Kenya & Tanzania Maasailand Highlights Tour | 14 Days
Wildlife & Cultural Immersion
Adumu Safaris invites you on a once in a lifetime journey to see the best of Maasailand in Kenya and Tanzania including, the famed Masai Mara, Nairobi National Park, Amboseli National Park, Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, and more! This 14-day all-inclusive adventure, led by Adumu Safaris’ local expert naturalists and cultural guides, takes you on a wildlife safari through the stunning Maasailands of Kenya and continues to iconic Northern Circuit of Tanzania. It includes a variety of activities that explore the natural environment, as well as the history and culture of the people in this magnificent region–particularly the Maasai people who live in and near the parks. You also have the opportunity to give back to your host community through a service visit in the Ngorongoro region. Feel good knowing that this trip strictly abides by socially responsible ecotourism practices and supports our social impact mission of Maasai empowerment.
The wildlife safari portion of this trip takes you through Kenya and Tanzania’s most famous parks where you will see the lauded “Big 5” and a variety of other majestic fauna up close in their natural habitats. Feel like an adventurer as you encounter a myriad of breathtaking landscapes deep in the African bush. View the world-famous Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra (and the predators that follow them!) from your spacious and comfortable hatch-top Land Cruiser, and perhaps even while enjoying a beverage at camp! Explore the unique Ngorongoro Crater, alkaline Lake Manyara, and other natural wonders. Retreat to your fantastic accommodations where you’ll experience Tanzania’s warm hospitality and impeccable service. Savor delicious African-inspired continental cuisine prepared with the bounty of fresh, local ingredients. Learn about the culture of the Maasai, as well as other vibrant local cultures as you pass through the parks and visit a Maasai social project.
Itinerary
Destination: Arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport; Transfer to Masai Mara
Accommodations: Tipilikwani Luxury Camp
Activities: Game viewing
Arrive at Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. Transfer to Wilson Airport where you will take a short flight to the Kiombo Airstrip. Your expert naturalist guide, a member of the Mara Guides Association, will pick you up and take you to Tipilikwani Luxury Camp, a uniquely situated camp of 20 Maasai-inspired luxury tents on the banks of the Talek River, overlooking the mottled plains of the Maasai Mara where vast herds of wildlife co-exist with the colorful Maasai people. Settle into your tent, enjoy the view of the river and perhaps catch your first glimpses of wild game before heading to the open-air dining area for a delicious lunch or afternoon tea. Afterwards, your guide will go over your itinerary. You then have the option of an evening game drive in the Mara or a walking safari, departing from the camp, accompanied by your naturalist guide and an armed Maasai guard. Return to camp for sundowners around a fire pit overlooking the river and a lovely dinner. Sleep peacefully to the sound of nature surrounding you.
Destination: Masai Mara, Dopoi Center
Accommodations: Tipilikwani Luxury Camp
Activities: Welcome ceremony and orientation at the Dopoi Center, MERC; Boma visit; Medicinal plant tour (educational/research extension possible)
After breakfast, your guide will take you to the nearby Dopoi Center, the headquarters of the Maasai Education, Research, and Culture Institute, located on ten acres of land overlooking the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in a rural and remote high savannah area of the Rift Valley near the town of Talek. Here, you will be welcomed in traditional, festive fashion by members of nearby Maasai Villages, including talented singers and dancers. For the first time, you will have the opportunity to witness the famous adumu! Afterwards, you will be given an orientation lecture about the Maasai people—their customs, way of life, and history—in the Memorial Garden and taken on a tour of the Center to learn about MERCs activities toward Maasai Empowerment. Return to the garden for a picnic lunch. Your guide will then take you to a nearby Maasai “boma”, a traditional village, where you can see the day to day operations of this pastoralist community. Villagers will take you into the surrounding bush to share their traditional knowledge of the medicinal plants in the area. Return to see (and perhaps purchase samples of) the fabulous traditional beadwork of a local women’s beading cooperative. Return to camp for sundowners and dinner. (There is much to learn and explore at MERC. Inquire about possible educational/research extensions here.)
