A fusion of the finest game parks in Kenya and Tanzania, this tour offers unparalleled wildlife viewing in the classic safari style, with evening relaxation at traditional tented safari camps. A trip of contrasts, from the desertscape of Samburu national park to the lush greenery of the Abaderes, the lakes of Nakuru and Naivasha and the savanah of Masai Mara, this trip showcases the extremes of Kenya. Photographers will revel in the stark lighting and great wildlife shots in Samburu. Enjoy a luxury tented safari experience at Sweetwaters camp in Laikipia, where you can visit Kenya's only chimpanzee sanctuary. The hippos of Lake Naivasha or the Rhinos of Nakuru. continue onwards to the world's top game park, Masai Mara, famous for its plains of predator and prey, and the annual wildebeest migration. Travel to the Serengeti which offers the most diverse game-viewing in Africa. Explore the Ngorongoro Crater, a Natural Wonder of the World, packed with herds of zebra, buffalo, antelope and wildebeest. Journey through Amboseli, known for its stunning views of Kilimanjaro and large elephant herds, before heading back to Nairobi.

Nairobiis the least expensive arrival city for flights with a full range of hotels and local attractions. Dubbed the “Safari Capital of the World,” cool, clear and cosmopolitanNairobiis the natural departure point for most safari itineraries. A city of contrasts, it is simultaneously the largest, the youngest, the most modern, the highest (1700m) and the fastest growing city inEast Africa. High-altitudeNairobienjoys a pleasant tropical climate all year round. There are ATMs and banks to stock up on cash, great restaurants, and malls where you can purchase any forgotten items.

In the event of serious illness, all travellers are covered by Flying Doctors Insurance. This covers the cost of emergency air evacuation service needed to fly back to Nairobi for treatment. This insurance does not cover the cost of medical treatment.

You will receive a private airport transfer to/from the airport.

Owned and operated by Fairview Hotel, Country Lodge offers modern accommodations at reasonable prices. Located in quite Upperhill, relax in the gardens or take advantage of gym facilities and local restaurants. Rest in comfort and security at this lovely location.

Overnight at Country Lodge.

The Samburu National Reserve is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya; on the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve in Northern Kenya. It is 165 km² in size and 350 kilometers from Nairobi. Samburu is distinctive for its arid plains and herds of animals drawn to the river and water holes. Photographers love this park for its stark lighting and contrasts. In the arid north of Kenya, water means life. The river draws wildlife in great numbers to its banks, providing high quality game viewing.

This morning you'll meet up with your guide and head off to Samburu National park. The drive from the urban center of Nairobi, through the fertile highlands, the semi-arid frontier of Kenya is breath-taking and great way to see the countryside. The drive will be about an 5 to 6 hours.

Your skilled guide will take you on an afternoon game-viewing drive through the sandy Samburu desert region.

Samburu Simba Lodge is a relatively new lodge, situated in the Buffalo Springs National Reserve, part of the larger Samburu system. Removed from the beaten path of topical tourist circuit, the lodge is ideally located on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River, the lifeblood of this arid area. All rooms and central areas have views of the river and the nearby waterhole, where large herds of elephants and other wildlife come to drink. The lodge has two luxury swimming pools, a restaurant and bar, curio shop and expansive conference facilities. Enjoy unobstructed views of game along the river banks and the waterhole from either your room terraces, at the lodge, or from restaurant.

Overnight at Samburu Simba Lodge.

Early this morning you'll meet up with your guide for your game drive. One of the amazing things about Samburu is that you'll most likely see species that are unique to this region. The Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), also known as the imperial zebra, is the largest species of zebra. It is found in the Samburu area as well as parts of Ethiopia. Compared to other zebras, it is taller, has larger ears, and its stripes are narrower. Grévy's zebra is considered endangered, partly due to hunting for its skin, which fetches a high price on the world market. It also suffers habitat destruction, human disturbances at water holes and competition with domestic grazing animals. There are estimated to be 17.000 Grévy's zebra still living in the wild. With luck, you'll see some today!

Another species unique to the Samburu region is the gerenuk. With luck, you'll see some while on your game drive. It's amazing to watch them stand on their hind legs to eat! The gerenuk (also known as Waller's gazelle) is a long-necked species of antelope found in dry bushy shrub and steppe in East Africa. The word gerenuk comes from the Somali language, meaning “giraffe-necked”, and leads to its other common name, the giraffe-necked antelope.

Overnight at Samburu Simba Lodge.

