Tanzania and Kenya by TCS Private Jet
Best Time to Travel: The best wildlife viewing months in Kenya are during the dry season from late June to October. The wildebeest migration usually reaches the Masai Mara in July and remains until October when they move back to the Serengeti in Tanzania. Wildlife viewing is good year-round, but this can differ for some parks. December to February sees the birth of new zebra and wildebeest so you may have the opportunity to see these young take their first few steps! Certain parks in Tanzania also have a short dry period in January and February between the short rains of November/December and the long rains of March to May. June to October can be a busier time of year due to the Great Migration, however, this is also the best time to see much of the wildlife gathering around remaining waterholes due to the low rainfall throughout the winter.
12 Day Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Welcome to Tanzania!
Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, VIP Meet & Greet upon exiting the aircraft for assistance through customs and immigration. You will then be met by your guide and proceed to check in for your onward private charter flight to Arusha (approx. 15 minute flight).
Upon arrival into Arusha, you are met and private transfer to your hotel to refresh and relax after your long flight.
In the evening you will transfer to the Chinese Whispers restaurant for a welcome dinner. Consistently ranked among Arusha's best restaurants, it is beloved by all for its authentic and extensive prominently Chinese menu. From noodles to dim sum, Chinese Whispers welcomes you to its quiet and well-kept setting. After dinner head back to your hotel for overnight.
Legendary Lodge Arusha
1 night
Set in lush tropical gardens on a working coffee farm just outside Arusha, Legendary Lodge features ten beautiful garden cottages and two family cottages, each with its own private veranda. Designed with a unique blend of African arts and crafts, combined with old, colonial-style luxury, the cottages offer king sized beds, a separate lounge with fireplace and ensuite bathrooms with deep tubs and refreshing showers.
Mouth-watering gourmet meals are served in the gracious environment of the main house, surrounded by a lush tropical garden. Meals can be taken in the more formal dining room, or on the open air veranda. The Spa at Legendary Lodge offers rejuvenating treatments in the elegant therapy room or in the privacy of the guest cottages.
Overnight: Legendary Lodge, Tanzania (Garden Cottage)
Meals: Dinner included today
Day 2
Arusha
After breakfast at Legendary Lodge, meet your private guide and driver and depart on a shopping expedition.
Begin your visit with the Tanzanite Museum. Tanzanite, the birthstone for December, is one of Tanzania’s proudest exports. The world’s only museum dedicated to this gemstone is found here, in the heart of Arusha.
Continue to the Masai Market. This is one of the best places to get a glimpse of Tanzanian life. Enjoy a lively atmosphere and various stalls where you can taste exotic fruit, coffee, nuts and spices.
After, your guide will transfer you to the airport for your scenic flight over Mount Kilimanjaro. This mountain stands 5,895 meters high and is the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
Arusha to Ngorongoro
After your scenic flight, proceed to Manyara airstrip. After touch down, you are met and privately transferred by safari land cruiser to &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge.
After a late lunch at the lodge, the remainder of the evening is free to enjoy the lodge
andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
2 nights
The NgorongoroCrater Lodge is located in Tanzania on the edge of the world famous “World Heritage Site” of the Ngorongo Crater. Surrounding the lodge, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area spans over 3,000 square miles, stretching from the Rift Valley to the Serengeti. The design follows the Maasai mud-and-stick manyatta (homestead) style. The Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is without doubt one of the most architecturally spectacular safari lodges in Africa.
Overnight: &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (Suite)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 3
Ngorongoro Crater Tour
After an early wakeup call and breakfast, join your private safari guide and depart for a full day exploring the Ngorongoro Crater from its breathtaking rim to its wildlife-rich floor.
Pick a superlative: amazing, incredible, breathtaking…they all apply to the stunning, ethereal blue-green vistas of the Ngorongoro Crater. But as wonderful as the views are from above, the real magic happens when you get down inside and drive among an unparalleled concentration of wildlife, including the highest density of both lions and overall predators in Africa. One of the continent's premier attractions, this renowned natural wonder is deservedly a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A sit-down lunch will be enjoyed in the afternoon while exploring the crater's floor. Enjoy a private sundowner at a stunning viewpoint on the crater's rim before returning to your lodge to relax before dinner. Return to your lodge for overnight.
