The Grand East African Safari

Transfer Kapala to the Lake Mburo National Park driving south westwards stopping at the Mpigi Drum Makers where you will watch the ceremonial drums being crafted using methods passed down through generations. Another stop at the equator to take photographs. Passing through papyrus swamps and tracts of tropical rainforests and the rolling plains of Ankole, continue on to Lake Mburo National Park.

Head out on your private game drive through Lake Mburo National Park. The park has different routes or "tracks" for game drives that allow you to explore the grasslands, water habitat, and hills of this park. Explore the Zebra track for views of: Burchell’s zebra (Equus burchelli) and other species like bushbucks, oribi and reedbucks. Then continue to Ruroko track: a drive through a wetland basin and thick acacia shrub and woodland, with olive trees and euphorbia species. Kopjes (rock outcrops) found along the Ruroko track, are home to elusive klipspringers to which the rock is the best habitat.

Your park fees are included for this day.

After an early morning game drive we depart for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The park derives its name from its thick vegetation with an immense variety of evergreen trees, festooned with lianas, epiphytes, which reach great heights in their search for sunlight plus half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas.

In the afternoon, enjoy some time on your own to relax.

Wake up very early and depart with a picnic lunch to track the rare Mountain Gorillas (hiking boots required). The tracking may take between 5 and 8 hours. The Park Guides with you interpret the flora and fauna and the lifestyle of the Gorillas. Return in the evening for dinner and overnight at the lodge. Only persons age 15 and over are allowed to track the gorillas.

Travel today between Kigali and Bwindi by private car and english speaking driver. Please note that there are delays due to road construction, expect the transfer to take 2 hours longer till September 2013 when the construction is expected to be over.

Your guide will take you out on an excursion through Kigali today.  Visit some of the popular market places before heading out to a location of heart aching cultural history. The Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre was opened on the 10th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, in April 2004. The Centre is built on a site where an estimated 250,000 people we`re buried. The Centre is serves as a permanent memorial to the victim of the genocide and serves as a place where people can grieve those that they have lost. One of the principle reasons for the Centres existence is to provide educational information regarding the genocide. Rwandans believe that it is extremely important for the younger generations to be able to have access to a place where they can learn about the reasons and affects of the genocide. The Centre includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the genocide in 1994. There is also a children’s memorial, and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The Education Centre, Memorial Gardens and National Documentation Centre of the Genocide all contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who perished, and form a powerful educational tool for the next generation.

Take your flight from Kigali to Nairobi today. The flight duration is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

A privately driven vehicle will provide you with a transfer to & from the airport.

A privately driven vehicle will provide you with a transfer to & from the airport.

Sit back and relax during this 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.

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 water holes or up in a tree after a long, hot day.

Today you will head out for an early morning game drive with your expert guide. The Masai Mara Park will offer you a diverse range of animals. The park is home to the Big Five (Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo and Leopard) and numerous other antelopes including Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles, Impalas, Topics, Hartebeest, Zebra and Masai Giraffe. It's also home to over 450 species of birdlife among these are vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds, hornbills, crowned cranes, ostriches, long-crested eagles and African pygmy-falcons.

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 animals – it also has an incredible array of bird life with almost 450 different species.

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.

This afternoon you'll meet up with your guide and head out on your game drive. Mara is one of the few places you could spot the rare rhino. Stay alert as you track these elusive lumbering giants.

Your guide will drive you from Masai Mara to the Isebania border today. Once there, you'll meet your Tanzanian guide and continue into Tanzania to the Serengeti. This full day commute includes some game drives through the park. This excursion will include a multi-hour drive across highway and bumpy patches of road to the border. Enjoy game viewing on your way out of the park or head straight to the border.  NOTE: Be aware that for portions of this LONG drive, the road will be rough and unfinished, though most is now newly paved. This total drive to Serengeti will take approximately 6-9 hours depending on game drives and any breaks taken.

At the border, switch between your Kenyan and Tanzanian guide, crossing the border and continuing your safari. You will also be switching vehicles.

