East Africa Safari: Kenya & Tanzania in 2 Weeks

Stops on this route

Day by Day

1. 1

   Nairobi

   • Day 1

     Arrive in Nairobi — Giraffe Centre & City Introduction

     Land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transfer to a hotel in the Westlands or Karen suburbs — both are safer and more pleasant than downtown for tourists. In the afternoon, visit the Giraffe Centre in Karen (open 9 AM–5 PM, ~€6 entry) to hand-feed endangered Rothschild giraffes from a raised platform. Catch a classic nyama choma (roasted meat) dinner at Carnivore Restaurant on Langata Road, a Nairobi institution since 1980, before an early night ahead of safari days.

2. 2

   Lake Nakuru

   • Day 2

     Drive to Lake Nakuru — Flamingos & Rift Valley Scenery

     Transit

     Depart Nairobi by road in a safari 4WD heading north-west on the B3 highway — Nakuru is about 2.5 hours away through the dramatic Rift Valley escarpment, with roadside viewpoints worth stopping at near Naivasha. Enter Lake Nakuru National Park (a closed, fee-paying reserve) and check into your tented camp or lodge on the eastern lakeshore. The afternoon game drive should reveal hundreds of flamingos wading the alkaline shallows, waterbuck, and — with luck — one of the park's white rhinos near Makalia waterfall.

   • Day 3

     Full-Day Nakuru Game Drive — Rhinos & Baboon Cliff

     Rise for a 6 AM game drive when big cats are most active along the yellow-fever acacia woodland fringe: Nakuru holds both lion and leopard, and the resident black rhinos are often spotted near Hippo Point. Drive up to Baboon Cliff viewpoint for a sweeping panorama of the entire lake and the Rift Valley escarpment stretching south toward Naivasha. Afternoon: visit the lion-tracking ranger team at their camp (arrange through your lodge) and learn about the Kenya Wildlife Service anti-poaching program.

3. 3

   Maasai Mara

   • Day 4

     Drive into the Maasai Mara — First Evening Game Drive

     Transit

     Drive south on the C12 road through Narok town — the gateway to the Mara — and into the reserve (approximately 3 hours from Nakuru). Conservation area fees are charged per day at the gate (around €80 per person, included in most lodge packages). Check into your tented camp inside or just outside the reserve boundary — camps like Keekorok, Rekero, or budget-friendly Mara Crossings offer very different price points. The late-afternoon game drive immediately rewards with zebra, topi, and Thomson's gazelle herds stretching to the horizon.

   • Day 5

     Dawn Game Drive — Lions, Cheetahs & the Big Five Hunt

     Your guide wakes you before 6 AM for the golden-hour drive across the open savannah — this is when resident Mara lion prides are returning from night hunts and cheetahs are starting their morning stalks on the Musiara Marsh plain. Between July and October, wildebeest columns are constant background scenery; elephants, buffalo, and hippo pools fill the rest of the morning. Return to camp for brunch, rest during the midday heat, then head out again for a 4–7 PM drive targeting the Mara North Conservancy's quieter corridors.

   • Day 6

     Mara River Crossing & Maasai Village Visit

     Ask your guide to position at Mara River crossing points (Lookout Hill or Serena crossing) from 9 AM — when hundreds of thousands of wildebeest bank up on the northern shore before plunging into the crocodile-filled river, it is the greatest wildlife drama on earth, though timing is never guaranteed. In the afternoon, visit a traditional Maasai boma village: warriors in red shukas perform the adumu jumping dance, women show their beading craft, and you can enter a mud-and-dung enkaji house for around €15 community fee.

4. 4

   Serengeti

   • Day 7

     Cross into Tanzania — Drive to Serengeti

     Transit

     Cross the Kenya-Tanzania border at Isebania/Sirari (bring your passport and ensure you have or can obtain a Tanzania e-visa, ~USD 50) and drive to the Serengeti's northern Lobo or central Seronera sector — a journey of around 4 hours. Stop at Naabi Hill Gate, where giraffes often stand silhouetted against kopje (granite boulder) outcrops that look like something from a nature documentary. Evening arrival at your Serengeti tented camp; the night sounds of hyenas and lions in the dark are the real welcome.

