8 Days Masai Mara Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari
This 8 Days Masai Mara (Private Conservancy), Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari is tailored for travelers interested in game viewing safari in the private conservancies of Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Safari.
On this safari expect to see herds of wildebeests on their annual migration journey through the endless plains of Masai Mara, other animals to lookout for include lions, leopards, gazelles, elands among others. Then continue to Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area the natural wonders in Africa where you will see a number of animals and magnificent landscape.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Masai Mara Game Reserve from Nairobi
Leaving Nairobi early morning, we travel along the Great Rift Valley, taking in the scenery en route to our booked accommodation in Masai Mara National Reserve. After lunch at our camp or lodge, we set off on a game drive in the world-famous game reserve. This is one of the best game viewing destinations in the world, considered the heartland of authentic African safaris. Returning to our accommodation, we have dinner and relax after our first game drive in Kenya, East Africa.
Our accommodation options for this safari depend on your package type preference.
Accommodation: Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Day 2-3: Full Day Following the Migration – Optional Masaai Community Visit
The next 6 to 10 hours are spent game viewing in Kenya’s leading Masai Mara National Reserve. You will embark on two game drives in the Masai Mara National Reserve and Naboisho Conservancy following the Migration.
Morning game drive and the afternoon game drive with organized bush breakfast in search of the big five and other wildlife species to include: Masai giraffe, baboons, warthogs, Wildebeest, buffaloes, zebras, jackals, spotted hyenas, topi, impala, Hartebeests, nat eared foxes, the crocodiles and hippopotamus of the Mara and Talek Rivers.
Should your planned time to visit be in the months (July-Sept), you should brace yourselves to witness the thrilling Great wildebeest Migration as it happens in the Mara.
This natural movement of over 4 million grazers from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to Masai Mara National Reserve is the sole reason why many visitors opt to come to Masai Mara National Reserve at this time of the year.
To Note:
- There is an optional cultural visit to the Masaai tribe community within the park; this visit grants you a chance to learn about the Masaai culture, customs, ways of living and their exercising cultural dance.
After the amazing full-day game viewing experience, We transfer back to lodge/Camp for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4: Transfer to Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, you will checkout of the lodge and embark on a journey to Serengeti National Park through the Isebania Border.
At the border you will change vehicles to Tanzania Vehicle and Tanzania safari guide and continue to Serengeti National Park with en-route lunch.
The Serengeti National Park is one of the leading safari destinations in Africa, seen as the original home of the traditional African safari, along with Masai Mara. Forming part of the same ecosystem as Mara, the Serengeti Plains also offer the quintessential African savannah setting, only more vast than the Kenyan counterpart, at 14 763 km².
With en-route game drive, head to the lodge to have dinner at your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Day 5: Full Day Serengeti National Park
Day five is set aside for exploring the legendary Serengeti National Park on game drives. This massive wildlife reserve is famous for the same annual migration as Masai Mara, whereby over a million herbivores move south from the northern to the southern plains of Serengeti, in the short rainy season (October and November), returning north after the long rainy season (April to June). Serengeti Park offers superb wildlife viewing year-round, so we should see plenty of plains game and predators roaming the grasslands.
At the end of the day, we transfer to our Serengeti accommodation in Central Serengeti for dinner and another
Day 6: Central Serengeti to Ngorongoro via Olduvai Gorge
This morning we embark on an early morning game drive in Serengeti National Park, before having breakfast back at the lodge. Then we make our way to Olduvai Gorge, a deep ravine in the East African Rift Valley. En route we stop for a picnic lunch and enjoy game viewing. The gorge features one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites, hosting some of the earliest fossils of our humanoid ancestors. We visit the Olduvai Gorge Museum to see the excavated remains of our ancestors, with Homo erectus remains that date as far back as 1.2 million years ago.
From Olduvai, we continue to our accommodation in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where we have dinner and spend the night.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater
On day seven we enjoy breakfast early in the morning and dip some 600m down into the crater for an action-packed day of game viewing in this wildlife paradise. Our 4×4 game drive takes us through the diverse habitats of the crater floor, where we encounter a variety of wild animals.
While in the crater we have a picnic lunch. The Ngorongoro Crater is renowned for its high concentration of animals, with most wildlife species represented here. Due to the high density of animal populations, we are likely to see an excellent array of animals in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Ascending the crater walls after our game viewing adventure, we return to our accommodation for dinner and our last overnight stay.
Day 8: Ngorongoro to Arusha
Our final morning starts with a leisurely breakfast before we travel to Arusha. We take packed lunches along with us from the lodge to enjoy en route. Arriving in Arusha by midday, you have the option of concluding your safari here or continuing to Nairobi in Kenya.
The safari and tour prices below include
- All-day game drives as per sample itinerary
- Hotel/lodge accommodation for the duration of the safari
- Private 4×4 safari land cruiser with a roof hatch
- Professional English speaking safari guide/driver
- All national park fees
- All meals on the safari as indicated
- All game viewing activities specified
- Kenya and Tanzania VAT on tourism activities and park fees
- Concession and Crater fees
- Drinking water in the safari vehicle
The safari and tour prices below exclude:
- Flights and visas
- Hotel accommodation before/after the safari
- Travel insurance
- Extra activities not on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like laundry, beverages, etc.
- Tips and gratuities [Tipping guide: minimum 15$ per person per day for your safari guide, 20$ or more for your lodge of stay, 10-15$ for your activity guides]
