Big 5 and boutique beaches: African safari honeymoon

Itinerary in brief:

• 1 night Nairobi
• 2 nights Masai Mara
• 1 night Lake Victoria
• 2 nights Serengeti
• 1 night Ngorongoro Crater
• 1 night Arusha
• 4 nights Zanzibar

Day 1: Depart UK

Depart the UK from your chosen airport. Arrive in Nairobi later today where you will be met at the airport and driven to your hotel.

Included: International flights, transfers, 4* hotel   

Day 2: Drive to Masai Mara

After breakfast you’ll be driven back to the airport and board a scenic flight to the Masai Mara. Taking the flight means you save many hours of driving and can get stuck into your safari almost immediately.

You’ll be staying at Olengoti Eco Safari Camp. This intimate camp has only 11 tents and sits on the Talek River, a tributary of the Mara. You’ll eat dinner under an old ficus, just a few meters from the local family of hippos. An albino baboon likes to mosey about the camp, while a little mongoose family often come scurrying through in search of breakfast.

Included: Transport, breakfast, lunch, dinner, Olengoti Eco Safari Camp

Day 3: Masai Mara

You’ll spend the whole day exploring the Mara, right up to the riverbanks. The Mara River is a natural barrier that animals must cross every year. Mornings are great for spotting predators, but the middle of the day is excellent for seeing classic safari wildlife. Watch zebras braying to each other, giraffes munching lazily on acacia trees and wildebeest grazing the grasses. From the banks of the Mara River, you can spot hippos in a mud bath to keep the sun off their skin, while crocodiles lurk in the water nearby, waiting for antelope to come to the edge for a drink.

Included: Transport, breakfast, lunch, dinner, Olengoti Eco Safari Camp

Day 4: Drive to Lake Victoria

This morning, you could choose to enjoy a hot-air balloon safari, flying silently over the savannah before indulging in a champagne breakfast. If you want to add on this luxury experience, just ask.

Following the Mara River West, you’ll reach Lake Victoria. A local boat will take you a 45 minute cruise to a private island in Lake Victoria, where you will stay for one night. You can walk across the island and climb to the top, enjoying the amazing sunset.

Included: Transport, breakfast, lunch, dinner, Lukuba Island Lodge       

Day 5: Drive to Serengeti National Park

Today, you’ll head off on a boat cruise on your way to Musoma. Here, you’ll officially enter Tanzania. After reaching the mainland again, you’ll continue to the Serengeti National Park, a natural extension of the Masai Mara. Each July, this beautiful plain is home to over two million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles, while lions and hyenas stalk the herds at night.

Tonight, you’ll sleep in the luxury Pumzika Luxury Safari Camp, in the heart of Seronera. The living area has a 360 degree view, with cushions and candles creating a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere.

Included: Transport, breakfast, lunch, dinner, Pumzika Luxury Safari Camp       

Day 6: Serengeti National Park

You’ll spend all day today explore the national park. Animals are more active at sunrise and sundown, so your safari will be concentrated around dawn and dusk. It also gives you a high chance of seeing hunting, as the predators are still out looking for dinner.

The aim today is to spot the Big 5: lions, buffalo, elephants, rhinos and leopards. While out and about looking for these incredible animals, you can soak up the beauty of the endless plain, wild bush and infinite skies. It’s a truly magical place to spend the day.

Included: Transport, breakfast, lunch, dinner, game drives, Pumzika Luxury Safari Camp            

Day 7: Drive to Ngorongoro Crater

At dawn, you’ll drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You’ll pass through the area of the Kopjes, rocky islands in the grasslands where lions and cheetahs snooze on the boulders. Depending on time you might visit the Olduvai Gorge where ancient fossil of the first hominids have been found.

On the edge of the crater you will find our camp, with spectacular views over the Ngorongoro crater area. A unique volcanic crater 600 meters deep and of 20 km diameter, the Ngorongoro crater is the densest animal community of whole Africa as well as home to more than 40,000 Maasai farmers.

Included: Transport, breakfast, lunch, dinner, game drives, Pakulala Ngorongoro Safari Camp 

Day 8: Drive to Arusha

At sunrise, you will be the first to descend the crater. Ngorongoro is actually a unique as the crater plays as a natural cage for an incredible number of animals. That’s why you won’t spot is giraffes – their long legs prevent them from getting down the high walls into the crater! Water is available during all the year so that the animals are not forced to migrate.

After a game drive through the crater watching zebras, flamingos and cheetahs, you’ll be driven back to Arusha. Spend the evening reminiscing over your spectacular safari through Tanzania and Kenya.

Included: Transport, breakfast, lunch, dinner, game drives, 3* hotel       

Day 9: Fly to Zanzibar

This morning you will be picked up and taken to the airport, in time to catch your flight to Zanzibar. On arrival you will be driven to your hotel where you can settle in for four nights. We recommend you head straight to the beach!

Included: Transfers, flights, dinner         

Days 10 - 12: Zanzibar

And relax! After all that exploration on safari, you deserve some beach time! These four days are for you to relax; whether you want to snorkel in the crystalline waters, take a sailing tour around the island or simply laze on the beach under the warm African sun. You could also take a sailing tour to Pange sandbank for a picnic, head to the north of the island to swim with dolphins or indulge in a local cooking class and enjoy the flavours that make Zanzibar famous.

If you can drag yourself away from the beach, then a few hours in historic Stone Town is a nice way to spend the morning or if you want to see more of the island then a tour of the spice plantations around full of nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper will show you the green interior of the island. However you spend your day, you can end each night with a romantic seafood dinner under the stars – this is truly the island of honeymoon paradise.

Included: 3* hotel, breakfast, dinner

Day 13: Depart Tanzania

After breakfast, you will be driven back to the airport in time for your flight home.

Included: Breakfast, international flight              

Day 14: Arrive UK