14-Day Kenya–Tanzania Great Migration Safari — Luxury

The northern circuit done properly takes fourteen days. Less and you’re rushing; more and you’re lingering. This itinerary moves at the right pace — enough time in each park to stop chasing sightings and start reading the bush.

Six parks across two countries, from the foot of Kilimanjaro to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. The lodges are the best available on this route — Angama, Singita, &Beyond, Mahali Mzuri — chosen for location, service, and the quality of the guiding attached to them. Your own vehicle and private guide throughout, with a Tanzanian crew taking over at the Isebania border.

The Great Migration is the headline, but this trip works in any month. The Mara and Serengeti are exceptional year-round.

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Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrival in Nairobi

Arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Met by your guide and transferred to Hemingways Nairobi — a small, quiet hotel in the Karen suburb, well away from the city centre. Safari briefing over dinner. Early night.

Day 2 – Nairobi → Amboseli National Park

Morning departure south. The drive to Amboseli takes roughly four hours. The park sits at the foot of Kilimanjaro and on a clear morning the mountain is enormous above the treeline. Afternoon game drive. The elephant herds in Amboseli are among the most studied in Africa — large, habituated, and reliably close. Overnight at one of our preferred Amboseli properties.

Day 3 – Full Day in Amboseli

A full day in the park. Morning drive when Kilimanjaro catches the early light and the herds move between the swamps. Afternoon drive when the heat lifts and the predators become active. The wetlands pull in buffalo, hippo, and good plains game. Your guide tailors the day to conditions and your interests.

Overnight Amboseli.

Day 4 – Amboseli → Lake Naivasha

Drive north through the Rift Valley to Lake Naivasha. Loldia House sits directly on the lakeshore — a colonial-era farmhouse run by Governors’ Camp, with boats, guided walks on the lake islands, and one of the better tables on this stretch of the circuit. Afternoon boat ride: hippos, fish eagles, and if the timing is right, a shoreline walk on Crescent Island among giraffe and zebra with no vehicle between you and them.

Overnight at Loldia House.

Day 5 – Lake Naivasha → Ol Serengoni, Lake Nakuru

Short drive to Ol Serengoni, a private conservancy bordering Lake Nakuru National Park. Chui Lodge sits inside the conservancy — small, well-positioned, and operating with both conservancy and park access. Afternoon game drive into Nakuru: black and white rhino, Rothschild giraffe, lion, leopard, and the lake drawing flamingos in numbers that shift with the season.

Overnight at Chui Lodge, Ol Serengoni.

Day 6 – Lake Nakuru → Masai Mara

Drive west to the Masai Mara — five to six hours across the Rift escarpment and down onto the plains. The landscape change is gradual and then sudden. Arrive in time for an afternoon drive. The Mara is productive in every month, but between July and October the Migration is present in force and the river crossings along the Mara River are among the most extraordinary wildlife events on the planet.

Overnight at one of our preferred Mara properties — Angama Mara, Mahali Mzuri, or Sanctuary Olonana depending on availability.

Day 7 – Full Day in the Masai Mara

A full day on the plains. Your guide monitors crossing activity, predator movements, and sighting reports throughout the day. In migration season this day is structured around the river — positioning early, reading the herds, waiting. Outside migration season the Mara’s resident wildlife is exceptional: large lion prides, reliable cheetah, leopard, elephant, and plains game in concentrations that match anywhere in Africa.

Optional sunrise hot-air balloon safari over the Mara, bookable locally.

Overnight Masai Mara.

Day 8 – Masai Mara → Isebania Border → Northern Serengeti

Morning game drive before driving south to the Isebania border crossing. Vehicle and crew change — your Tanzanian guide and 4×4 take over on the other side. Continue into the Northern Serengeti, one of the least visited and most rewarding sections of the park. Afternoon drive en route to camp.

Overnight at one of our preferred Serengeti properties.

Day 9 – Full Day in the Serengeti

A full day in the park. The guide works current conditions — migration corridor, predator activity, recent sightings from the network. The northern Serengeti holds the Mara River crossings on the Tanzania side, and in peak season the action here mirrors what you saw in Kenya. Picnic lunch in the bush.

Overnight Serengeti.

Day 10 – Full Day in the Serengeti

A second full day. If the migration has shifted, your guide shifts with it. The Serengeti is large enough that two full days rarely cover the same ground twice. This is also the day for anything unhurried — a longer stop at a kill, time spent watching a cheetah work, an afternoon following a leopard through the kopjes.

Overnight Serengeti.

Day 11 – Serengeti → Ngorongoro Crater Rim

Morning drive through the Serengeti before heading east. The drive up to the crater rim takes you through highland forest — a sharp contrast after three days of open plains. &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge sits directly on the rim, one of the most dramatic positions of any lodge in Africa. The crater is 600 metres below you, 20 kilometres across. Sundowners on the rim with that view.

Overnight at &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge.

Day 12 – Ngorongoro Crater → Karatu

Into the crater at first light. The floor holds one of the densest wildlife concentrations in Africa — lion prides, a significant black rhino population, hippo pools, tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra, flamingos on Lake Magadi. A full morning inside, picnic lunch on the crater floor, then ascend and drive to Karatu.

Overnight at The Retreat Ngorongoro.

Day 13 – Karatu → Arusha

Morning at leisure at The Retreat. Drive to Arusha, arriving midday. Lunch in town. Transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport, or overnight in Arusha if your flight is the following morning.

Day 14 – Departure

Transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport or onward to Zanzibar.

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Key Facts

Duration	14 days / 13 nights
Style	Private safari, dedicated guides, luxury lodges and camps
Countries	Kenya & Tanzania
Parks	Amboseli · Lake Naivasha · Ol Serengoni / Lake Nakuru · Masai Mara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro
Vehicle	Private 4×4 Land Cruiser (vehicle swap at Isebania border)
Best time	July – October (Migration peak) · December – March (calving season)
Price	From US$ 19,250 per person sharing
Starts	Nairobi — Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Ends	Arusha or Kilimanjaro International Airport
Extensions	Zanzibar · Diani Beach · Lake Eyasi