Kenya and Tanzania Family Safari
Kenya and Tanzania Family Safari
Kenya and Tanzania Family Safari
16 Days Starting and ending in Nairobi
Visiting: Nairobi, Arusha, Karatu, Serengeti National Park , Ngorongoro Conservation Area - Karatu, Mto Wa Mbu, Lake Nakuru , Lake Naivasha , Lake Naivasha, Great Rift Valley and Loita Hills , Masai Mara
Tour operator:
Tour code:
YGFAC
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Group size:
2 - 16
Age range:
5-99 years
Interests:
Tour Overview
Experience East Africa with your family as you discover the wildlife, history, people, culture and beauty that spans across this incredible landscape. Roam the famous Serengeti National Park, nearly 15,000 sq km of rolling savanna that shelters an astounding array of animals, from miniature dik-dik antelopes to the noble African elephant. Spot wildlife while taking in mind-blowing views from the edge of Ngorongoro Crater and listen to the sounds of the African night in a thrilling camping experience. This is also a human journey that puts you in the heart of the valleys once inhabited by some of humankind's earliest ancestors – where you’ll have the opportunity to learn from the Maasai community – hear about the customs and traditions of village life and even prepare a local Swahili dish. If you’re looking for a family adventure full of friendly folk and some of the best game-viewing in Africa, then this will truly be a trip to remember!
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1: Nairobi
Location: Nairobi
Accommodation: Heron Court Portico or similar
Jambo! Welcome to your Kenya and Tanzania Family Adventure. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 5 pm. You can arrive at any time as there are no activities planned until this important meeting. If you and your family arrive early, perhaps head out and explore the National Museum of Kenya, the Karen Blixen Museum or the highly recommended Bomas of Kenya where traditional homesteads of several Kenyan tribes are displayed in an outdoor village.Â
Optional Activities:
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Day 2: Arusha
Location: Arusha
Accommodation: Summit Lodge or similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch
Hit the road after breakfast as you drive across the border to Tanzania and your overnight stop, Arusha. Located at the base of volcanic Mt Meru, Arusha is the gateway to safari destinations and to Africa's highest peak – the 5895 m Mt Kilimanjaro, lying some 100 kilometres northeast. After setting up the campsite on arrival, you and your family can relax and have a swim in the pool.
Day 3: Karatu
Location: Karatu
Accommodation: Kudu Camping Ground with facilities or similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Take a short drive to the small town of Kisongo where you and your family get to enjoy a fun day with some local ‘Mamas’ (the name for female artisans in Tanzania) First, the women will teach you how to prepare a local Swahili dish for lunch. After enjoying your creations, you’ll get the chance to take a closer look into their lives. With help from a translator, the women will lead smaller groups around their village. Visit their homes and see how a traditional boma (small hut made of mud and cow dung) is set up. You’ll also get to meet their families and learn about Maasai culture. After this illuminating day, drive to the small town of Karatu, the gateway to the Ngorongoro Crater. Have a good night’s sleep before we head on safari tomorrow!
Included Activities:
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Day 4: Serengeti National Park
Location: Serengeti National Park
Accommodation: Serengeti NP Camping Ground or similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Travel from Karatu to the gate of Serengeti National Park and have a picnic lunch at the entrance. Enter the Serengeti and enjoy a game drive on the way to your campsite. The vast plains of the Serengeti – green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry season – are home to thousands of hoofed animals and fierce predators. Flat and rolling, with long grass and acacia trees, these plains get their name from the Maasai word siringet – 'The place where the land moves on forever'. Your campsite is right in the action, within the park itself, so listen out for the sounds of nocturnal animals as you drift off to sleep.
Included Activities:
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Day 5: Serengeti National Park
Location: Serengeti National Park
Accommodation: Serengeti NP Camping Ground or similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Start the day with a game drive at dawn. You will head out while the animals are at their most active, then head back to camp for brunch at around 11 am. After spending the warmer part of the day relaxing, as the animals do, depart again at dusk for another adventure through the wild before returning in time for dinner. There's also the option of a balloon ride over the park today, which makes for an excellent family activity. If you have pre-booked this activity (please see the ‘Notes' section) you will be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site. After a safety briefing, you will glide through the sunrise, sometimes at tree height, which provides amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you will ascend, getting an overview of the enormity of the plains and the early morning movements of the teeming herds. After landing, you'll be treated to a five-star bush breakfast, before being returned to your camp.