Overnight: &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Suite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 4
Ngorongoro to Serengeti National Park
After breakfast at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, transfer to Manyara airstrip where you will catch your onward private charter flight to Serorena Airstrip in the Serengeti. (Flying time: approx. 35 minutes).
Arrival at Serorena and transfer to your accommodation, the Four Seasons, with your Guide.
Lunch at the lodge and time to freshen up. This afternoon enjoy a game drive in Serengeti National Park, undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world. It is unequalled for its natural beauty and scientific value, and it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. After, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Four Seasons Serengeti Lodge
2 nights
Nestled in the heart of Central Serengeti only 45 minutes from Seronera Airstrip, the Four Seasons Tanzania perfectly blends luxury with the natural environment. Here, you can experience close up views of the wildlife. Herds of elephants, baboons, impalas and many other animals stop for a drink at our central watering hole, or you may see them as you lounge on your impalas and many other animals stop for a drink at our central watering hole, or you may see them as you lounge on your room’s private balcony or gaze out the window from your deep soaking tub.
Overnight: Four Seasons Serengeti (Savannah Room Waterhole View)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 5
Serengeti
Wake up early this morning to enjoy a hot air balloon excursion and champagne breakfast.
Transfer to the launching site to depart at dawn. As the sun rises, you gently float over the plains of the magnificent Serengeti. Your flight is approx. 1 hour depending on weather conditions.
After landing, you will celebrate your flight in the traditional way with a champagne toast before heading off to a special ‘Out of Africa’ breakfast.
After breakfast return to the lodge for the morning at leisure, followed by lunch.
This afternoon, enjoy a game drive, followed by dinner and overnight in the Serengeti.
Overnight: Four Seasons Serengeti (Savannah Room Waterhole View)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 6
Four Seasons to Grumeti Reserve Serengeti
Today, an early morning game drive and return to the lodge for breakfast. After, check out and transfer to Serorena airstrip where you will embark on your private charter flight headed to Singita's Sasakwa Airstrip. (flight time is approx. 15 minutes).
You are met upon arrival and transferred to the lodge for lunch and check-in.
This afternoon, enjoy a game drive at Sasakwa, located in the Grumeti Reserve in Northern Tanzania, and part of the corridor of the Serengeti. Here you are likely to see cheetah, bearded wildebeest, bat-eared fox, Maasai giraffe, lion elephant, buffalo and leopard.
Singita Sasakwa Lodge
2 nights
Singita Sasakwa Lodge is located in the Grumeti Reserves in northern Tanzania and forms part of the Serengeti Mara ecosystem. Every year it becomes the theater for the migration of thousands of wild animals including zebras, gazelles, black gnus and buffalo as they make their annual descent from the northern hills to the southern plains, before making the return journey in April.
At the Singita Sasakwa, you will have front row seats for this breathtaking spectacle. Among the floral chintz, animal skin rugs, feather lampshades, snooker table and infinity pool, you will succumb to the charm and sophistication of this English manor house and its ten private cottages. As well as the 4WD safari option for a close-up view of the wildlife, you can also float above the plain in a hot air balloon, or you might prefer an adventure on horseback- galloping alongside the zebras.
Overnight: Singita Sasakwa Lodge (Cottage)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 7
Grumeti Reserve
This morning, meet your guide and depart for a walking safari, an incredible way to experience the bush up close and personal.
Then with your guide, learn about local communities and how Singita is helping the surrounding villages develop. Perhaps Africa’s greatest beauty is its people and, as part of Singita’s deep commitment to community development and upliftment, your guide will accompany you as you visit a nearby community. Then return to your lodge for lunch and then you will have time for a game of tennis, or a dip in the pool before this afternoon's game drive.
Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Overnight: Singita Sasakwa Lodge (Cottage)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 8
Serengeti to Masai Mara, Kenya
After an early morning game drive and breakfast, transfer to the Sasakwa airstrip where you will embark on your private charter plane to the Masai Mara in Kenya.
(Flight time is approx. 1 hour 40 minutes; Ground time: Musoma = 35 Minutes, Kisumu = 45 minutes via: Musoma and Kisumu for customs and immigration into Kenya).
