East Africa Trails (12 nights)

Day notes

Arrive Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.

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).

One night The Residences at Karen

Day notes

After breakfast at the hotel, you will check out and meet your driver guide who will transfer you to Nairobi National park with picnic breakfast for a game drive.
Thereafter drive a short distance to Daphne Sheldricks’ Elephant Orphanage – where you have an opportunity to 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 Matteos Restaurant, you will depart on the next part of your adventure that takes you from the hustle and bustle of Nairobi city to Nakuru.

Two nights Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge.

Day notes

Game drives in to Lake Nakura National Park.

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.

Day notes

Today you are off to the Masai Mara National Reserve. You will check out of your hotel after breakfast and arrive for lunch at your camp in the Mara. On arrival and check in, you will have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing in your tent waiting for the late evening when the temperature cools to head out on your first Mara game drive. Masai Mara is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves.  Acacia dotted plains, tree-lined rivers and woodlands are abundant with wildlife and an array of birdlife.  Game viewing is spectacular year round; you may see a pride of lions stalking their prey, observe a herd of elephant and their fascinating social structure, or see pods of hippo wallowing in the rivers.  The great wildebeest migration is one of nature’s wonders; an estimated two million animals migrate in a year-round pattern through Tanzania and Kenya, following the rain. Back at the camp, dinner is served and this gives you the perfect opportunity to look back at your day and relive all those highlights.

Three nights Zebra Plains Mara Camp.

Day notes

After breakfast drive across the Mara plains in search of the big five and other plains game or engage in the optional activities on offer at the Maasai Mara. 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. 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. Visit the Mara River and ask your guide to show you the regular river crossing routes.

Day notes

Morning and afternoon game drives in the Masai Mara.

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.

One night Mount Meru Game Lodge.

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

Two nights Honeyguide Tarangire Camp.

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.

Two nights Kati Kati Serengeti Camp.

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. 

Two nights Acacia Farm Lodge.

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.