A column of wildebeest wading a wide muddy river, thousands more massed on the far bank waiting to follow

Kenya · Tanzania · 11 days

Migration Extravaganza

Eleven days on the migration with The Safari Collection. Four nights at Sala's Camp on the Mara's Sand River, then across the border to Olakira in the northern Serengeti, where the camp moves twice a year to follow the herds.

Duration: 11 days, 10 nights · 3 flights
Where: Kenya Tanzania
Experiences: Road Safaris Flying Safaris
Board: Full board
Price: FromUSD 20,551per person sharing

At a glance

Where the nights go

244

10 nights across 3 places · 3 flights · Full board. Drawn from the draft day-by-day below.

Overview

The shape of the journey

The migration does not respect the border, so this itinerary does not either. Four nights at Sala's Camp above the Sand River in the southern Mara, then a crossing into Tanzania for four more at Olakira, on the Mara River in the far north of the Serengeti: the two halves of the same herd, seen from both sides.

NairobiMaasai MaraSerengeti

The Safari Collection runs it between mid-June and September, when the herds move through the northern Serengeti and the southern Mara. Nobody can promise a river crossing; the rains decide, and they change their minds. What the dates do guarantee is being in the right place while it is happening. Olakira is a wild camp, better suited to children of twelve and over, with a minimum age of five.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Giraffe Manor

The ivy-clad house in Langata whose tower of Nubian giraffe come to the dining-room windows at breakfast and to the front lawn at teatime.

Sala's Camp

Vintage-styled tents in the Mara's far south, above the Sand River the wildebeest cross. Morning and evening drives, bush lunches deeper in the reserve, and a hammock outside every tent.

Olakira Camp

A semi-permanent camp on the Mara River in the far north of the Serengeti that moves twice a year to stay with the migration. Star-gazing tents, flexible game drives, bush breakfasts.

The Retreat at Giraffe Manor

The wellness house beside the Manor, taken as a day room at the end, with spa, gym, infinity pool and an airport transfer timed to your flight.

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
Bucket-list breakfast
Met at Jomo Kenyatta and driven out to Giraffe Manor in Langata. The Nubian giraffe come to the tall dining-room windows at breakfast and to the lawn at tea, on their own schedule.
Giraffe ManorAll meals
Day 2
Nairobi
The AFEW Giraffe Centre is across the lawn, and The Retreat next door is a pool and a spa room away. The Karen Blixen Museum and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust are both close, the latter needing advance booking.
Giraffe ManorAll meals
Day 3Flight
Fly to the Maasai Mara
Wilson to the Mara after breakfast, then a short game drive on the way to Sala's Camp in the reserve's quiet southern corner.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 4
First light on the reserve
Out early and again at dusk, when the animals are working. In migration season the Sand River below camp does the rest of the entertaining.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 5
Deeper into the Mara
A longer day with a bush lunch, pushing further into the reserve for the wildlife the shorter drives never reach.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 6
Cats, and the plains
Lion prides, cheetah on the termite mounds, and the leopard everyone hopes for. Sundowners out in the wild, then back to the hammock.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 7Flight
Across the border to the Serengeti
Keekorok airstrip to Migori with a packed lunch, a road transfer across the Kenyan–Tanzanian border to Tarime, then a flight to Kogatende. Olakira is on the Mara River at the end of it.
Olakira CampAll meals
Day 8
The northern Serengeti
This is where the crossings happen when they happen. The camp sits close enough that the guides can react to them rather than plan around them.
Olakira CampAll meals
Day 9
Game-dense country
Drives here are flexible by design: you go where the herds are. Bush breakfasts, picnics and sundowners out on the plains.
Olakira CampAll meals
Day 10
A last Serengeti day
One more chance at the river, and no shortage of everything else: elephant, buffalo, the big cats that follow the herds, and the vultures that follow them.
Olakira CampAll meals
Day 11Flight
Ease out
Fly back into Kenya, landing at Wilson, then a day room at The Retreat at Giraffe Manor with spa, gym, pool and lunch, before the transfer to Jomo Kenyatta.
Breakfast and lunch

What's covered

Inclusions and exclusions

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

Included

Full-board accommodation with meals, house wines and spirits, soft drinks, beers, laundry and selected activities
Internal scheduled flights
Park and conservation fees
Game drives, sundowners and bush picnics
Road transfers between airports, airstrips and camps and to and from activities, in 4x4 vehicles
Medical evacuation cover

Price & terms

What it costs

FromUSD 20,551per person sharing

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.