13 DAYS KENYA & TANZANIA SAFARI (CLASSIC & RESERVE)

You arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport and are quickly ushered through the practicalities so you can exhale. From here, a light aircraft flight carries you to Lake Manyara Airstrip, where a guide from The Highlands meets you. The drive climbs steadily into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, through market towns and forests, until the air cools and the crater rim appears beside you in glimpses.

There is time for a picnic lunch overlooking the crater, then you continue around the rim into the higher, quieter northern slopes. The Highlands’ welcome is warm and relaxed: log fires, wide views, and dome-shaped suites tucked into the landscape. It’s a gentle but spectacular way to arrive in East Africa.

The second day begins early so you can descend into the Ngorongoro Crater ahead of most vehicles. Wrapped in blankets and jackets, you drop down the inner wall into a world that feels improbably complete: forest, open grassland, wetlands and the chance — never promised, but real — of seeing the Big Five in a single day. After a picnic by the hippo pools, you climb back to the rim and return to The Highlands for a slow afternoon, perhaps with a walk, a spa treatment or a visit to a neighbouring Maasai community.

After breakfast, you retrace the rim road and descend towards Lake Manyara Airstrip for your flight into the Serengeti. At Seronera Airstrip, a guide from Dunia Camp welcomes you and your next chapter begins with a slow game drive, leaving the busier central area behind as you ease towards the Moru Kopjes.

Dunia is run by a proud, all-female team — a detail that gives the camp a particular warmth and energy. Afternoons stretch into golden-hour drives in search of big cats and the ever-changing movement of the migration herds, depending on the month. Evenings mean drinks by the fire and dinners that feel more like gatherings than “meal times”.

Over the next two days, you settle into a rhythm of morning and afternoon game drives, with the option to take picnic breakfasts to extend your time out. This central position gives you wide reach: the Seronera valley, Moru Kopjes and plains that can be alive with wildlife in many seasons.

Your next move is subtle but powerful: you fly from Seronera to either Kogatende in the north or the Ndutu area in the south, depending on the time of year. In both cases, Olakira Migration Camp is positioned to maximise your proximity to the herds — river crossings in the north, calving seasons in the south.

Days are shaped around unhurried game drives when wildlife is most active, with time in the middle to rest properly. Sundowners are often taken on the open plains, where the scale of the Serengeti is impossible to ignore. Evenings in Olakira have a particular glow: lantern light, thoughtful service, and the option (in its star-gazing suites) to sleep beneath a wide, star-heavy sky.

After a last Serengeti morning, you fly towards Kenya, crossing the border and continuing into the Maasai Mara. At Ol Kiombo Airstrip, a guide from Rekero Camp meets you and turns your transfer into your first Mara game drive, cutting across a landscape that feels both cinematic and surprisingly intimate.

Rekero sits near the confluence of the Talek and Mara Rivers — a front-row position for river life and, in season, some of the most dramatic wildebeest crossings on the route. Days here are shaped around long, flexible game drives: early starts, picnic breakfasts, and time to explore different corners of the reserve. Lion prides, cheetah families and large elephant herds are all part of the canvas.

Afternoons slow down at camp with views over the river, followed by one more foray into the plains before sunset. Evenings end around the fire, listening to the night sounds that drift up from the dark.

After a final breakfast facing the river, you fly back to Wilson Airport in Nairobi. An Asilia driver meets you for the short drive into the leafy suburb of Karen, where you check in at Karen Blixen Cottages.

This is the perfect transition night — green gardens, historic touches and a slower pace than the city centre. If you’d like, there’s time to visit nearby highlights such as the Karen Blixen Museum or local galleries and cafés.

If you prefer to end here, we simply transfer you to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your onward flight. If you choose the coastal ending, your safari continues a little longer.

You fly south to Zanzibar and are met on arrival for a private transfer to the southeast coast and Breezes Beach Club & Spa. The tone shifts immediately: ocean air, bright water and time that stretches. Your days can be as relaxed or as active as you like — snorkelling, diving, sailing, or simply letting the hours drift between the pool, the beach and the spa.

On your final day, a last unhurried breakfast by the sea precedes your transfer back to Zanzibar Airport and your flight home.

You land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where an Asilia representative meets you and escorts you across town to the green suburbs bordering the Karura Forest. Kwetu Nairobi, Curio Collection by Hilton combines polished design with access to walking trails, cycling routes and a peaceful pool deck, so your first day in East Africa feels more like a retreat than a stopover.

After breakfast, you transfer to Wilson Airport for the short flight to Ol Seki Airstrip. A guide from Naboisho Camp greets you and takes you on an introductory game drive into the Mara Naboisho Conservancy, a private area that shares the same wildlife richness as the Maasai Mara reserve but with far fewer vehicles.

For the next two days you can mix day and night game drives, walking safaris and visits to nearby Maasai communities. Mornings are usually for exploring in the mild light; afternoons can be kept light with a spa treatment, a book and a view, followed by a late-day drive and sundowners in a quiet corner of the conservancy.

You leave the Mara by air, flying towards the Kenya–Tanzania border, where a short road link takes care of immigration formalities. From there, a final hop brings you into the northern Serengeti. Your private guide meets you on arrival and drives you to Sayari Retreat, a refined base overlooking classic river and savannah scenery.

A dedicated private vehicle and guide, along with a private chef, give you the freedom to plan each day around your own rhythm. Early starts with picnic breakfasts, long lazy lunches back at camp, afternoon game drives or walks — everything can be quietly tailored. When conditions are right, this is a superb base for watching the movement and crossings of the Great Migration.

After a leisurely final morning in the north, you fly to Seronera and continue by road into the eastern Serengeti, where Namiri Retreat sits amid wide plains and granite outcrops. This region is renowned for its density of lions and cheetahs, with open terrain that makes their movements visible.

Again, you have a private guide, vehicle and chef at your disposal, so days can flex between full-day explorations, walking safaris, or a slower rhythm with time in camp. Afternoons might mean a massage, a swim and a quiet watch of the horizon from the Retreat’s deck before heading out again when the light softens.

You fly from Seronera to Lake Manyara Airstrip, where a guide from Entamanu Private meets you. The road climbs through forest and farmland towards the crater rim, then peels away to a more remote stretch, away from the busier lodges.

Entamanu Private is exactly that: a private, self-contained camp with big views across the Ngorongoro Crater and the highlands beyond. Its position close to a crater descent road allows you to reach the floor ahead of much of the day traffic, enjoy a long game drive and picnic breakfast, then return to the rim for a quiet lunch. Late afternoons can be spent walking on the highlands or visiting a nearby Maasai boma.

From the crater rim you return to Lake Manyara Airstrip and fly north to Kilimanjaro International Airport. If this is your natural end point, we align your timings with your international departure. If you’d like to extend, you continue instead to Zanzibar.

On arrival, you are driven to Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa on the southeast coast. Private villas with pools, rooftop terraces and direct access to Paje Beach set the tone. Days here can spin between kitesurfing, yoga, spa time, long lunches, and the simple pleasure of doing very little under palms and big sky.

Your final morning is kept light: a last barefoot breakfast, ocean views, then a private transfer to Zanzibar Airport for your flight home.