10 Days Nakuru, Maasai Mara, Serengeti & Tarangire Safari

Pick-up at 7 am from your Nairobi hotel or the airport and drive north-west to Lake Nakuru. Arrive mid-morning for a game drive through the acacia woodland to the lodge. Lunch, then an afternoon game drive around the alkaline soda lake: lesser and greater flamingos in the thousands, Rothschild giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck, Defassa waterbuck, and the park's celebrated white and black rhino population.

After breakfast, drive south along the floor of the Great Rift Valley to the Maasai Mara, arriving for lunch. Rest and settle in before an afternoon game drive from 3 pm. The golden grasslands stretch to the horizon with lion prides already visible from the camp gate.

A full day in the Mara Reserve with picnic lunch. The Mara is the single best location in Africa for consistent big-cat sightings: lion prides control the plains, cheetah mothers rear cubs in the open grasslands, and leopards drape kills across the fig trees along the Talek and Mara rivers. In migration season (July–October), wildebeest and zebra cross the crocodile-filled Mara River in their hundreds of thousands.

Another full day in the Mara ecosystem. Optional: sunrise hot-air balloon over the Mara Triangle before a champagne bush breakfast on the plains ($450 pp). Alternatively, explore the Mara North Conservancy with its off-road access and far fewer vehicles. Optional afternoon cultural visit to a Maasai village.

After breakfast, depart the Mara and drive south-west to the Isebania border into Tanzania, carrying a packed lunch from camp. Clear customs and join your Tanzania guide for the drive through the Serengeti's northern plains. A game drive as you enter the park delivers your first Serengeti sightings before arriving at the lodge for dinner. Alternatively, fly from the Mara airstrip to arrive in the Serengeti by early afternoon (optional extra: $658 pp).

A full day in the Great Serengeti with a picnic lunch and early morning and afternoon game drives. The Serengeti is home to Africa's Big Five alongside the world's largest terrestrial animal migration: over 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra move through the ecosystem in an endless annual circle. Lions are everywhere: more than 3,000 in the Serengeti ecosystem, the highest density on earth. Optional: sunrise hot-air balloon over the Serengeti plains ($605 pp).

After breakfast, drive south-east from the Serengeti plains to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, stopping at Olduvai Gorge on the way, the archaeological site where some of the earliest known human ancestors were discovered. Arrive on the crater rim and check in to your lodge perched above the caldera's edge, with views straight down into the world's largest intact volcanic crater. Relax and explore the lodge facilities.

After breakfast, descend 600 metres into the Ngorongoro Crater floor with packed picnic lunches. Spend the day inside a natural enclosure of 260 square kilometres where an estimated 25,000 large animals live permanently: the densest concentration of wildlife in Africa. Black rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, cape buffalo and a remarkable variety of waterbirds are virtually guaranteed. Have lunch at the crater floor picnic site, then ascend and drive to Tarangire for overnight.

Tarangire National Park is one of Tanzania's most underrated jewels: ancient baobab trees, the Tarangire River teeming with hippos and crocodiles, and the highest concentration of elephants of any park in Africa outside Amboseli and Hwange. Large herds move through the open Acacia-Commiphora woodland alongside lions, leopards, wild dog, lesser kudu and 550 species of bird. Morning and afternoon game drives with the rest of the day at the lodge.

After breakfast, depart Tarangire for Arusha. Arrive for lunch at a city restaurant before your driver transfers you to Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha town. Optional return to Nairobi: shared bus (approx. 5 hrs, ~$100 pp) or afternoon flight ($300 pp). End of Saringi Tours services.