Best Of East Africa Safari

Best of East Africa Safari

SET DEPARTURE SAFARI

Enjoy a boat cruise on Lake Naivasha while the Masai Mara National Reserve is world renowned for its Big Five sightings . The Serengeti National Park with its vast plains support thousands of wildebeests, zebras and gazelle and the predators that follow in their wake. The Ngorongoro Crater is packed with animals and offers sweeping views from its rim with Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley Escarpment displaying dramatic scenery. The safari ends with a visit to the Amboseli National Park which is set against the magnificent backdrop of Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro. Join us for a n unforgettable 13-day Easy Africa safari adventure to spot the Big Five, meet Maasai warriors and witness the stunning natural beauty!


Our East Africa safari packages offer the opportunity to explore the best of Kenya & Tanzania while enjoying the company of an intimate group of like-minded safari enthusiasts, on a set itinerary.


Itinerary

  • Day 1: Nairobi Airport / Nairobi

    Our friendly safari team will welcome you at Nairobi Airport and will transfer you to the hotel in Nairobi.

    Stay: Sarova Pan Afric Hotel (Standard room)

    Meals: Breakfast

  • Day 2: Nairobi / Amboseli National Park

    After breakfast, we will meet our safari guides. Your day begins with spending time in Nairobi, where we visit the Nairobi National Museum. We also visit the Giraffe Centre, which protects the highly endangered Rothschild's giraffe, and end the tour with a visit to the Karen Blixen Museum. Enjoy lunch at the Karen Blixen restaurant before we head south to the Amboseli National Park. Amboseli is known for its huge elephant herds and the dramatic backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro. We enjoy an en-route game drive in the Park on the way to our Lodge. Sometimes described as 'Africa's Elephant Park', it is true that the area is one of the best places in Africa to observe elephants at close range. 

    Stay: Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 3: Amboseli National Park / Nairobi

    *Optional: Visit a Maasai Village in Amboseli NP

    Enjoy a full day in Amboseli with game drives. It is a wonderful experience to see Kilimanjaro hovering above the clouds in the early morning. Wildlife photography against this dramatic backdrop is particularly rewarding if the clouds clear. The diversity of the landscapes matches the variety of wildlife at Amboseli. From swampy wetlands and lush woodlands to the sprawling savannah and dried-up Lake, the Park boasts some truly spectacular scenery.  

    Stay: Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 4: Nairobi / Lake Naivasha National Park

    *Optional: Amboseli Balloon Safari

    Early morning game drive in Amboseli, catching your last views of Kilimanjaro before returning to the Lodge for breakfast and check-out. Our journey continues to Lake Naivasha. Enjoy an afternoon boat safari on Lake Naivasha before checking into our lodge overnight.

    Stay: Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge (Standard room)

    Meal: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 5: Lake Naivasha / Lake Nakuru National Park / Lake Naivasha

    After breakfast, we drive to Lake Nakuru National Park, which means "Dust or Dusty Place" in the Masai language. Situated on the Great Rift Valley floor, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park. The Park is fenced off as a sanctuary to protect the highly endangered Rothschild giraffes and black and white rhinos. Bird species inhabit the Lake and the surrounding area, including flamingos, African fish eagles, Goliath heron, hammerkop, pied kingfisher, and Verreaux eagle. Enjoy game drives in the Park with a late afternoon return to Lake Naivasha for the night.

    Stay: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge (Standard room).

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 6: Lake Naivasha National Park / Masai Mara National Reserve

    Enjoy a boat excursion on Lake Naivasha (own account), the highest Lake in the Rift Valley and one of its most beautiful. Fringed by papyrus and with the extinct Mount Longonot as a backdrop, this is a lovely place to watch and photograph birds. We leave the lake area behind and drive through the Rift Valley to the Masai Mara National Reserve, followed by an afternoon game drive in the Park. The annual highlight is the Great Wildebeest Migration (between July and October), creating one of the world's supreme natural spectacles. The wildebeest form a magnificent sight when they enter the Mara and cross the crocodile-infested waters of the Mara River. 

    Stay: Mara Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 7: Masai Mara National Reserve

    *Optional: Masai Mara Balloon Safari

    *Optional: Visit a Maasai Village

    Make a reservation for the early morning balloon safari (own account), or enjoy morning and afternoon game drives (or a full-day game drive). With some luck, you will see some of the "big five."  The great diversity of species present in this area is impressive. The Masai Mara has the highest concentration of land mammals compared to all other parks!

    Stay: Mara Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room).

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 8: Masai Mara National Reserve / TANZANIA BORDER / Lake Victoria

    Cross-border into Tanzania

    After breakfast, drive from the Masai Mara to the Kenya/Tanzania border at Isebenia/Sirari, which is west of the national parks near Lake Victoria. At the border post, you will say goodbye to your Kenyan guide and meet with your Tanzania guide. We start our Tanzania adventure with a visit to Lake Victoria, one of Africa's Great Lakes. The explorer John Speke named the Lake after Queen Victoria in 1858 while on an expedition with Richard Burton to locate the source of the Nile River. With an afternoon at leisure, you can relax at the Lodge or participate in one of the activities offered by the Lodge.

