Compare Essential East Africa by Intrepid Travel vs The Best of Kenya and Tanzania: A Classic Safari by Road Scholar

Day 1 Nairobi

Jambo! Welcome to Kenya. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm. If you arrive early, why not check out the National Museum of Kenya, the Karen Blixen Museum or the highly recommended Bomas of Kenya where traditional homesteads of some Kenyan tribes are displayed at an outdoor village.

Day 2 Loita Hills Maasai Experience

Depart Nairobi, with a short stop in Narok for a spot of food shopping. Continue to Loita Hills (approximately 5–6 hours), then stop, chill out and get some lunch. Today's drive crosses the Great Rift Valley, Africa's huge great divide, takes you into the remote region of Loita Hills. This is the home of the Maasai people. You will visit the Maasai, who are known for their dazzling red dress and elaborate jewellery, and gain an insight into the culture and ancient ways of this proud East African community. After setting up your tent, meet your Maasai hosts. A local elder will deliver a fascinating talk about the Maasai and what they're about. You'll be shown around a traditional Maasai home and see where the resident cattle are kept. Upgrades and Wi-Fi are not available at tonight's bush camp.

Day 3 Masai Mara National Reserve

Travel from Loita to Masai Mara (approximately 1–2 hours).The Masai Mara is one of the classic African experiences – wide open plains, postcard-perfect skies and some of the world's great wild animals. After setting up camp, sit down to some lunch. Then it's time to jump aboard your 4WD vehicle and go for a game drive through the wilderness of the Mara. Your campground tonight is located outside of the national reserve and has flush toilets and showers. There is an option to upgrade, depending on availability. Wi-fi is not available here though.

Day 4 Masai Mara National Reserve

Adventure into the reserve for a full day's 4WD game drive. You'll explore this diverse environment and most likely see a lots of different wildlife. An optional balloon ride over the Mara at sunrise is well worth considering. If you have pre-booked this activity (see the 'Important Notes' section) you will be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site for a safety briefing from your pilot. Then you will glide through the dawn, sometimes at tree height, which provides amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you will ascend, getting an overview of the enormity of the plains and the early morning movements of the teeming herds. After landing, you'll be treated to a bush breakfast, then be returned to your campsite to meet up with your group.

Day 5 Lake Victoria

Travel towards the Kenya-Tanzania border and to the shores of Lake Victoria (approximately 7–8 hours). This is not only Africa's biggest lake – it's the largest tropical lake in the world. It shares its shores with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. You'll arrive late afternoon, in time to chill out lakeside with a cold drink and watch the sunset. Make the most of the ATM and local market to stock up for your next three days of wilderness adventures. You will camp on the shores of the lake tonight, at one of its least visited campgrounds, on the outskirts of a small town called Musoma. Your campsite tonight has Wi-Fi, and depending on availability, you might be able to upgrade to a room.

Day 6 Serengeti National Park

Today you will travel from Lake Victoria to the gate of Serengeti National Park on a smooth road (approximately 3 hours) and enjoy a picnic lunch at the entrance to the park. Enter the Serengeti and start your overland vehicle game drive en route to your campsite. These plains – green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry season – are home to thousands of hoofed animals and fierce predators, so see how many you can spot. Your campsite is right in the action, within the park itself, so listen out for the sounds of nocturnal animals as you drift off to sleep at night. There are no upgrades or Wi-Fi available here.

Day 7 Serengeti National Park

Start the day with an overland vehicle game drive at dawn. You will head out while the animals are at their most active, then head back to camp for brunch at around 11 am. After spending the warmer part of the day relaxing, as the animals do, depart again in the afternoon for another adventure through the wild. You'll return in time for dinner. There's the option of an early-morning balloon ride here too, so if you didn't take one in the Mara, today's your chance!

Day 8 Karatu

Rise and shine for a final chance to spot Serengeti wildlife as you make your way out of the park this morning. At Nabi gate, hop aboard a jeep and descend into Ngorongoro Crater. This gigantic, perfectly intact volcanic crater is home to some 30,000 animals. Among these are endangered black rhinos, lions, leopards, elephants, impalas, zebras and hippos. The crater floor is great for game viewing all year round, and the photo-opportunities here are next level. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the crater before heading back out on safari all afternoon. After, travel onwards to Karatu town and arrive at camp by 6 pm where a freshly prepared dinner awaits.

