East Africa: Tanzania & Kenya

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Itinerary

Day 1: ARRIVE IN ARUSHA

Arrive and meet your A&K representative, who escorts you to your hotel in the center of Arusha.

The Arusha Hotel

Day 2: ARUSHA / Ngorongoro Crater

Start your morning with a visit to Ilboru Primary School, one of the few schools in the region that offers programs for deaf and special-needs children. Pause at Gibb’s Farm for a lunch prepared from farm-fresh ingredients. Following lunch you have the opportunity to stretch your legs on a walk to the nearby coffee farm and vegetable garden. Continue your journey to Ngorongoro Crater, a collapsed volcano some ten miles across, and which serves as sanctuary to a stunning array of wildlife. Stay the next two nights at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, which offers spectacular views across this 2,000-foot-deep natural amphitheater.

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge   |   Meals: B L D

Day 3: NGORONGORO CRATER / Africa’s Garden of Eden

Descend to the crater floor this morning for your first game drive, in an A&K custom safari vehicle. The crater walls serve as a spectacular backdrop to every photo as you begin your search for the “Big Five” (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and Cape buffalo), as well as the myriad other animals that populate the crater, including hyenas, zebras, gazelles and flamingos; even the rare and elusive black rhinoceros, one of Africa’s most endangered species, is a resident here. Enjoy a picnic lunch near the hippo pool before continuing with your game drive. The crater lies within the territory of the Maasai: tall, proud, nomadic warriors and herdsmen who continue to co-exist with wildlife as they have for centuries. You may chance to see members of the local tribe driving their herds. This afternoon, meet with a village elder at a nearby Maasai village who introduces you to the village community and its culture and traditions.

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge   |   Meals: B L D

Day 4: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK / Land of the Migration

Depart the crater this morning for Serengeti National Park, a land whose name alone conjures powerful images of nature at its most spectacular. Each year this park is the setting of an awe-inspiring migration, when millions of wildebeest and zebra make their annual trek in search of fresh grasses, trailed by lions, leopards and hyenas hoping to make a kill. Arrive at your lodge early this afternoon with time to settle in. If time permits, take an afternoon game drive for your first taste of this famed reserve and its wildlife.

Serengeti Sopa Lodge   |   Meals: B L D

Day 5: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK / Land of the Migration

This morning, you have the option to view the Serengeti from a unique perspective: from a hot air balloon soaring high over the plains (at an additional cost). Following lunch back at your lodge, relax by the pool or in your tent before returning to the Serengeti for an afternoon game drive. Return to your lodge through a golden sunset at the end of a truly wonderful and unforgettable day.

Serengeti Sopa Lodge   |   Meals: B L D

Day 6: AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK / Mountain Vistas

Transfer to the airstrip this morning for your onward flight to Arusha, where you travel overland to Amboseli National Park. Amboseli is located at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, and the snow-capped peak of Africa’s highest mountain dominates every view of the reserve. This is where Ernest Hemingway spun stories of big-game hunting in the African wilds, and it is also home of the Maasai people. Enjoy game viewing en route to your lodge, which is shaded by acacia trees deep in the heart of the park. Between game drives, watch animals graze nearby.Enjoy an evening of entertainment at your lodge, perhaps featuring a demonstration of traditional dance by the local Maasai.

Ol Tukai Lodge   |   Meals: B L D

Day 7: AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK / Mountain Vistas

Enjoy a full day in Amboseli National Park today, with morning and afternoon game drives. The snows of Kilimanjaro form a backdrop to one of Kenya’s most spectacular displays of wildlife including lions, elephants, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo and hosts of plains game and birds — Amboseli is a photographer’s paradise. Part of the reserve is composed of a dried-up lakebed, which produces mirages in the shimmering heat. Swamps and springs, fed by underground rivers from Kilimanjaro’s melting snows, form permanent watering places for the wildlife in times of drought.

Ol Tukai Lodge   |   Meals: B L D

Day 8: MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE / Jewel of Africa

Depart Amboseli this morning for Nairobi. Lunch today is at Carnivore, an open-air restaurant famous for their game meats. Afterward, board a flight for the Masai Mara Game Reserve, a jewel in Africa’s crown, rich in plains game, predators and birds. Embark on an afternoon game viewing drive before returning to the Fairmont Mara Safari Club, your home for the next three nights. Perched on the brow of the steep banks of the Mara River, the Mara Safari Club offers a luxurious retreat on the edge of the world’s greatest wilderness.

Fairmont Mara Safari Club   |   Meals: B L D

Days 9-10: MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE / Jewel of Africa

Spend the next two days in the Masai Mara with morning and afternoon game viewing each day. The Mara’s 583 square miles of open savannah, woodlands and tree-lined rivers create an ecosystem that supports huge numbers of bird and mammal species. The western border of the park is the spectacular Siria Escarpment, and together with the acacia dotted plains, creates scenery of stunning beauty. Lions are found in abundance throughout the park, as are elephants, giraffes, a variety of gazelle species and zebras. Cheetahs and leopards are also regularly sighted, and you may even spot rhinos. For an unforgettable view of the reserve, take an optional early morning balloon flight (at an additional cost).

Fairmont Mara Safari Club   |   Meals: B L D

Day 11: DEPART NAIROBI

Enjoy a final game drive before flying back to Nairobi. A day room is reserved for your use until your transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Fairmont The Norfolk (dayroom)   |   Meals: B