19 Days East Africa Wildlife Safari and Beach Holiday
Experience game viewing like no other in the famed Kenyan game parks, and venture along the Swahili coast of both Kenya and Tanzania enjoying the natural and cultural diversity of this historic region.
Highlights include: Entrances and game drives in Masai Mara National Reserve, Shimba Hills Reserve, and Lake Nakuru, Amboseli, Tsavo West, and Saadani National Parks
Dhow sailboat and snorkelling tour in Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Reserve. Snorkelling and boating tour in Maziwe National Marine Reserve
Private Safari: We do not place groups together. This way you are ensured the full attention of our guide, but with the added knowledge of our guides’ experiences. It also means that we can start the tour on the day you prefer.
Day 1: Arrive Nairobi Arrive in Nairobi Jomo Kemyatta International Airport. Meet and greet at the airport and transfer to Jamiat Hotel for overnight. Accommodation is based on bed and breakfast.
Day 2: Masai Mara Depart from Nairobi city to the spectacular Maasai Mara with a stop over at the viewpoint to have a panoramic view of the gorgeous sceneries weather permitting and a stop over at Narok town for lunch. Meet the pastorolist Maasai herding their cattle and have a game drive en route, in this land of breath taking where every thing is big including the big five. With its vast open plains and distinctive flat-topped acacia trees, no visit to Kenya would be complete without a visit here! Spend time game viewing with excellent chances of seeing the "Big 5" - lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. Overnight at Mara Simba Lodge or similar Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 3: Full day Masai Mara Full day game viewing with a picnic lunch in the rolling grass of Mara with a visit to Mara river in search of the crocodiles, Hippo, black rhino, lion, cheetah, elephant, and other plain game where they are abundant. (Optional balloon Safari at request at an extra cost). Overnight Mara Simba Lodge or similar. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 4 – 5: Nakuru Descend into the Great Rift Valley and travel to Nakuru. Named for the shallow soda lake within its boundaries, Lake Nakuru National Park is renowned for its millions of resident flamingos. Spend a full day viewing a vast array of wildlife through the park's woodlands and grasslands. Overnight at Sarova Lion. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 6: Amboseli National Park Depart early from Nakuru, venturing south to the famed Amboseli National Park. With the snow-capped "Kili" providing the ultimate photo backdrop, view diverse wildlife and take photos to your heart's content. Overnight at Amboseli Serena Lodge Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 7: Full day Amboseli 06:30 hrs: Proceed for an early morning pre-breakfast game drive. Return to the Lodge for breakfast. After breakfast proceed for further game drive, Dinner and overnight at Amboseli Serena Lodge Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 8: Tsavo West National Park With its spectacular red elephants, zebras, hippos and leopards, Tsavo West is part of Kenya's largest national park, with nearly 22,000 sq km. Spend the afternoon capturing the beauty and diversity of this immense territory. Overnight at Kilanguni Serena Lodge Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 9 – 10: Mombasa Descend from the dry Tsavo savannah to the Swahili coast. Mombasa, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is East Africa's oldest city. Visit the old town, cruise on a dhow, and test the seafood while soaking up the Swahili culture. Overnight at Severin Sea Lodge Meals: Breakfast
Day 11 – 12: Shimba Hills/Diani Beach Enjoy a half-day tour searching for the rare and endemic wildlife of the Shimba Hills National Reserve, in the lush zones above the coastal plain. Continue on to Diani Beach, where you can spend you time at leisure, enjoying the white sand beaches, adventurous water sports, or visiting the unique Colobus Monkey Trust. Overnight at Shimba Hills Lodge Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Day 13: Shimoni Board a traditional Dhow and sail across to Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park where you can snorkel among colourful coral and tropical fish. Feast on a Swahili lunch on Wasini Island, and spend some free time visiting the village or seeing the fascinating coral gardens. Overnight at Shimoni Beach Hotel Meals: Breakfast
Day 14 – 15: Pangani Cross the border into Tanzania, and step back in time visiting this old Arab slave trading centre. For a bit of sun, swimming or snorkelling, head across to tiny Maziwe, a truly magnificent Indian Ocean island. Overnight at Tingatinga Lodge. Meals: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 16: Saadani National Park Continue on through this unique and less-visited park where the bush, river, and sea meet. Enjoy a game drive and learn about the slave rebellions of the region. Saadani is where the beach meets the bush. The only wildlife sanctuary in East Africa to boast an Indian Ocean beachfront, it possesses all the attributes that make Tanzania’s tropical coastline and islands so popular with European sun-worshippers. Yet it is also the one place where those idle hours of sunbathing might be interrupted by an elephant strolling past, or a lion coming to drink at the nearby waterhole!
