Day 1: Nairobi

Upon arrival into Nairobi, you will be met and transferred to the Nairobi Serena hotel. This afternoon will be at leisure to enjoy these tranquil grounds and perhaps take park in some of the leisure facilities available. Overnight at the Nairobi Serena Hotel.

Nairobi Serena Hotel The Serena group is renowned for offering excellent hotel facilities throughout East Africa, and the Nairobi Serena is no exception. A member of the Leading hotels of the World, the Serena enjoys a location on the edge of the Central Park and the City Centre. Shaded by the glorious Jacaranda, Bougainvillea and Acacia trees and surrounded by lush manicured gardens, the hotel provides a peaceful and luxurious retreat to travellers. The Serena is one of the finest hotels to stay in when in Nairobi.

Day 2: Sweetwaters Reserve, Ol Pejeta Conservancy

After breakfast you will be transferred to the Wilson Airport to connect with the flight to Nanyuki. From here you’ll be met and transferred to camp. After lunch, enjoy a game drive returning late afternoon. After dinner, you will depart on a night game drive. Overnight at Sweetwaters Tented Camp. All meals and activities included.

Sweetwaters Tented Camp This beautiful tented camp lies in the heart of the private 24,000 acre Sweetwaters Game Reserve. Built in the early 70′s, the main building was originally the residence of billionaire Adnan Kashoggi’s ranch manager. The 30 luxuriously appointed en-suite tents have magnificent views across the plains to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya. Located in typical savannah grasslands, punctuated by the ‘whistling thorn’ shrubs and acacia trees, Sweetwaters really is an oasis. It offers guests the indulgence of a swimming pool, some of the finest tented accommodation in Kenya, with personalized service and attention to detail.

At Sweetwaters there is plenty to see. Giraffe, zebra, eland, oryx, waterbuck, Grant’s gazelle, Thompson’s gazelle, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, lion, silver-backed jackals, ostrich, hartebeest, baboon and rhino are all present. There are also several hundred bird species to be observed. There is always a resident naturalist around to help you with your identifications. The private game reserve is also home to the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Kenya. Most of the chimps came from the Jane Goodall Institute in Burundi and the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary now cares for them as a non-profit making venture. Most of the chimps were rescued from the most appalling conditions and it is truly heart-warming to see them living in the riverine forest and savannah grasslands here.

Day 3: Masai Mara

This morning, you’ll transfer back to the airstrip to connect with the flight to the Masai Mara. Upon arrival, you will be met by a guide from camp and transferred to the lodge for lunch. After time to relax and afternoon tea, you’ll head out into the Mara for an afternoon game drive, returning to the camp as the sun sets. Overnight at Mara Serena Safari Lodge. All meals and activities included.

Mara Serena Lodge A masterful interpretation of a traditional Masai village, Mara Serena Lodge seemingly floats on a sea of savannah. A beautiful pool looks out over the wide plains. The rooms are Masai-influenced in style yet extremely comfortable. The main dining room, where delicious meals are served, has three large domes and three small ones depicting Maasai manyattas (villages). Occasionally an African al fresco barbecue is served by the pool overlooking the Mara plains. Fresh fruit juices and cocktails, wines, spirits or liqueurs are available at the bar until late in the evening. At Serena, the views are stunning. It is on this very terrain, stretching endlessly before the lodge, that the annual migrations take place. Millions of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle pass through on their way to and from their alternative feeding grounds in Tanzania.

Day 4: Masai Mara

Morning and afternoon game drives in the Masai Mara. Overnight at Mara Serena Safari Lodge. All meals and activities included.

Day 5: Masai Mara – Serengeti

This morning after an early breakfast you will transfer by road (with a picnic lunch) to the Isebania border post between Kenya and Tanzania. From here you will be met by your Tanzanian driver-guide and vehicle and transferred by road to your lodge in the Serengeti with game-viewing en route, arriving in the evening. Overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge. All meals and activities included. (Note: today’s driving time is about 8 hours, much of which is game viewing en route.)

