Kenya - Tanzania Safaris: VINTAGE EAST AFRICA EXPLORER

Please check for seasonality.

ITINERARY AT A GLANCE

ITINERARY DETAILS

Day 1 Nairobi
Met and assisted on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport by a tour representative. Transfer to your hotel. Overnight at The Norfolk Hotel or similar

Day 2 Masai Mara National G.R
Drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve offering wonderful scenery and plenty of game. It is perhaps the only region left in Kenya where the visitor may see animals in the same super-abundance as existed a century ago. Arrive for lunch at your lodge. Afternoon game drive until sunset. Meals and overnight at Mara Safari Club (LDBB)

Day 3 Masai Mara National G.R
{Early morning optional balloon ride with champagne-style breakfast}
Morning and afternoon game drives. Meals and overnight at Mara Safari Club (LDBB)

Day 4 Lake Nakuru National Park
Drive to the Lake Nakuru National Park famous as the home to thousands of lesser and greater flamingo. This park also provides sanctuary for Rothschild giraffe, rhino and leopard. Arrive for lunch at your lodge. Afternoon game drive until sunset. Meals and overnight at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge (LDBB)

Day 5 Amboseli National Park
Drive to Nairobi for lunch at a Nairobi restaurant, then proceed to the Amboseli National Park lying below the most famous symbol of Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro. Afternoon game drive en-route to your lodge. Dinner and overnight at Ol Tukai Lodge (L-DBB)

Day 6 Amboseli National Park
Early morning game drive, breakfast at your lodge. Mid morning and afternoon game drives. Meals and overnight at Ol Tukai Lodge (LDBB)

Day 7 Lake Manyara
After breakfast, drive to the border town of Namanga where you will clear customs and immigration formalities. Proceed in Tanzanian vehicles to Arusha for lunch. Afternoon drive to Lake Manyara National Park which apart from its abundant bird and animal life is known for its tree-climbing lions. Game drive en route to your lodge. Dinner and overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge (L-DBB)

Day 8 Serengeti National Park
Drive to the Serengeti National Park, undoubtedly the most famous wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and the greatest concentration of plains game anywhere. Arrive for lunch at your lodge. Afternoon game drive until sunset. Meals and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge (LDBB)

Day 9 Serengeti National Park
All day spent in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives. Meals and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge ( LDBB)

Day 10 Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Drive to the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world. Its enduring charm stems from its overwhelming physical beauty and the abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater floor. En route visit the Olduvai Gorge site of archeological findings , where traces of pre-historic man dating back to 3.5 million years ago have been discovered. Arrive for lunch at your lodge. Afternoon at leisure. Meals and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (LDBB)

Day 11 Ngorongoro Conservation Area
After breakfast, depart for half day tour of the crater floor. Return to your lodge for lunch. Afternoon at leisure. Meals and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (L-DBB )

Day 12 Nairobi
After breakfast, drive to Arusha for lunch. Afternoon transfer to the border town of Namanga where you will clear customs and immigration formalities. Proceed in Kenyan vehicles to Nairobi, Kenya's colourful capital city where you will be dropped at your hotel. Evening transfer to the Carnivore Restaurant for farewell dinner. Overnight at The Norfolk Hotel / Hotel Intercontinental (L-D-BB)

Day 13 Departure
After breakfast, day is spent at leisure depending on your departure flight. Later transfer to Jomo Kenyatta Airport for your departure flight back home. A tour representative will re-confirm your onward flight, and assist you at check-in.

ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION

The Norfolk Hotel
The exterior of the Norfolk Hotel has changed little since the colonial era. Timbered walls covered in vines and creepers, the taxi rank with old London cabs queuing to take guests where they will, look much the same as they did in the old photographs that chart the history of Kenya. Opened on Christmas Day 1904, (and still justifiably famous for its Christmas Morning cocktail party) the Norfolk has hosted such luminaries as Lord Delamere, Theodore Roosevelt and Karen Blixen. Now expensively refurbished the hotel still retains a sense of history. The new reception areas of the Norfolk Hotel are light, bright and immediately welcoming. Ceiling fans, cane chairs, plump animal-print cushions and deep sofas combine with locally sourced woods to create a tranquil ambience with echoes of the colonial period in which the Norfolk featured so strongly. However, not all is new - the long case clock in the hall, for example, was presented to the hotel by the drivers in the Nairobi to Johannesburg Race on 26th October, 1936.

The Ibis Restaurant, at the Norfolk, is renowned locally for its innovative use of the best and freshest of ingredients Kenya has to offer. The executive chef ensures that the chefs gain experience in the finest hotels and restaurants in Europe. The cosmopolitan cuisine features classic and new dishes exquisitely prepared, and finely tuned as to seasoning and accompaniments.

Accommodation at the Norfolk varies from large opulent suites to smaller, more intimate rooms. All are beautifully furnished and many look out onto the hotel's lovely gardens. The grounds are immaculate and profusely planted with indigenous plants. Artifacts from the hotel's history are dotted around including a sedan chair from the colonial era. The Norfolk Hotel offers all the comforts of a modern first class hotel yet combines it with an intriguing sense of history.

Sarova Lion Hill Lodge
Situated in the heart of the Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru is one of Kenya's most famous soda lakes. A major feature of this park is the wonderful birdlife, particularly the thousands of flamingos, which create a shimmering pink hue over the lake. A rhino sanctuary also provides the opportunity to see the endangered black rhino.

Sarova Lion Hill offers a unique vantage point. Each of the 64 superbly appointed chalets with private secluded verandah enjoys views over the lake and the distant hills. Even the glorious pool has a view!

Mara Safari Club
The well-appointed Mara Safari Club is set by the Mara River at the foot of the Aitong Hills in the Ol-Choro Oiroua Conservation Area that borders the Masai Mara Game Reserve. The Club is a five-hour drive from Nairobi, or a forty-five minute flight from Wilson Airport (Nairobi) and a ten-minute drive from Ngerende Airstrip. All tents have their own private river frontage with a viewing deck from where hippo and crocodile are regularly seen.

Occasionally elephant wander past to drink the water and during the migration period large herds of wildebeest can sometimes be observed attempting to cross the river nearby. The rooms have twin and double four-poster beds, electricity and modern en-suite facilities with hot and cold running water. The main building, with lounge, bar and dining room is cantilevered over the river, providing a superb vantage point to view the resident hippos and the amazing riverine birdlife. The superb pool set on the banks of the river, al fresco lunches and evening Masai dances, cultural and wildlife talks and wildlife shows all add greatly to the Club experience. The restaurant serves a high standard of international cuisine combined with traditional Kenyan dishes. Game drives here are conducted by experienced "driver-naturalists", in 4x4 Land cruisers and despite being close to the farmlands, the game viewing around the Mara Safari Club is excellent.

The camp has 8 double and 42 twin bedded tents accommodating a maximum of 100 guests. Each has netted four poster beds and veranda overlooking the Mara river. Each tent is comfortably furnished with its own private bathroom (with shower, washbasin and flush loo) and hot and cold running water. Each tent also has complimentary mineral water, insecticide, air-freshener, electric lamps, dressing table, hand-woven rugs, flashlight and umbrella. Shampoo, hand and body lotion, shower and bath gel, and freshly laundered towels are also provided.

The Mara Safari Club boasts 7 premium tents, which are larger than the standard tent, have mini bars. Two of the tents have sunken baths, and three have double beds. There is a viewing platform between tent No. 45 and the five new tents.

For a premium of $50 per person per night, you have the added pleasure of one Bush Dinner (with half bottle house wine per person), one nature walk and bush breakfast, free laundry, free beverages from the mini-bar, which is restocked once a day. At the request of guests staying in Premium Tents, dinner can be served on the game-viewing platform instead of the dining room.

