East Africa Highlights

About this trip

Exactly what you do each day, where you sleep, and how it flows — written by us, from the real itinerary.

1. 1
   Day 1 · NairobiNairobi

   You arrive in Nairobi for a 6 pm welcome meeting with your local leader and group. If you get in early, explore the National Museum of Kenya or Karen Blixen Museum, or join an optional day tour to find lunch and local spots. An optional group dinner rounds off your first night.

2. 2
   Day 2 · Maasai Mara National ReserveMaasai Mara National Reserve

   

   Travel from Nairobi to Maasai Mara, stopping in Loita Hills to visit Tepesua Village and meet the Maasai people. Watch traditional song and dance, hear from local hosts about their culture, and walk through the community village founded for widows who lost their cows.

3. 3
   Day 3 · Maasai Mara National ReserveMaasai Mara National Reserve

   Two game drives in the Maasai Mara today—morning and afternoon—hunting for wildebeest, lions, leopards, antelope and giraffes. You can also opt for an early-morning balloon safari, launching before dawn to see the plains at sunrise from tree level and above.

4. 4
   Day 4 · Lake VictoriaLake Victoria

   

   A long travel day takes you towards the Kenya-Tanzania border and Lake Victoria, the world's largest tropical lake and source of the Nile. Arrive and unwind with a lakeside dinner, taking in the scale of this vast water spanning three countries.

5. 5
   Day 5 · Lake VictoriaSerengeti National Park

   

   Spend a relaxed morning at Lake Victoria, then drive into Serengeti National Park via the scenic safari route, stopping to photograph wildlife and landscapes. You'll stay at a permanent tented camp in the heart of the park, ending the night around the campfire listening to the sounds of the wild.

6. 6
   Day 6 · Serengeti National ParkSerengeti National Park

   Wake early for a 4WD safari when wildlife is most active, return for brunch, then head out again this afternoon. A balloon safari option gets you aloft before dawn for tree-level views and photography across the park before returning for dinner under the stars.

7. 7
   Day 7 · Serengeti National ParkKaratu

   Exit the Serengeti with a final morning game drive, then head to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Descend the crater floor in open-roof 4WD jeeps—animals here are less wary—to spot wildebeest, lion, zebra, cheetah, buffalo, gazelle and endangered black rhino across lakes, rivers and woodlands.

8. 8
   Day 8 · Lake EyasiKaratu

   

   Travel to Lake Eyasi, a vast seasonal soda lake, stopping at a viewpoint to take in the shimmering waters. Visit the Hadzabe people, who've lived here over 10,000 years with little modern influence. Join in hunting, gathering and traditional dance, and learn about their distinctive click language.

9. 9
   Day 9 · KaratuArusha

   A free day based in Karatu where you can relax or choose optional activities: visit a local coffee plantation, game drive Lake Manyara National Park, or hike through Ngorongoro Reserve Forest to Elephant Caves with a local guide and armed ranger, spotting wildlife tracks and birdlife.

10. 10
    Day 10 · ArushaArusha / Nairobi

    Your trip ends after breakfast. Arrange a departure transfer to Kilimanjaro or Arusha airport (additional cost), or travel to Nairobi for drop-off at a central hotel with no accommodation included. You can extend your stay by contacting your booking agent.

What's included

• Guide: All group trips are accompanied by one of our group leader or local representative. The aim of the group leader or local representative is to take the hassle out of your travels and to help you have the best trip possible. Intrepid endeavours to provide the services of an experienced group leader or local representative however, due to the seasonality of travel, rare situations may arise where your group leader or local representative is new to a particular region or training other group leader or local representative. Your group leader or local representative will provide information on the places you are travelling through, offer suggestions for things to do and see, recommend great local eating venues and introduce you to our local friends. While not being guides in the traditional sense, you can expect them to have a broad general knowledge of the places visited on the trip, including historical, cultural, religious, and social aspects. At Intrepid we aim to support local guides who have specialised knowledge of the regions we visit. If you are interested in delving deeper into the local culture at a specific site or location then your group leader or local representative can recommend a local guide service in most of the main destinations of your trip.
• Meals: 9 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 7 dinners
• Activities: Loita Hills - Maasai Village Visit Maasai Mara National Reserve - Full Day 4WD Safari Serengeti National Park - 4WD Safari Serengeti National Park - Afternoon 4WD Safari Serengeti National Park - Morning 4WD Safari Ngorongoro Crater - 4WD Safari Lake Eyasi - Hadzabe Bushmen Visit Lake Eyasi - Soda Lake View Point
• Transport: In this trip, we use 8-seater 4WD Safari vehicles. For smaller groups of up to 6 travellers we will use 1 safari vehicle and for larger groups between 7-12 we will use 2 vehicles. There are many early starts with long hours spent driving on rough roads on all African itineraries. While most people love the chance to watch the changing landscape and daily village life, feedback shows that long periods of inactivity does not appeal to all clients. We provide the approximate distance covered each day and how many hours this normally takes to drive so that you can choose the safari experience that is right for you. African conditions are extremely tough on vehicles. While we fastidiously maintain our vehicles at our workshops, you should not expect Africa to be your traditional touring experience. While it's certainly our aim to avoid them, it's important that you set off on your trip knowing that the occasional breakdown can happen and are best treated as part of the African adventure. Due to wet weather there may be times when we have to take an alternative route which will mean longer travel times. 4WD Open Safari Vehicle, Private 4WD Vehicle
• Accommodation: The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation. Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available., If you require a Sleep Apnea Machine to sleep please ensure that it is battery operated. Lodges and Permanent Tented Camps are often powered by generators which are turned off during the night. Hotel (3 nights), Lodge (2 nights), Permanent Tented Camp (4 nights)

How travellers rate it

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