8-Days Masai Mara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro Mid-Range Lodge Safari
This 8-day cross-border safari explores three of East Africa’s most iconic wildlife destinations: Masai Mara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. Travelers experience diverse landscapes, abundant wildlife, and year-round game viewing across Kenya and Tanzania. The tour features mid-range lodges and tented camps, immersive game drives, and a chance to witness the Great Migration. It also includes a visit to Olduvai Gorge, one of the world’s most important archaeological sites. This safari combines adventure, comfort, and classic East African wilderness experiences.
Trip Highlights
- Game drives in Masai Mara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater
- Chance to witness the Great Migration in season
- High wildlife density with Big Five sightings
- Visit to Olduvai Gorge archaeological site
- Scenic drives along the Great Rift Valley
- Optional hot air balloon safari (extra cost)
- Riverfront and crater-rim lodge experiences
- Cross-border safari through Kenya and Tanzania
Itinerary
This budget African Safari in Kenya and Tanzania begins with collection from your pre-tour hotel in Nairobi at 7:30 am, followed by a brief about the exciting journey ahead.
Leaving Nairobi, we travel along the Great Rift Valley, taking in the scenery en route to our camp near Masai Mara National Reserve. After lunch at our tented camp, we set off on a game drive in the world-famous game reserve.
This is one of the best game-viewing destinations in the world, considered the heartland of authentic African safaris.
Returning to the luxury-tented camp, we have dinner and relax after our first game drive in Kenya, East Africa. The camp is located on the banks of a river, inside a private conservancy area, where various animals are often spotted.
- Your dinner and overnight will be at Mara Sekenani Camp or similar.
- Main Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve
- Accommodation: Sekenani Camp { http://sekenani-camp.com/} - Mid-range tented camp located just outside Masai Mara NR
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
The whole of day two is set aside for game viewing in Masai Mara. The iconic plains of Masai Mara are home to more than 450 species of wild animals, including the Big Five - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.
Today you experience the wild savannahs of Africa encountering an abundance of wildlife, including hippos, wild dogs, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, jackals and many more creatures.
Masai Mara is best known for the spectacular wildlife migration that sees millions of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles and other herbivores stampeding across the plains and rivers.
Every year this mass migration, known as the Great Migration, attracts a host of predators along the migratory route between Kenya's Masai Mara and the Serengeti National Park, in Tanzania.
You also have the chance to take an optional balloon ride over the plains of Masai Mara. This optional balloon ride costs extra and is one of the most spectacular ways of viewing Masai Mara and the abundance of wildlife inhabiting the reserve.
Tonight we stay at the same comfortable camp near Masai Mara, sleeping in tented rooms with en-suite bathrooms and verandahs.
- Your dinner and overnight will be at Mara Sekenani Camp or similar.
- Main Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve
- Accommodation: Sekenani Camp { http://sekenani-camp.com/} - Mid-range tented camp located just outside Masai Mara NR
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
The whole of day two is set aside for game viewing in Masai Mara. The iconic plains of Masai Mara are home to more than 450 species of wild animals, including the Big Five - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.
Today you experience the wild savannahs of Africa encountering an abundance of wildlife, including hippos, wild dogs, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, jackals and many more creatures.
Masai Mara is best known for the spectacular wildlife migration that sees millions of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles and other herbivores stampeding across the plains and rivers.
Every year this mass migration, known as the Great Migration, attracts a host of predators along the migratory route between Kenya's Masai Mara and the Serengeti National Park, in Tanzania.
You also have the chance to take an optional balloon ride over the plains of Masai Mara. This optional balloon ride costs extra and is one of the most spectacular ways of viewing Masai Mara and the abundance of wildlife inhabiting the reserve.
Tonight we stay at the same comfortable camp near Masai Mara, sleeping in tented rooms with en-suite bathrooms and verandahs.
- Your dinner and overnight will be at Mara Sekenani Camp or similar.
- Main Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve
- Accommodation: Sekenani Camp { http://sekenani-camp.com/} - Mid-range tented camp located just outside Masai Mara NR
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Bid farewell to the Maasai Mara and Kenya after an early breakfast and a morning game drive as you cross the park viewing wildlife this morning.
Exit the park through Oloolo gate and onwards to Isebania border where there shall be a brief stopover for immigration formalities and early picnic lunch.
After the immigration formalities are done, you will meet your new driver from the Tanzania side and continue into the world-famous Serengeti National Park for late evening game drive en route to the lodge.
