12 Days Kenya & Tanzania Family Trip — Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Mombasa

Overview

Highlights

• ✦Family-paced 12-day Kenya & Tanzania safari
• ✦Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Manyara
• ✦Three nights on Diani Beach (Africa's #1 beach)
• ✦Mid-range lodges with pools and family rooms
• ✦Private 4x4 Land Cruisers in both countries
• ✦Family-experienced driver-guides on both sides

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1

   Arrive Nairobi

   JKIA → Nairobi

   Welcome to Kenya. Your driver-guide meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with a Family Holiday Safaris name board and transfers you to your Nairobi hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. In the evening, your guide returns for a briefing on the safari ahead. Welcome dinner and overnight in Nairobi.

   Meals: D · Stay: Eka Hotel or Hemingways

2. 2

   Nairobi → Maasai Mara

   Nairobi → Mara

   A long morning game drive at Nakuru, then the four-hour transfer south through Maasai country to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. After lunch at your camp, an afternoon Mara game drive among Africa's densest concentration of big cats. From July to October, the wildebeest migration is on these plains. Dinner around the campfire and overnight.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Mara Sopa Lodge

3. 3

   Mara — full day

   Maasai Mara

   A full Mara day with morning and afternoon game drives — leopards in the riverine forest, lion prides on the open savanna, elephant herds at the Mara River, and (in season) wildebeest crossings of the Mara River with crocodiles waiting below. Optional sunrise hot-air balloon safari and bush breakfast.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 2

4. 4

   Mara — second full day

   Maasai Mara

   A full Mara day with morning and afternoon game drives — leopards in the riverine forest, lion prides on the open savanna, elephant herds at the Mara River, and (in season) wildebeest crossings of the Mara River with crocodiles waiting below. Optional sunrise hot-air balloon safari and bush breakfast.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 2

5. 5

   Mara → Serengeti via Isebania

   Mara → Serengeti

   An early breakfast and morning game drive in the Mara, then transfer to the Tanzania border at Isebania (or by scheduled bush flight if upgrading). Border formalities take about an hour; your Tanzania driver-guide meets you on the far side. Continue to a northern Serengeti camp for the late afternoon game drive — same migration, different country. Dinner and overnight on the Serengeti side.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Mbuzi Mawe or Serengeti Sopa

6. 6

   Serengeti — full day

   Serengeti

   A full day in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives. Pre-dawn coffee, then out by 6am for the diamond hours when the big cats are still hunting — leopards descend from sausage trees, cheetah scan the plains for Thomson's gazelle, and lion prides finish overnight kills. The Seronera Valley is the Serengeti's permanent water source and supports year-round wildlife concentrations. Return to camp around 11am for a late breakfast, swim and rest. The afternoon drive heads further afield — perhaps north to the Grumeti woodlands, south toward the Maswa side, or east toward the Banagi Hills — depending on where the migration is and what your guide is tracking. Sundowners on the bonnet of the Land Cruiser as the African sun melts into the horizon.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 5

7. 7

   Serengeti → Ngorongoro rim

   Serengeti → Ngorongoro

   After breakfast and a morning Serengeti game drive en route, climb back up the escarpment to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Lunch at your lodge perched on the crater rim, with vertiginous views into the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera — 19 kilometers wide, 600 meters deep. Afternoon at leisure to enjoy the lodge facilities and acclimatize to the cooler high-altitude air. Optional walking tour to a Maasai village inside the conservation area — uniquely, the Maasai still live and graze cattle within Ngorongoro alongside the wildlife. Sundowners on the rim as the crater fills with mist below you. Dinner and overnight at your crater rim lodge — the night cold and crisp at 2,400 meters elevation.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

8. 8

   Ngorongoro Crater → Lake Manyara

   Ngorongoro → Manyara

   A pre-dawn breakfast and an early descent into the Ngorongoro Crater — Africa's Eden. The crater floor supports one of the highest concentrations of large mammals on Earth: lion prides, the densest population of spotted hyena anywhere, an estimated 30 black rhino, vast herds of wildebeest and zebra, hippo pools, flamingos on Lake Magadi, eland, gazelle, and Cape buffalo. The crater is a self-contained ecosystem and the wildlife rarely leaves. Spend the entire day on game drive, with a picnic lunch at the Ngoitokitok Springs hippo pool. Late afternoon, climb back up the crater wall to your lodge for dinner. For most travelers, the crater day is the single most memorable of any Tanzania safari.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge

9. 9

   Manyara → Arusha → fly to Mombasa

   Manyara → Mombasa

   Morning game drive at Lake Manyara, then drive to Arusha for a scheduled flight to Mombasa via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam. Your Kenyan coastal driver meets you at Mombasa Moi International Airport and transfers you south across the Likoni ferry to Diani Beach. Check in at your beach resort and walk straight onto the white sand. Welcome dinner on the beach.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Diani Reef Beach Resort or Leopard Beach Resort

10. 10

    Diani Beach

    Diani Beach

    A full beach day at your own pace. Pool and lagoon swimming, optional dhow trip, kids' club for the children, spa for parents. Sundowners on the beach.

    Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 9

11. 11

    Diani Beach + optional dhow trip

    Diani Beach

    Optional half-day dhow trip to Wasini Island and the Kisite Marine Park (snorkeling and dolphin spotting), or stay at the resort and use the pool, beach and kids' club.

    Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 9

12. 12

    Diani → Mombasa Departure

    Diani → Mombasa

    Leisurely final breakfast and pool morning, late check-out, and transfer to Mombasa Moi International for your departing flight. End of holiday.

    Meals: B · Stay: N/A (departure)

What to bring

• • Lightweight neutral-color clothing (khaki, olive, beige)
• • Warm fleece for cool early morning game drives
• • Sun hat and sunglasses with UV protection
• • High-SPF sunscreen and lip balm
• • Insect repellent (DEET)
• • Comfortable walking shoes and sandals
• • Swimsuit for lodge pools
• • Binoculars (8x42 ideal for safari)
• • Camera with telephoto lens (200mm+)
• • Spare batteries, memory cards, power bank
• • Refillable water bottle
• • Anti-malarial prophylaxis (consult your doctor)
• • Yellow-fever certificate (required if arriving from yellow-fever zones)
• • Swimwear and beach gear
• • Reef-safe sunscreen
• • Beach toys for kids

Frequently asked questions