Today, a surprisingly wide range of grazers and primates is seen on game drives and walks, among them giraffe, buffalo, warthog, common waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeest, wildebeest, red duiker, greater kudu, eland, sable antelope, yellow baboon and vervet monkey.
Herds of up to 30 elephants are encountered with increasing frequency, and several lion prides are resident, together with leopard, spotted hyena and black-backed jackal. Boat trips on the mangrove-lined Wami River come with a high chance of sighting hippos, crocodiles and a selection of marine and riverine birds, including the mangrove kingfisher and lesser flamingo, while the beaches form one of the last major green turtle breeding sites on mainland Tanzania. Dinner and overnight at Saadani Safari Camp Meals: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 17: Bagamoyo After a morning game drive in Saadani, continue south to the town of Bagamoyo. Stroll through this relaxed, colourful town, with German-era colonial buildings, Swahili architecture, and bustling local markets combining to create a truly unique experience. Overnight at Millinium Sea Breeze. Meals: Breakfast
Day 18: Dar es Salaam Take a short trip south to Tanzania's largest city, Dar Es Salaam. The city started as a fishing village in the mid 19th century before becoming an important port and trading centre. Overnight at Heritage Hotel. Meals: Breakfast
Day 19: Depart Dar es Salaam Pick up from the hotel in Dar es Salaam and transfer to Dar es Salaam Airport for your departure flight.
Price: US $4,673 per person
Price Include: - Accommodations and meals as indicated, including bottled water - Guaranteed window seat and access to photographic roof hatch in specially-equipped custom built four-wheel-drive safari, driven by accomplished driver-guides - Sightseeing and game viewing as shown - Arrival and departure transfers - All gratuities, except to safari driver-guide
Price Exclude: - International flights - Soft and alcoholic drinks - Items of personal nature/use - And all not mentioned in the itinerary above
Notes May include moderate hiking, biking, rafting, kayaking and other activities that require only an average/moderate level of fitness to enjoy
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This is a fantastic tour and a "must do" for any first time visitor to Dar, as I was.
It helps you understand more about the people who live in Dar and makes what can seem like a complex and intimidating place, accessible, friendly and understandable.
My customized 13-day trip in Tanzania was absolutely amazing!
From breathtaking Ngorongoro hiking to a taste of Kilimanjaro and local village visits, it was truly a life-changing experience.
My driver and tour manager went out of their way to accommodate my whims and made sure that my stay in Tanzania was a pleasant one. Unfortunately I fractured my ankle during one of the hikes I took, but I was taken to the hospital immediately, and taken a great care of.
I would definitely recommend this operator to anyone who's looking for a tour that's much more than just game drives.'
We went on a two day walking – canoeing trip in Arusha National Park. The tour operator also made hotel arrangements for the first three days we were in Arusha.
They stayed in contact for 11 months via email. The person I was in contact with Elifasi and our guide, Apolo Kihwil, meet us at the airport took us to our hotel. On our rest day we visited a school at our request and not part of the paid itinerary this was on their time.
Our guide Apolo was the best we had on our entire trip. He was informative, friendly and had a great sense of humor, we were rewarded with a dream trip my favorite giraffe and several at a time the last bunch we counted eleven, baboons, wart hogs, black and white monkeys, hundreds of thousand of lesser and greater flamingos on big Momella Lake he provide delicious lunches and was infinitely patient while we took photographs.