Day 9 Mto Wa Mbu

Take it a tad easier this morning with a relaxed breakfast at camp before setting off at 9 am for Mto Wa Mbu with your crew. You’ll have the rest of the day free to explore. Mto wa Mbu offers a snapshot of small-town East African life. You might consider joining in a guided village walk or bike ride around the farming areas, spotting milling machine and local homes and farmlands, or round up your fellow travellers to check out the craft market.

Day 10 Arusha / Nairobi

Pack up camp after breakfast for the final leg of your journey to Arusha where your adventure comes to an end. 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 around 5 pm. Please see 'Special Information' below for more details.

Day 1 Departures and Overnight flights to Kenya In Flight

Depart on overnight flights from the USA.

Day 2 Arrival in Kenya Nairobi

Arrivals in Nairobi in the late evening. Meet your Study Leader on arrival and check in to the hotel.

Day 3 Giraffe Conservation and Elephant Orphanage Nairobi

After orientation briefing, depart for the elephant orphanage and learn about the conservation efforts here. You will also have the chance to observe how the rangers feed the baby elephants.

During a special presentation, learn about the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Kenya efforts to increase the numbers of endangered Rothschild Giraffe at the Giraffe Center, where you will have the rare treat of hand-feeding these gentle giants and face them eye-to-eye from an elevated viewing platform. Return to the hotel in early afternoon.

In the hotel.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Your choice to explore local fare.

Day 4 Amboseli National Park / In the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro Amboseli National Park

The drive from Nairobi to Amboseli will take at least 4 hours and part of the road is unpaved. 2-3 hour game drives at sunrise and in the late afternoon. There are no toilet facilities outside of the lodge.

Depart this morning by Safari Van for the Amboseli National Park.

Meet your Study Leader for an orientation to game viewing and the wildlife of East Africa. Then put your new knowledge to work as you set out on your first game drive in the park.

In the hotel.

At the lodge in the Amboseli.

Be welcomed to the Amboseli National Park with a dinner at the lodge.

Day 5 Amboseli Big Game / The East African Elephant Amboseli National Park

As the sun rises, head out to continue the search through the varied wildlife habitats of the park. Later after a brief rest and before lunch join your Study Leader for a presentation: "Understanding the Tribes of Kenya and Tanzania" with a focus on the culture and customs of the Maasai.

After lunch, head back out in search of big game. Before dinner, meet with an expert from the Amboseli Elephant Trust to learn about the majestic East African Elephant.

In the lodge after the morning game drive.

In the lodge.

In the lodge.

Day 6 Twin peaks of Mt Meru and Mt Kilimanjaro/ the coffee country Arusha

The drive from the lodge in Amboseli to the border will take at least 3 hours and part of the road is unpaved and can be rough at some times of year. The drive from the border to Arusha will take 2 hours and is paved.

This morning we leave early, enjoying a scenic game drive through the western part of Amboseli to the Tanzanian border. Late in the morning we stop at the border for formalities and to change vehicles. We continue our drive from the border to the city of Arusha for lunch. the drive offers an excellent look into rural life in Kenya and Tanzania.

Located in the northern highlands of Tanzania, beneath the twin peaks of Mt. Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha is the safari capital of the country. Guests embarking on the popular northern safari circuit all stop in the ‘Geneva of Africa’ to prepare for their journeys into the African bush. From its two-lane streets, the dramatic crater of Mt. Meru stands over the town like a majestic sentinel, its crater strewn with thick clouds, its slopes dark with verdant forest. Arusha’s ideal location near the major national parks and its highland setting make it a peaceful idyll of relaxation before the start of an exciting journey. Built by the Germans as a center of colonial administration in the early 20th century, Arusha was a sleepy town with a garrison stationed at the old boma and a few shops around a grassy roundabout. From its backwater status amidst the farmlands and plantations of northern Tanzania, today Arusha is one of the country’s most prosperous towns. The site for the United Nations Criminal Tribunal on the Rwandan genocide and the headquarters for the Tripartite commission for East African Co-operation, Arusha is a major center of Tanzanian diplomacy and international relations.

