Tanzania & Kenya Classic Custom Safari Tour
The Best of the Big Game Safaris
- Available: January, February, March, June, July, August, September, October, December
- Activity: Level 1
- Accommodations: Luxury Hotels, Luxury Safari Camp, Comfortable Hotels
Highlights
- Journey to Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Masai Mara, Tarangire, and Lake Manyara
- Meet the Datoga and Wahadzabe people and learn about their millenia-old traditions firsthand
- Witness a dazzling variety of big game wildlife and track migrating wildebeest
Itinerary
Arrive Tanzania & Transfer to Arusha
Day 1
Welcome to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania! Meet with an MT Sobek representative for an hour's drive to Arusha. Check into your boutique hotel set amidst beautifully manicured gardens that provide a home to many varieties of birdlife and endemic plant species. Ease into the slow pace of safari life, leaving the daily hustle and bustle behind.
Accommodation: Mount Meru Game Lodge
Accommodation: Rivertrees Country InnTransportation: 1-hour private van transfer
Drive from Arusha to Tarangire National Park
Day 2
Take a morning drive to the Shanga River House, a project devoted to empowering disabled Tanzanians, located on one of the country's oldest coffee plantations. Tour the workshop and boutique selling jewelry and crafts handmade by disabled artists using recycled glass bottles. There may be a chance to meet some of the artists and savor the fresh and delicious regional cuisine served at the restaurant. After a leisurely visit, get back on the road and drive to Tarangire National Park, wildlife viewing en-route to your deluxe tented camp.Accommodation: Oliver’s Camp
Accommodation: Lemala Mpingo Ridge
Accommodation: Honeyguide Tarangire Camp
Accommodation: Elephant Springs
Accommodation: Siringit Tarangire CampTransportation: 2-hour 4x4 vehicle transfer
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Discover Tarangire National Park's Wildlife
Day 3
Today is devoted to a full day touring of Tarangire National Park, home to the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti. Tarangire is the sixth largest park in the country and relatively less well known to tourists. Stretch your legs on a guided bush walk with a park ranger and your guide. Gain an entirely different perspective on wildlife viewing, perhaps coming face to face with enormous herds of elephants, wildebeest, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest, and eland. After a long day of exploration by 4x4 and on foot, return to your deluxe camp for refreshing sundowners and a delicious dinner.Accommodation: Oliver’s Camp
Accommodation: Lemala Mpingo Ridge
Accommodation: Honeyguide Tarangire Camp
Accommodation: Elephant Springs
Accommodation: Siringit Tarangire CampActivity: Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Drive to Mto Wa Mbu Village and Lake Manyara National Park
Day 4
This morning, tour Mto wa Mbu, a village of farmers and craftspeople. Follow locals through their homes and farmlands, visit the milling machine, and the market where their woodcarvings and handiwork are sold. Head to Lake Manyara, a shallow alkaline lake often covered by resident flamingos. Apart from the lake and the many lions that roam the park, there is an expanse of tropical jungle filled with baboons and other rainforest wildlife. Later, drive to the lodge, uniquely situated in the highlands on the outskirts of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. If time permits, enjoy a walk or bike ride around the grounds of your lodge.
