The East Africa Wildlife Safari: 9-Day Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari (Copy)
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About This Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari
This 9-day Maasai Mara and Serengeti safari takes you through the two halves of East Africa’s greatest wildlife ecosystem, then down into the Ngorongoro Crater. Known as The East Africa Wildlife Safari, it starts in Nairobi, spends three nights in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, crosses into Tanzania for the Serengeti and finishes in Arusha.
Quick Answer
This Maasai Mara and Serengeti safari is a 9-day, 8-night road safari with The Out Of Africa Experience. It includes 1 night in Nairobi, 3 nights in the Maasai Mara, 2 nights in the Serengeti and 2 nights in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, crossing from Kenya into Tanzania at the Isebania border. All safari nights are full board, and park and conservancy fees are included.
Instead of returning to Nairobi, you drive directly from the Mara to the Serengeti, so you follow the same plains the Great Migration crosses each year. The trip ends with a full day in the Ngorongoro Crater, home to black rhino and some of Africa’s densest wildlife. The Out Of Africa Experience is a Nairobi-based safari operator that has run private safaris since 2005, and we can adjust this itinerary to your dates and interests.
Duration
9 Days / 8 Nights
Start / End
Nairobi / Arusha
Parks
Maasai Mara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro
Border
Isebania (by road)
Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari Highlights
🦁 Three nights in the Maasai Mara for big cats and plains game
🌍 Direct road crossing from the Mara to the Serengeti at Isebania
🐃 Two nights on the endless plains of the Serengeti
🦏 A full day in the Ngorongoro Crater, home to black rhino
🦩 Thousands of lesser flamingos on the crater’s Lake Magadi
🎈 Optional sunrise balloon safari over the Mara
Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari Itinerary: Day by Day
Tap each day to see the details.
Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi
🛏 Overnight: Tamarind Tree Hotel or equivalent (Bed & Breakfast)
On arrival at the airport in Nairobi, our representative meets you and, after a pre-safari briefing, transfers you to your city hotel.
Day 2: Nairobi – Maasai Mara National Reserve
🛏 Overnight: Ashnil Mara Tented Camp or equivalent (Full Board)
After breakfast, your Maasai Mara and Serengeti safari heads for the Mara, driving through the Great Rift Valley and across the vast plains of the African savannah. Arrive in time for lunch, followed by an early afternoon at leisure, then enjoy a late-afternoon game drive.
Days 3–4: Maasai Mara National Reserve
🛏 Overnight: Ashnil Mara Tented Camp or equivalent (Full Board)
Spend two full days in the reserve, choosing early-morning and evening game drives, or half-day and full-day drives with packed lunches, to look for lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants and the Mara’s abundant plains game.
Optional (extra cost): A Maasai village visit, or a sunrise balloon safari over the Mara.
Day 5: Maasai Mara – Isebania Border – Serengeti National Park
🛏 Overnight: Mara Mara Tented Lodge or equivalent (Full Board)
After an early breakfast, drive to the Kenya–Tanzania border at Isebania. After a brief stop at the Isebania border, our Tanzanian crew meets you, and you continue to Serengeti National Park with a packed lunch on the way. Spend the afternoon at leisure, then enjoy a late-afternoon game drive.
About the Serengeti: The Serengeti is famous for its annual migration of over 1.5 million wildebeest and around 250,000 zebra, and for its large Nile crocodiles. Its name comes from the Maasai word siringet, meaning “the place where the land runs on forever”. The park is usually divided into three regions: the Serengeti Plains, the Western Corridor and the Northern Serengeti.
Day 6: Full Day in the Serengeti
🛏 Overnight: Mara Mara Tented Lodge or equivalent (Full Board)
Spend the day exploring the Serengeti on this East Africa wildlife safari, choosing a half-day or full-day game drive, or separate morning and afternoon drives.
Day 7: Serengeti – Ngorongoro Conservation Area
🛏 Overnight: Kitela Lodge or equivalent (Full Board)
After breakfast, drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, arriving for lunch, with the afternoon at leisure to take in this remarkable landscape.
About the Ngorongoro Crater: The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its centrepiece, the Ngorongoro Crater, is the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera, about 610 metres deep with a floor covering around 260 km². It formed two to three million years ago when a large volcano exploded and collapsed. The crater is home to black rhino, lions, hyenas, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, eland and Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, while Lake Magadi often attracts thousands of lesser flamingos. Giraffes are absent from the crater floor.
Day 8: Full Day in the Ngorongoro Crater
🛏 Overnight: The Crater Forest Lodge or equivalent (Full Board)
Spend a full day on a Ngorongoro Crater game drive, with a picnic lunch from the lodge, looking for black rhino and the crater’s dense wildlife. A Maasai village visit is available at extra cost.
Day 9: Ngorongoro – Arusha – Departure
After breakfast, transfer to Arusha in time for your shuttle to Nairobi, or to the airport for your connecting flight home or your chosen extension. The shuttle or flight to Nairobi is not included.
End of your Maasai Mara and Serengeti safari.
What’s Included
✓ Accommodation as listed
✓ Meals as per the itinerary and each lodge’s meal plan
✓ Park fees and conservancy fees
✓ Safari vehicle with a pop-up roof
✓ Airport transfers
✓ English-speaking driver-guide
✓ 1 litre of bottled water per person per day
Not Included
✗ Visas
✗ International flights
✗ Shuttle or flight to Nairobi on the last day
✗ Lodge services such as laundry, massage and drinks
✗ Balloon safaris and Maasai village visits
✗ Items of a personal nature
✗ Tips and gratuities
Meal plans: Bed & Breakfast includes accommodation and breakfast. Full Board includes accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Easter and festive season supplements apply; contact us for details.
Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari: Frequently Asked Questions
How many nights are spent in each park?
1 night in Nairobi, 3 nights in the Maasai Mara, 2 nights in the Serengeti and 2 nights in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area: 8 nights in total.
How do you travel from the Maasai Mara to the Serengeti?
By road, crossing the Kenya–Tanzania border at Isebania on day 5. Our Tanzanian crew meets you at the border and continues the safari. Visas are not included, so arrange your entry documents for both countries before you travel.
Can you see the Great Migration on this safari?
The Maasai Mara and the Serengeti are the two halves of the same migration ecosystem. From July to October, the herds are usually in the Maasai Mara and northern Serengeti; for the rest of the year, they move through other parts of the Serengeti.
Is the balloon safari included?
No. Balloon safaris and Maasai village visits are optional extras at additional cost.
Where does the safari end?
In Arusha, Tanzania, on day 9. From there, you can take a shuttle or flight to Nairobi to connect with your flight home. The shuttle or flight is not included.
Want more time and Amboseli too? See our 12-Day Kenya and Tanzania Safari, or browse all our Kenya and Tanzania safaris.
Book Your Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari
Contact our Nairobi team or use the Plan My Trip form. Every itinerary can be adjusted to your dates, group size and budget.
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