Itinerary
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Day 1
Nairobi In the event of serious illness, Flying Doctors will cover the cost of emergency air evacuation service needed to fly back to Nairobi for treatment. Kensington Tours donates a portion of proceeds to our charitable initiative www.kensingtoncares.com which supports education-based initiatives in disadvantaged communities. You will receive a private airport transfer to/from your hotel. The Nairobi Serena Hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, excelling in quality, service, and comfort beyond expectations. Its vibrant tropical gardens and skyline offer a range of views from its 184 rooms and suites, each decked with pan-African themed influences. Two stylish restaurants, offer both a la carte and/or buffet, and serve an international selection of fine cuisine amidst mesmerizing settings. Take advantage of the local attractions and, following a demanding full day, relax in the hands of an expert masseuse at the Maisha Serena Health Club. Gym, spa & pool at the hotel. Nairobi is the least expensive arrival city for flights with a full range of hotels and local attractions. Dubbed the “Safari Capital of the World” cool, clear and cosmopolitan Nairobi is the natural departure point for most safari itineraries. A city of contrasts, it is simultaneously the largest, the youngest, the most modern, the highest (1700m) and the fastest growing city in East Africa. High-altitude Nairobi enjoys a pleasant tropical climate all year round. There are ATMs and banks to stock up on cash, great restaurants, and malls where you can purchase any forgotten items.
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 Nairobi |
 Serena Hotel Poolside |
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Day 2
Masai Mara Airport transfer with private vehicle and guide. Take your flight from Nairobi to Masai Mara today. The flight duration is approximately 45 min. Your expert guide will pick you up at the airstrip and will be taking you for a game drive on the way back to camp. Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). This afternoon's game viewing will be exciting as you are searching for game with your private guide and driver. The leopard is difficult to see as it moves fast and is very shy. If you're lucky there is a good chance to spot them around waterholes or up in a tree after a hot long day. Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Kensington Mara West Camp has been revamped and relocated to what is surely one of the best views in East Africa. Perched elegantly on the Ololoolo escarpment, forming the western boundary of the Masai Mara Reserve itself. This is the authentic Out of Africa experience where much of the original film itself was filmed & produced. The camp borders the remote and beautiful western edge of Masai Mara National Reserve. Kensington Mara West provides nature lovers with deluxe accommodations while experiencing the sights and sounds of an unforgettable African safari. Chalets are perched in secluded spots on an escarpment edge overlooking the vast plains of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, giving tremendous views and a sense of private exclusion. Masai Mara is the northernmost portion of the larger Serengeti ecosystem and features the best game viewing in the region. The small size funnels animals into a tight space, and park rules allow for off-road driving which means that guests can venture into plains covered with hundreds or even thousands of animals. Take an optional hot air balloon ride over the plains, with the opportunity for amazing pictures of the animal herds below.
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 Masai Mara |
 Impala |
 Dine Outside |
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Day 3
Masai Mara Masai Mara is named after the traditional inhabitants (Maasai) and the Mara River. At some point during your stay in the Mara, you'll drive by the river which is a great place to spot wildlife. This area is a photographer's delight where with any luck you'll be able to take amazing pictures of the hippos and elephants in the water. Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). On today‘s afternoon game drive the choice is up to you, search for the big 5 or expand your horizons to discover something different. Masai Mara not only has a rich mix of animal population, it also has an incredible array of bird life with almost 450 different species. Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Overnight at Kensington Mara West.
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 Hippo |
 Bateleur or Short Tailed Eagle |
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Day 4
Masai Mara Today you'll set out early on your morning game drive with your private guide and vehicle. The Mara is most famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle and the wildebeest from the Serengeti every year from July to October. Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). This afternoon you'll meet up with your guide during afternoon tea then you'll head out on your game drive. Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Overnight at Kensington Mara West.