Laikipia District is located on the Equator in the central region of the country. The district has two major urban centres: Nanyuki to the southeast, and Nyahururu to the southwest. Its capital is the town ofNanyuki. Centered around the original Laikipia National Reserve, this area has become a sanctuary for elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and a wealth of plains game, including many endemic northern species. Laikipia has become a focus for many conservation efforts.

This morning you will leave Samburu and drive to Laikipia. Along the way you will see amazing scenery as you drive through rural Kenya, spot Samburu villages and more as you drive. This drive takes about 2 hours.

You will have the option of visiting the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary today. The sanctuary is the only place in Kenya where this highly endangered and remarkably intelligent species can be seen.

The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary opened in 1993 in a negotiated agreement between the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Jane Goodall Institute. Here the animals are carefully nursed back to health and integrated into families. The chimpanzees live in two large groups separated by theEwasoNyiroRiver. Watch them romp and play, visit the local shop, or even sponsor a chimp!

Visitors to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy have free access to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which is open daily from 9:00am to 10:30am and 3pm to 4:30pm.

A sheltered oasis, clustered around a water hole and set in the pristine calm of the private Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Sweetwaters Tented Camp offers a charming blend of under-canvas ambiance and safari luxury. Located on the plains of Mount Kenya, the camp features39 luxury tents, each with its own private veranda overlooking the water hole. The central Rhino Restaurant is housed in the former manager's house of this once colonial farm, and offers both regional and international cuisine. Also within the house is the Kashoggi Bar and lounge, which centres on a blazing log fire. The Waterhole Bar, built in the style of a game-viewing hide, overlooks the waterhole and offers unrivalled wildlife-watching.

Overnight at Sweetwaters Serena.

Naivasha is one of our favorite places to pause on safari. Lush, cool and relaxing, it is a beautiful freshwater lake, fringed by thick papyrus. The lake is almost 13 km across but its waters are shallow and thick with hippo. Hell'sGateNational Park,LongonotNational ParkandMountLongonotare nearby attractions. Boat tours on the lake are popular to observe birdlife and hippopotamus behavior, or exploreCrescentIslandon foot.

Your guide will drive you from Laikipia to Lake Naivasha, through the rift valley. This drive will take about 5 hours.

Sign up for optional activities on-site. Activities include Crescent Island boat tour, hiking and day trip excursions to Mt Longonot and Hell's Gate, or simply walk along the lakeshore and relax at your lodge.

*Activity fees vary and are paid on-site to the lodge and/or park authority.

Like an African castle in the sky, Sopa Lodge Naivasha spins wondrous safaris from natural treasures below the golden Kenyan sun. It is situated on the southern shores of Naivasha, the largest freshwater lake in the Great Rift Valley. Let this dazzling resort of 21 cottages prepare you for mouth-dropping silence. Feast on the succulent meats and preparations of the hotel’s talented chefs. Allow your eyes to indulge in the scenery and wildlife that draws so many to visit this hotel, built for open views of nature’s activities at their most untouched. Make sure to wander around the compound. You will be enchanted by the fine architecture, cathedral ceilings, and grand windows. Stroll around the gardens, and take a swim. It’s hard to leave this heavenly escape.

Overnight at Sopa Lodge.

Masai Mara is the northernmost portion of the larger Serengeti ecosystem and features the best game viewing in the region. The small size funnels animals into a tight space, and park rules allow for off-road driving which means that guests can venture into plains covered with hundreds or even thousands of animals. Take an optional hot air balloon ride over the plains, with the opportunity for amazing pictures of the animal herds below.

Your guide will drive you from Naivasha to Masai Mara. This drive will take about 5 to 6 hours. Drive times may be longer in the rainy season (April to early May and November). Stop for refreshments and souvenir shopping at roadside stands along the way or head straight to the park. Enjoy game viewing as you enter Masai Mara and drive to your camp.

This afternoon's game viewing will be exciting as you are searching for game with your private guide and driver. The leopard is difficult to see as it moves fast and is very shy. If you're lucky there is a good chance to spot them around water holes or up in a tree after a long, hot day.

Kensington Mara West Camp has been revamped and relocated to what is surely one of the best views in East Africa. Perched elegantly on the Ololoolo escarpment, forming the western boundary of the Masai Mara Reserve itself. This is the authentic Out of Africa experience where much of the original film itself was filmed & produced. The camp borders the remote and beautiful western edge of Masai Mara National Reserve. Kensington Mara West provides nature lovers with deluxe accommodations while experiencing the sights and sounds of an unforgettable African safari. Tents offer rustic charm surrounded by grassy fields. Chalets are perched in secluded spots on an escarpment edge overlooking the vast plains of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, giving tremendous views and a sense of private exclusion.

Overnight at Kensington Mara West.