Included Activities:
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Optional Activities:
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Day 6: Ngorongoro Conservation Area - Karatu
Location: Ngorongoro Conservation Area - Karatu
Accommodation: Flamingo Lodge campsite or similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch
Enjoy a game drive on your way out of the park today. After lunch you and your family will enter the Ngorongoro Conservation area. A gigantic, perfectly intact volcanic crater, Ngorongoro is home to some 30,000 animals. Among these are endangered black rhinos, lions, leopards, elephants, impalas, zebras and hippos. The crater floor offers excellent game viewing all year round, and the photo opportunities here are unrivalled. We jump in some 4WDs and head into the crater itself for three to four hours where the kids (and adults!) can enjoy spotting the animals. Leaving the park we head to Karatu - our overnight stop were the kids can take a swim in the campsite pool.
Included Activities:
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Day 7: Mto Wa Mbu
Location: Mto Wa Mbu
Accommodation: Twiga Lodge & Campsite or similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch
After breakfast take a short 30-minute drive to Mto Wa Mbu where you will camp for the night. Upon arrival, join the local community for a guided afternoon stroll around the farming areas, milling machine and local homes before enjoying a traditional meal. This afternoon you can relax around the campsite or have a swim in the pool.
Included Activities:
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Day 8: Nairobi
Location: Nairobi
Meals Included: breaksfast
Set off early this morning (around 7.30 am), heading for the border with Kenya and then on to Nairobi. Upon arrival in Nairobi, you'll be dropped at tthe hotel where the rest of the day is yours to relax.
Day 9: Nairobi
Location: Nairobi
Accommodation: Heron Court Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast
You will have a free day to do as you please, if you didn't get a chance the first day why not head out to the National Museum of Kenya or the Karen Blixen Museum. Or simply have a day by the pool.
You will have a meeting at 5pm to talk through the next part of your trip in Kenya. The meeting will take place in the foyer.Â
Day 10: Lake Nakuru
Location: Lake Nakuru
Accommodation: Nakuru Camp site
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Today will be a long day of adventuring. After breakfast, you will visit Langata Giraffe Sanctuary. This conservation project allows you to see the animals up close while learning more about them and their plight in the modern world.Â
After lunch, head out of Nairobi towards Lake Nakuru (approximately 4-5 hours), arriving in time to pitch a tent at the campsite before the sun goes down.
The alkaline waters of Lake Nakuru once supported an extremely large colony of flamingos – estimated to be up to two million strong! Over the course of the year the lake changes size considerably, shrinking to its smallest in March at the end of the dry season, and changing the type of birdlife and wildlife that inhabit the area. Unfortunately changes in water levels and chemical concentration caused the permanent population of flamingos to move elsewhere in the 1970s, however the lush area around the lake remains known for its bird life.
Included Activities:
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Day 11: Lake Naivasha
Location: Lake Naivasha
Accommodation: Fish Eagle Inn
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Head out on an early morning game drive around Lake Nakuru. Keep a lookout for the white rhinos that can often be found around the shores.
Afterwards, encounter friendly locals on a village visit before moving on to Lake Naivasha (approx: 2-3 hour drive). Lake Naivasha is a birdwatcher's paradise with floating islands of papyrus reeds. Afternoon wind and storms can cause the lake to become suddenly rough and produce high waves. For this reason, the local Maasai christened the lake Nai'posha meaning 'rough water’, which the British later misspelt as Naivasha.
There is an option to hire a bike and pedal around the lake this afternoon if you wish to stretch your legs after the drive.
Included Activities:
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Optional Activities:
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Day 12: Lake Naivasha
Location: Lake Naivasha
Accommodation: Fish Eagle Inn
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
After a camp breakfast, head towards Crater Lake and take part in a guided walk along one of the many trails. The waters of the lake draw a great range of game. Giraffes wander among the acacia, buffaloes wallow in the swamps and Colobus monkeys call from the treetops, while the lake’s large hippo population while away the day in the shallows. The easy walk is takes 3 hours and we recommend you bring with you good sturdy foot wear. Later you may like to take an optional boat ride across the lake or simply relax at camp and take advantage of the swimming pool.Â
The afternoon is free to relax around the camp and take advantage of the swimming pool.Â
Included Activities:
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Optional Activities:
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Day 13: Great Rift Valley And Loita Hills
Location: Great Rift Valley and Loita Hills
Accommodation: Loita Hills Campsite
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Depart Lake Naivasha, making a short stop in Narok to do a spot of food shopping. Continue to Loita Hills (approximately 5-6 hours), stopping for lunch en route. Today's drive crosses the Great Rift Valley, Africa's immense and spectacular great divide, and takes you into the remote region of Loita Hills. This is the home of the traditional Maasai people. Visit the Maasai, who are known for their vibrant red dress and elaborate jewellery, and gain an insight into the culture and ancient ways of this proud East African community. After setting up your tent, meet your Maasai hosts. A local elder will deliver a fascinating talk about the Maasai and their history and culture. You'll be shown around a traditional Maasai home and see where the resident cattle are kept. Showers, upgrades and WiFi are not available at tonight's bush camp.
