Compare Kenya & Tanzania Adventure by Exodus Travels vs Kenyan communities & wildlife conservation by One Horizon

Day 1 Start Nairobi

If you have booked your own flights, arrive at the start hotel at any time today. Those on the group flights from London, UK, will arrive tomorrow morning. There are no activities planned, so relax and settle into Nairobi life. To make things easy, there are free transfers available from the airport, see the Joining Instructions in the Trip Notes for more information. Accommodation: Heron Hotel (or similar)

Day 2 To Kembu Farm

After the arrival of the group flights in the early morning, we travel west into the Great Rift Valley to Kembu, stopping in Nakuru en route to shop and look around this typical African town. We stay on a farm tonight and can go on a farm walk this afternoon. Accommodation: Kembu Farm or similar (full-service camping)

Day 3 Full day of game drives in Lake Nakuru National Park

This morning, we drive to Lake Nakuru National Park, where we enjoy a superb game drive. Although small, the park is home to an amazing variety of animals and birdlife. It also has a soda lake, which is sometimes home to thousands of flamingos. We hope to see endangered white and black rhinos, lions and, if we are very lucky, the elusive leopard. There is a stunning view above the lake from Baboon Cliffs and here we may see a rock hyrax, a small, furry relative of the elephant. Tonight, we stay just outside the park in a campsite with good showers and flush toilets. Accommodation: Nderit Campsite or similar (full-service camping)

Day 4 To Masai Mara; late afternoon game drive

Today we travel into the Masai Mara, one of the most famous ecosystems in the world. This vast grassland is teeming with life; plains game including wildebeest, gazelle, topis, zebras and buffalos, and never far away are the predators: cheetahs, lions and hyenas. Between mid-August and late October, one of the greatest spectacles on Earth takes place in the Mara – the annual migration of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and zebras. Nothing is guaranteed on safari but, with the help of our brilliant guides, you should see and learn a huge amount about the resident wildlife as we game drive through the park this afternoon. We stay in a campsite just outside the reserve for the next two nights. Accommodation: Mara Springs Camp or similar (full-service camping)

Day 5 Full day of game drives in the Masai Mara

We have a full-day game drive in the Masai Mara to increase our chances of encountering many of the wildlife species in the reserve. We find a quiet spot inside the park to enjoy lunch by our vehicle, looking across the plains. There are also several optional excursions you can enjoy today in addition to the game drive. Get up early for a sunrise hot-air balloon safari (including champagne and breakfast) or visit a traditional Maasai village to meet the local people. Accommodation: Mara Springs Camp or similar (full-service camping)

Day 6 To Lake Victoria

Our long drive today is up through the Western Highlands and allows plenty of time to appreciate the superb scenery. The road begins to descend and we leave the neatly ordered rows of tea bushes as we cross the border into Tanzania at Isebania. We camp in a pleasant spot at Musoma on the shore of Lake Victoria. Accommodation: Tembo Beach or similar (full-service camping)

Day 7 - 8 Two days of game drives in Serengeti National Park

Today, we turn east and enter the vast Serengeti Plain, one of the largest parks in Africa. There is a choice of routes into the Serengeti, depending on the weather: if it is dry, the 80mi (130km) Western Corridor is open and usually full of plains game. If it is wet, however, this road, which is built on black cotton soil, is impassible and we must enter the park from the north at Ikoma gate. We spend two nights in the park so we have plenty of time to enjoy the vast open spaces and the variety of game. We camp at Seronera, where there are various camping areas, all in open bush with no fences to prevent the animals from visiting during the night. A real taste of wild Africa! Accommodation: Serengeti Public Campsite or similar (full-service camping)

Day 9 Morning game drive; to Ngorongoro Crater

Day 10 Explore the Ngorongoro Crater; drive along the Rift Valley to Arusha

We descend to the crater floor in 4x4 vehicles and spend the morning watching large numbers of plains game, and the ever-present predators around them. We search for hippos in the murky pools and try to protect our food at lunchtime from the fearless brown kites, as they swoop and snatch anything that appears to be edible. After a fantastic morning, we continue our journey to the edge of the Rift Valley, where there is a great view over Lake Manyara (often tinted pink around the edges from large numbers of flamingos) and to Arusha. Accommodation: Meserani Snake Park or similar (full-service camping)

Day 11 Flight to Zanzibar; afternoon in Stone Town

We take a morning flight to Zanzibar, an island 22mi (35km) from the mainland. First visited by Arab traders in the eighth century, and countless travellers in the following centuries, it is most famous for its spices and was once the centre of the East African slave trade. We spend our first night in Stone Town and then two nights by the beach. Stone Town is a myriad of small alleys and markets. We recommend a spice tour around the island plantations with chances to taste and buy. Accommodation: Shangani Hotel (or similar)

Day 12 - 13 Free days for optional activities

After a free morning in Stone Town, we transfer to our hotel by the beach. There is plenty to occupy your days here. You can relax on the eastern and northern beaches, with excellent snorkelling, sailing in a dhow and plenty of fresh seafood. The local buses are efficient and enable you to travel all over the island, although hiring a 4x4 for a day or two is a more exciting way of getting about and not expensive. It’s a fascinating mixture of culture, history and wonderful beaches. Accommodation: Mnarani Beach Cottages (or similar)

Day 14 End Zanzibar

Our adventure ends after breakfast and we begin our return journeys home. If you’d like more time to explore, speak to your sales representative about extending your stay.

