10-Day Kenya to Tanzania Safari

You'll leave Nairobi after breakfast and head northwest into the Rift Valley, stopping at the escarpment viewpoint where the valley floor opens out more than 2,000 metres below. The drive to Lake Nakuru takes roughly three to three and a half hours, passing through Naivasha and the farmland around Gilgil before the road climbs again into acacia woodland.

Once inside the park you'll go straight into an afternoon game drive around the lake shore and the yellow-fever tree forest. Lake Nakuru is one of Kenya's most reliable rhino sanctuaries, and your guide will watch the tree lines for both black and white rhino as well as Rothschild's giraffe. Flamingos still gather on the shallows in good numbers. You'll overnight at Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge.

After an early breakfast you'll set off for the Maasai Mara, a drive of around five to six hours that takes you back through the Rift Valley, past Njoro and Narok, before the tarmac gives way to the red dirt roads of Mara-side ranchland. Your guide will stop for lunch en route and for views as the road climbs onto the Mara escarpment.

Arriving at Mara Serena Lodge by mid-afternoon, you'll have time to settle in before heading straight out on your first game drive across the open grassland below the lodge. This stretch of the reserve, close to the Mara River, holds resident lion prides and good numbers of topi, zebra and elephant, giving you an early sense of the terrain you'll explore over the next three days.

You'll be out at first light for a morning game drive while the air is still cool and predators are most active. Your guide will head towards the riverine woodland along the Mara River, where lion and leopard often move before the heat sets in, before returning to the lodge for a late breakfast.

In the afternoon you'll drive out again, this time towards the open plains where cheetah are often spotted scanning for Thomson's gazelle. Depending on the time of year you may come across large herds of wildebeest and zebra moving across the grassland. Hippo pods gather in the deeper bends of the river, and your guide will look for a good vantage point to watch them before the light fades. You'll spend a second night at Mara Serena Lodge.

With three nights based in the Mara you'll use this final full day to reach areas missed so far, heading either towards the Mara Triangle or the Ngama Hills depending on where sightings have been strongest. Your guide will time the morning drive to make the most of the low light, when big cats are still moving and the grass carries a golden edge.

After a midday break at the lodge, the afternoon drive continues along the river fringes and open savanna, watching for elephant herds, giraffe and the resident hyena clans that den in the riverbank. You'll have the option of a visit to a nearby Maasai village to learn about local life before returning for your last night at Mara Serena Lodge.

This morning you'll cross the border from Kenya into Tanzania via the Isebania route, a process that takes a couple of hours including immigration formalities. From the border your guide will drive south through the Serengeti's northern reaches, where the terrain shifts from Mara grassland to the wider open plains and scattered kopjes the Serengeti is known for.

You'll break for a picnic lunch along the way before continuing on to Seronera in time for an afternoon game drive. The central Serengeti holds year-round resident wildlife, including lion prides that favour the rocky kopjes and good numbers of giraffe and topi. You'll settle in for the first of three nights at Serengeti Serena Lodge.

You'll head out early for a full morning game drive across the Seronera valley, an area of mixed woodland and open grassland that holds some of the highest concentrations of resident predators in the park. Your guide will check the kopjes for lion and look along the tree lines for leopard resting up after a night's hunting.

After returning to the lodge for lunch, the afternoon drive moves further out onto the plains, where cheetah are often seen using termite mounds as lookout points. Depending on the season the migration herds may be within reach, bringing wildebeest and zebra across the grassland in large numbers. You'll overnight again at Serengeti Serena Lodge.

On your second full day you'll explore a different section of the park, with your guide choosing the route based on recent sightings, whether that means heading towards the Mbalageti area or staying closer to the Seronera river system. Morning light across the plains is often still and clear, good for photography before the heat builds.

The afternoon drive continues at a slower pace, allowing time to watch elephant family groups moving between acacia stands and to look for hyena and jackal near their dens. Your guide will keep an eye on the sky for building afternoon cloud, common over the plains at this time of year, before heading back to Serengeti Serena Lodge for your final night in the park.

After breakfast you'll leave the Serengeti and drive east across the plains and through the Naabi Hill gate, watching the landscape change from open grassland to the wooded highland forest that surrounds the Ngorongoro Crater. The drive takes around three to four hours, gaining altitude steadily as you approach the crater rim.

Your guide will stop at a viewpoint along the rim road, where the crater floor spreads out more than 600 metres below, often with a haze of afternoon cloud drifting across it. From here it's a short drive to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, set among highland forest on the crater's outer slope, where you'll spend the night before descending the following morning.

You'll leave early to descend into the Ngorongoro Crater while the morning air is still cool and mist often clings to the crater floor. Your guide will spend the morning working the grassland and swamp areas below the rim, where dense concentrations of wildlife include lion, elephant, buffalo and, on a good day, one of the crater's black rhino.

After climbing back out over the rim road by midday, you'll drive on towards Lake Manyara, descending through farmland and the Mto wa Mbu area before reaching the park gate. Lake Manyara's groundwater forest and lake shore hold a different character altogether, with baboon troops and elephant often visible near the entrance road. You'll check in to Lake Manyara's Secret for the night.

You'll have a final morning game drive in Lake Manyara before checking out, using the cooler hours to explore the groundwater forest and lake shore. This is the park associated with tree-climbing lions, and your guide will check the fig and acacia branches along the escarpment base while also watching for hippo pods in the shallows and flamingos along the alkaline lake edge.

After a late breakfast you'll begin the drive to Arusha, a journey of around two hours through the farmland and small towns of the Ngorongoro district. This marks the end of the safari, with time on arrival in Arusha to connect with onward flights or transfers, bringing to a close ten days spent across two of East Africa's finest wildlife regions.