Safari in Kenya and Tanzania is not a destination you improvise. Park fees, vehicle quality, camp position and the timing of the migration all decide what you actually see.
Ways to travel it
Kenya classic
Masai Mara, Amboseli and the Rift Valley lakes, usually with light-aircraft hops.
- Typically 8–10 days
- Mara conservancies
- Fewer vehicles at sightings
- Nairobi start and finish
Tanzania classic
Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire, timed to the herds.
- Typically 8–12 days
- Crater day included
- Region chosen by month
- Arusha start
Migration timed
Built specifically around where the herds should be in your travel month.
- Calving Jan–Mar in the south
- Crossings Jul–Oct in the north
- Camps booked a year out
- Flexible camp positioning
Safari and beach
Zanzibar or the Kenyan coast after the safari — the natural way to finish.
- Add 4–6 days
- Short flight from the parks
- Stone Town and the spice farms
- Good for recovery time
Australians need a visa for both Kenya and Tanzania, applied for online in advance. Yellow fever certificates are required when arriving from certain countries. Check Smartraveller close to departure.
How we plan an East African safari
The month picks the reserve. The migration is a circuit, not an event. Calving in the southern Serengeti around February, crossings in the north and the Mara roughly July to October. We build the route around your dates rather than selling a fixed loop.
Conservancies over reserves where it matters. Private conservancies cost more and cap vehicle numbers at a sighting. For photographers, and for anyone who has seen a national park sighting with fifteen vehicles at it, this is the decision that counts.
Three nights minimum per camp. Light-aircraft transfers eat half a day at each end. Two-night stays spend more time moving than looking.
Finish at the coast. Zanzibar or the Kenyan coast after a week of pre-dawn starts is the natural end, and the flights are short.
Where this leads
Blog attracts, things to do informs, tours convert — in that order.