Destination: Masai Mara
Accommodations: Tipilikwani Luxury Camp
Activities: Game Drive
Wake to the sounds of nature surrounding your tent and enjoy an early breakfast before departing on a full day game drive in the famous Masai Mara National Reserve. The Masai Mara offers wildlife in such variety and abundance that it is difficult to believe: over 450 species of animals have been recorded here. It is in the Mara and the bordering Serengeti of Tanzania to the south (which you will visit toward the end of your Maasailand highlights tour) that perhaps the most spectacular event of the natural world takes place—the annual wildebeest migration. In the Mara, you will easily see wildebeest and zebra migrations, lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, buffalo, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, buffalo, leopards, many kinds of antelopes, and elephants. Return to the camp for an enchanting sunset bush dinner alongside the riverbank.
Destination: Loita Hills
Accommodations: Maji Moto Eco Camp
Activities: Game drive; Walking safari; Hot spring bathing; Storytelling
After breakfast, depart through the Mara for the Loita Hills, with game viewing along the way. By lunch, arrive at Maji Moto Eco Camp, a small, environmentally-sensitive retreat operated by Maasai people from the nearby village of Maji Moto. Your relaxing stay here will immerse you not only in the intense natural beauty of the Loita Hills, but also in the ancient culture and knowledge of the Maasai in a different way than what you have experienced already. After lunch, walk with Maasai warriors through the hills, observing plants and animals through Maasai eyes. Glean knowledge of Maasai culture, the natural world, its plants, animals and their uses. Loita Plains host numerous wildlife such as giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, eland, and many different bird species. Your local Maasai guide will be your field guide full of interesting facts of wildlife and nature that you will meet while on walk. The name ‘Maji Moto” means “Hot Water”, and this refers to the natural hot spring near the village. Surrounded by trees, a dip in the spring at evening is a refreshing way to soak away the days exertions. Return for sundowners, gazing west over the savannah, toward Masai Mara and the setting sun. Enjoy a fresh, Kenyan-inspired dinner, and gather round the fire for an evening of traditional storytelling. Retire to your tent, built Masai-style using only local materials such as branches and stalks, grass, cow dung and stone, and sleep peacefully to the sounds of nature.
Destination: Nairobi National Park
Accommodations: Ololo Safari Lodge
Activities: Game drive
After breakfast, depart for Nairobi. During the drive, marvel at the stunning views from and descent down the Great Rift Valley Escarpment. Around noon, check into the lovely Ololo Safari Lodge, an elegant, thatched-roof African manor situated right on the edge of the wilderness, overlooking Nairobi National Park. Just outside of Nairobi’s central business district is Nairobi National Park, Kenya’s first national park established in 1946. This park is iconic for its wide open grass plains and scattered acacia bush with the city of Nairobi’s skyscrapers in the backdrop. Despite its small size and proximity to human civilization, this park plays host to a wide variety of wildlife including lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, buffaloes, giraffes and diverse birdlife with over 400 species recorded. As well, it is home to one of Kenya’s most successful rhino sanctuaries, and you are likely to see the endangered black rhino here. After settling in, enjoy a lovely lunch, featuring Ololo’s garden grown produce and eggs. Depart on a late afternoon game drive into Nairobi National Park. Enjoy a fresh, seasonal dinner at the lodge, and retire to your lovely room for a good night’s rest.
Destination: Amboseli National Park
Accommodations: Tawi Lodge
Activities: Game Drive
After breakfast, depart for Amboseli National Park, situated due south of Nairobi. Most of the park consists of a dry, ancient lake bed and fragile grassland with patches of acacia woodland, while in the southern area there are a number of small, rocky, volcanic hills. Around the swamps, Ol Okenya, Ol Tukai, and Enkongo Narok, the vegetation is lush with yellow barked acacias and phoenix palms. The park also has perhaps the best view of Mount Kilimanjaro. Wildlife here includes the zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, caracal and serval cat, lion, leopard, cheetah, buffalo among others. There are also over 400 species of birds, including the bee-eater, kingfisher, African fish eagle, martial eagle and pygmy falcon. Arrive to Tawi Lodge in time to check into your luxury cottage and for lunch in the restaurant with a fabulous view of Kilimanjaro. Set off for a late afternoon game drive in Amboseli, and return in early evening to the lodge. Tawi is a charming eco-lodge with magnificent grounds, including a water hole that attracts large fauna from the surrounding area. Enjoy a sundowner around the campfire at the tree bar followed by a delicious Swahili-inspired dinner made with produce grown in their own organic gardens. Retire to your cottage for a sound sleep to the sound of nature around you.
