, the Serengeti National Park with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see.  You will head to the central park area known as the Seronera, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. This area features the Seronera River which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. You will arrive at the Serengeti Acacia Camps in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park before returning for dinner and your overnight stay.

 Main Destination:Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water 

After breakfast you will have a full day game drive along the Sogore River Circuit looping into the plains south of the Seronera River. This area is a great location to view lions, gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah. The visitor’s center, not far from the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby Kopje. Here you will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch in the shade of the acacia trees. After lunch you will follow the Kopjes Circuit which usually attracts a number of lions and some formidably large cobra. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the Kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons. Later in the evening you will return to the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

Main Destination:Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water 

After breakfast you will check-out and depart for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There will be a stopover at Olduvai Gorge where the anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of both the ’”Nutcracker and HandyMan”, very significant links in the chain of human evolution.  You will arrive at your Lodge in time for lunch and then spend the afternoon at leisure. Later you will have dinner and then turn in for the night.

Main Destination: Ngoro-ngoro Crater 

Accommodation: Ngoro-ngoro Serena Safari Lodge 

Meals: All meals included and Drinking Water 

You will enjoy breakfast at the lodge. After breakfast you will check-out and travel to Arusha.

Main Destination: Arusha, Tanzania

Accommodation: Arusha Serena Hotel

Meals: Breakfast only

Tour Ends