10-Day Kenya and Tanzania Budget Safari

You'll leave Nairobi in the morning, dropping off the highlands and through the Great Rift Valley escarpment before the road turns west towards Narok and on to the Mara. The drive takes around five to six hours with a stop for lunch, and the tarmac gives way to red murram track for the final stretch into the reserve.

You'll arrive at Enkorok Mara Camp in time to settle in before an afternoon game drive across the open plains. This is your first look at the Mara's grasslands, dotted with acacia and usually busy with zebra, topi and gazelle, with a fair chance of spotting the resident lion prides that hold territory near camp.

You'll set out early, while the air is still cool and predators are most active, heading out across the Mara's rolling grassland in search of lion, cheetah and leopard. Your guide will track fresh signs along the way, and you'll return to camp mid-morning for a late breakfast before the heat sets in.

The afternoon drive pushes towards the Mara River, where hippo pods gather in the deeper pools and crocodiles bask along the banks. Depending on the time of year, you may find large herds of wildebeest and zebra moving through the riverine woodland, part of the wider Serengeti-Mara migration system. You'll be back at camp for dinner as the plains cool into evening.

After an early breakfast you'll leave the Mara and drive roughly five hours east, climbing back onto the Rift Valley floor towards Lake Nakuru. The landscape changes quickly, from open savannah to the acacia woodland and soda lake shoreline that mark the park's edge.

Once inside the park boundary you'll head straight into an afternoon game drive around the lake. Lake Nakuru is known for its rhino sanctuary, home to both black and white rhino, and the shallows often draw large flocks of flamingo along with pelican and other waterbirds. You'll overnight at Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge, set on a rise above the lake with views across the water.

This is the longest driving day of the trip, covering close to seven hours as the route runs back through Nairobi and out along the road towards the Tanzanian border region. Your guide will build in stops for lunch and to stretch your legs, and the terrain shifts from Rift Valley farmland to the dry, dust coloured plains of southern Kenya.

You'll reach Amboseli in the late afternoon, with Mount Kilimanjaro often visible above the haze if the cloud lifts. Kibo Safari Camp sits with clear views towards the mountain, and after check in there is time to rest before dinner ahead of your first full day in the park.

You'll head out at first light for a morning game drive across Amboseli's dry lakebed and swamp edges, where large elephant herds are a defining feature of the park, often photographed against Kilimanjaro's snowcap when skies are clear. Your guide will also work the swamp margins, where buffalo, hippo and a wide range of waterbirds gather.

After a midday break at camp, the afternoon drive covers different ground, taking in the open plains where giraffe, zebra and wildebeest move between the grassland and acacia stands. As the light softens towards evening, Kilimanjaro's outline often sharpens, giving some of the best photographic conditions of the day before you return to Kibo Safari Camp.

You'll leave Amboseli after breakfast and drive towards the Namanga border post, where you'll clear Kenyan and Tanzanian immigration before continuing south. The crossing itself is straightforward, though it can take some time depending on how busy the post is that morning.

From Namanga the road runs on to Arusha, with Mount Meru rising ahead as you approach the town. This is largely a transfer day, giving you a chance to rest after a run of early starts, and you'll arrive at Arusha Planet Lodge in the afternoon with time to relax before dinner and an early night ahead of the drive to the Serengeti.

You'll leave Arusha in the morning and climb into the Ngorongoro highlands, passing coffee farms and Maasai settlements before descending onto the Serengeti plains. The drive covers several hours and a change in altitude, and your guide will point out the shift from crater forest to the short grass plains that define the southern Serengeti.

Once inside the park boundary you'll head into an afternoon game drive in the Central Serengeti, an area of open grassland and scattered kopjes that holds resident lion prides and good numbers of resident plains game year round. You'll settle into your camp as the light fades, with the Serengeti's wide horizon stretching out on every side.

You'll have a morning game drive across the Central Serengeti before setting off for the Ngorongoro Highlands, watching the terrain rise from open plain to volcanic highland forest as you climb. This is prime country for spotting cheetah on the grassland and, with luck, leopard resting in the sausage trees along the drainage lines.

By afternoon you'll reach the crater rim, at around 2,300 metres, where the air is noticeably cooler than the plains below. You'll overnight at a lodge or camp on the rim, with views down into the caldera setting up tomorrow's descent into one of Africa's most concentrated wildlife areas.

You'll descend into the Ngorongoro Crater early, dropping over 600 metres to the floor where grassland, swamp and forest patches support one of the highest densities of wildlife anywhere in Tanzania. Your guide will focus on the Lerai forest and the central swamps, where lion, elephant and the crater's black rhino are most often found, alongside hippo pods and large herds of buffalo and wildebeest.

After several hours on the crater floor you'll climb back out over the rim road and begin the drive to Arusha, arriving back at Arusha Planet Lodge by evening. This is your last night in Tanzania before the return journey to Kenya.

After breakfast you'll begin the road transfer back to Nairobi, retracing the route through Namanga for a second border crossing. Your guide will handle the paperwork on both sides, and the crossing is usually quicker than the outbound leg since you already know the process.

The drive north from the border takes a few hours, passing through open Maasai grazing land before the outskirts of Nairobi come into view. You'll be dropped at your hotel or the airport in the afternoon, bringing the ten day route across five parks and two countries to a close.