Serengeti National park is home to huge populations of wildebeest, zebras, and antelopes - the picturesque Serengeti is an excellent place to spot predators such as lions, leopards, and cheetahs as well as herbivores including elephants, hippos, and giraffes.
NOTE: This is a long day of driving from maasai mara to serengeti national park. Be prepared for a tiring day!.
Alternatively, there is an option of taking a flight from Maasai mara to seronera airstrip, which will save you much time, and long drives and you will be able to lunch at the selected lodge in serengeti if you opt for a flight option.
As an expert and an experience safari guide, I do recommend taking a flight if your pocket can allow you to do so. We cannot also deny the fact that road trip is also very adventurous though tiring.
- Main Destination: Serengeti National Park
- Accommodation: Serengeti Matawi Lodge Tented Camp (https://www.matawiserengeticamp.com/) – Luxury tented lodge located inside Serengeti NP
- Meals & Drinks: Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A full day game viewing drive as we explore this vast nature endowed wildlife reserve. Options of morning and afternoon or full day game viewing sessions are available to you.
The annual wildebeest migration is Serengeti’s most famous attraction. It is also home to a pride of its lions, which have been fitted with radio-transmitter collars so that their movements may be tracked.
Other wildlife you may see includes cheetah, zebra, giraffe, Thompson and Grant’s gazelle, Eland, Impala, Klipspringer, Hippo and Warthog.
Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Heritage Luxury tented camp or similar.
- Main Destination: Serengeti National Park
- Accommodation: Serengeti Matawi Lodge Tented Camp (https://www.matawiserengeticamp.com/) – Luxury tented lodge located inside Serengeti NP
- Meals & Drinks: Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This morning we embark on an early morning game drive in Serengeti National Park, before having breakfast back at the lodge.
Then we make our way to Olduvai Gorge, a deep ravine in the East African Rift Valley. En route we stop for a picnic lunch and enjoy game viewing.
The gorge features one of the world's most famous archaeological sites, hosting some of the earliest fossils of our humanoid ancestors.
We visit the Olduvai Gorge Museum to see the excavated remains of our ancestors, with Homo erectus remains that date as far back as 1.2 million years ago.
From Olduvai, we continue to Ngorongoro Forest Tented Lodge (or similar) where we have dinner and spend the night.
Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Agata Luxury Tented Camp or similar
- Accommodation: Ngorongoro Agata Luxury Tented Camp (https://www.angatacamps.com/ngorongoro) - Mid-range lodge located on the crater rim of Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals & Drinks: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
On day seven we enjoy breakfast early in the morning and dip some 600m down into the crater for an action-packed day of game viewing in this wildlife paradise.
Our 4x4 game drive takes us through the diverse habitats of the crater floor, where we encounter a variety of wild animals.
While in the crater we have a picnic lunch. The Ngorongoro Crater is renowned for its high concentration of animals, with most wildlife species represented here.
Due to the high density of animal populations, we are likely to see an excellent array of animals in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Ascending the crater walls after our game viewing adventure, and drive to Arusha to arrive by evening with airport drop off.
- Main Destination: Arusha (City)
- Meals & Drinks: (Lunch & Breakfast)
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
End of tour:
- Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
- You'll be dropped off at the airport.
Includes/Excludes
Cost Includes
- - Accommodation as outlined above.
- - All meals noted in the itinerary.
- - Each day generally includes Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner buffets consisting of both western and local dishes.
- - Transportation in a standard game viewing safari vehicle complete with a pop-up roof for easy viewing and photography.
- - Every passenger is guaranteed a window seat.
- - Your driver/guide speaks English and has in-depth knowledge of the flora, fauna, landscape, and culture.
- - A 4x 4 Safari Land cruiser of pop up roof outfitted with two-way, long-range high-frequency radio communications equipment in Tanzania.
- - Each safari vehicle carries safari accessories including wildlife books, binoculars for the guide, a first-aid kit, and a fire extinguisher.
- - Flying doctors (AMREF) insurance covers each client doing a safari with us just for emergencies
- - Park entrance fees and game drive as noted in the itinerary.
- - All government taxes, levies, 2 litres of bottled water during safari
- - Pick up from the airport/your hotel and drop off back to the hotel or airport in good time for your outbound flight after the trip.
Cost Excludes
- - Domestic and international airfares and departure taxes.
- - Personal communications charges for telephone calls, faxes, email, etc.
- - Tips and gratuities for your driver/guide.
- - Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
- - Laundry services.
- - Between meal snacks, parks, attractions, and events not included in your itinerary