Ol Tukai Lodge
Deep in the heart of the world famous Amboseli National Park is the magnificent Ol Tukai Lodge with amazing views of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Ol Tukai is surrounded by yellow barked acacia trees and blends effortlessly into this celebrated African wilderness. This is an exceptional location for the naturalist - elephant, lion, buffalo, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, wildebeeste, gazelle are all found here in this haven dominated by acacias, phoenix palms and a partially dry lakebed of evaporated salts, all under the shadows of Africa's highest mountain. Speakers from the elephant research centre stay within the sizeable grounds of the lodge and give fascinating lectures daily. Bird-walks offer the professional or amateur ornithologist a wide variety of bird species.

At Ol Tukai, each of the 80 twin rooms, furnished in African woods and fabrics, is extremely comfortable and contain en-suite bathroom facilities. All have breathtaking views of the mountain and the wetlands where elephant and buffalo wallow in the afternoon when it is hotter. For the guests there is a superb swimming pool and a bar to relax at. The open-air Elephant Bar is the ideal place to enjoy drinks or sundowners as you watch the wildlife wander past. A well-stocked library is available to those who wish to learn more about Amboseli. With wildlife right on your doorstep day and night combined with the gorgeous views of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Ol Tukai offers a perfect stay inside Amboseli National Park, one of Africa's greatest wildlife reserves.

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge
Ngorongoro Serena Lodge is perched on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater with exquisite views of the crater, one of the wonders of the natural world. Your first sighting of the crater will simply take your breath away. The lodge is built of local stone and blends harmoniously into its surroundings. From here you will descend the wall of the crater for a most amazing game drive inside the crater. Glorious sunrises and sunsets, roaring log fires and excellent food all form part of the renowned Serena experience.

Serengeti Serena Lodge
Perched high on a hill, the Serengeti Serena Lodge and its swimming pool command beautiful views of the surrounding Serengeti plains and hills. The stylish lodge and its rondovel 'huts' are elegantly furnished en-suite bedrooms. They are built from local materials, in traditional African village style, and merge impeccably into the wilderness. Indigenous handicrafts and art adorn the walls of the rooms and the main building.

The lodge's central position within the Serengeti Park means that game drives can be conducted all around without ever having to go too far to look for the animals. From here you can explore the rich and varied game life of the Serengeti Eco-system. The area boasts all the 'big five': lion, elephant, leopard, rhino and buffalo. Occasionally you may bump into lions resting in trees during the heat of the day.

Lake Manyara Serena Lodge
Lake Manyara Serena Lodge is located at the edge of the Mto Wa Mbu escarpment, overlooking the Great Rift Valley and the stunning Manyara soda lake. The views of the lake from this escarpment are simply breathtaking. Lake Manyara National Park is only a 15 minute drive down the escarpment. The Park has long been known for its tree-climbing lions and the large elephant population, while ornithologists from around the world come to observe the masses of pink flamingos and great birds of prey around the lake which can also be seen from the lodge and its rooms.

Lake Manyara Serena Lodge is built in a traditional African architectural style, with graceful domed ceilings, swooping curves, geometric patterns and circular buildings that look like large African huts. Colourful murals adorn the walls. Each of the 67 comfortable guest rooms - with en-suite bathroom facilities - at Manyara Serena Lodge has a private balcony with panoramic views of the Great Rift Valley and of Lake Manyara. The views from the simply yet elegantly decorated bedrooms are terrific, especially at sunrise. Sunset, however, is best viewed while downing a sundowner at the superbly located poolside, a welcome facility for those who want to cool off in the scorching afternoon heat. Meals at the lodge are eclectic and of a high standard. Full English breakfasts are a Serena specialty and worth every penny! The full-service lounge and bar serves fresh fruit juices, soft drinks, tea and coffee, cocktails, wines, spirits and liqueurs. The Manyara Serena is in an ideal place to stay for the Lake Manyara National Park.