In the lodge.

In Arusha at a local hotel.

At the lodge near Arusha.

Day 7 Crossing the Great Rift Valley to Ngorongoro Crater Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The drive from the lodge in Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park will take at 3 hours and the road is paved except inside the park. The drive from Lake Manyara National Park to the Lodge in Ngorongo will take about 3.5 hours and is also paved most of the way except part of the road is unpaved and can be rough at some times of year. While long, this day offers some excellent scenic driving and a unique look into rural East Africa.

This morning we leave early, enjoying a scenic game drive through more of rural Tanzania and the Baobab Tree countryside. Lake Manyara National Park: We will visit this park located beneath the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the edge of the Rift Valley, to discover it’s varied ecosystems, rich in wildlife and incredible numbers of birds. The alkaline soda of Lake Manyara is home to an incredible array of bird life that thrives on its brackish waters. Pink flamingo stoop and graze and give colorful specks against the grey minerals of the lake shore. Yellow-billed storks swoop and corkscrew on thermal winds rising up from the escarpment, and herons flap their wings against the sun-drenched sky. Even reluctant bird-watchers will find something to watch and marvel at within the national park. Lake Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions are another reason why we will visit the park however we can not guarantee their sightings. The only kind of their species in the world, they make the ancient mahogany and elegant acacias their home during the rainy season, and are a well-known but rather rare feature of the northern park. In addition to the lions, the national park is also home to the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world — a fact that accounts for interesting game viewing of large families of the primates.

We climb the escarpment and continue to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where agriculture, wildlife conservation and tourism co-exist in one of Africa’s first experiments of multiple-land use. Upon arriving at the park gates learn more about the larger conservation area from your Study Leader. Prior to dinner take the time to enjoy the view of the crater floor from your rooms or from the terrace. The crater rim is a perfect viewpoint to observe the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere.

In the lodge.

On the way at a local restaurant.

Dinner in the lodge.

Day 8 The Wildlife of the Ngorongoro Crater Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Descend the slope into the Ngorongoro Crater in 4-wheel-drive vehicles to spend the morning observing wildlife on the floor of the crater. The 102 square miles of the Ngorongoro Crater are home to 25,000 mammals, many of which are resident due to the geographically enclosed nature of the crater. The crater is also home to the last population of black rhino in northern Tanzania.

Continue your time in the unique Ngorongoro crater on an afternoon game drive before returning to the lodge. Watch the unmissable Ngorongoro Crater sunset. The sun makes a dramatic exit as it sinks below the crater rim. Later enjoy an early evening Presentation: "The Crater Ecosystem and Conservation."

In the lodge.

Stop for an adventurous picnic lunch in the Ngorongoro Crater.

In the lodge.

Day 9 Early History at Olduvai Gorge / The Plains of the Serengeti Serengeti National Park

The drive from Ngorongoro Crater Lodge to Olduvai Gorge is 2 hours on a non-paved, very dusty road. The drive from Olduvai Gorge to Seronera Wildlife Lodge varies according to how much game is seen en route. Depending on the time of year, roads can be very rough and dusty.

Depart early, with luggage, leaving the Crater Rim and make your way to the Serengeti. En route, visit the Olduvai Gorge Museum and learn about the Leakey’s research and discovery of the earliest known species of humanoids.

As you continue driving to the lodge enjoy a game drive though the plains of the Serengeti. In February, this area can get very crowded with Zebras, Wildebeest and Gazelles often with young newborns, be on the lookout for wildlife, as this unfenced land is all part of the Serengeti ecosystem.

Late evening Presentation: Stargazing – A Unique Night Under the African Sky led by your Study Leader. (weather permitting).

In the lodge.

A box lunch is provided to eat at the Serengeti Visitor center picnic area. The area also has a nice walking path up rocky outcrops known as ‘kopjes’ for those looking to stretch their legs.

At the camp.

Day 10 Into the Heart of the Serengeti Serengeti National Park

Get out early to search for game and perhaps a fresh kill just as the sun rises over the Serengeti. Look for fresh tracks and see the Park come to life.

