Kenya + Tanzania: The Great Migration

Upon disembarking your flight at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you’ll be warmly greeted and assisted through immigration and custom formalities. Once through, you’ll be escorted to Hemingways Nairobi Hotel. Settle in to your elegant and spacious suite and take in your sweeping, private balcony views of what Hemingway called “the green hills of Africa.” The balance of this day is yours to relax and enjoy the elegant surroundings and idyllic setting of our luxury boutique hotel.  

After breakfast, we’ll take you to the airport for a thrilling safari transfer flight that promises breathtaking views of the African landscapes. Touching down by the vast expanse of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, you’ll be met and escorted to the Karen Blixen Camp, set on the banks of the Mara River bordering this fabled National Reserve. Meals B+L+D

Arise early this morning for an unforgettable experience. As the sun is rising to cast its first golden rays across these endless landscapes, you’ll be floating silently above in a Hot Air Balloon. Thrill to this incredible bird’s-eye view of the Maasai Mara - and the animals as they begin their day just as they have for millennia! Touch down in the open savannah and delight in an al fresco Champagne Breakfast before returning to our luxury safari camp.   With its undisturbed panoramas of rolling savannah punctuated by the iconic silhouette of acacia trees, the Maasai Mara is ravishing in its wild beauty and celebrated as one of the richest wildlife habitats on the Planet. Explore the Maasai Mara National Reserve on thrilling game drives with our experienced safari guides. Meals B+L+D

Arise this morning here in this splendid setting to enjoy another full day of wildlife viewing adventures including game drives and nature walks with our engaging sharp-eyed safari guides. The Maasai Mara is one of the few places on the Continent where visitors can still see Big Game in the same super-abundance that existed a century ago. The Reserve is home to healthy populations of the Big Five plus giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, hippos, leopards and baboons. After today’s afternoon game drive, you’ll be treated to the safari ritual of sundowner drinks in a breathtakingly beautiful setting that commands magnificent views over the Maasai Mara. Sip your choice of beverage and listen to the quieting sounds of the African bush as the plains game seek shelter for the night and nocturnal predators prepare for their nighttime hunts. Back at Camp, you’ll enjoy a congenial dinner with house wines and cocktails.  Meals B+L+D

After breakfast, we’ll take you to the airstrip for your safari transfer flight into Tanzania. On arrival at Serengeti National Park, thrill to an afternoon game drive as you travel overland to Lemala Kuria Hills. Situated close to the Mara River within the main corridor of the Great Migration, our luxury camp features just 10 ingeniously designed, glass-fronted tents of unrivaled space and style. Each under-canvas suite offers free WiFi, an indoor + outdoor shower, furnished viewing deck, and private plunge pool. Built from recycled steel and glass, canvas, and sustainable timber - and equipped with solar power - our camp has the lightest footprint of any in the Serengeti.   The rest of this afternoon is yours to enjoy the pristine wilderness setting of our safari lodge. This evening, you’ll gather with fellow guests for a congenial dinner accompanied by complimentary house wines, spirits, beer and a variety of non-alcoholic beverages.  Meals B+L+D   Note: Guests traveling on our Private Safari from January to June and November to December will stay at Lemala Nanyukie. With 15 under-canvas suites, our luxury camp is situated in the beautiful, game-rich eastern sector of the Serengeti, an area heralded for spectacular wildlife viewing at any time of year.

The Maasai call it Siringitu - "the place where the land moves on forever." Indeed, these wide open expanses are awe-inspiring in their natural beauty. But the Serengeti is also renowned for its extraordinary concentration of plains game - including of course the Big Five – so your morning and afternoon safari drives promise to be heart-pounding and inspiring. And in the company of our engaging, impassioned and knowledgeable safari guides, todays activities are sure to also deepen your understanding and appreciation for Africas abundant natural wealth.   During the Great Migration River Crossings, our luxury Serengeti lodge is perfectly positioned for the unfolding drama as thousands of wildebeest and zebra mass on the banks of the Mara River in preparation to ford its currents.  Meals B+L+D

Featured in numerous nature documentaries, Serengeti National Park is certainly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world. Established in 1952, the Park covers 5,700 square miles - larger than the state of Connecticut. Its ecosystem is one of the oldest on Earth. Indeed the essential features of climate, vegetation and wildlife that you see today have changed little in the past million years! Unequaled in its abundant natural beauty and high-density of wildlife, the Serengeti boasts an enormous variety of exotic birds, horned bovines, ungulates, wild dogs and big cats. After breakfast and again this evening, youll set out with our expert safari guides on game drives that promise up-close unobstructed wildlife viewing. Your final Serengeti game drive this afternoon ends on a high note with Sundowner cocktails surrounded by these magnificent African vistas.  Meals B+L+D

After breakfast, another exciting safari transfer flight brings you to the Lake Manyara Airstrip where you’ll be met and escorted to the Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge. Set on 50 pristine acres of landscaped grounds and wild Tanzanian bush, you’ll find just 20 private cottages, all with open fireplaces in the bedroom and living room, spacious baths, and expansive terraces overlooking the Ngorongoro landscape.   After lunch, the afternoon is yours to relax and enjoy the breathtaking wilderness setting of our luxury lodge. This evening’s dinner features fine Mediterranean-inspired cuisine prepared with farm-fresh produce from our Lodge’s own garden – and accompanied by complimentary house wines, cocktails and beverages.  Meals B+L+D

There is no place anywhere on the planet that is quite like Ngorongoro Crater #WHS#, and it offers an absolutely unique environment for wildlife viewing. First, you will rarely see any giraffe or impala inside the crater; though they would love to graze the abundant vegetation, these delicate-legged animals find it nearly impossible to navigate their way down the steep cliffs. But because it is so enclosed and the crater floor is mainly open grassland, this conservation area is easy for game officials to patrol, and the result is a healthy population of endangered species like the Black rhino and cheetah. It’s like a giant fishbowl, and this morning’s game drive across the crater floor will be amazing! Back at our luxury Lodge, you’ll enjoy lunch and a leisurely afternoon.  Meals B+L+D  

After breakfast, an overland journey brings you to Arusha where you’ll have a delightful lunch at the Arusha Coffee Lodge, set on one of Tanzania’s largest coffee plantations. In the afternoon, we’ll take you to Kilimanjaro Airport for your homeward flight.  Meals B+L