Cheetahs on termite mound with safari vehicle behind
Illuminated waterfront lodge reflecting in calm water at dusk, Hemingways Eden Residence, Nairobi, Kenya
Luxury safari tent with illuminated interior at dusk surrounded by bush vegetation, Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Canvas safari tent with wooden deck and furnishings, Sanctuary Crater Camp, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Illuminated safari camp tent beneath acacia tree at dusk, Olmara Serengeti, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Ivy-covered building with wooden doors and shaded garden pathway, Hemingways Eden Residence, Nairobi, Kenya
Pool deck with shade structure overlooking vast savanna landscape, Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Canvas tent accommodation beneath acacia tree savanna
Luxury safari tent nestled among tall acacia trees, Sanctuary Crater Camp, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Bedroom with canopy bed and warm evening lighting, Hemingways Eden Residence, Nairobi, Kenya
Twilight view of luxury lodge terrace with pool and dining area overlooking savanna, Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Illuminated safari camp tents on wooden deck at dusk, Olmara Serengeti, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Outdoor dining table set under acacia trees at dusk, Sanctuary Crater Camp, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

inspiration

kenya & tanzania: the mara to the crater

Private Safari
From $12,580 pp
2 guests
10 nights

trip highlights

  • In the Mara Naboisho Conservancy, vehicle numbers at any sighting are capped at four at most, and off-road driving and drives after dark are permitted.
  • The Soit le Motonyi plains of the eastern Serengeti hold lion, cheetah, leopard and serval, on ground closed to visitors for close to two decades.
  • Three of Olmara's tents carry stargazing platforms, reached by a gentle staircase, where a bed can be made up under the open sky.
  • The Ngorongoro Crater floor supports around 25,000 large animals, and is one of the more reliable places in Tanzania to see black rhino.
Scroll for the full itinerary
Cheetah with open mouth in tall grass, Olmara Serengeti, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

From Nairobi to the Crater Floor

This trip links four places across Kenya and Tanzania over ten nights. It opens in Nairobi, a highland capital where savannah runs up against the suburbs, then settles for four nights in the Maasai Mara’s Naboisho Conservancy, where the rules allow off-road driving and drives after dark. From there it crosses into Tanzania and the remote Soit le Motonyi plains of the eastern Serengeti, big-cat country kept quiet for years, before closing on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.

You travel by a mix of light aircraft and 4×4, with unhurried game drives shaping the days and long, uninterrupted sightings the point in the conservancy and on the eastern plains. Each stay is a small tented camp or residence chosen for its ground and its guiding, from an art-led home in Nairobi to a rim camp that puts you among the first vehicles onto the crater floor.

plan your safari

Daily Itinerary Breakdown

Nairobi and an Art-Led Residence

Your first night is in Nairobi, a highland capital at around 1,795 metres where daytime temperatures sit between 18 and 26 degrees, a comfortable place to rest before hotter, lower country. Hemingways Eden is a nine-room art-led residence on the forested Karen-Langata edge, built in 1992 as a painter's family home and now full of original canvases, bronzes and hand-formed ceramics. It borders the Giraffe Sanctuary forest, indigenous woodland that shelters more than 200 species of bird.

The Mara's Naboisho Conservancy

From Nairobi you continue to the Mara Naboisho Conservancy for four nights. Conservancy rules cap the vehicles at any sighting to four at most and allow off-road driving, drives after dark and walking, and lion densities across Naboisho are high, so sightings of lion, leopard and cheetah hold through the year rather than clustering into one season. Between July and October wildebeest and zebra from the Serengeti reach the Mara. Ol Seki stands on a hilltop above the Isupukiai River Valley with 270-degree views; its rebuilt tents open to the plains, and giraffes, zebras and elephants use the waterhole below the deck.

Big Cats on the Eastern Serengeti

You cross into Tanzania and the remote Soit le Motonyi plains of the eastern Serengeti for three nights, big-cat country closed to visitors for close to two decades to protect its cheetahs. Vehicle numbers stay low and sightings run long and unhurried, with lion, cheetah, leopard and serval working the short grass and the acacia belts and rocky kopjes along the Ngare Nanyuki river valley. The camp puts its weight behind guiding, and a sighting runs as long as it needs. Olmara has eight tented suites within an ancient grove of acacias, three of them carrying stargazing platforms where a bed can be made up under the open sky.

The Ngorongoro Crater Rim and Floor

From the Serengeti you reach the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater for two nights, a collapsed volcanic caldera whose floor supports a resident community of around 25,000 large mammals. A stay is built around one early descent onto the floor, with a picnic breakfast and lunch carried down, putting you on the ground in first light before the traffic arrives; all of the Big Five can turn up within a single morning, the black rhino among them. At roughly 2,300 metres the evenings turn cold. Sanctuary Crater Camp has ten tented suites in acacia forest on the rim, close to the descent road, with closed 4x4s and a hot-water bottle in the bed at night.

