There is a reason the crossing between the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti is spoken of the way people speak of the Northern Lights, an event, not merely a place. This six-day journey takes you from Nairobi into the heart of the Maasai Mara, across the Kenya-Tanzania border, and on into the Serengeti itself, tracking one of the last truly great overland wildlife migrations left on earth.
You begin gently, a night in Nairobi to settle in and plan the days ahead, before the Great Rift Valley opens up before you on the road south. The Maasai Mara delivers the Big Five with a generosity few reserves can match, and from there the journey continues across the border into Tanzania’s Serengeti, the oldest national park in the country and, for many safari-goers, the finest stage for game viewing anywhere in Africa. Travel between July and October, and you may witness the wildebeest migration itself, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle moving between the two ecosystems in a single, unbroken procession.
This is a safari built for travellers who want more than one country’s worth of Africa, guided privately, at an unhurried pace, from the moment you land to the moment you fly home.
This itinerary suits travellers who want the full arc of East Africa's safari story, Kenya and Tanzania both, rather than settling for one side of the border. It is especially rewarding for anyone travelling between July and October, when the wildebeest migration itself becomes part of the itinerary, but it holds its own at any time of year on the strength of the Mara and Serengeti's resident wildlife alone. Well suited to first-time safari travellers.
While the Maasai Mara and Serengeti reward visitors throughout the year, this itinerary is built around the border crossing itself, so July to October is the strongest window, when the wildebeest migration is most likely to be moving between the two ecosystems. Outside that window, both parks remain excellent for Big Five sightings and general game viewing, simply without the added spectacle of the crossing in progress.
Karibu, welcome to Kenya. Your private guide meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and drives you into Nairobi, Kenya’s capital and your first taste of the country before the safari proper begins. Depending on your arrival time, a gentle city tour is easily arranged, enough to get your bearings without tiring you before the road ahead. At your hotel, you’ll settle in over a good meal and use the evening to run through the days to come with your guide, questions answered, preferences noted, before an early night ahead of tomorrow’s journey to the Maasai Mara.
After an early breakfast, your guide collects you for the 280-kilometre drive to the Maasai Mara, a journey that is very much part of the experience rather than a means to an end. Along the way, you’ll stop at the Great Rift Valley viewpoint, taking in one of the longest rift valleys on earth, stretching from Lebanon all the way to Mozambique, before continuing through Narok, the last town before the Mara itself. Roughly six hours after leaving Nairobi, you arrive at your lodge or camp for a moment to relax, refresh and take lunch, before heading straight back out for your first Maasai Mara game drive of the afternoon.
The Maasai Mara rarely disappoints, and an afternoon game drive here regularly delivers all of the Big Five in a single outing: lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo and rhino. Beyond the headline species, the reserve is rich with bat-eared fox, hyena, cheetah, jackal, impala, duiker, Coke’s hartebeest, Masai giraffe and roan antelope, among a great deal more. It is a day best taken slowly, with time to let the landscape and its wildlife reveal themselves at their own pace. Return to your lodge as the light fades for dinner and an overnight stay.
Breakfast comes early, ahead of the drive to the Kenya-Tanzania border. Once formalities are complete, you continue into the Northern Serengeti corridor, and the drive itself becomes a game viewing opportunity in its own right, with wildlife behaviour shifting subtly the further you travel from the Mara. Visit between July and October, and you stand a real chance of witnessing the great wildebeest migration in progress, one of the most celebrated natural events on the planet, as huge numbers of wildebeest move alongside zebra, topi and Thomson’s gazelle between the Serengeti and the Mara. On arrival, you check into your lodge, with the rest of the evening given over to a proper meal and a quiet contemplation of the days still ahead.
The Serengeti is Tanzania’s oldest national park and, by most measures, its finest for game viewing, and today is entirely dedicated to it. After breakfast, you head out with a packed lunch for a full day exploring different sections of the park, chasing the kind of sightings a single game drive can never quite capture: the Big Five alongside the park’s wider wildlife, all set against grasslands that seem to run on without end. Bring a camera. Few days on this safari will ask more of it. As the sun sets, you return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay, the day’s sightings still very much the topic of conversation.
The last day of your safari begins gently, with breakfast and a final check-out from your Serengeti lodge before transferring to the airstrip for a flight via Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport, connecting on to your journey home. Six days is not long to hold two countries, but this one manages it without ever feeling rushed. For travellers not quite ready to leave, this safari extends easily to include Zanzibar or other Tanzanian destinations, simply raise it with your guide or our team and we’ll build it in.
Pricing
Rates for this safari are provided on enquiry and tailored to travel dates, lodge selection, group size and any extensions such as Zanzibar. Speak with our team for a bespoke quotation.
Why travel with us
We keep group sizes intentionally small so every guest gets the attention, flexibility, and authenticity a safari deserves.
Our guides are born from the landscapes they lead. Decades of knowledge, sharp eyes, and a genuine passion for East African wildlife.
From comprehensive pre-trip briefings to 24-hour in-country support, your safety and comfort are always our first consideration.
Every safari we operate contributes to wildlife conservation and local community projects across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
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