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10 days · Kenya & Tanzania · Budget

10 Days Best Kenya & Tanzania Budget Wildlife Safari

Ten days on the core cross-border route: the Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli in Kenya, then Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania — the best of both countries on a budget.

  • 10 days
  • Kenya & Tanzania
  • Budget
  • Starts Nairobi
  • Ends Arusha
Lion lioness tree

Safari snapshot

At a glance

The essentials for comparing this journey before you enquire.

Duration
10 days
Country
Kenya & Tanzania
Destinations
Maasai Mara · Lake Nakuru · Amboseli · Lake Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro Crater
Safari style
Budget
Price
$1,680–$1,880 pp
Starts
Nairobi
Ends
Arusha

Best for

  • Two-country safaris
  • First safari
  • Travellers on a budget

The route

From Nairobi to Arusha

  1. Stop 1Nairobi
  2. Stop 2Maasai Mara
  3. Stop 3Lake Nakuru
  4. Stop 4Amboseli
  5. Stop 5Arusha
  6. Stop 6Lake Manyara
  7. Stop 7Serengeti
  8. Stop 8Ngorongoro Crater
  9. Stop 9Arusha

Safari highlights

What shapes the journey

  • Two nights in the Maasai Mara
  • Two nights in Amboseli beneath Kilimanjaro
  • Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater
  • Transport between Nairobi and Tanzania included

Day by day

Ten days, day by day.

The plan is a guide: timings may change with road and park conditions and your group's interests. Wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed.

Giraffe acacia seen during an East African safari

Day 1

Nairobi → Maasai Mara

The safari begins

Your Kenya and Tanzania safari begins with a confirmed pick-up in Nairobi and a short briefing. Depart between 8 and 8.30am and drive via the Great Rift Valley viewpoint, with its views of the escarpment wall, then continue through Narok to the Maasai Mara. Check in at camp for lunch, then enjoy your first Mara game drive until sunset, followed by dinner and a bonfire.

Overnight
Maasai Mara · camp or lodge
Main activities
Rift Valley viewpoint · Afternoon game drive

Day 2

Maasai Mara National Reserve

Searching for the Big Five

Spend a full day exploring the Maasai Mara, one of Kenya's finest wildlife areas. After breakfast, leave with packed lunches for an extensive game drive in search of the Big Five and other wildlife in their natural habitat. Elephant, buffalo, leopard, cheetah, hyena, antelope, gazelle, zebra, giraffe, lion, hippo and crocodile are all possible, along with many bird species.

Overnight
Maasai Mara · camp or lodge
Main activities
Full-day game drive

Day 3

Maasai Mara → Lake Nakuru

Maasai culture and the Rift Valley

After breakfast, visit a local Maasai village for a cultural tour, learning about Maasai traditions, homesteads and dances (optional, extra cost). Then drive through the scenic Rift Valley to Nakuru, leaving the Mara's grassland for farmland, escarpments and volcanic hills. It is a gentler day after two full days in the reserve. Arrive in the early evening for dinner and the night.

Overnight
Lake Nakuru · camp or lodge
Wildebeest herd seen during an East African safari

Day 4

Lake Nakuru → Amboseli

Rhinos in the morning, Amboseli by nightfall

Check out after breakfast and head into Lake Nakuru National Park for a morning game drive. The park is known for its birdlife and flamingos, and for protecting both black and white rhino; buffalo and Rothschild's giraffe are often seen in the woodland near the shore. Afterwards, drive south past Nairobi to Amboseli National Park, a long transfer that ends in Kilimanjaro country, arriving in the evening at camp for dinner.

Overnight
Amboseli · camp or lodge
Main activities
Morning game drive · Long transfer

Day 5

Amboseli National Park

Viewpoints and elephant swamps

Breakfast with views of Mount Kilimanjaro, weather permitting, then leave at 8am for a full day across the Amboseli plains. Stop at the Amboseli viewpoint for panoramic views of the park and the mountain. After a picnic lunch, continue with an afternoon drive around the swamps, where elephants and other animals gather to drink. Return to camp for dinner and a bonfire.

Overnight
Amboseli · camp or lodge
Main activities
Full-day game drive · Picnic lunch

Day 6

Amboseli → Arusha

Across the Namanga border

After an early breakfast, check out and enjoy a final game drive on the way to the Namanga border — about two and a half hours from Amboseli's Kimana Gate. Complete immigration and health procedures, then continue into Tanzania, passing Maasai plains and the slopes of Mount Meru. Arrive in Arusha for dinner and the night at your hotel, ready for the Tanzanian half of the safari.

