A hot-air balloon with a basket of passengers floating in front of the snows of Kilimanjaro

Kenya · Tanzania · 13 days

SkySafari East Africa

Elewana's longest flying safari, twelve nights from Amboseli and Loisaba to the Maasai Mara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, on SkySafari's own nine-seat aircraft.

Duration: 13 days, 12 nights · 6 flights
Where: Kenya Tanzania
Experiences: Flying Safaris Road Safaris
Board: Board varies by stay
Price: On request

Overview

The shape of the journey

Both halves of East Africa's best wildlife country, and none of the days you would normally lose getting between them. Elewana's SkySafari flies this route on its own nine-seat aircraft: you board on the runway, the luggage limit is generous by bush-flight standards, and the border crossing is a flight rather than an afternoon.

NairobiAmboseliLoisabaMaasai MaraSerengetiNgorongoroArusha

Six places in thirteen days sounds like a lot, and it would be by road. In the air it works out at two or three nights each in Amboseli, the Loisaba Conservancy, the Maasai Mara, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, which is enough to see each one properly rather than photograph it and leave.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Hemingways Hotel

The first night, or a property of the same standard if it is full. The safari camps that follow are confirmed with your quote.

Day by day

How the days run

A proposal, not a timetable. The routing, timings and inclusions are confirmed in writing before you pay anything.

Day 1
Nairobi
Fast-tracked through Jomo Kenyatta and driven to the hotel. Dinner there, and nothing else asked of you.
Hemingways HotelDinner
Day 2Flight
South to Amboseli
The first SkySafari flight, down to Amboseli National Park. The elephant herds and, on a clear morning, Kilimanjaro behind them.
All meals
Day 3
Amboseli
A full day in the park. Open ground, so the game is out where you can see it, and the light at either end of the day is what people photograph.
All meals
Day 4Flight
North to Loisaba
The flight up to the Loisaba Conservancy in Laikipia. Hills, escarpment and community conservation, a completely different Kenya from the one you left this morning.
All meals
Day 5
Loisaba
A full day on the conservancy. Its activity list runs well past the game drive, so ask for what you actually want.
All meals
Day 6Flight
Into the Maasai Mara
The flight south-west onto the Mara. Afternoon game drive on arrival, and the jump in wildlife density is immediate.
All meals
Day 7
A full day in the Mara
Out early, back through the heat, out again as the light drops. In season the migration is on these plains; out of it, the resident prides are.
All meals
Day 8Flight
Across the border to the Serengeti
The flight into Tanzania. Same ecosystem, different country and a change of scale: the Serengeti keeps going long after the Mara has stopped.
All meals
Day 9
The Serengeti
A full day on the plains. Predators, and herbivores in numbers that stop registering as numbers.
All meals
Day 10
The Serengeti, again
Three nights here is the longest stay on the trip, and it is the right one. Today is generally the day people talk about afterwards.
All meals
Day 11Flight
To Ngorongoro
The flight to the crater highlands. It is cooler up here than anywhere else on the route; bring a layer for the evening.
All meals
Day 12
Into the crater
A full day on the crater floor. An enclosed ecosystem with a density of game that has no equivalent on the rest of the circuit.
All meals
Day 13Flight
Ngorongoro to Arusha
The last SkySafari flight, into Arusha for your onward connection.
Breakfast

What's covered

Inclusions and exclusions

In line with the itinerary above. Your written quote is the version that counts.

Included

Fast-track through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on arrival
Transfer to your Nairobi hotel, and dinner there the first night
SkySafari flights between every stop, on nine-seat aircraft boarded directly on the runway
A larger luggage allowance than a scheduled flight
Accommodation and game viewing at each stop

Not included

International flights to and from Nairobi and Kilimanjaro

Price & terms

What it costs

Priced on request. This itinerary is quoted for your dates, your party and the grade of camp you choose, which is why there is no single number on this page.

What this price covers

Rates are per person sharing unless the line above says otherwise.
Prices move with the season and with availability, and are held only once your quote is confirmed in writing.
The day-by-day above is a draft. Final routing, timings, inclusions and any park or permit fees are confirmed with your quote.

Before you go

Worth reading before this trip

The best time to visit Kenya, month by monthJanuary and February, then July to October, are the months we send most people.
The best time to visit TanzaniaLate June to October for the dry-season parks, January and February for calving, and the long rains we would plan around.
Safari packing list for KenyaA working checklist for a week on safari in Kenya: the bag, the layers for a cold six o'clock start, optics, health and documents, with quantities for seven nights and what changes by season.
Kenya safari cost: where the money goesWhat you pay for on a Kenya safari, why two similar weeks can differ threefold, who sets the park fees, and how to get more from the same budget.
What a Tanzania safari costsWhere the money goes on a Tanzania safari: camps, flights between parks, and a stack of park, concession and crater fees with VAT on top.
Practical facts by countryPlugs, currency, time zone, driving side, SIM, tipping and tap water.