Day 1: Arrive Nairobi

Upon arrival into Nairobi, you are met and transferred to the Safari Park Hotel for overnight.

Safari Park Hotel

Situated only 20 km from the international airport, the lively Safari Park Hotel is an African themed resort providing deluxe accommodation in 64 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and indigenous forest. All of the 204 distinctively designed and decorated rooms are airy and contain television, private bathroom facilities and private balconies. There are six restaurants as well as a casino, several bars, health club, tennis and squash courts.

Day 2 & 3: Masai Mara Game Reserve

After an early morning breakfast, drive to Narok town via Mai-Mahiu with a brief a rest stop and proceed on to Mara arriving in time for lunch at a lodge. Explore this remarkable wilderness for the next two days on early morning and afternoon game drives. The Mara is regarded as Kenya’s finest wildlife park. It is certainly the most famous and the most visited. It offers breathtaking scenery and prolific wildlife. The gentle rolling grasslands seem to teem with animals in every direction. This is particularly true when the migrating herds of wildebeest arrive, usually between July and October. Even when the vast herds have left, the park supports a year-round population of lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo and zebra while the rivers are home to hippos and crocodiles. Overnights Mara Sopa Lodge. All meals.

Mara Sopa Lodge

The lodge is set in the Oloolaimutia Valley and built into the surrounding hillside landscape. The accent around the lodge is on the indigenous Maasai people and the fabulous wealth of wildlife, birdlife and natural flora seen in every direction. The lodge is luxuriously appointed with all the modern conveniences one would expect from a Sopa style of lodge in the bush. The bedrooms are spacious; the large pool has wonderful views and there are evening wildlife films and CNN to enjoy during the down time. All this ensures that your stay will be blissfully comfortable.

Day 4: Lake Nakuru National Park

Leaving the Mara this morning, you head to your next destination, the spectacular Lake Nakuru. This is often colored a shimmering flamingo pink from thousands of the beautiful birds lining its shores. Once in the park, there will be a game drive en route to Nakuru lodge where you will have lunch. Following lunch there is an afternoon game drive you will then continue to Lake Nakuru lodge as the sun sets. The lake is fringed by alkaline swamps while the surrounding areas support a dry transitional savanna with lake margin grasslands. There are up to 1.5 million flamingos as well as 450 other species of birds. Fauna includes Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, the rare long-eared leaf-nosed bat, colobus monkey, rock hyrax, hippo, leopard, lion, rhino, waterbuck, impala, gazelle, striped hyena, bat-eared fox, wild cat, reedbuck and golden cat along with lion, black and white rhino and the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. Overnight Lake Nakuru Lodge. All meals.

Lake Nakuru Lodge

Situated in the Southeast ecological niche of the park is Lake Nakuru Lodge, an oasis of comfort and excellent service, with commanding views of the lake. The lodge blends well with its surrounding and the animals often browse peacefully close to the lodge and environs. There are accommodations for 180 people, in family rooms, deluxe cottages and suites.

Day 5 & 6: Amboseli National Park

After an early breakfast, you depart with a picnic lunch and head south to Amboseli National Park. Amboseli means “place of water” in Masai and although the park appears to be dry and dusty, numerous underground streams feed two clear-water springs in the heart of the park. The park is dominated by the snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro and is an important homeland for the Masai. Wildlife is plentiful and elephant, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, buffalo, rhino, lion, leopard and antelope may be seen. Spend the next full day on game drives exploring the park. Overnight Amboseli Sopa Lodge. All meals.

Amboseli Sopa Lodge

At the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the lodge set on 200 acres of land not far from where Ernest Hemingway lived whilst writing his novel, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” Each of the 47 rooms has its own private verandah and en suite bathroom. The restaurant serves a multi-ethnic combination of European, African and Asian dishes, all made with fresh produce. Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style. Dinner is a four-course meal and picnic lunch boxes are available for guests traveling or on safari during the day.