Destination: Kilimanjaro/Arusha Region (Ngare Nanyuki)
Accommodations: Osiligilai Maasai Lodge
Activities: Spear throwing competition; Nature walk; Donkey ride; Maasai storytelling
Today you leave Kenya and enter the Maasailand of Tanzania. Your guide will drive you to the unique Africa Amini Maasai Lodge, a special place where you immediately will come to rest and reflect on the essentials while enjoying an immersive cultural experience with the Maasai. In the middle of the wilderness of the Maasai steppe are 12 exclusive bungalows with hand crafted furniture and a great view of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa‘s tallest mountain. It‘s all about being together, traditions, stories and learning from each other. Today enjoy some unique and fun activities: participate in a spear throwing competition with the Maasai; have a Maasai guide take you on a guided nature walk or a walk to the fresh spring river; go on a Donkey Ride to the local school. While you are here, relax, unwind, and enjoy the “Warm Your Heart“ meditation room, the natural sauna and pool. In the evening, gather round the fire for some traditional storytelling for the whole family, and enjoy sundowners and a delicious dinner overlooking the savannah.
Destination: Ngare Nanyuki
Accommodations: Osiligilai Maasai Lodge
Activities: Maasai Festival; Choose from: River walk, Beekeeping, Traditional Healing, Massage, Meditation
A unique and exciting day: after breakfast, the lodge staff will don you in traditional attire in order to attend a Maasai wedding, an initiation rite, or other ritual ceremony—sure to be a highlight of your African holiday. After a nyama choma feast, return to the lodge for an evening of activities, relaxation or both. Enjoy your last night at this sublime retreat however you wish.
Destination: Lake Manyara National Park
Accommodations: Isiotok Camp Manyara
Activities: Game drive; Adumu and musical performance; Viewpoint Walk
After an early breakfast, your naturalist guide will pick you up from the Lodge and drive you toward Lake Manyara National Park via the city of Arusha where you will stop for lunch. Continue on to the park and enjoy some afternoon game viewing. Lake Manyara National Park lies at the base of the western wall of the eastern arm of the Rift Valley. Typically shimmering in a golden heat haze, the lake is often frosted with thousands of flamingos, while the trees that surround the lake are famous for their tree-climbing lions. The park also offers abundant sightings of monkeys, jackals, mongoose, hyenas, hyraxes, zebras, hippos, warthogs, buffalos, Maasai giraffes, duikers, waterbucks, and impalas. Significant numbers of elephants are also resident in the park, while sightings of black rhino and leopard are not uncommon. In early evening, check into Isiotok Camp Manyara, a unique, sustainable luxury tented camp situated in the Maasai area known as Esilalei on the soft rolling hills of Losimingori, 13km away from the national park. Set in a rich wild savannah bush location with an altitude of 1075 metres above sea level, this relaxing, intimate camp of only 8 beautiful tents blends into the bush and also offers wonderful opportunities to delve further into your Maasai immersion experience. After a delicious lunch, featuring Swahili international cuisine, enjoy a performance of the adumu, other traditional dances, and singing performed by members of the nearby villages with whom Isiotok enjoys fruitful relationships and supports through giving programs. Towards sunset, join your camp host and Maasai scout who will take you up to one of several viewpoints overlooking Lake Manyara and The Great Rift Valley. Sundowner snacks and a beverage of your choice are available whilst you soak in a melting sunset overlooking Lake Manyara. Return to your tent and sleep soundly to the night chorus of crickets, cicadas, tree frogs, and the occasional soulful call of a hyena and other passing wildlife.
Destination: Lake Manyara National Park
Accommodations: Isiotok Camp Manyara
Activities: Game drive; Traditional goat sacrifice and BBQ
Let the morning birds and the smell of fresh local coffee gently rouse you out of your slumber. After an early breakfast, depart the lodge for a brisk morning game drive on which you can gain a different view of the fauna and flora of Lake Manyara. Return to camp for lunch and a stretch. On this final day at Isiotok, have the privilege of witnessing a traditional goat sacrifice in the Korongo, not far from the camp. As you will have learned by this point in your cultural immersion experience, the Maasai have peacefully co-existed with wildlife by raising cattle and goats as a main source of food in the bush. A goat, or more rarely, a cow is slaughtered to celebrate a special occasion and feed the whole village. The animal’s life is honored as it is sacrificed and nothing goes to waste. Isiotok’s Maasai workers will reveal their skills in butchery and unveil the practice that has been passed down from generation to generation, after which you will be treated to a traditional goat BBQ and Swahili buffet spread in the bush. Retreat for another restful night under canvas.
