Kenya and Tanzania Beach and Bush Safari

On arrival at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport you will be met by an Asilia driver who will transfer you by private vehicle to the domestic airport, Wilson airport. Fly from here to the Masai Mara, a journey of approximately 1 hour (15 kg luggage limit per person; soft bags required for all flights on this itinerary). A guide from Encounter Mara will meet you here and game-drive you back to camp, offering the perfect introduction to the vast savannah plains and stopping to watch any wildlife you encounter on the way. Settle into your tent and enjoy lunch and time to relax. After afternoon tea and cake, head out on a game drive to search for big cats and other wildlife in the Naboisho Conservancy.

Enjoy morning and afternoon safari activities at Encounter Mara. A visit to one of the local villages offers an authentic insight into Maasai culture and your guide will explain how the Mara Naboisho Conservancy carefully balances the needs of wildlife conservation with the local communities’ livelihoods. Night drives offer a unique chance to search for nocturnal species as well as predators on the move.

After breakfast, you will be driven to the airstrip to begin your journey across the border into the Serengeti in Tanzania. You will fly to Migori near the border, where a driver and vehicle will meet you and drive you across the land border, stopping to complete immigration formalities. From there it’s a short distance to Tarime on the Tanzania side, to arrive in time for your flight into the Serengeti. The whole journey takes approximately 2.5 hours and, after having breakfast in the Masai Mara, you’ll arrive at your Serengeti camp in time for lunch and a well-earned rest. In the afternoon, go out on a game drive to explore the vast savannah with your guide from Ubuntu Migration Camp.

Enjoy morning and afternoon game drives from Ubuntu Migration Camp, searching with your guide for the plentiful wildlife found in the Serengeti year-round. If your safari coincides with the timing of the Great Migration, you’ll also seek out these large herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelles as they journey through the plains in search of fresh grazing.

After breakfast in camp, you will be driven to the airstrip for your flight south to Ruaha National Park, a journey of roughly 2 hours. A guide from Kwihala will be there to greet you and game-drive you back to camp, introducing you to the very different landscape of this southern park. After lunch and a little time to relax, you will go out on an afternoon game drive and stop for sundowner drinks and snacks. Night-drive back to camp, watching out for nocturnal species such as the bat-eared fox, or predators such as lion, which start to prowl as darkness falls.

Safari activities take place in the early morning and late afternoon, when the wildlife is most active. You will join expert guides on game drives to explore further afield, on walking safaris to seek out the smaller details and learn how to track wildlife from prints and signs in the bush, and on night drives to watch nocturnal species. Breakfast is often a picnic to maximise your explorations, and you will return to camp for lunch and a siesta.

After breakfast, depart camp and game-drive to the airstrip, where you will fly to Zanzibar, 2.5 hours away. On arrival, you will be met and driven by private vehicle to Matemwe Lodge in the north east of the island. Spend the rest of the afternoon unwinding in your thatch-and-stone chalet right on the ocean, snoozing in the hammock or swimming in one of the two pools.

Spend your days at Matemwe relaxing and swimming in the warm Indian Ocean, taking a boat to the reef to snorkel or dive, kayaking along the shoreline looking for turtles, sailing in a dhow watching for dolphins or taking a picnic lunch to a remote sandbank.

After breakfast you will be driven back to Zanzibar Airport for your flight to Dar es Salaam, only 20 minutes away, where you can connect to your international flight home.