11-Day Wild & White Sands Serengeti, Mara & Zanzibar Escape

Today, you will be picked up from the airport or your hotel and you will be given a pre-departure briefing before you start your safari. You'll depart to Lake Nakuru National Park one of the best national parks in Kenya given that it has one of the Rift Valley soda Lakes. On arrival, you'll be welcomed and shown to your room. After lunch, you'll take a game drive in Lake Nakuru Park, which is well known as a bird lover’s hub because of the numerous birds that make a home in this park. Lake Nakuru National Park is home to over 400 bird species including the flamingos that live on the lake and in the park’s savannah grasslands. The bird species include but are not limited to African fish eagle, slender-billed greenbul, long-tailed widowbird, Rufous-throated wryneck, montane white-eye, red-capped lark, northern puffback, Rüppell’s robin-chat, shining sunbird and many more. Accommodation at Ziwa Bush lodge

In the morning, after your breakfast, you'll drive through the viewpoint of the Great Rift Valley escarpment to the Narok County the land of the Maa people. Masai Mara National Reserve is part of the vast Serengeti plains famously known for its spectacular great wildebeest migration and is home to the Big Five: lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo, and rhino. The intercounty borders have separated the two great national parks. You'll arrive in time for lunch at the lodge/camp and relax before departing for the afternoon game drive. Masai Mara National Reserve is within the Mara ecosystem that includes the Mara triangle, and other conservancies like Ol Chorro Oirowua, Ol Derkesi, Lemek, Maji Moto, Siana, Olkinyei, Naikara, Koiyaki, and North Mara. Masai Mara National Reserve is also part of the greater ecosystem that extends to Serengeti National Park in the northern part of Tanzania. Accommodation: Mara Chui lodge

You'll check out and thereafter have a full-day game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve, the land of the Maa community. The morning is usually an awesome popular game viewing time. During the early hours, temperatures are low, thus providing a favorable atmosphere both for the game and the viewer. Lions, cheetahs, and leopards roam the vast grasslands in search of their next prey, it may be an unsuspecting impala or even a small one like the warthog. Accommodation:  Mara Chui lodge

After breakfast, you'll check out of the hotel at 6:30 am. You'll head to Serengeti National Park. You will be heading to the border of Tanzania and Kenya at the Isebania border. After the immigration clearance, you will be transferred to Serengeti National Park.

The journey may take more than eight hours. You will be driving inside the Serengeti National Park as you head for your hotel in Serengeti National Park.

The Serengeti is considered Tanzania's best park. Big herds of buffalos, smaller groups of elephants and giraffes, and many antelopes, such as elands, topi, kongoni, and impalas are resident at any time of the year. All three big cats are easily seen. Lions are often found on a kill. Cheetahs are very common on the southeastern plains, while leopards can typically be found lazing in one of the big trees along the Seronera River. More than 350 species of birds, including ostriches, vultures, and flamingos, a lesser number and not easy to spot, have also been recorded. Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camp.

Today you will head back for a full-day game drive in the famous Serengeti National Park. This park is to Tanzania what the Masai Mara National Reserve is to Kenya. Covering 14,763 sq km, the Serengeti National Park is dominated by vast, open plains with an abundance of wildlife. A picnic lunch will be provided en route. The afternoon will be spent game-viewing and absorbing the breathtaking scenery of the almost treeless plains of the Serengeti. Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camps

You will transfer to the Ngorongoro crater, via Olduvai Gorge. Ngorongoro is an impressive 20 km wide volcanic crater with 600 m walls. The views from the crater rim are breathtaking, and there is an ever-present abundance of wildlife, due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor. Olduvai Gorge is famed for the discovery of 3.5-million-year-old fossil fragments of an early human civilization. You will enjoy lunch overlooking the crater, and the afternoon will be spent at leisure. Accommodation: Octagon lodge

After breakfast, you will drive to Tarangire National Park. One of the lesser-known game reserves in Tanzania, Tarangire rivals the Serengeti in its great number and diversity of wildlife. It is a good choice for travelers who wish to encounter more animals and fewer tourists while on safari. The Tarangire National Park is known as a wonderful birding destination and also features large numbers of animals, particularly during the dry season, when the Tarangire River is the only source of water in the area. The landscape is of particular interest too, due to the high number of scenic baobab trees. Accommodation: Octagon lodge

In the morning, depending on your departure time, you'll check out of the hotel for Arusha/Kilimanjaro Airport. After having had your breakfast. You will be transferred to the airport. After boarding your flight, you will arrive at Zanzibar Airport. At the airport, you will be picked up by our hotel driver to your hotel. You'll be received by a cold glass of juice. You will have a good time. This will be your residence for the next three days. Accommodation: Aluna Paje Zanzibar

Today after you enjoy your full buffet breakfast, you will enjoy a full day of uninterrupted relaxing time. After the long garden view with the sea breeze, you will have free time in a cool and quiet environment. It is a good time to take a walk around the hotel compound and interact with the local market. This day will be well spent on the beach. Activities an excursion to Old Stone at an extra fee. The Stone Town of Zanzibar is a fine example of the Swahili coastal trading towns of East Africa. It retains its urban fabric and townscape virtually intact and contains many fine buildings that reflect its particular culture, which has brought together and homogenized disparate elements of the cultures of Africa, the Arab region, India, and Europe over more than a millennium. Accommodation: Aluna Paje Zanzibar

Today you'll go on an excursion to the spice and fruit plantations close to Stone Town for the famous Spice Tour at an extra fee. We have developed a special Spice Tour with in-depth information not only about spices but also about organically grown herbs and a detailed description of their traditional uses in medicine cosmetics and cooking. Pemba's terrain is hilly and lushly vegetated, while much of the coast is lined with mangroves and lagoons, interspersed with idyllic beaches and islets. Offshore, coral reefs offer some of East Africa's best diving. Accommodation: Aluna Paje Zanzibar Beach

After a luxurious safari experience and a relaxing beach holiday, you'll bid farewell to Tanzania. A transfer to the airport for your own ticket home (the last flight to either via Nairobi) or directly through Dar es Salaam.