Maasai Mara and Amboseli Classic Kenya Safari

6 Days / 5 Nights Classic Circuit Safaris Masai Mara National Reserve Private Safari 5.0 Rating
Maasai Mara and Amboseli Classic Kenya Safari

Overview

The Maasai Mara and Amboseli Classic Kenya Safari is the most requested itinerary by first time Kenya visitors and remains the definitive safari circuit for anyone seeking the full breadth of the Kenyan wildlife experience within a single journey. Beginning in the Maasai Mara, the global benchmark for African game viewing, guests enjoy three consecutive nights in the reserve that allow for an unhurried exploration of its many distinct zones and habitats. The central Mara plains are home to the densest lion populations in Africa, with multiple prides occupying overlapping territories that are regularly monitored by the Mara Predator Conservation Programme. The riverine forest along the Mara and Talek rivers shelters leopard, hippo, crocodile and a wealth of forest birds including African fish eagle and Schalow turaco. Three nights in the Mara also permits an early morning hot air balloon flight over the plains at dawn, an experience that transforms perspective entirely and delivers an intimacy with the landscape impossible from a vehicle. Moving south to Amboseli the safari enters a completely different sensory world dominated by the ever present spectacle of Mount Kilimanjaro rising from the flat African plain. Amboseli is the finest elephant destination on earth, home to individually identified elephant families whose histories stretch back through decades of scientific observation, and the park consistently produces the most iconic elephant photographs of any destination in Africa.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1
Nairobi to Maasai Mara
An early morning flight from Nairobi Wilson Airport carries you over the Rift Valley to the Maasai Mara in approximately 45 minutes, the most efficient and scenic way to begin a Kenya safari. Your guide and vehicle await at the Mara airstrip for an immediate entry into the reserve and your first afternoon game drive across the wide open plains. The western Mara circuit is explored on arrival day, covering the Mara Triangle area managed by the Mara Conservancy where wildlife densities are consistently exceptional.
Scheduled flight to Maasai Mara, Mara Triangle afternoon game drive, initial Big Five search, hippo pool visit, sunset on the Mara plains
Lunch and Dinner
Day 2
Full Day Maasai Mara North and River Circuit
A sunrise departure into the northern Mara covers the Mara North Conservancy where vehicle numbers are strictly limited and off road driving creates unparalleled wildlife access. The Mara River circuit follows the banks of this crocodile filled waterway to the known hippo pools and the main wildebeest crossing points. During the Great Migration season from July to October these crossing sites become the stage for the most dramatic wildlife event on earth. Year round the river corridor is outstanding for predator sightings, with lion and leopard regularly encountered in the riverine forest.
Mara North Conservancy game drive, Mara River hippo pools, crocodile viewing, Migration crossing site visit, leopard tracking, bush lunch in the reserve, afternoon plains circuit
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3
Maasai Mara Central Plains and Optional Balloon
The third and final full day in the Maasai Mara begins with an optional hot air balloon safari, the most extraordinary way to experience the Mara landscape. Drifting silently at dawn 30 to 300 metres above the plains reveals the full extent of the ecosystem and wildlife movements that are invisible from the ground. The balloon flight is followed by a champagne bush breakfast in the wild. For guests not taking the balloon the morning game drive focuses on the central Mara plains where the highest cheetah and lion density is found and views across the open savanna extend for kilometres in every direction.
Optional hot air balloon safari at dawn, champagne bush breakfast, central Mara plains full day drive, cheetah hunting territory circuit, big cat tracking, evening sundowner
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4
Maasai Mara to Amboseli National Park flying
After a final morning game drive in the Mara you will depart by vehicle southward through the Maasai community lands and across the Kenya Tanzania border corridor towards Amboseli. The journey takes approximately five hours with a refreshment stop and a cultural visit to a Maasai boma en route. Arrival at Amboseli in the late afternoon allows for an immediate entry into the park for your first encounter with the elephants and the legendary Kilimanjaro backdrop, which is often at its most dramatic in the late afternoon light.
Final Mara morning drive, road transfer through Maasai country, Maasai boma cultural visit, Amboseli afternoon entry game drive, first Kilimanjaro views, swamp circuit
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5
Full Day Amboseli Elephant Photography
Dawn in Amboseli is one of the most photographically rewarding moments in African wildlife tourism. As the mist lifts from the Enkongo Narok swamp and the summit of Kilimanjaro emerges above the clouds, elephant herds move between the reeds and the open grassland in a scene of timeless African beauty. Your guide draws on an extensive knowledge of individual elephant families to identify matriarchs, young bulls and new calves, transforming every elephant encounter into a personal narrative. Observation Hill in the centre of the park provides a panoramic view across the entire ecosystem from which the scale of the elephant activity is breathtaking.
Sunrise Kilimanjaro and elephant photography, swamp circuit game drive, Observation Hill panoramic views, elephant family identification, afternoon predator circuit, lion and cheetah on the open plains
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6
Amboseli to Nairobi
A final morning in Amboseli captures the clearest Kilimanjaro views of the entire safari before departing by road for Nairobi. The four hour return journey via Emali arrives in Nairobi by early afternoon. Private transfers to Nairobi hotels or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for all departing flights are included.
Final sunrise Kilimanjaro views, last Amboseli morning drive, road transfer to Nairobi, private airport or hotel transfer
Breakfast

What's Included

Included

  • Return airport transfers in a private safari vehicle
  • All game drives in a customised 4x4 safari Land Cruiser with a pop up roof
  • Full board accommodation throughout (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
  • Professional English speaking Kenya Wildlife Service certified safari guide
  • All national park and conservation area entry fees
  • Bottled mineral water throughout the safari
  • Flight between destinations where indicated in the itinerary
  • Complimentary airport meet and greet service
  • All government taxes and levies

Not Included

  • International flights to and from Nairobi
  • Visa fees (available on arrival for most nationalities at USD 51 per adult)
  • Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
  • Optional hot air balloon safari at the Maasai Mara (USD 480 per adult)
  • Alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages beyond water
  • Personal shopping and laundry
  • Tips and gratuities for guides, drivers and lodge staff
  • Any activities not specified in the itinerary
  • Single supplement surcharge where applicable

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