Masai Mara is named after the traditional inhabitants (Maasai) and the Mara River. At some point during your stay in the Mara, you'll drive by the river, which is a great place to spot wildlife. This area is a photographer's delight where with any luck you'll be able to take amazing pictures of the hippos and elephants in the water.

On today’s afternoon game drive the choice is up to you: search for the Big 5 or expand your horizons to discover something different. Masai Mara not only has a rich mix of animals – it also has an incredible array of bird life with almost 450 different species.

Overnight at Kensington Mara West.

Today as you set on the early morning game drive with your expert guide. The Masai Mara Park will offer you a diverse range of animals. The park is home to the Big Five (Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo and Leopard) and numerous other antelopes including Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles, Impalas, Topics, Hartebeest, Zebra and Masai Giraffe. It's also home to over 450 species of birdlife among these are vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds, hornbills, crowned cranes, ostriches, long-crested eagles and African pygmy-falcons.

On today’s afternoon game drive the choice is up to you: search for the Big 5 or expand your horizons to discover something different. Masai Mara not only has a rich mix of animals – it also has an incredible array of bird life with almost 450 different species.

Overnight at Kensington Mara West.

Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti is massive in size, 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq miles). Famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers the most diverse game-viewing in Africa.

Your guide will drive you from Masai Mara to the Isebania border today. Once there, you'll meet your Tanzanian guide and continue into Tanzania to the Serengeti. This full day commute includes some game drives through the park. This excursion will include a multi-hour drive across highway and bumpy patches of road to the border. Enjoy game viewing on your way out of the park or head straight to the border.

NOTE: Be aware that for portions of this LONG drive, the road will be rough and unfinished, though most is now newly paved. This total drive to Serengeti will take approximately 6-9 hours depending on game drives and any breaks taken.

At the border, switch between your Kenyan and Tanzanian guide, crossing the border and continuing your safari. You will also be switching vehicles.

Visas can be purchased at the border: Kenya $50pp US cash - Tanzania $100pp for Americans, $50pp for other nationalities.

Note: Visas are paid for using US cash (no bills older than 2006 due to local counterfeiting safeguards). Single entry visa is valid for 3 months and can be used for multiple entries between Kenya and Tanzania. Please be sure to have your Yellow Fever certificate handy.

After the Kenya/Tanzania border crossing, continue on to Serengeti with your Tanzanian private guide and vehicle. You'll have the option to stop and enjoy a box lunch by Lake Victoria, visit a fishing village, or head straight to the park. Once you have entered the park, enjoy game viewing on the way to your lodge.

Mbalageti Serengeti features 24 luxury tented chalets on the slopes of the rising Mwamweni hill and 14 lodge style standard rooms. Each tent is equipped with all the utilities of home, such as an en suite bathroom and a verandah with a stunning view that some people don’t even see in a lifetime. Dining takes place both in the bush, privately or with small groups, or in the dining tent, where local and continental cuisine forge new roots. English tea is served in the gardens with pastries and the like. Activities range from alone time in the loft reading books or a relaxing float in the tranquility pool, with the Serengeti plains as the backdrop.

Overnight at Mbalageti Camp.

Head out into the park early in the morning as animals are more active in the early morning and afternoon. Tanzania's oldest and most renowned national park, the Serengeti offers the most expansive game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. Explore this amazing park with the help of your expert guide.

Spend today searching out Impala, one of Africa's most beautiful and graceful animals. Previously thought to be part of the gazelle tribe, Impalas have been found to be so different that they are now classified as their own sub-family status. When frightened or startled the whole impala herd starts randomly leaping to confuse their predator. They can jump distances more than 10 meters (33 ft) and 3 meters (9 ft) high. Leopards, cheetah, lions and wild dogs prey on impala. Impala can reach running speeds of approximately 50 to 55 mph (80 to 90 km/h) to escape its predators. See if you can track these incredible animals!

Overnight at Mbalageti Camp.

"The Ngorongoro Crater is often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th Natural Wonder of the World’. A massive extinct volcano, the sheet walls drop thousands of feet to a "Noah's Ark" of animals on the verdant floor below. Large herds of zebra, buffalo, antelope and wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist.

This morning you will depart from the Serengeti on your way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. For the first part of the drive you'll be doing some game viewing as you leave the Serengeti. On this drive you have the option of stopping at Olduvlai gorge, the Serengeti welcome centre and lookout point, or stop for lunch at a picnic spot. Then drive up and around Ngorongoro Crater to your next accommodation. This drive takes 5 to 6 hours depending on the number of stops you make and how much game viewing you enjoy along the way. Expect longer trip times during the rainy seasons.