   • Day 8

     Serengeti Plains Game Drive — Cheetah & Kopje Country

     The central Seronera Valley is the year-round heart of the Serengeti ecosystem, where the Seronera River supports resident predators regardless of the Migration's location. Lions lounge on sun-warmed kopje boulders, leopards drape over sausage-tree branches with kills hanging below, and Verreaux's eagle-owls watch from acacia tops. Ask your guide to check the Tanzania National Parks bulletin board at Seronera for recent sightings, and spend the evening by the airstrip kopje where cheetah mothers often bring cubs at dusk.

   • Day 9

     Balloon Safari at Dawn & Grumeti River

     A hot-air balloon flight over the Serengeti at sunrise is the trip's single most extravagant experience (USD 500–600 per person, booked in advance through Serengeti Balloon Safaris) — floating silently above wildebeest columns and elephant families for an hour, followed by a champagne bush breakfast. Afternoon ground drive to Grumeti River: the permanently resident Nile crocodiles here are some of Africa's largest, and between June and July a secondary Migration crossing happens in this western corridor before the main Mara push.

5. 5

   Ngorongoro Crater

   • Day 10

     Drive to Ngorongoro — Crater Rim Camp

     Transit

     Drive south-east from Seronera on the B144 road through Naabi Hill Gate and onto the Ngorongoro Conservation Area highlands — around 3 hours of increasingly green, forested landscape as altitude climbs to 2,300 m on the crater rim. Stop at Olduvai Gorge (Oldupai) along the way: the small museum explains how Mary and Louis Leakey found 1.8-million-year-old Homo habilis fossils here, and site guides share the paleontological timeline in 30 minutes. Check into a rim lodge — Ngorongoro Sopa, Serena, or Wildlife Lodge all have staggering crater views.

   • Day 11

     Full Day Inside the Crater — Africa's Eden

     Descend the crater wall on a 4WD track to the 260 km² floor — a closed ecosystem that supports around 30,000 animals year-round with no migration out. The crater holds the highest density of lions in Africa, plus the critically endangered black rhino (often spotted near Lerai Forest), hippos in Lake Magadi, and massive herds of wildebeest and zebra that never leave. Return to the rim by 6 PM as regulations require; the climb back up offers panoramic views of the entire bowl at golden hour.

6. 6

   Tarangire

   • Day 12

     Tarangire National Park — Elephants & Baobabs

     Transit

     Drive north to Tarangire National Park (around 2.5 hours from the crater via Mto wa Mbu), entering along the park's north boundary near the main gate. Tarangire is famous for its enormous elephant herds — family groups of 50 or more converge on the Tarangire River during the dry season (June–October), making it the best elephant-watching in Tanzania. Ancient baobab trees that are centuries old dot the landscape; your guide can point out lion-scratched bark and fruiting season timing. Afternoon fly or drive to Arusha for the overnight flight connection to Zanzibar.

7. 7

   Zanzibar

   • Day 13

     Arrive Zanzibar — Stone Town Spice Tour & Dhow Cruise

     Transit

     Fly from Kilimanjaro or Arusha Airport to Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (45-minute flight, ~€60–90 one-way with Coastal or Auric Air). Spend the morning on a half-day spice farm tour in the interior — guides lead you through plantations of cloves (Zanzibar produces 90% of Tanzania's supply), vanilla, cardamom, turmeric, and ylang-ylang, handing you leaves and pods to crush and smell. Evening: join a traditional ngalawa dhow sunset cruise from the old harbour, watching the sun melt behind Zanzibar's tangle of masts and minaret silhouettes.

8. 8

   Nungwi Beach

   • Day 14

     Nungwi Beach — Snorkelling, Seafood & Departure

     Take a dala-dala (shared minibus, ~€2) or private taxi 55 km north to Nungwi, the island's premier beach village: the calm lagoon on the western side doesn't dry out at low tide, and the coral reef just offshore is excellent for snorkelling with sea turtles and parrotfish. Fresh catches — red snapper, lobster, octopus — are grilled on open charcoal grills along the beach for dinner; Sazani Beach Bar and Baraka Beach are the most atmospheric spots. Return to Zanzibar Town for your evening international connection via Dar es Salaam or Nairobi.

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Further reading

• Africa on Wikipedia
• Africa travel guide on Wikivoyage