    Stay: Serenity on the Lake Resort (Bungalow)

    Meals: Dinner, breakfast & lunch

  • Day 9: Lake Victoria / Serengeti National Park (Ndabaka Gate)

    *Optional: Boat or canoeing on Lake Victoria

    *Optional: Cultural experience walking tour

    *Optional: Fisherman Village Tour

    Enjoy the morning relaxing at the resort or choose from the optional excursions offered by the resort. After an early lunch at the Lodge, we drive to the Serengeti National Park, which is 20km from Lake Victoria and enter through the Ndabaka Park gate in Western Serengeti. We enjoy en-route game drives to the Lodge. Arrive late afternoon in the Central Serengeti with herds of animals running across vast open spaces and predators hunting their prey.

    Stay: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 10: Serengeti National Park / Ngorongoro Crater

    *Optional:   Serengeti Balloon Safari

    Make a reservation for the early morning balloon safari (your account), or enjoy morning and afternoon game drives (or a full-day game drive). Relax and enjoy the vast beauty that Africa has to offer. The Serengeti is one of the few places in Africa where game sanctuaries have remained entirely unspoiled. 

    Stay: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 11: Serengeti NP / Ngorongoro Crater

    *Optional: Visit a Maasai Village

    *Optional: Visit Olduvai Gorge Museum

    Enjoy a morning en-route game drive to the park gate, followed by a picnic lunch before heading to Ngorongoro Crater. After bidding the Serengeti farewell, you will visit Olduvai Gorge, a famous archaeological site. The gorge lies on the location of an ancient lake, covered by thick layers of volcanic ash, which carefully preserved the world's earliest records of humankind and was unearthed by the devoted Leakey family. . En route to Ngorongoro, you can opt to visit a Maasai Village near the crater. (own account). The proceeds are used to buy water and other necessities for the tribe that you will visit. This entrance fee to the village will be for your account and is not included in your package).  

    Overnight at .  

    Stay: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 12: Ngorongoro Crater / Lake Manyara National Park

    After breakfast, descend 600 m into the magnificent crater for game drives in the Ngorongoro Crater. Witness an unforgettable spectacle of African wildlife - a world teeming with animals. The Park sustains a wide variety of animals, including the black rhino, with its year-round water supply and fodder. Another big drawcard to this picturesque Park is its dense population of predators, which includes lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard. Enjoy a picnic lunch at the hippo pool near the Mandusi Swamp, and a drive through the haunting forest will allow you to feast your eyes on some of the most spectacular green vegetation you will ever see. Later in the afternoon, you will ascend to the crater rim and drive to Lake Manyara.  

    Stay: Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 13: Lake Manyara National Park / Kilimanjaro Airport

    After breakfast, drive down into the Rift Valley on the way to Lake Manyara National Park, followed by game drives. The mosaic of the Park's different habitats is easily seen: the rift wall, the groundwater forest, acacia woodlands, open grassland, the lakeshore, the swamp, and the Lake itself. After the game, the drive continues to Arusha, where we stop at the Cultural Heritage Centre (for shopping for Tanzania art, memorabilia, and Tanzanite) and enjoy your picnic lunch. Transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport for your onward flight home.

    End of service

We also offer this as a PRIVATE SAFARI or can send you a tailor-made quotation similar to the above itinerary - one designed specifically for you, around your taste, budget, interests and more.

  • Return airport transfers
  • Accommodation in Nairobi with breakfast
  • Accommodation on safari on a full board basis (breakfast, lunch & dinner)  
  • Shared 4x4 stretched Land Cruiser safari vehicle 
  • 1x Ngorongoro Crater tour 
  • Unlimited kilometres during the safari 
  • Services of your professional and knowledgeable English speaking driver/guide 
  • All national park entrance fees 
  • Comprehensive support from our operational office in Tanzania for the duration of the safari 

  • International flights
  • Entry visa to Tanzania & Kenya
  • Yellow Fever – COMPULSORY!
  • Travel Insurance (Highly recommended)
  • Meals and drinks not specified 
  • Laundry services
  • Gratuities to the driver/guide, hotel staff & porters 
  • Maasai Boma visit fee 
  • Balloon safari
  • All expenses of personal nature
  • Malaria – Kenya & Tanzania are malaria areas

Dates & Prices

Dates:

This 13-Day Best of East Africa Tours and Safaris experience departs twice a month. Anyone can join this safari, and as long as there is a minimum of 2 passengers, the safari will run. 

*Max 6 clients per vehicle. 


Departing twice a month: Request our 2024 Safari dates from our Safari Specialists:  info@exploreplus.co.za

Rates:

SA RESIDENTS: INTERNATIONAL:
Sharing: from R94,884.00 pp US$ 5,059.00 pp
Return flight from JHB: R8,720.00 pp

 

  • Request a quote from our Safari Specialists for the most current rates and availability on our group departures.
  • The exchange rate used (bank selling rate): R18.90 to US$1.00
  • Please treat all pricing as a guide only.
  • The rates may vary according to season changes.
  • All rates are subject to increases beyond our control, including fuel price, government taxes and exchange rate fluctuations.
  • Maximum 6 clients per vehicle .


