Departure Date: October 7, 2022

Group Leader: Judy Marini

 

Day 1: Travel day - Overnight Flight
Board your overnight flight to Nairobi today.

Day 2: Arrival in Nairobi
Welcome to Kenya! Arrive in Nairobi and transfer to your hotel.

 

Day 3: Karen Blixen Estate & Giraffe Center
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, welcome dinner
Climb into 4x4 land cruisers and set out to tour the Karen Blixen Estate and visit the Giraffe Center, a preserve dedicated to raising rare giraffes.

• Tour the Karen Blixen Estate, a former coffee plantation where the author lived for several years, as described in her novel “Out of Africa”

• Enjoy an included lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden

• Head to the Giraffe Center and climb to the treehouse deck to feed the giraffes by hand

• Learn about preservation efforts put in place to increase the giraffe population

Tonight, get to know your Tour Director and fellow travelers at a welcome dinner.

Day 4: Transfer to Aberdare National Park - Aberdare National Park
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Take in sweeping views of the countryside, passing pineapple and coffee plantations, as you journey to the forested foothills of Mount Kenya National Park.

• Stop at Aberdare Country Club for lunch

• Enjoy wildlife viewing at your lodge near Aberdare National Park

Sit down for an included dinner this evening.

Day 5: Transfer to Lake Naivasha - Great Rift Valley
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
En route to the Great Rift Valley region, stop at the Equator to experience the famed Coriolis effect. Continue on to Lake Naivasha for lunch and an optional nature walk. Then, sit down for an included dinner this evening.

​

Day 6: Lake Nakuru game drive
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Travel to Lake Nakuru, one of the "soda lakes" of the Rift Valley where flamingoes make their home.

• Take a morning game drive in a 4x4 land cruiser through Lake Nakuru National Park

• Keep an eye out for wildlife like zebras, monkeys and rhinos, both the elusive black and white varieties

• Enjoy an included lunch

Head back to your safari lodge and sit down for an included dinner this evening.

Day 7: Transfer to Masai Mara & game drive
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Continue through the Great Rift Valley as you travel to the land of the Masai warriors—the Masai Mara.

• Enjoy an included lunch

• Set out on an afternoon game drive

• Watch for the famous Big Five of African safaris —leopards, rhinos, Cape buffalo, lions, and elephants

• Admire the rolling hills, waving savanna grasses, and acacia trees

Sit down for an included dinner this evening.

​

Day 8: Game drives & Masai Mara village visit
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Head out on an early morning game drive. Then, enjoy an included lunch before trying to spot lions, giraffes, zebras, gazelles, impalas, elephants, warthogs, cheetahs, and wildebeest on an afternoon game drive.

Later, immerse yourself in the Masai way of life during a visit to a local village.

• Tour an authentic boma and discover the history and heritage behind the Masai tribe

• Hear how the money they receive from your visit is used to sustain the community

This evening, sit down for an included dinner.

Day 9: Transfer to Nairobi
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Enjoy a free morning and an included lunch in Masai Mara. Then, admire the incredible scenery as you travel through the Great Rift Valley back to Nairobi. 

Sit down for an included dinner this evening.

Day 10: Transfer to Amboseli National Park & game drive
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Travel south to Amboseli National Park, which sits against the breathtaking backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro. Enjoy an included lunch before setting out on an afternoon game drive to see lions, baboons, cheetahs, hippos, wildebeest, and elephants. Sit down for an included dinner this evening.

​

Day 11: Amboseli National Park game drives
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, farewell dinner
Head out on a day of game drives and marvel at the park’s huge herds of elephants, as well as ostriches, leopards, lions, and rhinos. Enjoy an included lunch this afternoon. Later, celebrate your adventure at a farewell dinner.

Day 12: Travel to Nairobi & departure - Overnight Flight
Included meals: breakfast (excluding early morning departures)
Transfer to Nairobi for your flight home, or extend your stay to explore Tanzania.

Day 12: Tarangire National Park via Arusha
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Stop in Arusha for an included lunch on your way to Tarangire National Park where you’ll marvel at one of Africa’s largest herds of elephants and keep watch for over 500 bird species. Later, set out on an afternoon game drive and sit down for an included dinner.
 

Day 13: Serengeti via Olduvai Gorge
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Journey to the Serengeti, stopping en route in Olduvai Gorge for a guided tour of this “Cradle of Mankind,” where Louis and Mary Leakey excavated 1.8 million-year-old human fossil fragments in 1959. Savor a scenic picnic lunch before setting out on an afternoon game drive through Serengeti National Park. 

Then, sit down for an included dinner this evening.

 

Day 14: Serengeti National Park game drives
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Set out on a day of game drives through the Central Serengeti’s rich ecosystems and endless plains. 

• Enjoy an included lunch 

• Keep watch for the Big Five 

Sit down for an included lunch this evening.

Day 15: Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater & game drive
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Transfer to the beautiful Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera. 

• Enjoy an included lunch 

• Set out on a game drive, looking out for lions, black rhinos, and cheetahs 

Sit down for an included dinner this evening.

Day 16: Departure - Overnight Flight
Included meals: breakfast, lunch
Transfer to the Nairobi airport, stopping in Arusha for an included lunch, for your flight home.

Day 17: Travel day
Arrive home today.