Destination: Ngorongoro Crater
Accommodations: Ngorongoro Farm House
Activities: Game drive; Walking safari or massage; Traditional Dance Performance
Leaving the lodge after breakfast, drive to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. After an early breakfast, drive the short distance to the crater and descend to its floor for a half-day tour, inclusive of a picnic lunch by the hippo pools. Often referred to as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s best known wildlife areas. An UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also one of the largest volcanic craters in the world (almost 20 kilometers wide, 610-760 meters deep and covering a total area of 264 square kilometers). An utterly unique biosphere, the Crater harbors grasslands, swamps, forests, saltpans, a fresh water lake and a glorious variety of birdlife, all enclosed within its towering walls. Due to its high concentration of wildlife, close-range viewing opportunities and striking scenery it is also Tanzania’s most visited destination. In the afternoon, ascend the steep walls of the crater, drive around the rim, and descend to the charming Ngorongoro Farm House, a small and exclusive hotel built on a 500 acre coffee plantation with its hand-plaited thatched roof tops, ample verandas, and colonial interiors which have been designed to take you to the comfort and style of a bygone era. In the early evening, take a guided walk in one of the most attractive areas of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the waterfalls and the descent to Empakai Crater. Or, you may want a massage! Conclude the evening with a fabulous dinner and sundowner cocktails followed by a traditional Maasai dance performance, including the adumu!
Destination: Oldupai Gorge, Serengeti National Park
Accommodations: Pumzika Camp
Activities: Oldupai Gorge visit; Game drive
Today drive to the great Serengeti National Park, the world’s most famous game park. En route, stop and visit Oldupai Gorge (often misspelled as Olduvai), commonly referred to as the “Cradle of mankind”. This site is where the Leakeys made some of the world’s most important archaeological discoveries, including discovering the remains of several early hominids estimated to be around 3.7 million years old. Oldupai is the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant (Sansevieria ehrenbergii), which grows in the gorge. After a picnic lunch, continue on to an exciting game drive in the Serengeti. Arrive at Pumzika Camp, an eco-friendly tented camp reminiscent of the first safaris at the turn of the 20th century, with furniture made by local craftsmen and decorated with handmade carpets woven by the Mbulu women’s community. Set inside the Seronera area, Pumzika occupies a unique and privileged paradise within the Serengeti, far from main roads and civilization, surrounded by the two of the biggest and most prolific lion prides in the park. Settle in, enjoy sundowners beneath an acacia tree on the open savannah followed by a bush dinner.
Destination: Serengeti National Park
Accommodations: Pumzika Camp
Activities: Game drive
After breakfast, continue with both morning and afternoon game drives in Serengeti national Park. Totaling 14,763 km2 in area, the park is appropriately named after the Maasai word for “endless plains”. Here you are certain to get up close and personal with the “Big Five” (Lions, Elephants, Rhinos, Leopards, and Cape Buffalo), if you haven’t already, and hosts of other iconic and lesser known species. Given the vast terrain, weather patterns, and migratory patterns of the innumerable species, many animals of the Serengeti are constantly on the move. This makes for an adventurous game drive! Your drives will depend on the move of the migrants; your expert naturalist guide knows very well how to locate the herds. Bush lunch and bush dinner will be at Pumzika.
Destination: Departure to Arusha or connection to Southern Circuit, Western Circuit, Kenya, Uganda, or Zanzibar
After a hot breakfast and optional nature walk, drive back to Arusha for an optional day or overnight at Rivertrees Country Inn or connect to the next leg of your wildlife safari in the Southern Circuit, chimp trekking in Mahale National Park or Gombe Stream or, gorilla trekking in Uganda. Alternatively, connect with a flight to the magical island of Zanzibar, which lies just off the coast of Tanzania. See our complimentary itineraries for these locations
Destination: Ngorongoro Crater
Accommodations: Ngorongoro Farm House
Activities: Game drive; Walking safari or massage; Traditional Dance Performance
Leaving the lodge after breakfast, drive to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. After an early breakfast, drive the short distance to the crater and descend to its floor for a half-day tour, inclusive of a picnic lunch by the hippo pools. Often referred to as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s best known wildlife areas. An UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also one of the largest volcanic craters in the world (almost 20 kilometers wide, 610-760 meters deep and covering a total area of 264 square kilometers). An utterly unique biosphere, the Crater harbors grasslands, swamps, forests, saltpans, a fresh water lake and a glorious variety of birdlife, all enclosed within its towering walls. Due to its high concentration of wildlife, close-range viewing opportunities and striking scenery it is also Tanzania’s most visited destination. In the afternoon, ascend the steep walls of the crater, drive around the rim, and descend to the charming Ngorongoro Farm House, a small and exclusive hotel built on a 500 acre coffee plantation with its hand-plaited thatched roof tops, ample verandas, and colonial interiors which have been designed to take you to the comfort and style of a bygone era. In the early evening, take a guided walk in one of the most attractive areas of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the waterfalls and the descent to Empakai Crater. Or, you may want a massage! Conclude the evening with a fabulous dinner and sundowner cocktails followed by a traditional Maasai dance performance, including the adumu!