Upon arrival, you will meet your new guide and transfer to Angama Mara. On arrival enjoy lunch and then in the late afternoon head out for a game drive.
At sunset, a wonderful photo opportunity awaits. Maasai warriors perform in the lodge’s traditional brush-packed boma and here, guests are able to not only photograph this time-honored celebration of song and dance, but can also participate should they so wish. In Angama Mara’s craft studio, guests can try their hand at Maasai craft, as skilled ladies bead bespoke items onto pieces of clothing. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Angama Mara, Kenya
3 nights
A remarkable owner-run safari lodge inspired by the Swahili word for ‘suspended in mid-air’. Located high above the floor of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, Angama Mara overlooks Kenya’s Maasai Mara, considered by many as the loveliest game reserve on the continent.
Overnight: Angama Mara, Kenya (Luxury Tented Suite)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 9
Masai Mara/Horseback and Out Of Africa Tour
Today is a special treat, a morning private safari on horseback (all levels welcome). It’s an experience you will never forget - a ride through the wilderness on horseback. It’s not just that you’ll enjoy panoramic views, or that you’ll benefit from the wildlife guidance of a very experienced team, it’s also that because you’re out of the safari vehicle, and on four legs rather than two - you’ll be an actual part of the great theater of the wild.
Ride alongside herds of zebra or giraffe and encounter buffalo herds as they graze the plains. You may ride past stately eland, or kongoni, perched atop their anthill mounds. You may see the hippo in their pools and you’ll certainly encounter some fascinating bird life. Best of all, during the annual migration, you can actually ride with the migrating herds - a once in a lifetime experience.
Your ride is escorted by your guide and a professional safari rider who will guide you on a circular ride that takes in savannah, dry river beds, hippo pools and glades where plains game graze. A standard ride lasts for two hours (led by either Martin Dodwell or his partner, Ali Mundy, and accompanied by members of their carefully trained team of grooms). Should you wish to ride for longer, or further, the ride can be tailored to your specification; and can even include a picnic breakfast. Ali and Martin will also take pictures of you as you gallop off across the plains, and email them to you later. After, return to the lodge for lunch.
Late afternoon, meet your guide for a special treat. As a nod to the romantic tale that was filmed on the site of Angama Mara, the lodge offers intimate picnics with evening sunset drinks on the crest of the Out of Africa Kopje that is featured on the movie's poster.
This experience is unique and only to be found at Angama Mara. For those guests who love the movie or are hopeless romantics, this is surely a highlight of your stay
Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Overnight: Angama Mara, Kenya (Luxury Tented Suite)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 10
Masai Mara Game Drive & Masai Village Tour
This morning, meet your guide and begin the day with a game drive. Highlights of the drive will include sightings of giraffe, buffalo, elephant, topi, Coke’s hartebeest, gazelle, zebra, impala, monkeys, lion, cheetah, birds, and more!
A visit to the Masai Mara region would not be complete without a visit to the nearby Maasai community, which delivers a unique insight into this age-old culture. In the heart of Maasailand, Angama Mara is surrounded by many traditional homestead manyattas that welcome travelers.
Here, enjoy a rare opportunity of gaining a deeper understanding into the everyday lives of the Maasai, their ways, their fascinating culture and what daily challenges they face in maintaining the fine balance between preserving their ancient ways and embracing the new. You may freely photograph the family and their homesteads and buy beautiful traditional jewelry directly from the ladies who craft it.
After return to the lodge. En route, stop at Shamba for a healthy and delicious lunch.
Kiswahili for the vegetable garden, the Shamba is a much-loved experience for Angama Mara’s guests. Within easy walking distance of the lodge guests often stop by on their way to or from the Reserve. The shamba keepers welcome guests at the passion fruit arbor which forms the entrance and guides them through the 1-acre kitchen garden encouraging them to pick and taste along the way. The layout is reminiscent of snakes and ladders and the shamba keepers share the story behind its unique design. This is no ordinary vegetable patch.
The lodge offers private shamba-to-table lunches in the garden under towering shady moth trees. Guests are free to pick their The lodge offers private shamba-to-table lunches in the garden under towering shady moth trees. Guests are free to pick their own ingredients which are then washed and readied for the freshest salads imaginable. Butlers prepare a wicker basket filled with loaves of bread, local cheese and chilled rosé wine to accompany the salads. Guests are left to while away the afternoon taking in sweeping views of the Mara below whilst watching the butterflies dance through the garden. After continue back to the lodge. A late afternoon game drive with sundowners awaits as you settle in to your last evening in the Mara.