Accommodation: Acacia Farm Lodge
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw
Accommodation: Plantation LodgeActivity: Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Explore the Ngorongoro Crater
Day 5
Drive to Ngorongoro Crater for a full-day of game watching with a picnic. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is famed for its abundance of "big five" game and birds. Descend into the sunken cone to track game along the crater floor, its high walls serving as a natural enclosure for an abundance of wildlife. Look out for exceptional birds such as the lammergeyer, Verreaux's eagle, Egyptian vulture, rosy-breasted longclaw, flocks of lesser, and greater flamingos. End the day with sundowners and dinner at your lodge outside the conservation area.Accommodation: Acacia Farm Lodge
Accommodation: Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp
Accommodation: Ziwani Lodge
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw
Accommodation: Plantation LodgeActivity: Full day game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Transportation: 30-minute private van transfer
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Meet Wahadzabe People at Lake Eyasi
Day 6
Tour villages of the Datoga and meet with the Wahadzabe people, who live as hunter-gatherers around Lake Eyasi, one of the oldest parts of the Eastern Rift Valley, renowned for its colorful bird life. An off-shoot of the Acadi tribe, the Wahadzabes are a very secretive and protective community. Learn to hunt with a bow and arrow, start a fire, or join the women gathering roots, tubers and wild fruit. Discover their way of life - an unforgettable experience - and return to your cozy lodge to relax this evening.Accommodation: Acacia Farm Lodge
Accommodation: Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp
Accommodation: Ziwani LodgeMeals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Discover Serengeti National Park
Day 7
Today, head to Serengeti National Park, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Relax at safari tent camps just like Out of Africa. Mobile camps allow blending in with the environment, and upon departure, there is little if any evidence of camping left behind. Spacious and comfortable accommodations offer a good rest after long days of tracking. Come evening, sit around the campfire to share stories of the day's greatest discoveries.Accommodation: Siringit Serengeti Camp
Accommodation: Nyikani Central Serengeti Camp
Accommodation: Nyikani Ndutu CampActivity: Morning & afternoon game drive in 4X4 safari vehicle
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Journey through the Serengeti
Day 8
Besides being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest and most popular park, as well as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Today head into the south-central corner, an area that sees few tourists. Witness majestic lions, herds of wildebeest, zebra and crocodile in the savannas, plains, forests and woodlands. Enjoy game-viewing in the early morning and late afternoon.
Accommodation: Siringit Serengeti Camp
Accommodation: Nyikani Central Serengeti Camp
Accommodation: Nyikani Ndutu CampActivity: Morning & afternoon game drive in 4X4 safari vehicle
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Explore Mara North Conservancy
Day 9
After breakfast, fly to Tarime where you will be met and assisted through border formalities before connecting to an onward flight to Migori, Kenya. Land in the Mara North Conservancy, part of the greater Masai Mara National Reserve ecosystem. En-route to camp, enjoy a leisurely game drive, spotting lions, hippos, crocodiles, cheetahs, and leopards. A private concession, the Mara North Conservancy partners with a few member camps and 800 Maasai landowners to establish a protected wilderness area. Its savannas and grasslands attract herbivores of all kinds, from elephants, giraffes and zebras to gazelles and impalas. Arrive to the luxury tent camp at lunchtime.Accommodation: Karen Blixen Camp
Accommodation: Elephant Pepper Camp
Accommodation: Serian Camp
Accommodation: Offbeat Mara CampActivity: Afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Transportation: 2-hour safari vehicle transfer; 1.25-hour flight
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Encounter Wildlife of the Mara North Conservancy
Day 10
Wake to the smell of freshly brewed coffee for the first morning game drive in Kenya. Early mornings are one of the best times to view wildlife, as most activity goes on before the day heats up. Return to camp for a hearty breakfast and a nature walk in the wild. In the afternoon, set off on a game drive with drinks and snacks for happy hour out in the bush. Back at camp, enjoy a hot shower before dinner is served.
Accommodation: Karen Blixen Camp
Accommodation: Elephant Pepper Camp
Accommodation: Serian Camp
Accommodation: Offbeat Mara CampActivity: Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Explore Masai Mara National Reserve
Day 11
Start the day early and set out towards the gates of the Masai Mara National Reserve. With a packed picnic lunch, enjoy the whole day exploring another part of the famous conservation area. Visit the Mara River and marvel at the famous migration routes. Arrive just in time for a quick swim in the pool or an easy walk before sunset. Enjoy dinner and celebratory drinks to end the extraordinary African adventure.
Accommodation: Karen Blixen Camp
Accommodation: Elephant Pepper Camp
Accommodation: Serian Camp
Accommodation: Offbeat Mara CampActivity: Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Nairobi, Kenya
Day 12
After breakfast, board a flight to Nairobi, Kenya's capital city, and transfer to the hotel. Enjoy the heated swimming pool, fully equipped day rooms and the hotel's restaurant prior to departure. Refresh and relax before hitting the road to the airport for international flights home.