Destination: Oldupai Gorge, Serengeti National Park
Accommodations: Pumzika Camp
Activities: Oldupai Gorge visit; Game drive
Today drive to the great Serengeti National Park, the world’s most famous game park. En route, stop and visit Oldupai Gorge (often misspelled as Olduvai), commonly referred to as the “Cradle of mankind”. This site is where the Leakeys made some of the world’s most important archaeological discoveries, including discovering the remains of several early hominids estimated to be around 3.7 million years old. Oldupai is the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant (Sansevieria ehrenbergii), which grows in the gorge. After a picnic lunch, continue on to an exciting game drive in the Serengeti. Arrive at Pumzika Camp, an eco-friendly tented camp reminiscent of the first safaris at the turn of the 20th century, with furniture made by local craftsmen and decorated with handmade carpets woven by the Mbulu women’s community. Set inside the Seronera area, Pumzika occupies a unique and privileged paradise within the Serengeti, far from main roads and civilization, surrounded by the two of the biggest and most prolific lion prides in the park. Settle in, enjoy sundowners beneath an acacia tree on the open savannah followed by a bush dinner.
Safari Includes:
- Pick up/drop off at Arusha or Kilimanjaro airport before and after the trip and/or transfer to the next leg of your holiday
- Park entrance fees into the game parks/reserves
- Crater service fee
- Government Taxation
- Professional naturalist guide
- Transport and wildlife viewing in 4×4 Land cruiser with open roof hatches and unlimited mileage
- All game drives and activities
- All cultural excursions mentioned in the itinerary
- Full board accommodations and additional meals, per itinerary
- All-inclusive alcoholic beverages and sodas at the lodges/camps
- Plentiful drinking water (mineral water)
- Flying Doctor services in Tanzania
- Service charges
- Generous Giving Fund
Safari Excludes:
- International airfare & flights
- Passport & visa fees
- Personal health insurance
- Travel insurance (highly recommended and offered upon making your deposit)
- Laundry services, unless provided by the lodges
- Additional alcoholic beverages & sodas, except as stated as included above
- Laundry services, unless offered by the lodges
- Optional massages and spa services
- All items of personal nature
- Gratuities to safari guides and lodge/camp staff
Please note: Adumu Safaris makes every effort to customize your safari itinerary in order to cover areas where wildlife habitats are known to be plentiful during the season and precise time of year that you are traveling. However, since wild animals move freely in their environment, we cannot absolutely guarantee sightings of every species. We also use our best effort to provide the lodging set out in this itinerary, but occasionally there are circumstances that occur which require lodging substitutions. We reserve the right to make comparable lodging substitutions or upgrades whenever necessary or in your best interest to do so. Fortunately, we have vetted all of our lodges and stand by their ability to provide an amazing accommodation experience.
Cost:
Based on double occupancy …………..LOW 7458 USD / HIGH 8284 USD / PEAK 8678 USD
Single person, non-sharing supplement…………………..……LOW 1815 USD / HIGH 2701USD / PEAK 2859 USD
**NB: Prices drop for larger parties traveling together. Children are accommodated at lower rates than adults. Adumu Safaris customizes itineraries to fit your preferences, desires, party size, and budget.
To reserve this trip we require $500 per person. The remainder is due 59 days before departure. All major credit cards and PayPal are accepted. We will send a secure payment link when you are ready to confirm this trip.
Please note that we offer these variations to demonstrate some of the ways that we can modify an itinerary to suit your preferences (destinations, activities, level of luxury, type of accommodations, length of stay, budget, etc.). If none of these options looks best for your group, we are more than happy to gather more information from you and customize the perfect trip. You can call us at +1 530 574 9519 or email us at to discuss this itinerary or others on our website.
Karibu Africa!
The Adumu Safaris Team