Overnight
Arusha
Main activities
Game drive en route · Border crossing
Lion lioness tree

Day 7

Arusha → Lake Manyara

Tree-climbing lions and flamingos

Your driver-guide meets you at the hotel for a short briefing, then depart with packed lunches for Lake Manyara National Park. This soda lake is known for flamingos and beautiful scenery, and the park is famous for tree-climbing lions, as well as elephant, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, warthog, baboon and smaller species such as dik-dik and klipspringer.

Overnight
Lake Manyara · camp or lodge
Main activities
Game drive

Day 8

Lake Manyara → Serengeti

Olduvai Gorge and the Serengeti plains

After breakfast, continue to the Serengeti, stopping at Olduvai Gorge, where early human remains were discovered; the museum visit is optional. On arrival, head into Serengeti National Park, one of Africa's most famous safari destinations, known for the migration and home to elephant, cheetah, lion, giraffe and many bird species. Dinner and overnight at a tented camp in the central Serengeti.

Overnight
Serengeti · camp or lodge
Main activities
Game drive

Day 9

Serengeti → Ngorongoro

A last Serengeti drive

After breakfast, enjoy your final Serengeti game drive as you search for lion prides and other animals across the plains. Then leave the park for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with an optional community visit on the way, climbing from the grassland into cool, forested highlands. Dinner, bonfire and the night on the crater rim, with the descent into the caldera planned for the morning.

Overnight
Ngorongoro · camp or lodge
Main activities
Morning game drive
Lion male lion golden grass

Day 10

Ngorongoro Crater → Arusha

Six hours in a natural wonder

After breakfast, descend 600 metres into the Ngorongoro Crater for a six-hour game drive. Its woodland, savannah and highland slopes support a high concentration of wildlife — look out for rhino, lion, leopard, cheetah, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo and elephant. Later, drive back to Arusha for drop-off at your hotel on a bed-and-breakfast basis.

Main activities
Crater game drive

Recommended accommodation

Where you stay.

Named properties are the ones used for this package. Nights listed by category are confirmed with your quotation, subject to availability.

Accommodation category

Overnight at the camp/lodge

Budget · Maasai Mara · 2 nights

Accommodation category

Overnight at the camp/lodge

Budget · Lake Nakuru · 1 night

Accommodation category

Overnight at the camp/lodge

Budget · Amboseli · 2 nights

Accommodation category

Overnight in Arusha

Arusha · 1 night

Accommodation category

Overnight at the camp/lodge

Budget · Lake Manyara · 1 night

Accommodation category

Overnight at the camp/lodge

Budget · Serengeti · 1 night

Accommodation category

Overnight at the camp/lodge

Budget · Ngorongoro · 1 night

What’s included

Clear from the start.

  • Transport in a safari Land Cruiser
  • Accommodation as per itinerary
  • Two nights' accommodation in Arusha
  • Three meals per day while on safari
  • Services of a professional driver-guide
  • All park entrance fees
  • Scheduled game drives
  • Transport from Nairobi to Tanzania and back to Nairobi
  • One litre of mineral water per person per day

What’s not included

No hidden assumptions.

  • Personal insurance
  • Personal items
  • Alcoholic and soft drinks
  • Tips
  • Maasai village visit

Your written quotation confirms the exact inclusions for your dates.

Flexible pricing

A clear quote for your journey.

The final price depends on when and how you travel: season, group size, accommodation level and private or shared transport.

Published price

Low season$1,680 pp
High season$1,880 pp

Prices are per person. Your written quotation confirms the price for your travel dates.

What affects the final price?

  • Travel dates and season
  • Group size
  • Accommodation availability
  • Private or shared vehicle
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Made around you

Make this safari yours.

Where operationally possible, a local planner can help adapt the journey without losing the route’s natural rhythm.

  • Travel dates and pace
  • Adding or removing nights where the route allows
  • Accommodation choices, subject to availability
  • Combining with another destination
Customise This Safari

Optional experiences

Add a different perspective.

Availability, location, age limits and extra costs are confirmed for your final itinerary.

Hot-air balloon safari over the Maasai Mara

Optional · extra cost · pre-arrangement required

Maasai village visit

Optional · extra cost

Olduvai Gorge museum visit

Optional · extra cost

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Before you travel

Safari questions, answered clearly.

How much does the 10 Days Best Kenya & Tanzania Budget Wildlife Safari cost?

Published prices are USD 1,680 per person (low season) and USD 1,880 per person (high season). Your quotation confirms the price for your travel dates.

Where does this safari start and finish?

It starts in Nairobi and finishes in Arusha. Your planner can advise on arrival and departure arrangements.

Where will I stay?

Nights are listed as “overnight at the camp/lodge”: the specific property is confirmed with your quotation, subject to availability.

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Start planning with a local expert

Your safari starts with a conversation.

Tell us your dates, travel style and what matters most. A Nairobi-based planner can shape the details with you.

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Per person · by season$1,680–$1,880 pp
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