Ed Charles photographing wildlife

Ed Charles, BBC Producer

Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.

Ed Charles

Bafta & Emmy award winning film producer of BBC’s Planet Earth 2 and A Perfect Planet

looking for inspiration?

Black chimpanzee portrait with amber eyes in forest, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Illuminated waterfront lodge reflecting in calm water at dusk, Hemingways Eden Residence, Nairobi, Kenya Riverside lodge at dusk with hippos in water, Kimya Kimya Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya Thatched roof guest bungalows with wooden deck and stairs, Fundu Lagoon, Zanzibar & Pemba, Tanzania Modern lodge building with volcanic mountain backdrop and green fields, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Modern lodge building nestled in lush green valley landscape, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Ivy-covered building with wooden doors and shaded garden pathway, Hemingways Eden Residence, Nairobi, Kenya Dining deck overlooking river with savanna landscape, Kimya Kimya Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya Wooden boardwalk pier extending into turquoise lagoon water, Fundu Lagoon, Zanzibar & Pemba, Tanzania Modern brick lodge building with mountain backdrop and vegetation, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Bedroom with canopy bed and warm evening lighting, Hemingways Eden Residence, Nairobi, Kenya Guests gathered outside canvas safari lodge structure, Serian Kimya Kimya, Maasai Mara, Kenya Wooden pier extending into turquoise lagoon water, Fundu Lagoon, Zanzibar & Pemba, Tanzania

kenya, rwanda & tanzania

gorillas, the mara and pemba

Eleven nights linking Rwanda's mountain gorillas, the Maasai Mara conservancies and the diving reefs of Pemba Island.

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  • 2 guests
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Beachfront villa with illuminated interiors at sunset with palm trees, Alfajiri Cliff Villa, Diani Beach, Kenya White colonial manor with swimming pool and manicured grounds, Karen Gables, Nairobi, Kenya Luxury safari tent with illuminated interior at dusk surrounded by bush vegetation, Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya Cottage with wooden veranda surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and vines, Karen Blixen Cottages, Nairobi, Kenya Whitewashed colonial lodge exterior illuminated at dusk with courtyard approach, Karen Gables, Nairobi, Kenya Pool deck with shade structure overlooking vast savanna landscape, Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya Beachfront dining setup with ocean view and yellow roses, Alfajiri Cliff Villa, Diani Beach, Kenya Luxury lodge with swimming pool and covered terrace among trees, Karen Blixen Cottages, Nairobi, Kenya Swimming pool with lounge seating and illuminated house at dusk, Karen Gables, Nairobi, Kenya Twilight view of luxury lodge terrace with pool and dining area overlooking savanna, Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya Seaside terrace dining setup with ocean view at sunset, Alfajiri Cliff Villa, Diani Beach, Kenya Wooden bridge over stream with tropical bungalows nestled in lush forest garden, Karen Blixen Cottages, Nairobi, Kenya

kenya

flying safari to the diani reef

Twelve nights in Kenya linking Nairobi, the Naboisho Conservancy in the Maasai Mara and a private villa on the Diani coast.

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  • From $10,900 pp
  • 2 guests
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African elephants walking across savanna grassland Swimming pool with white building and shade trees, Manzili House, Nairobi, Kenya Safari lodge deck with loungers, umbrella, and elephants grazing, Tawi Lodge, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills, Kenya Illuminated safari tent at dusk with tall trees nearby, Kicheche Mara North, Maasai Mara, Kenya Wooden deck with infinity pool overlooking savanna at dusk, Borana Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Swimming pool with white modern house and large trees, Manzili House, Nairobi, Kenya Guests gathered at outdoor safari camp under acacia tree, Tawi Lodge, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills, Kenya Luxury safari tent with guests dining at dusk overlooking savanna, Kicheche Mara North, Maasai Mara, Kenya Lakeside dining pavilion overlooking water and savanna hills, Borana Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Guest relaxing on lounge chairs on sunlit terrace, Manzili House, Nairobi, Kenya Spacious bedroom with four-poster bed and draped canopy, Tawi Lodge, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills, Kenya Safari tent bedroom with views of acacia trees and savanna, Kicheche Mara North, Maasai Mara, Kenya Bedroom with open views across savanna at sunset, Borana Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya

kenya

big tuskers safari

Thirteen nights across Kenya, linking Amboseli under Kilimanjaro, the Mara North plains and Borana's rhino country.

  • Private Safari
  • From $14,820 pp
  • 4 guests
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Planning a journey together

our approach

remote, exclusive
& personal

Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.

Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.

Get in touch to start planning yours.

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