I would not hesitate to use them on my next trip to Tanzania and would request Apolo as our guide.
We had a most wonderful holiday in Kenya and Tanzania.
They looked after us very well and we were very satisfied with their service. The service provided value for money. The only comment we would make is that the email from them gave us the impression that we would be staying in a lodge but when we arrived we were in a tent. We were satisfied with the tented accomodation, however it could have been made clearer in the original email that it was tented accomodation.
The staff were very kind and helpful.
Tour Operators Reply:
Thank you for the client's feedback and contructive comment/suggestion. We are glad that they were very satisfied with the service we provided to them, despite their impression that they would be staying in a lodge instead of tent.
As per the first enquiry which the clients sent into our company, she stated that she will prefer to stay in Camping “Accommodation Preference: Camping” and the price given to them was based on Camping accommodation, and these was stated in the itinerary that “Dinner and overnight at the camp”
However, there was typing error at the end of the itinerary which indicates Lodge accommodation instead of Camping accommodation.
We will try our level best to make sure that this mistake will not happen again.
After having a wonderful safari in southern Africa organised through your webiste, we decided to return again to Tanzania after 45 years.
We booked a 19 day safari to visit six game parks...Selous, Mikumi, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangari.
Our guide/driver, Hurumu, met us at the Dar airport and drove us to a hotel for our day of jet lag recovery. We drove to Selous first. We're not strangers to East Africa, having first arrived in 1963. By far, Hurumu is the best guide that we've ever had. He was extremely knowledgeable of wildlife, has great game eyes, a good conversationalist, and was very caring for all our needs. He understood our physical age limitations (74) but was not at all solicitous. Cool water was always available. Hurumu had the ability to always get the Toyota into position for the best photograph.
We made our initial contact the operator in 2009. Elifasi, in the office, worked with me to create the itinerary. He also was most helpful. While at Selous we requested an itinerary change. Elifasi made the changes without a problem.
The entire safari was most enjoyable and problem free.
The best of Kenya & Tanzania and they made that experience a reality. They were always on time, concerned about our well being and would without any reservations recommend them! The scenery and game viewing were all memorable and expectations met. Organizing the tour was also without any hassle
I went solo, a 50 something white woman, and me and _______ (I forget his name), rode around for 5 hours. It was a unbelievable experience.
He was a wonderful guide, I called him the "Mayor" because everybody knew him! He was so popular everywhere we went that I felt completely comfortable, safe, and like an invited family friend.
He showed me 3 or 4 neighborhoods, I met coffee makers, chapati breakfast cooks (had breakfast there with a Masaai family who stopped by!), a traditional herbalist (where I learned the treatment for meconium aspiration, I'm a perinatal pathologist!), herbal pharmacist (where I saw that fenugreek seed is used to facilitate delivery with prolonged labor), local market, fabric seller, and had a delicious lunch at an outside Swahili restaurant. I played with kids, talked with everyone, and really got a great sense of the community.
My guide also is very active in local projects and inspired me to help with a bridge rebuilding project he is spear heading. The bicycle riding was easy and really the only way to get around in these neighborhoods. It was by far the best experience I had in Dar, and one of the best I have had in my many travels in East Africa!
We could not have asked for abetter way to end our incredible adventures in Tanzania. We saw everything and did everything we could have ever imagined. From the big game watching in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara, to ascending the highly active volcano next to Lake Natron, it was all so unbelievably incredible. A total dream come true!
Our guide Huruma had he most expansive breadth of knowledge of the natural environment, he was a pleasure to talk to. He was also extremely flexible with us as lans often changed for various reasons, but ALWAYS for the better. Huruma made us feel safe and comfortable the whole time. Alex our cook as wonderful as well making sure we had the best quality meals possiblemade from the freshest ingredients.
Choosing a safari operator is tough, but I will just say that I will always recommend these guys. They are very professional and will do everything to make sure you have the best trip possible. Thanks again for our lifetime memories. We will be back, so you will hear from us again.
Thanks Elfasi for all your time, flexibility and support in orchestrating this dream trip.