Transportation: 1.25-hour internal flight
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Why Travel With Us?
By combining Kenya's Maasai Mara and Tanzania's Seregenti we're maximizing the chances to see the Great Migration on our August and December departures!
This quintessential safari is perfect for first-timers or wildlife enthusiasts who want to see it all.
Travel in rugged 4x4 vehicles that offer maximum game viewing opportunities. Overnights at comfortable lodges or deluxe tented camps will guarantee your every comfort.
Know Before You Book
Dates & Prices
Price is per person, double occupancy in USD.
The earlier you book, the more choice of available dates you’ll have and once you book, your price is guaranteed.
Your Guides
The best people to immerse you in a destination are the ones who live there, which is why we feature local Adventure Guides on our trips. Here are a few that you might meet on this adventure.

Aris N.
Aristides was born and raised in Kagera Region, near Lake Victoria. Aris has been leading trips through most of his country's National Parks for over 20 years. He is fantastic with his guests and he loves to show them Tarangire National Park, home to large herds of elephant, his favorite. He spends so much time studying the elephant families there that he can distinguish the different herds. When not guiding, Aris enjoys time with his wife and four children.

Mashauri N.
Mashauri, referred to by us all as Masha, was raised at the foothills of Africa's tallest mountain; Mt Kilimanjaro. Masha got into tourism by working as a porter on the famous Mt Kilimanjaro. It was here that his interest in wildlife and tourism began. Masha now has 12 years of experience under his belt and has discovered every park in Tanzania and spotted every animal imaginable. His favorite park remains the Serengeti. The main reason for this is his love for the Migration, the sheer volume of animals and the circle of life it provides for the area.

James M.
Born in the southern highlands of Tanzania, James was enchanted by Ruaha National Park when he visited as a field trip in school. Following the dream that was born on that trip, he has now been working as a driver-guide since 2008. His passion has taken him to almost every National Park in Tanzania, but he confesses that Serengeti is his favorite because its diversity of species.
Activity Level
This trip is rated activity level 1. This safari trip includes game drives in open 4X4 vehicles. The roads can be rugged and bumpy so travel itself can be wearing. The guided nature walks will be on flat terrain and vary in length. No previous experience is required.
Learn more about activity levels here.
Activity Snapshot
Day 3
Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Day 4
Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Day 5
Full day game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Day 7
Morning & afternoon game drive in 4X4 safari vehicle
Day 8
Morning & afternoon game drive in 4X4 safari vehicle
Day 9
Afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Day 10
Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
Day 11
Morning & afternoon game drive in 4x4 safari vehicle
*Mileage and elevation change information is approximate and may vary slightly depending on trail conditions, weather, and route adjustments, and the guide’s discretion.
Accommodations
Bookend the journey at boutique hotels; in the wilderness, enjoy deluxe tailor-equipped safari camps.
Weather
You'll enjoy a temperate climate year-round. While conditions are typically dry, occasional rain or afternoon thundershowers are always possible, so it's best to be prepared.
FAQs
We always recommend you speak to your doctor or a health professional about vaccinations and malaria tablets well in advance of your safari. At present, certain areas of Tanzania and Kenya are affected by malaria.
A current passport valid for up to 6 months after the return date of your trip is needed to travel anywhere in East Africa. U.S. citizens also need a visa for entry into Tanzania and Kenya.
Tap water is generally unsafe in East Africa. Bottled water is provided in the safari vehicles for all of our game drives and in the bathrooms at the lodges for brushing your teeth.
Yes, please contact us if you aren't able to travel on the set departure dates listed. Most safaris can be arranged on alternative departure dates as long as camps are available.
Each camp and lodge varies, but there are usually two game drives or walks per day; one in the morning lasting about 3-5 hours, and one in late afternoon which lasts about 3 hours.
Yes! This trip helps support the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust by visiting the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage to learn about rescue and preservation efforts to protect local wildlife and habitats. For every guest, MT Sobek "adopts" one orphan elephant.















