15 Days Lodge Safari — Sweetwaters, Nakuru, Mara, Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Zanzibar

Overview

Highlights

• ✦Sweetwaters chimpanzee sanctuary visit
• ✦Last two northern white rhinos on Earth at Ol Pejeta
• ✦Lake Nakuru rhinos and flamingos
• ✦Two full days in the Mara, two in the Serengeti
• ✦Full day in the Ngorongoro Crater
• ✦Four nights on Zanzibar

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: Hemingways or Eka Hotel

2. 2

   Nairobi → Ol Pejeta (Sweetwaters)

   Nairobi → Ol Pejeta

   Depart Nairobi after breakfast for the four-hour drive north through Thika and the coffee country of central Kenya, crossing the equator at Nanyuki and into the Laikipia plateau. Lunch at your Ol Pejeta lodge, then visit the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary (Kenya's only chimpanzees, rescued from the illegal pet trade) and the private viewing of the last two northern white rhinos on Earth — Najin and Fatu — under armed-ranger protection. Afternoon game drive across the conservancy. Dinner under equator stars.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Sweetwaters Serena Camp or Ol Pejeta Bush Camp

3. 3

   Ol Pejeta → Lake Nakuru

   Ol Pejeta → Nakuru

   After breakfast and an early morning game drive at Ol Pejeta — last chance for the white rhino crash and the conservancy's habituated lion prides — depart for the three-hour drive south to Lake Nakuru National Park. Lunch at your lodge, then an afternoon game drive in this compact, action-packed park: white and black rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, lion, leopard, and flamingos in their tens of thousands when conditions are right.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge

4. 4

   Nakuru → Maasai Mara

   Nakuru → 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

5. 5

   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 4

6. 6

   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 4

7. 7

   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

8. 8

   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 7

9. 9

   Serengeti — second 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 7

10. 10

    Serengeti → Lake Manyara

    Serengeti → Manyara

    An early breakfast precedes a final morning game drive in Tarangire when the elephant herds are at the river. Mid-morning, depart for the short drive northwest to Lake Manyara National Park. After lunch at your Manyara lodge perched on the rim of the Rift Valley escarpment, descend into the park for an afternoon game drive. Manyara is small — 330 square kilometers — but extraordinarily diverse: groundwater forest of giant fig and mahogany, acacia woodland, open floodplain, alkaline lake. Look for the famous tree-climbing lions draped in the limbs of acacia, hippo pods at the lake edge, large troops of olive baboons, and over 400 bird species including pink flamingos and yellow-billed storks. Dinner with sunset views over the lake.

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

11. 11

    Manyara → Ngorongoro rim

    Manyara → 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

12. 12

    Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha → Zanzibar

    Ngorongoro → Zanzibar

    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. After a leisurely breakfast, transfer to Kilimanjaro International or Arusha airport for the short scheduled flight to Zanzibar (about 75 minutes). Your Zanzibar driver meets you at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport and transfers you to your beach resort on the north or northeast coast — about 90 minutes through clove and spice plantations, traditional fishing villages and the unique landscape of the Spice Island. Check in, change into beachwear and walk straight onto the white sand. The Indian Ocean here is bath-warm and the lagoon perfect for swimming. Sunset cocktails on the beach terrace, dinner of fresh-caught seafood, and the soft sound of palm fronds in the trade wind sending you to sleep. Welcome to Zanzibar.

    Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Zuri Zanzibar or Z Hotel

13. 13

    Zanzibar beach day

    Zanzibar

    A full beach day at your own pace. Breakfast on a sea-view terrace, then choose your day: pure beach time on the powdery white sand; snorkeling on the offshore reef where turtles and reef fish teem; a traditional dhow sunset cruise with cocktails as the sun sinks behind the horizon; a kite-surfing lesson at Paje on the east coast; a SCUBA dive trip to Mnemba Atoll (one of the Indian Ocean's best dive sites); a swim with dolphins at Kizimkazi; or simply a hammock between two palms and a good book. Spa treatments are usually available at the resort, and the kitchens serve some of East Africa's best seafood — grilled red snapper, prawn pilau, octopus curry, fresh tropical fruit. Dinner on the beach as the moon rises over the sea.

    Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 12

14. 14

    Zanzibar Spice + Stone Town

    Zanzibar

    A full-day Spice Tour and Stone Town excursion. Morning visit to a traditional spice plantation outside Stone Town, where a local guide leads you through groves of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cardamom, ginger and turmeric — taste each one fresh, learn the history of the spice trade that made Zanzibar one of the wealthiest islands in the Indian Ocean by the 19th century. Lunch of traditional Zanzibari biryani at a spice-farm restaurant. Afternoon walking tour of Stone Town — the UNESCO-listed labyrinth of coral-rag alleys, carved Swahili and Indian doors, the old slave market, the Anglican Cathedral built on its site, the House of Wonders, the Sultan's Palace, and Freddy Mercury's birthplace. Sunset at the Forodhani night-food market — grilled seafood skewers, fresh sugarcane juice, octopus and chapati.

    Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Same as Day 12

15. 15

    Departure

    Zanzibar → ZNZ

    A leisurely final breakfast on the beach, late check-out, and transfer to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport for your international or domestic departure flight. If your flight is in the late afternoon or evening, we can arrange a half-day Stone Town walking tour or a final swim at the resort. End of holiday — though we hope this is a "see you next time" rather than a goodbye.

    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 for Zanzibar
• • Reef-safe sunscreen
• • Modest clothing for Stone Town

Frequently asked questions