Included Activities:
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Day 14: Masai Mara
Location: Masai Mara
Accommodation: Mara Springs Camp
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Travel from Loita to Masai Mara (approximately 1-2 hours). The road is dusty when dry, and could be slippery and soft when wet, so the going may be slow. The Masai Mara is the quintessential African experience, with sparse open plains, dramatic skies and some of the world's most tremendous animals. After setting up camp, sit down to some lunch, then jump back in the truck and go for a 3 hour game drive through the wilderness of the Mara.
Your campground tonight is located outside of the national reserve and has flush toilets and showers. There is an option to upgrade, depending on availability. WiFi is not available here.
Included Activities:
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Day 15: Masai Mara
Location: Masai Mara
Accommodation: Mara Springs Camp
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Rise early and venture into the Masai Mara National Reserve for a full day of game driving (6hours). Explore this diverse environment and see a multitude of wildlife. Return to camp for lunch by the side of the Mara River – a great chance to spot crocs and hippos. Relax during the heat of the day before setting off again in the afternoon, expecting to return to camp around sunset. We'll stop en-route for a picnic lunch.
Included Activities:
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Day 16: Nairobi
Location: Nairobi
Meals Included: breaksfast
Cross the plains of the Mara and climb the Rift Valley’s eastern wall past Mount Suswa on the return drive to Nairobi (approximately 6 hours). En route there may be opportunities to stop and make some final purchases. Once back in Nairobi perhaps enjoy a final dinner with the group in a local restaurant and reflect on this incredible African adventure.
If you're flying out today, please book a flight after 6:00pm.
What's Included
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Accommodation
Hotels (5 nights), Camping with basic facilities (8 nights), Cottage (2 nights) -
Kisongo - Cooking class, crafts & village walk
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Serengeti National Park - Overland Vehicle Game Drive
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Serengeti National Park - Overland Vehicle Game drive
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Mto wa Mbu - Village walk and lunch
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Nairobi - Langata Giraffe Sanctuary
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Lake Nakuru - Village walk
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Lake Nakuru - Overland Vehicle Game Drive
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Lake Naivasha - Game Walk in Crater Lake Game Sanctuary (entrance fee)
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Loita Hills - Cultural talk and village visit
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Loita Hills - Maasai Village Visit
Transport
- Our trucks are purpose-built, self contained safari vehicles. Our fleet of vehicles varies depending on your group size, trip route and style. Your vehicle type may differ from those listed above. It is also important to note that our overland vehicles are not air-conditioned, but all vehicles have windows that can be opened to allow for fresh air. Each seat will have access to a power socket to charge your devices. This outlet will use a UK/Kenyan 3 pronged outlet.
- There are many early starts with long hours spent driving on rough roads on all African itineraries. While most people love the chance to watch the changing landscape and daily village life, feedback shows that long periods of inactivity does not appeal to all clients. We provide the approximate distance covered each day and how many hours this normally takes to drive so that you can choose the safari experience that is right for you.
- African conditions are extremely tough on vehicles. While we fastidiously maintain our vehicles at our workshops, you should not expect Africa to be your traditional touring experience. While it's certainly our aim to avoid them, it's important that you set off on your trip knowing that the occasional breakdown can happen and are best treated as part of the African adventure. Due to wet weather there may be times when we have to take an alternative route which will mean longer travel times.
Accommodation
- Accommodation on this trip is mainly in two-person canvas dome tents with camping mattresses supplied.
- The type and variety of accommodation are determined by conditions on each of our routes. Each route is different - on some, we use a mixture of campsites and wild camps; on others, we also use hotels. In Africa, it's not usually practical to camp when staying in towns and cities, so we use hotel accommodations and eat out in local restaurants.
- There may be the occasional night stop when we stay on the grounds of a hotel or at a campsite, which may also have rooms/cabins available. In this case, there may be a choice of camping or upgrading to a room. Rooms cost approximately USD 40-100 per room per night for a twin room and cannot be pre-booked. Standards of these rooms vary greatly, and we recommend viewing the room before purchasing the night's accommodation. The day-by-day itinerary advises when upgrades may be possible (subject to availability).
- Keep in mind that if we are staying in dormitory accommodation, you may have to share with other passengers or be split into same-sex rooms.
- Campsites do have facilities, but they usually aren't to the same standard you would find in Western countries. For example, the bathroom facilities can be very basic. Toilet paper is rarely provided, and shower facilities can be as simple as a hose pipe spurting out cold water. Wild camps have no facilities at all.
- At times, there may be spare tents in the vehicles. Unfortunately, these cannot be used without the purchase of a single supplement. This is to ensure the tents avoid wear and tear or are clean and ready for the customers arriving on the next section of the trip.
Important Information
- Travellers on Intrepid trips that start on or before 31 December 2022 are required to produce proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. Learn more about Intrepid’s COVID-19 policy.