Visas can be purchased at the border: Kenya $50pp US cash - Tanzania $100pp for Americans, $50pp for other nationalities.

Note: Visas are paid for using US cash (no bills older than 2006 due to local counterfeiting safeguards). Single entry visa is valid for 3 months and can be used for multiple entries between Kenya and Tanzania. Please be sure to have your Yellow Fever certificate handy.

After the Kenya/Tanzania border crossing, continue on to Serengeti with your Tanzanian private guide and vehicle. You'll have the option to stop and enjoy a box lunch by Lake Victoria, visit a fishing village, or head straight to the park. Once you have entered the park, enjoy game viewing on the way to your lodge.

Head out into the park early in the morning as animals are more active in the early morning and afternoon. Tanzania's oldest and most renowned 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.

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 only a 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.

This morning you will depart from the Serengeti on your way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. For the first part of the drive you'll be doing some game viewing as you leave the Serengeti. On this drive you have the option of stopping at Olduvlai gorge, the Serengeti welcome centre and lookout point, or stop for lunch at a picnic spot. Then drive up and around Ngorongoro Crater to your next accommodation. This drive takes 5 to 6 hours depending on the number of stops you make and how much game viewing you enjoy along the way. Expect longer trip times during the rainy seasons.

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.

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 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.

Private transportation and guide in the Ngorongoro national park.

Your guide will transfer you between the hotel and the Manaya airstrip. This drive takes approx. 45mins to 1hr.

Flight from Manyara to Zanzibar, and takes approximately 2 hours.

Airport transfer with private vehicle and guide.

Time permitting, there are many optional activities. If you would like, you can book tours in advance. Half day tours include: Swahili Cultural Tour, Spice Tour, Stone Town Tour, or even Spice Tour and cooking lesson. Full day tours include: Dolphin Sandbank Picnic, Prison Island & Mangapwani Beach, Spice & Stone Town or our Stone Town, Slave Market, Spice Farm and Cultural Village. Ask your travel consultant for more details and pricing.

If you prefer, sign up for activities on the ground through your lodging (not included in tour price). Activities range from cultural, historical (slave trade and spice route), visit forests and ruins, enjoy deep sea fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swim with dolphins and more! Simply speak to your accommodations upon check-in to sign up the tours, activities and excursions of your choice.

Today meet up with others and share the experience and thrill of sailing on traditional dhow. Sailing on these traditional fishing boats is an unforgettable experience. Relax as you glide silently through the deep blue waters of the Indian Ocean towards Uzi Island (depending on wind). The island is the finest place to see mangroves and a forest teaming with a high biodiversity of plants, invertebrates, bird species and Red Colobus monkeys.

Our next stop is the beautiful Pengume white sand banks, which are idyllic for sun bathing and swimming. Refreshments will be served on the sand bank with fresh coconuts and seasonal fruits. Sun shades will be mounted for you protection and we will provide life jackets for those not capable of swimming.

From the sand banks we head toward as a stunning snorkelling site where beautiful corals await you. Snorkelling is for approximately 45 minutes before we depart for Pengume Island. This island encompasses one of the largest coral rag forests as well as Elephant Shrews and Coconut Crabs. Lunch boxes are provided here by the Dolphin View Paradise with drinks available from the cash bar. There is also time to explore the beautiful island or you can just explore and relax on the beach.

From Pengume Island we head back East where dolphins frolic and inhabit these waters. Dolphins are encountered on the majority of our trips, however sightings are not guaranteed.

After this shared tour, you will be driven back to the hotel in the afternoon to relax after a day filled with amazing and unique sights!

Tour operates from Stone Town. Transfer time will vary depending on what part of the island you are coming from. Time in transit could be 30min to 1.5hrs each way.

Airport transfer with private vehicle and guide.

(Note: an extra departure tax of $35 must be paid on departure).

Take your flight from Zanzibar (ZNZ) to Nairobi today. The flight duration is approximately 1.5hrs.

Private guide and driver for the day in Nairobi.

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 and lounge. If you like, we can make reservations for dinner at a local restaurant as well. Please let us know in advance and if you are vegetarian.