National Parks

Amboseli National Park 

The park is 392 sq. km in size at the core of an 8,000 sq. km ecosystem that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border. It is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants and other wildlife species. Here you will have the opportunity to meet the Maasai people and see spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Amboseli has a very fragile ecosystem, submitted to significant seasonal variations. During the wet season, the rains flood the lake bed and the surrounding area. The high salt deposits in the lakebed inhibits tree growth and only small patches of acacia and palm trees are found far from the lake. The salt-rich pastures provide good feed to the herbivores. Despite the first impression of the park being dusty and arid, Amboseli has abundant groundwater overflowing into various underground streams. They rise into two clear water springs in the centre of the park, giving birth to large marshes like the Loginya Swamp where elephants, hippos and buffalo's find refuge.

Lake Nakuru National Park 

Lake Nakuru is internationally known for its flamingos. At times there may be almost two million flamingos inhabiting the area, forming a stunningly beautiful deep pink band around the edges of the lakeshore. This alkaline lake is recognised as being one of the natural wonders of the world. Lake Nakuru is also a rhino sanctuary, protecting a population of over 40 black and over 60 white rhino, but the flamingos have always been the main attraction. More than 400 bird species and over 50 mammal species have been recorded and it is perhaps the best place in Kenya to see leopards. Troops of black-and-white Colobus monkeys can be seen in the yellow-barked acacias. The rare Rothschild’s giraffe, herds of buffalo, dik-dik, klipspringers and eland are among the generally seen game.

Masai Mara Game Reserve 

Bordering Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, Masai Mara offers a wide variety of wildlife and the best opportunity to see lions (some with gorgeous, long black manes) and cheetahs. It is common to see lions, hippos, crocodiles, antelope, giraffes, wildebeest, warthogs, baboons, hyenas, jackals, zebras, cape buffalo and dozens of birds, including ostriches, cranes, secretary birds, and storks in just one day of game viewing.   Every year (between July - Oct), millions of wildebeest and zebras migrate into the Mara in search of water.  The timing of this phenomenon varies, depending on the rains.  Whether you see the migration or not, wildlife watching is good year-round, and the Mara will leave you with a lasting impression of Kenya.  Rivers cross the landscape of rolling plains and dotted with lone acacia trees.


Lake Victoria

Standing in the heart of East Africa, Lake Victoria is an enormous mass of water that stretches across countries, cultures, and histories.  A visit to the lake offers the chance to explore the diversity of local communities, as well as sight some of Africa’s most prized wildlife. It is the largest lake in Africa (second largest in the world) and chief reservoir of the Nile, lying mainly in Tanzania and Uganda but bordering on Kenya. Alongside a spectacular array of birdlife and wetland animals, such as the clawless otter and sitatunga, the lake has fostered a number of native species. Among these are several types of cichlid, many of which are notable by their vibrantly-coloured scales. More elusive – or, possibly extinct – is the deep-water Catfish. Dwelling at the bottom of the lake, which is 82 metres at its deepest, this little-known catfish is thought to have been brought to near extinction by the introduction of the Nile Perch.  Lake Victoria is special for being one of only two places in East Africa where it’s possible to watch the sunset over water without being on the coast! Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya is the other.


Serengeti National Park 

The Serengeti’s endless plains is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is patrolled by Africa’s big cats, elephants, buffaloes, gazelles and giraffes and is perhaps most famous for the migration of animals. The principle players are the wildebeest, whose numbers appear to have increased to about 2 million. In addition, about 250,000 zebras make the seasonal journey to fresh pastures, first to the north, then the south after the rains. Their ancient instinct to move is so strong that no drought, gorge or crocodile-infested river can hold them back. In February the wildebeest cows drop their young in a synchronized birthing that sees some 300 000 to 400 000 calves born within two to three weeks.
Bird watching in the Serengeti is good all year round, at its very best from November to April.This is when European and North African migratory birds are present for resident species.  

Ngorongoro Crater 

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest unbroken volcanic caldera and is regarded as the 8th wonder of the world. It is one of the most diverse and fascinating areas of Tanzania and has been given the status of a World heritage site and International Biosphere Reserve. The fertile slopes and steep forest-covered walls are home to approximately 30,000 animals including the rare black rhino. The various ecosystems found within the 260 square kilometre crater floor sustain Cape buffalo, elephants, wildebeest, zebras, elands, gazelles, hippos, numerous bird species as well as a high concentration of predators. Although birdlife is generally good throughout the year, from November to April, migratory birds from Europe and Northern Africa are present and many resident birds are in breeding plumage. 

Lake Manyara National Park 

Located on the edge of the Rift valley, Lake Manyara is a remarkably species-rich reserve, especially known for its birds, elephants, flamingos and tree-climbing lions. En-route to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, Lake Manyara is well worth a stop in its own right. Its forests, bush plains, baobab-strewn cliffs and hot springs offer an incredible variety in a small area. The alkaline soda lake is home to an amazing array of bird life with the best birding opportunities from November to April. During this time the migratory birds from Europe and Northern Africa can be observed and many birds can be seen in their breeding plumage. 

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