Day 7: Kenya to Tanzania

After breakfast, return to your vehicle and drive to the Tanzania border post, where you bid your Kenyan guide farewell and meet your new Tanzanian guide. You drive to Arusha for lunch and then on across the Maasai Steppe to the Great Rift Valley. Your lodge is perched high on the escarpment overlooking Lake Manyara and the valley below. Overnight Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. 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, the lodge overlooks both the Great Rift Valley, which formed millions of years ago, and the beautiful soda lake of Manyara. Graceful, curving and free flowing, the main lodge 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 8 & 9: Lake Manyara & Serengeti National Parks

This morning descend back into the Great Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park to look for wildlife along the shores of the lake and in the beautiful forest on the lake’s edge. We may see the Manyara lions, well known for their tree climbing habits where they lazily rest up in the branches. Elephant, hippo, giraffe, buffalo and other animals are found here as well as nimble blue monkeys and large family troops of baboons. The bird life is prolific with flamingoes, pelicans, hornbills and plenty of vibrant forest species present. Return to Lake Manyara lodge for lunch before continuing to the Serengeti, passing through villages and herds of cattle on the way. Spend the next full day discovering this amazing park. Serengeti is perhaps the most impressive wildlife sanctuary in the world. These vast, seemingly unending plains are inhabited during the migration by enormous herds of wildebeest and zebra. The herds attract the attention of predators such as lion, cheetah and hyena. Another interesting feature of Serengeti is the massive granite kopjes, islands of rock standing in a sea of grass. The kopjes provide shelter to a great variety of plants and animals, from the elusive leopard to the tiny dik dik. Overnights at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge. All meals.

Serengeti Sopa Lodge

The lodge is located in the Nyarboro Hills in the south west of the Serengeti National Park. Year round water and the acacia woodland in this area create an ideal environment for the wide variety of wildlife seen in the immediate vicinity of the lodge. The lodge has 79 suites, each with a private lounge and mini bar, bedroom with two queen size beds and ample room for a third, an en suite bathroom with shaver sockets and a private verandah which offers stunning views over the endless plains.

Day 10: Olduvai Gorge & Ngorongo Crater

Set through the Serengeti early this morning en route to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area with a picnic lunch, arriving at your lodge in the late afternoon. Overnight Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge. All meals.

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Located on the eastern rim of the crater, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge is the only visitor accommodation on this side. It therefore offers guests unique and spectacular views down into the crater floor and of the sunsets over the western horizon. Another major advantage of this location, is that guests can be in the crater within five minutes of leaving the lodge. The 92 rooms are all spacious, comfortable and set below the main lodge, each with excellent views of the forest and crater below.

Day 11: Ngorongoro Crater National Park

After breakfast, you’ll descend through the early morning mists and 2,000 feet into the crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the World’s largest intact volcanic caldera, a World Heritage Site and also one of the World’s Seven Natural Wonders. Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes and springs, to open grassland and some sandy dunes. It’s an awesome wildlife experience. Return to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge for overnight. All meals.

Day 12: Tarangire National Park

Departing Ngorongoro Crater after breakfast, you head south east en route to Lake Manyara, Mto wa Mbu village and Tarangire beyond. Through the highlands and the Karatu district, you view the scenic wheat plains and coffee plantations here before journeying down the spectacular escarpment where you turn south on to the main Arusha – Dodoma road and into the park. From here to the lodge, you’ll enjoy a game drive en route to your lodge. After lunch and perhaps a swim, the remainder of the afternoon will be spent on a game drive. Overnight Tarangire Sopa Lodge.

Tarangire Sopa Lodge

Tarangire is recognized as one of the best parks on the northern circuit for elephant viewing during the dry season and Tarangire Sopa is ideally placed to experience this. The lodge welcomes guests to its vast marble-floored reception area with cold flannels and iced juice. In the pretty gardens a large circular pool with a central island, a pool bar and elegant wooden loungers demonstrates the lodge's commitment to comfort. Delicious barbecue lunches are often served here. A broad veranda wraps itself around the lodge and gives prime viewing for the waterhole below, which is filled during the dry season and becomes a magnet to wildlife. The rooms at the lodge are simple, comfortable and spacious and arranged in groups of four, in African-style buildings. Large sliding doors open to a private balcony for each room.

Day 13: Depart

Depart Tarangire after breakfast and drive back to Arusha arriving in time for lunch. After lunch you continue the journey by road to Nairobi and for dinner in Nairobi city center before drop off at Nairobi International Airport. All meals.

Land Cost - 2011
Dates Per Person Double Single Supplement
March 31-May 21 $3998.00 $104.00
February 26-March 30, November-December 14 $4598.00 $698.00
December 30 2011-February 25, May 22-October $5040.00 $798.00
Holiday Supplement December 24-January 3, April 6-9; $50 per person per night

All rights reserved. Nothing contained on this website may be reproduced without express written permission. African Safari Company does not assume responsibility for errors or omissions in the content of this website.