Essential East Africa

Explore Tours

Tour Schedule Details

Jambo! Welcome to Kenya. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm. If you arrive early, why not check out the National Museum of Kenya, the Karen Blixen Museum or the highly recommended Bomas of Kenya where traditional homesteads of some Kenyan tribes are displayed at an outdoor village.

Accommodation

Hotel (1 night)

Meals Included

There are no meals included on this day.

Special Information

It’s very important that you attend the welcome meeting as we will be collecting insurance details and next of kin information at this time. If you are going to be late please let your travel agent or hotel reception know. Ask reception or look for a note in the lobby for more information on where the meeting will take place.

Petty theft is common in Nairobi. As a general rule, the safest place for your valuables is on your person in a neck wallet or money belt. There may be a safe in your hotel room or located at reception, though there is no guarantee. If you do decide to go exploring before the tour officially gets started, make sure you get local advice on where it is and isn’t safe to walk – particularly at night. Be careful not to leave bags unattended on chairs or the floor when you’re in a bar or restaurant. Appearing confident and vigilant is often the best deterrence to would-be thieves. Remember to make scans of important travel documents and email them to yourself.

Depart Nairobi, with a short stop in Narok for a spot of food shopping. Continue to Loita Hills (approximately 5–6 hours), then stop, chill out and get some lunch. Today’s drive crosses the Great Rift Valley, Africa’s huge great divide, takes you into the remote region of Loita Hills. This is the home of the Maasai people. You will visit the Maasai, who are known for their dazzling red dress and elaborate jewellery, and gain an insight into the culture and ancient ways of this proud East African community. After setting up your tent, meet your Maasai hosts. A local elder will deliver a fascinating talk about the Maasai and what they’re about. You’ll be shown around a traditional Maasai home and see where the resident cattle are kept. Upgrades and Wi-Fi are not available at tonight’s bush camp.

Included Activities

Loita Hills – Maasai Village Visit

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Travel from Loita to Masai Mara (approximately 1–2 hours).The Masai Mara is one of the classic African experiences – wide open plains, postcard-perfect skies and some of the world’s great wild animals. After setting up camp, sit down to some lunch. Then it’s time to jump aboard your 4WD vehicle and go for a game drive through the wilderness of the Mara. Your campground tonight is located outside of the national reserve and has flush toilets and showers. There is an option to upgrade, depending on availability. Wi-fi is not available here though.

Included Activities

Masai Mara National Reserve – Full Day 4WD Game Drive

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Adventure into the reserve for a full day’s 4WD game drive. You’ll explore this diverse environment and most likely see a lots of different wildlife. An optional balloon ride over the Mara at sunrise is well worth considering. If you have pre-booked this activity (see the ‘Important Notes’ section) you will be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site for a safety briefing from your pilot. Then you will glide through the dawn, sometimes at tree height, which provides amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you will ascend, getting an overview of the enormity of the plains and the early morning movements of the teeming herds. After landing, you’ll be treated to a bush breakfast, then be returned to your campsite to meet up with your group.

Included Activities

Masai Mara National Reserve – Full Day 4WD Game Drive

Optional Activities

Masai Mara National Reserve – Balloon ride (from price) –

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Travel towards the Kenya-Tanzania border and to the shores of Lake Victoria (approximately 7–8 hours). This is not only Africa’s biggest lake – it’s the largest tropical lake in the world. It shares its shores with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. You’ll arrive late afternoon, in time to chill out lakeside with a cold drink and watch the sunset. Make the most of the ATM and local market to stock up for your next three days of wilderness adventures. You will camp on the shores of the lake tonight, at one of its least visited campgrounds, on the outskirts of a small town called Musoma. Depending on availability, you might be able to upgrade to a room, but no Wi-Fi is available.

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Today you will travel from Lake Victoria to the gate of Serengeti National Park on a smooth road (approximately 3 hours) and enjoy a picnic lunch at the entrance to the park. Enter the Serengeti and take a game drive en route to your campsite. These plains – green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry season – are home to thousands of hoofed animals and fierce predators, so see how many you can spot. Your campsite is right in the action, within the park itself, so listen out for the sounds of nocturnal animals as you drift off to sleep at night. There are no upgrades or Wi-Fi available here.

Included Activities

Serengeti National Park – Full Day 4WD Game Drive

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Special Information

Our camp within the Serengeti National Park does not have a fence to separate the camp from the animals. This is quite the experience as animals such as buffalo and hyenas often come close to camp after sundown. On arrival at the camp your leader will give a detailed safety briefing on what is required to ensure the safety of the group.

Start the day with a game drive at dawn. You will head out while the animals are at their most active, then head back to camp for brunch at around 11 am. After spending the warmer part of the day relaxing, as the animals do, depart again in the afternoon for another adventure through the wild. You’ll return in time for dinner. There’s the option of an early-morning balloon ride here too, so if you didn’t take one in the Mara, today’s your chance!

Included Activities

Serengeti National Park – Full Day 4WD Game Drive

Optional Activities

Serengeti National Park – Balloon Ride (from price) –

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Special Information

The balloon ride is offered as a pre-booked service which will guarantee you a place. If you would rather wait and try to get a better price by booking this locally on the ground, you are welcome to, but keep in mind that this is a popular activity and places are limited.

Rise and shine for a final chance to spot Serengeti wildlife as you make your way out of the park this morning. At Nabi gate, hop aboard a jeep and descend into Ngorongoro Crater. This gigantic, perfectly intact volcanic crater is home to some 30,000 animals. Among these are endangered black rhinos, lions, leopards, elephants, impalas, zebras and hippos. The crater floor is great for game viewing all year round, and the photo-opportunities here are next level. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the crater before heading back out on safari all afternoon. After, travel onwards to Karatu town and arrive at camp by 6 pm where a freshly prepared dinner awaits.

Included Activities

Ngorongoro Crater – 4WD Game Drive
Serengeti National Park – Full Day 4WD Game Drive

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Take it a tad easier this morning with a relaxed breakfast at camp before setting off at 9 am for Mto Wa Mbu with your crew. You’ll have the rest of the day free to explore. Mto wa Mbu offers a snapshot of small-town East African life. You might consider joining in a guided village walk or bike ride around the farming areas, spotting milling machine and local homes and farmlands, or round up your fellow travellers to check out the craft market.

Optional Activities

Mto wa Mbu – Village bike ride and lunch – USD32
Mto wa Mbu – Village walk and lunch – USD20

Meals Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Pack up camp after breakfast for the final leg of your journey to Arusha where your adventure comes to an end. A departure transfer can be booked, at an additional expense, to either Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK). Alternatively, you can continue on with our crew to finish in Nairobi around 5 pm. Please see ‘Special Information’ below for more details.