Affordable East Africa (12 nights)

Day notes

If you are arriving at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport you will be met by your driver guide and taken directly to your hotel in the Karen suburbs. Dinner will be served in the hotel restaurant (at an additional cost).

Day notes

After breakfast at the hotel, your driver guide will pick you up and transfer you to the Giraffe Centre which offers the unique experience of hand-feeding these gentle giants at eye level from a raised platform, while watching the warthogs below snuffle around looking for titbits. The centre is the headquarters of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) which was setup to raise money to relocate the endangered Rothschild giraffe to safe areas. After about an hour here, proceed to the Daphne Sheldrick’s Centre and visit the many baby elephants that have been rescued from threatening situations in Kenya’s various national parks and even get a chance to see the calves being fed and playing with the staff. You will then visit the Karen Blixen Museum: a chance to go back in time and discover the famous Karen Blixen’s house exactly as it was when she lived in Kenya. Located in an area which was once part of Karen Blixen’s vast coffee estate, ‘bogani’, the museum was Karen’s home from 1917 until 1931.The house and grounds were made famous by the film ‘Out of Africa ’and have been restored by the Danish community of Kenya. Visitors have a glimpse of typical colonial life in Kenya at the turn of the twentieth century.

After lunch at the lovely Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens, you will depart on the next part of your adventure that takes you from the hustle and bustle of Nairobi city to the small but beautiful soda ash lake located in the famous Great Rift Valley, named Lake Elementaita. Sunbird Lodge is a newly established eco-friendly lodge providing comfortable luxury in which to absorb this stunning area.

Day notes

The second great lake you will visit on your tour is Lake Nakuru. 30 minutes’ drive from Elementaita, the lake is situated in the middle of the national park to which it gives its name. Teeming with wildlife the park has so much to offer. Sometimes, when the water levels are low, the entire lake is covered in flamingos, turning the whole area pink.

Lions, buffalos as well as many rhinos call this corner of Kenya home and a game drive around the park is always rewarding. If you are lucky you may even spot a leopard relaxing in a tree beside the lake.

After a game-packed day you will arrive back at Sunbird Lodge in time to enjoy the sun set over the lake, before sitting down for dinner and toasting to the day’s adventures

Day notes

Today you are off to the real highlight of your safari, the Masai Mara National Reserve. You will arrive for lunch at your camp and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool and waiting for the late afternoon when the temperature cools to head out on your first Mara game drive. Back at the camp, dinner is served and gives you the perfect opportunity to look back at your day and relive all those highlights

Day notes

Today after breakfast you will drive across the plains in search of the big five and other plains game. The early mornings are one of the best times to view the animals as this is when they are their most active before the heat of the day sets in and after a mid-morning of relaxation and lunch, head out into the reserve for a chance to tick off some more animals on your “must see” list. Keep your eyes peeled as you hunt for the last members on your list.

Day notes

This morning, there is the opportunity to rise early and experience a game viewing adventure from an entirely different perspective! A hot air balloon safari across the Masai Mara (at additional cost) which takes off in the crisp morning air, and lasts for approximately an hour, allows for a beautifully peaceful experience floating silently high above plains, forests and rivers. Upon landing a fully cooked champagne breakfast awaits. More game viewing opportunities arise later that morning en-route back to camp and in the afternoon. In addition to the abundance of spectacular game, there are also over 450 species of birds that have been identified in the Masai Mara Ecosystem.

Day notes

After breakfast and check out, you will be driven back to Nairobi, stopping beside the Rift Valley for one last photo opportunity. Arrive at Nairobi Wilson Airport in time for a scheduled flight (not included in trip cost) across the border to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania.

On arrival at Kilimanjaro, clear Tanzania immigration - Canadian's require a visa. You will be met in the arrival hall for a transfer to Mount Meru Game Lodge. Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure or visit the Game Sanctuary that has for many years provided a safe haven to African plains game. 

Meet up the other participants of the Tanzania safari at dinner this evening.

Day notes

This morning, wake to the views of Mt Meru before heading down to breakfast. After collecting your packed lunch, you will join your Albatros Travel driver guide as you head to Tarangire National Park. On clearing the paperwork at the entrance you will head into the park for a full day game drive. 

Tarangire National Park extends over some 2,600 sq km (1,615 square miles) in the Rift Valley. Arid and studded with giant termite mounds, it is here that you can witness massive herds of elephant with some reaching as many as 500. During the dry season the park becomes a haven for many migratory species and this is the best time to see animals as they cluster around various water sources. When the rains arrive the animals become more widely distributed once more and the region’s swamps are alive with bird life. The many herds of elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, impala, gazelle and eland feast on the green shoots, eventually depleting them and being forced to return to the river systems once more. 

As the afternmoon begins to end, you will make your way out of the park and towards your camp, located on the Great Rift Valley Escarpement. On arrival you will be assisted with check in and shown your tent. 

Day notes

After breakfast and check out, depart to the Serengeti with a packed lunch. Game aviewing enroute to your camp.

The Serengeti National Park is Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park. Its name means 'endless plain' in the Masai language. It is from here that massive concentrations of wildebeest, zebras and other animals commence the annual Great Migration in search of pastures new, providing one of the greatest natural spectacles to be found anywhere in the world. You can watch golden-maned lions stalking the migrating herds, spot leopards at rest in trees at dusk and take a hot-air balloon tour at dawn as the sun’s golden rays illuminate the land.

Arrive at Kati Kati camp in the evening and in time for dinner.

Day notes

Enjoy a full day, with morning and evening games drives in Serengeti National Park. Enjoy quiet evenings by the camp fire and nights spent in the African bush, an extraordinary experience for all nature lovers. 

Day notes

After breakfast and check out - depart with a packed lunch and drive towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. On the way you will visit one of the world's most important prehistoric sites, Olduvai Gorge, for a tour and lecture. Learn how the gorge was vital in establishing the African origin of humankind and in turn, why it is referred to as the 'Cradle of Mankind'.

Proceed on to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and on clearing the paperwork you will drive through the Crater Rim from where you will have the opportunity – weather permitting – to see the Crater. 

 Drive onto your lodge, located in lush grounds within the Karatu Area. On arrival you will be assisted with check in and shown your room. 

Day notes

After breakfast and check out and drive to Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara National Park is small compared to Tanzania’s other parks. At only 330 km2 it fits neatly into the Great Rift Valley, it is the real Cinderella of Tanzanian parks. This park is often overlooked and underrated but this gem was described by Ernest Hemingway as ‘the loveliest place I have ever seen’. The shallow alkaline lake is often covered by resident flamingos and whatever the park lacks in size it makes up for in diversity. Apart from the lake and the many lions that roam the park, there is an expanse of tropical jungle filled with troops of baboons and other occupants of the rainforest. Large herds of buffalos and zebras wander on the plains and in the distance are the ever present jagged peaks of volcanoes.

At a time convenient to you, you will depart from the park and make your way to Arusha for lunch. After lunch, and depending on your International flight details, you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward flight home.