The Serengeti Serena reflects both the local culture and the surrounding environment. Set high on a hill with magnificent views of the sweeping Serengeti, the lodge is reminiscent of a traditional African village. Rondavals built in the time-honored hut style, house luxury bedrooms with ensuite facilities. Simple in design, yet sophisticated in content, the Serengeti Serena’s decor highlights African arts and crafts, including woodcarving, bead making and pottery. Everything from key tags to headboards for the beds have been specially made. This uniquely African design skillfully incorporates the comforts and attention to detail that are the hallmark of every Serena Lodge. Therefore, if you wish to stay in a lodge, but want more of an African experience, then you will thoroughly enjoy your experience here.

Day 6: Serengeti

Morning and afternoon game drives in the Serengeti. Overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge. All meals and activities included.

Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast you depart for Ngorongoro Crater, viewing game across the vast Serengeti plains and stopping off at Olduvai Gorge en route. The Gorge acquired its name from the Sansevieria bush that grows profusely in the area, named Olduvai by the Maasai. The Gorge is about 50km long and in some places around 90m deep and is found between the Crater and the Serengeti. It was first discovered by a German entomologist named Professor Kattwinkel, who instigated an expedition just before the First World War. Later, the exploration was continued by Dr Louis Leakey and his wife, who in 1959 found humanoid remains of Zinjanthropus, later renamed Australapithicus Boisei, an early form of man. You will have time to walk through the simple small museum at the gorge, where you can view copy displays of some of the finds as well as pictures of what life was like for the gorge’s earliest inhabitants. Upon arrival at the lodge, you’ll have lunch and some time to relax, before departing on an escorted circle hike around the crater rim. Overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. All meals included.

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge Built of stone and covered with a profusion of flowering plants, the lodge feels as if it’s actually part of the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. The walls and terraces were designed around the existing contours of the site, making this beautiful lodge appear to be absorbed into the very earth on which it is built. The result is a unique accommodation with unhindered views of the wealth of animal and bird life that fill the vast crater below. All rooms have own rock-enclosed balcony. The rooms feature brass lamps, embossed leather headboards, wildwood mirrors, Maasai carvings and flamboyant prehistoric wall motifs depicting fleeing giraffes, stylised gazelle and plunging buffalo. Each room draws on a cave-grey, indigo-blue and jasper-red colour-scheme, is fully air-conditioned and enjoys uninterrupted views over the Crater’s unmatched splendor.

Day 8: Ngorongoro Crater

A highlight awaits you this morning as you depart by 4×4 to explore the vast Ngorongoro Crater. After breakfast, you’ll descend through the early morning mists and 2,000 feet into the crater for game viewing. 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. It’s an awesome wildlife experience. In the early afternoon you leave the Crater and drive back to the lodge for lunch followed by a nature walk with Serena Active. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight. Overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. All meals included.

Day 9: Lake Manyara

After breakfast, you leave the Crater and drive through the highlands to Lake Manyara Serena Lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you will continue to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive before ending the day with dinner at your Lodge.Overnight at Lake Manyara Serena. All meals.

Lake Manyara Serena Lodge: It would be difficult to find a more dramatic setting than the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. Situated at the edge of an escarpment, this deluxe lodge overlooks both the Great Rift Valley, which formed millions of years ago, and the beautiful soda lake of Manyara with is lavish supply of bird life. The birds themselves have provided the inspiration for the lodge’s architecture. Graceful, curving and free flowing, it is built in the local circular style and exudes an atmosphere of peacefulness where man and nature co-exist. From the patterns in the reception area resembling bird migration paths, to the soft geometric designs in the bedrooms, there is barely a single straight line in its design. The bar and restaurant offer guests both indoor and outdoor seating at each meal. Sumptuous menus, buffets and barbecues are served to guests alongside authentic African dishes.

Day 10: Depart

Today you’ll depart after breakfast and head east, down the fascinating escarpment of the Rift Valley towards the village of Makuyuni and onto Arusha. The journey will pass through the Masai Steppe filled with many picturesque African villages as well as maize, coffee and banana plantations. Upon arrival into Arusha you’ll have lunch before being dropped off at the airport to catch the Precision Air flight to Nairobi departing at 3:50 pm.