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 Wildebeest |
 Lion |
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Day 5
Serengeti Your guide will drive you from Masai Mara to the Serengeti. This full day commute includes some game drives through the park. This excursion will include a multi-hour drive across bumpy patches of road to the border (TZ visa can be purchased for $50 US cash or $100pp for US citizens). A picnic lunch near Lake Victoria will be provided, with an option to visit a local fishing village. NOTE: Be aware that for portions of this LONG drive, the road will be rough and unfinished. This drive will take approximately 9 hours. Kenya/Tanzania border crossing. Visas can be purchased for US cash (no bills older than 2006 due to local counterfeiting safeguards). Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). A tented wilderness camp in the western Serengeti, this is an intimate connection to nature in the world’s finest game park. Look forward to attentive service with five course bush cuisine of the pan-African and traditional sort. Three main meals are served each day in the large canvas dining tent overlooking the plains, culminating with five course dinners ending with coffee or tea under the stars. The tents, appropriately furnished with Masai inspired style, feature campaign furniture and canvas wardrobe. The Masai theme is showcased with evocative headboards, lamps and fixtures. This is a rare opportunity to experience close contact with the world’s greatest migration, which has been known to feature twenty or so lion prides and countless throngs of zebras and wildebeest. Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti is massive in size, 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq miles). Famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers the most diverse game-viewing in Africa.
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 Serengeti |
 Kensington Serengeti |
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Day 6
Serengeti Head out into the park early in the morning for your private game safari. Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti offers the most expansive game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. Explore this amazing park with the help of your expert guide. Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). Today head out with your guide to explore the wide expanse of the Serengeti. The park is well known for its healthy stock of resident wildlife, particularly the "Big Five", named for the five most prized trophies taken by hunters: lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros, and African buffalo. Though there are now few black rhino in the park, you may still spot them. The Serengeti has the largest population of lion and giraffe in all of Africa and the largest concentration of topi and Coke's hartebeest (kongoni). Enjoy the challenge of spotting other game such as cheetah, Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, eland, waterbuck, hyena, baboon, impala, African wild dog and giraffe. The park also boasts about 500 bird species, including ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, crowned crane and marabou stork. Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Overnight at Kensington Serengeti.
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 Elephant |
 Lioness |
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Day 7
Ngorongoro Your guide will pick you up from Serengeti and drive you to the Ngorongoro Conservation area. You will experience some brief game viewing as you leave the Serengeti plains on the way to the massive African landmark, the Ngorongoro crater. This drive takes approximately 5 to 6 hours, but your travel time will increase during the rainy season. The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge is commonly referred to as "The Cradle of Mankind." It is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley, which stretches along eastern Africa. Olduvai is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about 30 miles (48 km) long. The gorge is named after the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant Sansevieria ehrenbergii, commonly called Oldupai. Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Seated on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serena Safari Lodge faces this unique biodiversity-rich area head on. There are 74 guest rooms and suites, each decorated with brass lamps and leather headboards & Afro- Arabian artifacts. Dining combines international & Pan-African fare, often served in the bush where barbeque cuisine is a delight. Take part in game drives and hikes around the rich Ngorongoro Crater, full of life and discoveries. Serena Lodge is situated to provide one of the world's most spectacular panoramic views of the Ngorongoro Crater. "The Ngorongoro Crater is often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th Natural Wonder of the World’. A massive extinct volcano, the sheet walls drop thousands of feet to a "Noah's Ark" of animals on the verdant floor below. Large herds of zebra, buffalo, antelope and wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist.
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 Ngorongoro |
 Olduvai Gorge |
 Serena |
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Day 8
Ngorongoro Private transportation and guide in the Ngorongoro national park. Includes national park fees. Descend into the Ngorongoro caldera to view the wildlife on the crater floor. The crater is roughly 20 km/12 mi wide and 600 m/2,000 ft deep, once you've reached the top of the caldera it takes about 45 minutes to descend to the crater floor. The floor is home to a rich and highly concentrated wildlife. Some 20,000 mammals of size live there, including about 20 black rhinoceros, making the crater the best place in Tanzania to see the rhino. The crater floor also has one of the highest carnivore densities in the world. Lions, cheetahs, hyenas and jackals are commonly seen, while leopards, servals and bat-eared foxes may be seen with some good luck. You'll spend most of the day in the crater.
Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). Enjoy dinner (included in tour price). Overnight at Serena Safari Lodge Ngorongoro.
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 Lions |
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Day 9
Zanzibar Your expert guide will be dropping you off at the Manaya airstrip. Flight from Manyara to Zanzibar, and takes approximately 1hr & 55mins. Transfer to/from the east coast resorts in private vehicle and driver. Enjoy dinner at leisure (not included in tour price). Breezes Beach Club and Spa is a tasteful haven situated on a gorgeous beach off the east coast of the most magical island of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The 70 rooms and suites are fully air conditioned and decorated in earthy, natural tones and finishes, each festooned with authentic Zanzibar carvings from locals. Dining is an experience to look forward to, where ones taste buds are host to a mélange of refreshing flavors. Seafood is fresh, succulent, and incomparable. Activities vary depending on interest, from lounging on the beach to marine activities, spa, and yoga classes. Zanzibar is the ultimate relaxation destination with history, culture, architecture, spice plantations and dazzling sand beaches. Exotic cuisine, diving and snorkelling, sailing dhows. There are so many unique experiences in store. Our favorite place to unwind and the perfect end to a safari.
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 Zanzibar |
 Bedroom |
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Day 10
Zanzibar Sign up for optional activities at your resort (not included in tour price); deep sea fishing, boat excursions, scuba diving, Spice Tour and Stone Town tour, or other. Enjoy dinner at leisure (not included in tour price). Overnight at Breezes.
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 Kayaking at Zanzibar Islands |
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Day 11
Zanzibar A visit to a spice farm village gives you an insight into local life and the opportunity to try some Swahili dishes, taste the fruits in season and try some spiced tea. Walk through the spice farm with your guide. Touch, smell and taste different spices and tropical fruits. Try to guess which is which, from the crushed leaves, the fruit, shoots and vines and creepers crawling up the trees. Then follow the trail of the sultans, slaves and explorers in the winding streets of Stone Town. Your guide will tell you about the events that shaped Zanzibar, leading you through the buildings where it all happened, such as the former Slave Market and Anglican Cathedral, the House of Wonders and the Sultans’ Palace Museum, the Old Arab Fort and Dispensary.
The City Tour is very flexible and can be adapted suit your interest and time frame, if you’re a shopaholic, culture vulture or history buff. If you want to hunt for antiques and souvenir shop, follow David Livingstone’s time in Zanzibar and walk the path of the slave trade, your guide can recommend and develop routes and itineraries that will optimize your time and get the most out of your trip. (Lunch included)
Please bring:
• Sun hat and sun cream.
• Comfortable closed walking or hiking shoes and pants.
• Please dress conservatively when walking through Stone Town. Women should cover their shoulders and wear long skirts or trousers. Enjoy lunch (included in tour price). Enjoy dinner at leisure (not included in tour price). Overnight at Breezes.
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 Stone Town |
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Day 12
Nairobi (Note: an extra departure tax of $30 must be paid on departure) Transfer to/from the east coast resorts in private vehicle and driver. Take your flight from Zanzibar (ZNZ) to Nairobi (NBO) today. The flight duration is approximately 1.5 hr. Includes opportunity to visit local handicraft markets to shop for souvenirs. Before leaving that night, stop by the Kensington office for free use of internet, lounge, showers and drinks. (We can arrange dinner at Carnivore game meat restaurant, though there is limited wild meat on the menu these days - please let us know in advance and if you are veg.) You will receive a private airport transfer to/from your hotel. Depart from Nairobi international airport - end of itinerary.
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 Masai Market, Nairobi |
 Nairobi Office Lounge |
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