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Itineraries  /  best-of-kenya-tanzania
KT03 · Kenya & Tanzania · Grand Circuit

best-of-kenya-tanzania

amboseli-national-park · central-serengeti · karatu · masai-mara-national-reserve · nairobi · ngorongoro-crater
Duration
12 Days · 11 Nights
The route
amboseli-national-park · central-serengeti · karatu · masai-mara-national-reserve · nairobi · ngorongoro-crater
Style
Grand Circuit
Best season
Migration Jul–Oct (Kenya) · Jun–Oct (Tanzania)
What you're tracking

What you'll see

Lion
Lion
Mara prides, often with cubs in the grass.
Elephant
Elephant
Big-tusked herds on the Amboseli pans.
Leopard
Leopard
Draped along an acacia branch at dusk.
Rhino
Rhino
Black and white rhino on the conservancies.
Buffalo
Buffalo
Herds grazing the floodplains in number.
Day by day

The journey, one day at a time

01Arrival · Nairobi

Arrive in Nairobi

The journey starts here.

Arrive in Arrival · Nairobi, met and transferred to your accommodation.

02Nairobi → Amboseli

South to Kilimanjaro's foot

The mountain shows itself by late afternoon.

Drive to Amboseli to Amboseli beneath Kilimanjaro, then take a first drive as the big-tusked herds move down to the swamps.

03Amboseli

A day among the herds

Tuskers on the pan, the peak behind.

Morning and evening drives for Amboseli's elephants, with the mountain as a backdrop whenever the cloud lifts.

04Amboseli → Ngorongoro

Up to the Ngorongoro highlands

A green rim above a hidden world.

Fly across the border to Ngorongoro to the Ngorongoro highlands and settle on the crater rim, ready for the descent.

05Ngorongoro

Down into the crater

A day on the caldera floor.

A full day on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater — black rhino, lion, flamingo and big herds inside one collapsed volcano.

06Ngorongoro → Central Serengeti

Into the central Serengeti

Endless plains, resident prides.

Drive to Central Serengeti into the central Serengeti and drive the Seronera valleys for resident lion, leopard and cheetah. Continue by road into the central Serengeti and drive the Seronera valleys for resident lion, leopard and cheetah.

07Central Serengeti

The Seronera valleys

Cats along the rivers.

Full days among the Seronera river lines — the surest big-cat country in the Serengeti — with the long midday to rest. A full day further onto the plains and kopjes, routed by where the prides and herds are moving.

08Central Serengeti

Out across the plains

Open grass to the horizon.

A full day further onto the plains and kopjes, routed by where the prides and herds are moving. Drive from Arusha into the central Serengeti and drive the Seronera valleys for resident lion, leopard and cheetah.

09Central Serengeti

The Seronera valleys

Cats along the rivers.

Full days among the Seronera river lines — the surest big-cat country in the Serengeti — with the long midday to rest. Fly across the border to Central Serengeti into the central Serengeti and drive the Seronera valleys for resident lion, leopard and cheetah.

10Central Serengeti → Mara

Into the Mara

The plains open and don't stop.

Fly across the border to Mara into the Maasai Mara and head out on a first game drive as the light softens — plains game, elephant and the first cats on the way to camp.

11Mara

Full day on the plains

Cats before the heat, a sundowner to close.

Morning and afternoon drives with a Maasai guide, routed by where the predators are moving, with the long midday hours to rest at camp.

12Mara → home

Journey's end

Wheels-up over the plains you crossed.

A light flight back to Nairobi connects to your onward flight home.

When to travel

The season changes what you see.

Jul – Oct

The migration window

The wildebeest are in the Mara and the river crossings are on — the headline months, and the busiest. Book well ahead.

Nov – Jun

Resident game, green plains

The Big Five never leave. Fewer vehicles, lower rates, newborns in the grass and clean light for photography.

Wildlife you may see
Cheetah Elephant Leopard Lion Rhino

Make it yours.

Add nights, swap a park, extend to the coast — this route is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Tell us how you travel and we'll route the rest.

Field notes, now and then.

Where to go · When to go · Wildlife in season

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