The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge is commonly referred to as "The Cradle of Mankind." It is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley, which stretches along eastern Africa. Olduvai is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about 30 miles (48 km) long. The gorge is named after the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant Sansevieria ehrenbergii, commonly called Oldupai.

Enjoy a picnic lunch (included in tour price).

The Plantation Lodge is located a short drive from the Ngorongoro Crater. It is a haven of shades and hues, as green, violet, ivory and rust mingle to frame the tranquil setting. With 16 delicately arranged rooms and suites, one will be thoroughly delighted by the magical aura of the Plantation Lodge. Relax at dinner, where you will be served the most succulent of fruits and vegetables, produced right there in the garden. Keeping with the times, dining is a more elegant scenario, where one is served in courses. Step into the swimming pool, go for a walk, or head out to one of the nearby farms for a window into this wonderful region.

Overnight at Plantation Lodge.

Private transportation and guide in the Ngorongoro national park.

You'll be up early this morning as you drive approximately 20 minutes from your camp or lodge to the main gates of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There are only three roads that connect the crater rim with the crater floor, one for driving down, one for driving up and another that goes both ways. The crater is roughly 20 km/12 mi wide and 600 m/2,000 ft deep, once you've reached the top of the caldera it takes about 45 minutes to descend to the crater floor. The floor is home to a rich and highly concentrated wildlife. Some 20,000 mammals of size live there, including about 20 black rhinoceros, making the crater the best place in Tanzania to see the rhino. The crater floor also has one of the highest carnivore densities in the world. Lions, cheetahs, hyenas and jackals are commonly seen, while leopards, servals and bat-eared foxes may be seen with some good luck. You'll spend most of the day in the crater.

Enjoy a picnic lunch (included in tour price).

Overnight at Plantation Lodge.

Amboseli National Park, is 260 km (160 mi) south of Nairobi, on the Kenya and Tanzania border. It is most famous for its spectacular views of Kilimanjaro. A system of swamps makes this low-rainfall area one of the best wildlife-viewing experiences in the world. The park protects two of the five main swamps, and includes a dried-up Pleistocene lake and semi-arid vegetation. Noted in particular for its large elephant herds, Amboseli is the third most visited game area in Kenya after Masai Mara and Nakuru.

On this journey, you will make a brief stop-over in Arusha for some shopping and refreshments. You will pass over the Namanga border crossing when leaving Tanzania to enter Kenya. Be aware that portions of the road on this drive are unfinished and bumpy. At the Namanga border where you will meet your Kenyan guide.

At the border, switch between your Kenyan and Tanzanian guide, crossing the border and continuing your safari. You will also be switching vehicles.

Visas can be purchased at the border: Kenya $50pp US cash, Tanzania $100pp for Americans, $50pp for other nationalities. Note: Visas are paid for using US cash (no bills older than 2006 due to local counterfeiting safeguards). Single entry visa is valid for 3 months and can be used for multiple entries between Kenya and Tanzania. Please be sure to have your Yellow Fever certificate handy.

Once you're through customs you will switch vehicles and meet up with your Kenyan guide who will take you to Amboseli.

Enjoy a picnic lunch (included in tour price).

This afternoon you'll meet up with your guide and head out into Amboseli National Park. The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants. On a clear day, you'll also have spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

In the heart of Amboseli National Park, touching the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Amboseli Serena Lodge lays its home. The 92 rooms are all equipped with en suite bathrooms and stunning views. Dining offers local cuisine and a choice of continental dishes, while specialty meals allow guests to get in touch with the environment. Take advantage of the game drives, where incredible beasts such as lions, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, baboons, gazelle hippos and wildebeest spend their day in front of your eyes.

Overnight at Serena Amboseli.

You'll be up early this morning as you meet up with your private guide and driver for your game drive in Amboseli Park. Depending on how lucky you are with your viewing you'll usually be out in the park for a few hours before returning to the lodge.

Enjoy a picnic lunch (included in tour price).

This afternoon you'll meet up with your guide and head out into Amboseli National Park. The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants. On a clear day, you'll also have spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

Overnight at Serena Amboseli.

Take time for an early game drive or head directly to Nairobi before your international flight. The drive will take approximately 4hrs

Includes opportunity to visit local handicraft markets to shop for souvenirs.

Before leaving that night, stop by the Kensington office for free use of Internet, lounge, showers and drinks. If you like, we can make reservations for dinner at a local restaurant as well. Please let us know in advance and if you are vegetarian.

You will receive a private airport transfer to/from the airport.

Depart from Nairobi international airport - end of itinerary.

Overnight at Depart.