- 1. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights of your trip and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
- 2. Please note that these trips are for adults and children travelling together and there must be at least one child under 18 with you.
- 3. Minimum age for children on this trip is 5 years old.
- 4. A discount of 10% applies on this trip to children 17 years and under at time of travel.
Mode of Transport
- Our trucks are purpose-built, self contained safari vehicles. Our fleet of vehicles varies depending on your group size, trip route and style. Your vehicle type may differ from those listed above. It is also important to note that our overland vehicles are not air-conditioned, but all vehicles have windows that can be opened to allow for fresh air. Each seat will have access to a power socket to charge your devices. This outlet will use a UK/Kenyan 3 pronged outlet.
- There are many early starts with long hours spent driving on rough roads on all African itineraries. While most people love the chance to watch the changing landscape and daily village life, feedback shows that long periods of inactivity does not appeal to all clients. We provide the approximate distance covered each day and how many hours this normally takes to drive so that you can choose the safari experience that is right for you.
- African conditions are extremely tough on vehicles. While we fastidiously maintain our vehicles at our workshops, you should not expect Africa to be your traditional touring experience. While it's certainly our aim to avoid them, it's important that you set off on your trip knowing that the occasional breakdown can happen and are best treated as part of the African adventure. Due to wet weather there may be times when we have to take an alternative route which will mean longer travel times.
Accommodation
- Accommodation on this trip is mainly in two-person canvas dome tents with camping mattresses supplied.
- The type and variety of accommodation is determined by conditions on each of our routes. Each route is different - on some we use a mixture of campsites and wild camps; on others we also use hotels. In Africa it's not usually practical to camp when staying in towns and cities so we use hotel accommodation and eat out in local restaurants.
- There may be the occasional night stop, when we stay in the grounds of a hotel or at a campsite which may also have rooms/cabins available. In this case there may be a choice of camping or upgrading to a room. Rooms cost approximately USD60-120 per room per night for a twin room and cannot be pre-booked. Standards of these rooms vary greatly and we recommend viewing the room before purchasing the nights accommodation. The day by day itinerary advises when upgrades may be possible (subject to availability).
- Keep in mind that if we are staying in dormitory accommodation, you may have to share with other passengers or be split into same sex rooms.
- Campsites do have facilities but they usually aren't to the same standard you would find in western countries. For example the bathroom facilities can be very basic. There is rarely toilet paper provided and shower facilities can be as simple as a hose pipe spurting out cold water. Wild camps have no facilities at all.
- At times there may be spare tents in the vehicles. Unfortunately these cannot be used without purchase of a single supplement. This is to ensure the tents avoid wear and tear, or are clean and ready for the customers arriving on the next section of the trip.
Check out our Q&As
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Is this trip right for you
Please take into consideration if you are travelling with younger children that the going can be slow over the long distances and often bumpy roads. A little bit of patience will go a long way towards your enjoyment of this beautiful land! Some days have driving times of 6-7 hours. Furthermore there will be early mornings, when Africa is at its best.
This is a participatory camping trip and everyone will embrace the team spirit by helping with camp setup, food preparation and cleaning. You and your family will be putting up and taking down your tent as you move from place to place.
In Loita Hills (Day 13) you will stay in a bush camp with no shower facilities. The rewards of experiencing the Maasai culture, however, should more than make up for the lack of creature comforts.
Our purpose-built overland vehicles allow for excellent game viewing, equipped with large sliding windows. They have no air-conditioning, however, so they can get dusty and hot at times.
Please consider the season and research the weather conditions. Remember to come prepared with adequate clothing. -
What policies are in place for Covid-19?
Please contact us for latest COVID-19 policies
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How long has the tour company been trading?
Intrepid Travel has been taking travellers around the world for over 30 years
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Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?
Yes
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What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?
Since 2002, The Intrepid Foundation has supported over 130 organisations across the world. We’re creating positive impact through the joy of travel, community and connection.
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Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?
Over 50% of traveller travel solo with Intrepid. You can choose to share a room with another solo travelle of the same sex for no additional charge, or choose to pay a single supplement if you’d like your own room. Please request this when booking, and we will secure you a single supplement wherever possible. Please note, if you are booking a last-minute trip, it may be harder for us to secure a single room
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Free Date Changes
Intrepid Travel allows you to make 10 free date changes, as long as the change is made at least 56 days before the start of the tour.
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Transfer as credit to Future Tours
Intrepid Travel allows you to transfer existing payments to a future tour to avoid cancellation fees if you can't travel and inform intrepid travel, 56 days before departure.
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Low Deposit
Intrepid Travel requires a minimum deposit of 400 USD per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 56 days before departure.
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of intrepid travel charges.
Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.
At 55 days before tour starts: Forfeit 30% of booking price.
At 30 days before tour starts: Forfeit 60% of booking price.
At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.
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Terms and Conditions