Overnight: Angama Mara, Kenya (Luxury Tented Suite)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Included
Day 11
Masai Mara to Nairobi
Today, early morning walking safari or game drive with your guide.
Return to the lodge for breakfast and check out. After, transfer to the lodge airstrip for your private charter flight to Wilson airport in Nairobi. You are met upon arrival by your guide and transferred to your accommodation for check-in to Giraffe Manor, a most unique and famous lodge.
Proceed to the Talisman restaurant for lunch. Talisman is an elegant Gastrolounge with an eclectic twist. Located in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi, well above 6,000 feet (2,000 m) over sea level, the Talisman is half indoors and half outdoors, and almost every room in the place has one open wall. It is an amazing and lovely mixture of garden and restaurant. The garden has palm, acacia and eucalyptus trees with epiphytic orchids growing on them.
Following lunch, a scenic tour of Nairobi, after which you have the opportunity to take in some last-minute shopping.
This evening, enjoy dinner at the Chinese restaurant at the East Land Hotel. Here you can experience a gourmet of various exquisite delicacies, the very best of sumptuous Chinese/Oriental food, western food and delicious African cuisine.
Overnight in Nairobi.
Giraffe Manor
1 night
Giraffe Manor is one of Nairobi’s most iconic buildings: characterful, picturesque, and enveloped in history like the foliage creeping over its brickwork. Set in 12 acres of private land within 140 acres of indigenous forest in the Langata suburb of Nairobi and with verdant green gardens, sunny terraces and delightful courtyards, it harks back to the 1930s when European visitors first flocked to East Africa to enjoy safaris. With its stately façade and elegant interior, Giraffe Manor has an extraordinary appeal. Guests remark that it’s like walking into the film Out of Africa: indeed, one of its six suites is named after the author Karen Blixen.
The most fascinating thing about Giraffe Manor is not its beautiful façade or elegant interiors: it’s the herd of resident Rothschild giraffe. These beautiful creatures often visit morning and evening, poking their long necks into the windows in the hope.
Overnight: Giraffe Manor (Superior Room)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Included
Day 12
Nairobi Touring & Depart
After, breakfast at Giraffe Manor (and perhaps time to feed a giraffe or two) take a drive to Daphne Sheldricks Elephant Orphanage where you will get an opportunity to view these gentle giants and learn about the organization's rescue efforts.
Lunch today will be at Karen Blixen Coffe Garden Restaurant. The Historic Swedo House at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden and Cottages, Ltd. was the original hunting lodge/farmhouse which was built around 1906 to 1908. It is located approximately a half-mile from the Karen Blixen (Bogani House) museum and is 15 minutes from downtown Nairobi. It is the site of the original farmhouse of the property, which now is near the Karen Blixen Museum (of “Out of Africa”) and about half a mile from the Karen Golf and Country Club where guests can enjoy golfing, tennis, squash as well as other activities. The Coffee Garden sits only 5 ½ acres of land with large hundred-year-old trees and a beautiful garden with hundreds of different varieties of blooming flowers and a large population of birds.
Afterward, time for last-minute shopping or return to the hotel where we have reserved a day room for you to freshen up before your departure flight back home this evening.
Day Room: Giraffe Manor (Superior Room)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Included
JOURNEY PRICE: Please contact us for more information (Private Intra-Tour Helicopter and charter flights included)
The price of your journey will change based on travel dates and availability. Additions to the length of your itinerary will incur additional costs. Holiday supplements may apply.
START
Arusha, Tanzania
END
Nairobi, Kenya
TRIP LENGTH
12 Days
DESTINATIONS
Kilimanjaro - Arusha - Ngorongoro - Serengeti - Grumeti - Masai Mara - Nairobi
DATES
Starts Any Day
NOTE: The Daily Itinerary is subject to change depending upon local conditions and/or operational changes or improvements. The specific times and order of inclusions within each destination may also be altered to best accommodate unscheduled closures, special events, weather, traffic, etc.