In the Afternoon before going back out on safari, stop at the Serengeti Visitor Center to experience an illustrated presentation about the "Circle of Life". After the presentation, return to the plains to follow the watering holes along the Seronera creek in search of antelope, and other creatures gathering to re-hydrate.

At the camp after the morning game drive.

Boxed lunch en route.

Dinner at the camp in the Serengeti National Park.

Day 11 On the shores of Lake Victoria Speke Bay

The drive between Moru Kopje and Speke Bay Lodge takes 4 to 5 hours and the roads could be particularly rough and dusty. There are no toilet facilities outside the camps, your Group leader will schedule a couple of stops to break this enduring journey.

In the early morning depart the camp to enjoy a scenic drive through the Western Corridor to the shores of Lake Victoria. As we drive west watch for the abundant resident wildlife stopping along the way to observe new sightings. Keep a lookout for animals as you finish the drive to Lake Victoria. Arrive at your lodge on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Enjoy a bird spotting walk around the grounds of the lodge led by an expert guide. During sunset, both sky and lake explode with light.

In the lodge.

At the Lodge

Enjoy dinner in the lodge.

Day 12 From the Shores of Lake Victoria and into the Maasai Mara Masai Mara National Reserve

The drive between Speke Bay Lodge and the Kenyan border takes 3 hours and the roads are tarmac. The border crossing procedures could take up to one hour. There are no toilet facilities outside the camps, your Group leader will schedule a couple of stops to break this journey.

After breakfast continue north to Kenya. As you drive on the main road, you will notice completely different local architecture passing through local villages. After crossing the border, continue to local air strip in Kenya where a charter flight awaits to bring you to the Maasai Mara. When you arrive in the Maasai Mara, the trip to the lodge is a game drive. Search for the creatures of the Mara before arriving at your lodge.

In the afternoon set out on a game drive from your lodge/camp keeping a watch for many resident lion prides or the fastest of all cheetah.

Tracking the Big Five in the Maasai Mara.

At the lodge in the Maasai Mara.

Enjoy dinner in the lodge.

Day 13 Tracking the Big Five in the Maasai Mara. Masai Mara National Reserve

As the light brightens over the Mara, head toward the river to observe hippo, crocodile and birdlife. Depending on the migration, you may see wildebeest attempting the dangerous crossing. Later in the morning before lunch join a local Masai Moran on a nature walk through the edges of the Maasai Mara Park. Learn about local plant life and maybe observe some insects and lizards.

There is a possibility that you will visit a Maasai Village en route today. It is truly a journey into timelessness, back to the way things have been for thousands of years. Some Road Scholars remain forever touched by the experience, the apparent purity, hopefulness, discipline, and pride of the Maasai people they share this time with. However, we would like to prepare you for the reality of this visit. We hope you will understand that there is a chance you will be asked to buy their wares, trinkets, wood carvings, etc. at an improvised village market. The goods offered do not have prices on them. The offered prices could be much higher for similar items found elsewhere. We have asked the Maasai elders to price the goods several times, however, they have not done so yet and do not understand why we are asking them to - to the extent where they think we are trying to westernize them. At this time, we want to preserve the experience, however, we ask that you resist the selling pressure and stand firm and refuse purchase of any goods if you feel uncomfortable at any time. In the afternoon set out on your final game drive. Enjoy the sounds and sights as you say farewell to the Maasai Mara. Later join your Study Leader for a final wrap-up session and presentation.

At leisure

In the camp after the morning game drive.

At the camp.

Final dinner in the Maasai Mara at the lodge.

Day 14 Return to Nairobi Nairobi

Today you will fly from Maasai Mara back to Nairobi. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please be in touch via the Road Scholar Social Network, where you can share memories, pictures, and comments. Best wishes for all your journeys!

At dawn, embark on a drive toward the river to observe hippo, crocodile and birdlife. Depending on the migration, you may see wildebeest attempting the dangerous crossing. Late Morning - Board a small plane back to Nairobi.

Enjoy an afternoon at leisure to rest and pack prior to your flight. You have the use of your day room until 6 PM. We will be leaving for the airport shortly after this time.

Coach departs to the airport with luggage.

In the camp after the morning game drive.

In the hotel restaurant on arrival in Nairobi.

Your choice to explore local fare.

Day 15 Return Flights to U.S. In Flight