12 Days Nakuru, Mara, Serengeti, Tarangire & Amboseli Safari

Pick-up at 7 am from your Nairobi hotel or airport. Drive north-west to Lake Nakuru, arriving mid-morning for a game drive. Lunch at the lodge, then an afternoon game drive to spot the famous flamingos on the soda lake, black and white rhino in the yellow fever woodland, and Rothschild giraffe grazing along the shoreline.

After breakfast, drive south to the Maasai Mara. Arrive for lunch and an afternoon game drive from 3 pm across the famous golden grasslands, one of the world's most productive wildlife habitats.

A full day in the Mara Reserve with picnic lunch. Track the Mara's extraordinary predator population: lion prides dominate the grassland, cheetahs sprint across the open plains, and leopards haunt the riverine forest. In July–October, the Great Migration herds arrive in waves from the Serengeti, wildebeest and zebra crossing the crocodile-filled Mara River.

Another full day in the Mara. Optional sunrise hot-air balloon over the Triangle before a champagne bush breakfast. Alternatively, explore the Mara North Conservancy for off-road access and a more exclusive game experience.

After breakfast, cross into Tanzania via the Isebania border carrying a packed lunch. Enter the Serengeti from the northern corridor with a game drive en route to the lodge. Alternatively, fly from the Mara airstrip to the Serengeti ($658 pp extra). The Serengeti at any season delivers one of the great safari experiences.

A full day in the Great Serengeti. The Central Serengeti plains are the heartland of Africa's Big Five: enormous lion prides rest on the granite kopjes, leopards drape from the Seronera River trees, cheetahs sprint across the open grassland, and elephants move in silent processions at dusk. Over 1.5 million wildebeest share this ecosystem year-round. Optional: hot-air balloon at sunrise ($605 pp).

After breakfast, drive south-east to Ngorongoro, pausing at Olduvai Gorge to walk the path where some of humanity's earliest ancestors were found. Arrive on the crater rim for check-in and a relaxed afternoon enjoying the lodge's views straight down into the world's largest intact caldera.

Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater at dawn, a 600-metre drop into an enclosed world of 25,000 animals. The crater's black rhino population is one of the most reliable sightings in Africa. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, hippos and great waterbird congregations fill the day. Lunch at the crater floor, then ascend and drive to Tarangire for overnight.

A full day in Tarangire National Park. The dry-season months concentrate elephants in extraordinary numbers along the Tarangire River: enormous herds move through the baobab-studded Acacia-Commiphora woodland, alongside lions, leopards, wild dogs, lesser kudu and a remarkable 550 bird species. Morning and afternoon game drives.

After breakfast, depart Tarangire and drive north to the Namanga border crossing back into Kenya. Your Kenya driver meets you at the border for the drive to Amboseli, arriving with a short game drive en route to the lodge. Check in for lunch, then an afternoon game drive at 4 pm: Amboseli's flat open plains frame Kilimanjaro perfectly, and the park's famous large-tusked elephant herds move in from the Enkongo Narok swamp at dusk.

A full day in Amboseli with morning and afternoon game drives. Dawn in Amboseli is among the finest photographic moments in Africa: vast elephant herds silhouetted against Kilimanjaro's ice-capped summit in the early morning mist. Walk up to the Observation Hill for a 360-degree view of the park and watch elephants, hippos and waterbirds below. Afternoon drive in search of the resident cheetah families, lions and the massive bull elephants of Amboseli's matriarchal herds.

A final early-morning game drive before breakfast and check-out. Drive north to Nairobi, arriving for lunch at a city restaurant. Transfer to your hotel or the airport for your outbound international flight. End of Saringi Tours services.