East Africa Highlights
10 days
From $ 2929
Duration10 days
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Serengeti, Masai Mara, Ngorongoro: highlights don't get much more famous than this. Discover the best of East Africa on this 10-day journey beginning in Nairobi, Kenya. Travel to some of Africa's most famous areas including the Masai Mara National Reserve, Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater, where you'll take multiple game drives in search of the Big Five animals and more. Take in the enormity of Africa's largest lake and switch Africa's animals for people as you spend time with the Maasai people and learn about both their ancient traditions and more modern way of life from an elder.

This tour is operated by

  • Duration: 10 days
    Service level: Standard
  • Starts in: Nairobi
    Physical Grading: Light
  • Ages: 15+
East Africa Highlights - Tour Map

Itinerary

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Day 1: Nairobi

Start place: Nairobi

Welcome to Nairobi, the world's only major city containing a game reserve. You'll meet your group at 6 pm but if you arrive early, perhaps jump on one of the Nairobi Urban Adventures (urbanadventures.com). Just be sure to leave the 'From Farm to Feast' adventure for tomorrow. Once you've met your new travel buds, join them for an optional group dinner or alternatively strike out on your own.
Day 2: Nairobi
This morning you'll take part in a unique experience: a 'From Farm to Feast' Urban Adventure. During this tour, which explores the relationship between farming and food, you'll deliver a supply of chickens and pigs to a local community and find out how a local non-profit is helping to alleviate poverty and malnutrition in Kenya, one chick and piglet at a time. Haggle alongside locals for pigs and chickens at the street market, then sit down in a local's home for tea and coffee to learn about life in Kenya and the challenges these communities face. All of your tour costs will go to supporting nutrition efforts in local communities. In the afternoon, your leader will take you on a brief walking tour of Nairobi and the evening is then free for you to enjoy as you wish.
Meals: B
Day 3: Masai Mara National Reserve
Transfer from Nairobi to the famous Masai Mara, a journey of approximately six or seven hours. This is one of the best game reserves in all of Africa and on the way you'll stop in Loita Hills, a remote region that's home to the traditional Maasai people. Known for their jewellery and bright red dress, the Maasai are an ancient ethnic group and a local elder will give a fascinating talk full of insights into this incredible culture. You'll be shown around a traditional Maasai home and their cattle enclosures before continuing to the outskirts of the Masai Mara, where your permanent tented camp can be found.
Meals: B, L, D
Day 4: Masai Mara National Reserve
Explore the Masai Mara in 4WD safari vehicles with game drives in both the morning and the afternoon. This is the quintessential African experience and with sparse open plains, dramatic skies and some of the world's most impressive animals, one you won't soon forget. Keep your eyes peeled for wildebeest, lions, leopards, antelope and giraffes, to name but a few.
Meals: B, L, D
Day 5: Lake Victoria
Prepare for a long travel day as you head towards the border separating Kenya and Tanzania, then on to the small town of Musoma on the shores of Lake Victoria. Not only is this the largest lake in Africa, it's also the largest tropical lake in the entire world and shares its shores with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The next three days will be spent in the wilderness, so make the most of your afternoon and evening by stocking up at the local market, grabbing cash from the town's ATM and kicking back with a beach side cold drink as the sun goes down.
Meals: B, D
Day 6: Serengeti National Park
If you're up for it, wake early this morning for a guided bike excursion around Musoma. You'll scoot around town and visit the marketplace, which is a great opportunity to interact with the local community. Travel on from Lake Victoria to Serengeti National Park (approximately three hours) and enjoy a picnic lunch at the entrance to the famous expanse. Continue to your campsite on your first Serengeti game drive, keeping an eye out for the hoofed animals and predators that call this place home. Tonight you'll have a true African safari experience, camping in an unfenced site within the national park, right in the heart of the animal action. Your leader will give you a full safety briefing once you arrive.    
Meals: B, L, D
Day 7: Serengeti National Park
Wake to another glorious day in the Serengeti. Start the day with an early morning game drive to search for animals when they're at their most active, then return to the campsite for a relaxed brunch. Spend the hottest part of the day relaxing in camp – don't stress, the animals will be doing the same – then head off again in the afternoon for another drive through the park. Return to the campsite for dinner and another night under the Serengeti's stars.
Note: there's also an option of an early hot air balloon ride here. Please ask your leader at the start of your trip if you're interested. 
Meals: B, L, D
Day 8: Karatu
Enjoy a final game drive through the Serengeti as you exit the park this morning. After lunch, you'll drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation area en route to Karatu, a small town on its outskirts. Ngorongoro is a World Heritage site, the highlight of which is the Ngorongoro Crater, a gigantic volcanic caldera that you'll visit tomorrow in search of the Big Five.
Meals: B, L
Day 9: Ngorongoro Crater / Arusha
This morning you'll descend to the Ngorongoro's crater floor for a 4WD excursion. If all goes to plan, you'll see some or maybe even all of the Big Five animals that reside here and better yet, the vehicle has an open roof so you can really feel like a part of the action. The animals here are less wary of humans and vehicles and as a result it's easier to watch them from up close. Take in the spectacular views from the rim of the crater as you make your way to the bottom, where animals roam the lakes, rivers, woodlands and hills. Keep an eye out for wildebeest, lion, zebra, cheetah, buffalo, gazelle and the endangered black rhino, as well as the colourfully dressed Maasai people who often water their cattle at the lake here. In the afternoon, you'll drive to Arusha and maybe enjoy an optional group dinner to celebrate this trip and say farewell to your new friends.
Meals: B, L
Day 10: Arusha
Your adventure comes to an end after breakfast today. A departure transfer can be booked, at an additional expense, to either Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK). Alternatively, you can continue on with our crew to finish in Nairobi. Please see 'Special Information' below for more details.
Meals: B

Inclusions

Included

  • Nairobi - Farm to Feast Community Visit
  • Loita Hills - Maasai Village Visit
  • Masai Mara - Full Day 4x4 Game Drive
  • Serengeti National Park - Overland Vehicle Game Drive
  • Serengeti National Park - Overland Vehicle Game drive
  • Ngorongoro Crater - 4x4 Game Drive

  • Transport

    Overland vehicle, 4x4 Safari Vehicle

  • Accommodation

    Hotel (4 nights), Lodge (1 night), Permanent Tented Basic Lodge (2 night), Camping with basic facilities (2 nights)

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