Kenya & Tanzania: A Classic Safari

Tour begins: Gran Meliá Arusha. A transfer from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Gran Meliá Arusha is included. Welcome to Tanzania and the start of your African safari; your hotel is set out on 18 acres of beautifully landscaped coffee and tea plantations; dine at the hotel this evening.

Set out for a five-night safari to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti plains, traveling through Lake Manyara National Park; Lake Manyara is home to a multitude of birds, including great birds of prey. Continue on to Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, home to some 30,000 large mammals. Please join us for a welcome reception and dinner at your lodge overlooking the vast and wildlife-lush Ngorongoro Crater below.

Thought by some to be Africa's original "Garden of Eden," Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest calderas in the world and contains a variety of ecosystems and an astounding concentration of birds and animals. Your four-wheel-drive vehicle, built exclusively for Tauck, provides an excellent mobile viewing platform when encountering massive herds of zebras, wildebeests, and gazelles. This area affords an opportunity to spot the Big Five – elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhinoceros. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the crater today.

Today, you'll hop a morning flight from Lake Manyara to the Seronera airstrip in the heart of Serengeti National Park. As you do, you'll fly over Oldupai Gorge, where, over 50 years ago, archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the fossilized remains of some of the earliest known human species, an estimated 1.8 million years old. Arrive in time for lunch at your elegant safari lodge in the Serengeti, where you'll begin a three-night stay. Following an afternoon game drive in Serengeti National Park, join us this evening for a Maasai traditional dance performance.

Look for wildlife in the heart of the vast savanna of the Serengeti today on both morning and afternoon game drives, when golden light sharpens every movement across the plains. Sightings might include lions, zebras, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, hippos, buffaloes, jackals, gazelles, and giraffes. As the sun sets and the horizon glows, return to the comfort of your lodge in Serengeti National Park to watch the sky fade from gold to violet.

Spend another glorious day exploring the vast and untamed Serengeti, beginning before dawn with one of Africa's most unforgettable experiences – a hot-air balloon flight* over the awakening plains. As the sun rises, float above the grasslands washed in gold, watching the landscape come to life below – herds moving across the savanna, wildlife gathering near water, and the endless expanse of the Serengeti stretching toward the horizon. After landing, celebrate with a champagne toast, followed by a special breakfast served in the bush. Continue your wildlife viewing on a game drive back to camp, keeping watch for lions, cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, and the many other animals that call these plains home. Enjoy lunch at your lodge and an afternoon at leisure; perhaps take a swim, relax on your veranda, or simply savor the views as the heat of the day settles in. In the late afternoon, venture out again as the light softens and the shadows lengthen, revealing another side of the Serengeti – elephants dusting themselves at sunset, lions stirring in the tall grass, and giraffes silhouetted against a sky of burnished color. This evening, enjoy dinner at your lodge, reflecting on the day's discoveries as night falls across the plains.

Leave the Serengeti behind as you fly to Arusha, Tanzania, en route to Kenya. After landing in Arusha, enjoy lunch at the Cultural Heritage Center before boarding a flight to Isiolo in northern Kenya. Continue by safari vehicle into Samburu National Reserve, where rugged hills, acacia-dotted plains, and the winding Ewaso Nyiro River create a strikingly different landscape from the Serengeti. A game drive en route to your lodge offers your first opportunity to spot the region's distinctive wildlife, including the Samburu Special Five. Settle in for a two-night stay at your lodge along the river, with time to relax before dinner at your leisure this evening.

Begin your day with a visit to a local Samburu village, where you'll learn about the traditions and way of life of the Samburu people, whose pastoral heritage remains an important part of the region's cultural identity. Continue with a game drive through Samburu National Reserve, home to elephants, lions, leopards, and the Samburu Special Five – Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, gerenuk, and Somali ostrich – species especially associated with northern Kenya's dry landscapes. Return to your lodge for lunch and some time to relax before heading out on another game drive in the late afternoon. As the day draws to a close, enjoy a sundowner overlooking the Ewaso Nyiro River and surrounding wilderness before returning to the lodge for dinner.

A morning flight brings you to the next destination on your African adventure! Upon arrival, you're off on a game drive through Ol Pejeta Conservancy, boasting East Africa's largest resident black rhino population and others of the Big Five. After lunch, it's off to your home for the next two nights, the world-famous Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club. Straddling the Equator, Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club is located on the famous Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy and provides a special chance to blend in nature with our eco-safari experiences in a landmark property of Kenya. Situated against the stunning backdrop of Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak, hotel promises endless safari experiences, encouraging guests to reconnect with nature, themselves, and the world. The hotel is located iclose to the pristine landscapes of Ngare Ndare forests and waterfalls, The Aberdares and the conservation havens of Ol Pejeta, Samburu, and Solio. Following an afternoon equatorial demonstration, dinner tonight is at the hotel.

This morning, visit the town of Nanyuki, known for its colorful rugs, hangings and shawls, for a private visit with local weavers. See them shear, spin, dye and weave sheep's wool by hand right before your eyes! Following lunch, you'll have the opportunity to pay a private visit to the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy and Animal Orphanage; this unique facility gives orphaned, injured, neglected, abused or frightened wild animals a second chance. The orphanage provides shelter and professional care with the goal to release these creatures back into the wild where they belong. Return to Fairmont Mt. Kenya Safari Club for dinner and the evening. Dine under the stars tonight at a private barbecue at the hotel.

Pack your Tauck duffel bag and fly from Nanyuki to the Maasai Mara region of southern Kenya, where you'll be welcomed by Maasai warriors. Your destination is a new safari camp in the Olderkesi Conservancy, a secluded 24,700-acre wilderness bordering the southeastern edge of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Here, open plains and acacia woodlands provide important habitat for the region's remarkable wildlife, far from the busier safari routes. Enjoy lunch at camp, followed by some free time to settle in and take in your surroundings. Late this afternoon, venture into the conservancy on a game drive, exploring its varied landscapes in search of lions, elephants, antelope, zebras, and other animals that roam this protected wilderness. Return to camp as evening approaches, with time to relax before dinner.

Your last full day on safari offers two different ways to experience the remarkable landscapes, wildlife, and people of Kenya's greater Maasai Mara ecosystem. For those eager to spend more time in the bush, set out on a full-day game drive, venturing across open grasslands and acacia-dotted plains in search of lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, and the great herds of antelope and zebra that roam this region. With a picnic lunch along the way, you'll have plenty of time to explore, following the tracks of wildlife and discovering the ever-changing rhythms of life on the savanna. Alternatively, enjoy a more leisurely morning with a visit to a local Maasai community, where you'll learn about traditions, daily life, and the longstanding relationship between the Maasai people and the land they call home. Return to camp for lunch, followed by a free afternoon to relax and enjoy your surroundings. This evening, gather back at your safari camp for a farewell reception and dinner, sharing memories of the remarkable places and experiences that have made your journey through Kenya so special.

Tour ends: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Fly from Maasai Mara National Reserve to Nairobi this morning for your journey home. We have reserved a day room for you at Sankara Nairobi, Autograph Collection; depart the hotel for the airport after dinner. Allow 3 hours for flight check-in.