Day 1: Nairobi to Laikipia

On the first morning of this tour we pick you up from your Nairobi hotel and transfer you to Wilson Airport for the 45-minute flight to Nanyuki, which is a small town in the scenic foothills of magnificent snow-capped Mount Kenya. We then arrive at our comfortable camp in eastern Laikipia, about a two-hour drive north of Nanyuki, which is your home for the next four nights. Laikipia lies northeast of the Great Rift Valley and is a vast high plateau where landowners and conservationists have created a special place for communities and wildlife to coexist, and it is recognised as one of Kenya’s best safari regions.

Our peaceful camp looks westward toward a series of granite kopjes (outcrops of rock), and in the foreground you might see zebra, giraffe and antelope on the open grasslands. The camp features six lovely and spacious walk-in traditional safari tents decorated with colourful African furnishings and fabrics, and our home-cooked food is always varied, fresh and tasty. In the evenings we have drinks, or sundowners, overlooking the bush or by the fire and three-course dinners under the stars.

Day 2-4: Laikipia

Away from roads and vehicles, guests have a unique opportunity to take leisurely walking safaris around the camp and conservancy and take in the wide-open spaces and wildlife that Laikipia is famed for. These might include eland, hartebeest, steenbok, giraffe, Grevy’s zebra and buffalo and lucky visitors may even see spot elephants, lions and wild dogs. 

Each walking safari is tailor-made to suit the guests’ abilities and you walk for as long as you feel comfortable, and you will also be accompanied by camels that carry your heavier cameras, refreshments and day-packs.

You will also learn about the local ecosystems and traditions from the Laikipia Samburu and Maasai guides. Or, if you prefer, stay at camp and let the wildlife come to you, and there are wonderful views across the plains from your tent and a salt lick right beside the camp. Other activities include game-viewing by vehicle along the Ewaso Ng'iro River, which is an excellent spot to watch elephants and other animals come to drink, rock-climbing in the kopjes, and as the area has a very rich traditional culture, there’s the option to visit a local market where all the warriors and women come dressed in their finest adornments.

Day 5: Laikipia – Nairobi

After breakfast and a hearty goodbye from the camp team, enjoy the last drive in Laikipia back to the airport at Nanyuki, and after your flight arrive at your Nairobi hotel in the early evening. This will be your base for the next three nights to go on three inspiring day trips to meet some remarkable communities in the rural areas around Nairobi. Tonight, and on the next two nights, we enjoy dinner at a restaurant the locals love in Nairobi – we always choose somewhere interesting to eat and have lots of fun and it’s a great opportunity to discuss and ask us all the questions that come to mind about the various communities and projects we visit.

Day 6: Women's Empowerment Centre

Today we visit the Women's Empowerment Centre in a developing area in the west of Nairobi, which is one of the worthwhile projects One Horizon supports. It was started by Mary a social worker, who developed a program to help struggling mothers by teaching them lifestyle, trade, and entrepreneurial skills so they can set up their own businesses. The results have been phenomenal as the mothers are able to transform into independent business owners and community leaders, and crucially support and keep their families together. Spend time with Mary to learn about her vision and meet some of the proud and resourceful women. The experience will show you how teaching empowerment and skills can lift people out of poverty.

Day 7: Kikuyu Grandmothers

There are many grandmother-headed households in Kenya who care for their grandchildren among other generations of their family in difficult economic circumstances. Today you visit a rural Kikuyu community of delightful and resourceful grandmothers who will show you their pig-farming operation.

This is another project that One Horizon supports, and the initiative aims at improving the livelihoods of the grandmothers by economically empowering them through small-scale farming. Sit down with the grandmothers while they cook traditional meals for their families, enjoy some joyful singing and dancing, and listen to them narrate their powerful stories about progress and resilience.

Day 8: Maasai Village

Today we venture into rural Maasai country where you will meet a family and immerse yourself in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle of village life. Your host will be one of the village elders, an heir to his clan, who will take you on a tour to explain how the Maasai have managed these precious lands for centuries. The women will offer to dress you in traditional Maasai shuka cloth or ‘African blanket’, and the young men, or morans, will explain what it’s like being a warrior in Maasai society and show you how to throw a traditional spear and the techniques needed to survive in the bush. There will be singing and dancing, which might include the extraordinary jumping dance, or ‘adumu’ which is how Maasai warriors demonstrate their prowess.

After an exciting final day on this 8-day Kenyan Communities and Wildlife Conservation tour, we return to Nairobi where the tour ends.