7 Nights / 8-Day Masai Mara, Ngorongoro Crater & Serengeti Safari
This 8-day cross-border safari combines Kenya’s world-famous Masai Mara with Tanzania’s iconic Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater for an immersive wildlife adventure. Travelers experience the Great Migration (seasonal), Big Five sightings, and diverse landscapes across two of Africa’s top safari destinations. The itinerary includes full-day game drives, luxury lodge stays, and private guiding throughout. Its blend of premium accommodations, rich wildlife sightings, and seamless Kenya–Tanzania transitions makes this safari exceptional.
Trip Highlights
- Big Five sightings across Kenya and Tanzania
- Witness the Great Migration (seasonal)
- Full-day game drives in Masai Mara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro
- Wildlife-rich Ngorongoro Crater descent
- Scenic Rift Valley viewpoint stop
- Visit to Olduvai Gorge archaeological site
- Private safari vehicle with guaranteed window seats
- Luxury lodges and tented camps inside major parks
- Professional English-speaking safari guide
- Optional hot-air balloon flight over Masai Mara
Itinerary
We pick up from JKIA or your hotel in Nairobi and drive through Westland’s to the Rift Valley viewpoint where you will have a stopover to enjoy the breathtaking views of Rift Valley.
You will then proceed to the world-renowned Masai Mara National Reserve. This enormous reserve is actually part of the vast Serengeti plains famously known for its spectacular great wildebeest’s migration and is home of the Big Five: Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo, and Rhino.
Lunch at the camp and relax before departing for the afternoon game run. The Mara Reserve is one of the greatest wildernesses of the world large mammals is varied and easy to see.
Residents among the Parks are Masai Giraffe, Buffalo, Eland, and thousands of plain games including Impala, Zebra, Topi, both Thomson’s and Grants Gazelles.
Dinner and overnight at Mara Keekorok Wildlife Lodge located right inside the park.
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Main Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)
- Accommodation: Keekorok Lodge { https://sunafricahotels.com/keekorok_lodge} - Mid-range lodge located inside Masai Mara NR
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
The whole of day two and 3 - 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.
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.
Optional balloon ride over the plains at an extra cost of 450 USD. Tonight we stay in en suite tented rooms with en suite bathrooms at the comfortable camp again.
- Main Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)
- Accommodation: Keekorok Lodge { https://sunafricahotels.com/keekorok_lodge} - Mid-range lodge located inside Masai Mara NR
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Day 4: Masai Mara - Serengeti National Park
Early morning breakfast and depart towards our Kenya and Tanzania border, after all, visa process we shall embark with our journey towards the Northern Serengeti corridor, on the way you shall have exposure to different instinctive and non-instinctive wildlife behaviors.
If you visit Kenya during July- October, there is a possibility of witnessing the great wildebeest annual migration- an event that is famous and revered around the world.
During the great wildebeest migration; millions of wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra, topi, and Thomson’s gazelle cross from the Serengeti to Maasai Mara.
Upon arrival in Serengeti, you shall check in your lodge, relax and enjoy the wonderful African or continental dishes while contemplating about the next day.
Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge.
- Main Destination: Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)
- Accommodation: Serengeti Sopa Lodge { http://www.sopalodges.com/serengeti/home.html} - Mid-range lodge located inside Serengeti NP
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
This day you spend the whole day on a game drive in this National Park, which is rich with all different species of animals.
To maximize game viewing you will carry a picnic lunch with you and spend a full day in the Serengeti National Park.
Overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge or similar
- Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Main Destination: Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)
- Accommodation: Serengeti Sopa Lodge { http://www.sopalodges.com/serengeti/home.html}- Mid-range lodge located inside Serengeti NP
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
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. The gorge features one of the world's most famous archeological 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 to date as far back as 1.2 million years ago.
From Olduvai, we continue to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge (or similar) where we have dinner and spend the night.
- Main Destination: Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania)
- Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge { https://www.sopalodges.com/ngorongoro-sopa-lodge/the-lodge} - Mid-range lodge located on the crater rim of Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
On day seven we enjoy breakfast early in the morning, followed by a descend down to the Ngorongoro Crater floor for a half-day game viewing with picnic lunch boxes.
The crater was formed from an extinct volcano that collapsed around 25 million years ago thus forming a vast super bowl where the largest permanent concentration of African game is on display.
The views from the top of the crater wall are absolutely breathtaking which are forested but four-wheel-drive vehicles will take you down into this primeval paradise of woodland, lake, river, swamp, and plain that shelters around 20,000 animals.
Large grazing animals such as wildebeest, buffalo, gazelle, and zebra attract big predators like the black-maned lion, the leopard, and hyena.
The park is Wildly beautiful as it is, it is not surprising that Ngorongoro Crater has been called a Garden of Eden.
Later exit and drive to Tarangire arriving at Tarangire Sopa Lodge with the game drive en-route.
Dinner & overnight at the lodge.
- Main Destination: Tarangire National Park (Tanzania)
- Accommodation: Tarangire Sopa Lodge { http://www.sopalodges.com/tarangire/home.html} - Mid-range lodge located inside Tarangire NP
- Meals & Drinks: All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Morning breakfast at the lodge followed by an extensive game drive exploring the Tarangire National park for an excellent encounter with the wild black mane Lions, herds of Elephants, Cheetah, Leopards, Zebras, Wildebeest, the dry country antelopes such as long-necked gerenuk, and fringe-eared oryx which are rare.
Take a visit to the beautiful Tarangire River that offers more wild game viewing possibilities and those that you might have missed on the previous day.
We later exit and drive back to Arusha with lunch en-route to arrive by late afternoon where the safari ends with airport drop off.
- Main Destination: Arusha (City, Tanzania)
- Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included)
- 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. ( We are free to up-grade or down grade as per your request)
- - All meals noted in the itinerary.
- - Each day generally includes Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner buffets consisting of both western and local dishes.
- - Transportation in standard game viewing safari vehicles complete with a pop-up roof for easy viewing and photography.
- - Every passenger 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 Van/Land cruiser outfitted with two-way, long range high-frequency radio communications equipment in Kenya & 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 drives as noted in the itinerary.
- - All government taxes, levies, 2 liters of bottled water during safari
- - Pick up from your Nairobi hotel/Airport and drop off in your Nairobi Hotel/Airport in good time for your outbound flight after the trip.
Cost Excludes
- - Domestic and international airfares and departures 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
