In January, with the planner's pick for each leg; you can switch any leg in the plan. Flying into Kenya and home from Tanzania; the legs that cross a border are marked.
Delhi → Maasai MaraFlight via Nairobi · 17h · One stop via Mumbai (Kenya Airways / IndiGo), via the Gulf (Emirates / Qatar Airways / Etihad / Air Arabia) or Addis Ababa (Ethiopian) (one stop) to Nairobi, then flight
Maasai Mara → ArushaBus via Nairobi · 10h 18m · Flight to Nairobi, then Shuttle bus via the Namanga border (Riverside and others)Into Tanzania
Serengeti → Ngorongoro CraterCar · 4h 30m · Safari 4x4 with driver-guide, per vehicle (a day's hire, game drive on the way)
Ngorongoro Crater → Stone TownFlight · 5h · Drive to Lake Manyara airstrip (LKY) + flight to Zanzibar (ZNZ), one stop
Stone Town → DelhiFlight · 14h · One stop via Dubai, Doha or Addis Ababa (flydubai / Qatar / Ethiopian) (one stop)
About this circuit
East Africa's two great parks and the coast: four days in Kenya's Maasai Mara for lions, cheetahs and leopards on the open plains; a flight to Nairobi and the shuttle over the Namanga border to Arusha, where the northern safaris start; a bush flight to the Serengeti's Seronera valley; a game drive on to the Ngorongoro Crater; then a flight from the Lake Manyara airstrip to Zanzibar for the lanes and carved doors of Stone Town.
Why it matters
The Mara lies on the Tanzanian border, and the Great Migration's wildebeest and zebra cross into it from the Serengeti from about July to October; from January to March the herds calve on the southern plains and at Ndutu. The crater floor gives the northern circuit's best chance of a black rhino, and Stone Town is a UNESCO site where Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European history meet.
Stop by stop
How the 11 days split across the 5 stops, and what each one costs on the ground for two.
Kenya's most famous reserve: rolling grassland on the Tanzanian border with the highest density of lions, cheetahs and leopards in the country. From about July to October the wildebeest and zebra of the Great Migration cross over from the Serengeti, and the Mara River crossings, with crocodiles waiting, are the scenes people travel for. The reserve is open all year; the private conservancies around it (Naboisho, Olare Motorogi, Mara North) limit vehicles and allow night drives and walks. Most visitors come on a lodge or camp package with game drives, by road from Nairobi (5-6 hours) or by bush flight from Wilson.
Don't miss: Wildebeest crossing the Mara River (about July to October) · Lions, cheetahs and leopards on the plains.
How long: 4 days, a day more than the usual 3, which leaves room for the journey in.
Ol Kiombo Airstrip (OLX), 10 km
4 days for two from ₹1,54,576 · ₹2,77,733 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
The town every northern safari starts from: operators, outfitters and the domestic airport for the bush flights are here, an hour from Kilimanjaro International Airport. Worth a night either side of the parks: the Maasai market and the Cultural Heritage Centre, coffee farms on the slopes of Mount Meru, and a day in Arusha National Park (giraffes, colobus monkeys, the Momella lakes) to start gently. Arusha has a long-settled Indian community, with Indian and vegetarian restaurants and temples in town.
Don't miss: Arusha National Park game drive and walk · Momella lakes and flamingos.
How long: 1 day, which is the recommended stay.
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), 46 km
1 day for two from ₹4,609 · ₹10,886 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
Tanzania's most famous park, 14,750 km² of grass plains and granite kopjes. The central Seronera valley has resident lions, leopards and cheetahs all year, the densest big-cat viewing in Africa, and is the base for most first safaris; the Great Migration of some 1.5 million wildebeest circles the park through the year (south from January to March, west in May and June, north to the Mara River from July to October; see the alerts). Reached in a day's drive from Arusha through the Ngorongoro highlands (with the conservation area's transit fee) or by an hour's bush flight to the Seronera airstrip. Park fee US$82.60 a person a day in high season (US$70.80 in low); stays inside the park add a concession fee, which the prices here include.
Don't miss: Big cats in the Seronera valley · The Great Migration (by season).
How long: 3 days, a day more than the usual 2, which leaves room for the journey in.
Seronera Airstrip (SEU), 5 km
3 days for two from ₹1,07,287 · ₹2,41,987 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
A 20 km-wide volcanic caldera 600 m deep, with some 25,000 animals on its floor: lions, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, flamingos on Lake Magadi and the best chance on the northern circuit of a black rhino. Most visitors sleep in Karatu, 30-45 minutes below the rim among coffee farms (cheaper lodges, outside the conservation area), and descend early for a half or full day; the rim lodges are dearer and colder (2,300 m: bring a fleece). Fees: the conservation area's US$70.80 a person per 24 hours and a crater service fee of US$295 per vehicle per descent. The Ndutu plains of the conservation area are where the wildebeest calve from January to March.
Don't miss: Crater-floor game drive at dawn · Black rhino on the crater floor.
How long: 1 day, which is the recommended stay.
Lake Manyara Airport (LKY), 30 km
1 day for two from ₹44,188 · ₹48,005 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
Zanzibar's old town, a UNESCO site of coral-stone houses, carved Arab and Indian doors and narrow lanes where Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European history meet: the old slave market and Anglican cathedral, the Old Fort, Freddie Mercury's birthplace, rooftop dinners and the Forodhani Gardens night market of grilled seafood and Zanzibar "pizza". The island's airport and the ferry from Dar es Salaam are here; spice farm tours and Prison Island's giant tortoises are half-day trips. Zanzibar is conservative and mostly Muslim: cover shoulders and knees in town. Every visitor must buy Zanzibar's US$44 inbound travel insurance.
Don't miss: Stone Town walking tour of the carved doors · Old Slave Market and Anglican Cathedral.
How long: 2 days, which is the recommended stay.
Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, Zanzibar (ZNZ), 7 km
2 days for two from ₹24,881 · ₹48,224 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
What it costs
from ₹3,45,521 a person
The whole 11-day trip as the planner prices it in January, for two sharing at budget stays: flights from India and back, travel between the stops and across the borders, stays, food, getting around, entry fees and the planner's buffer.
The two visas for an Indian passport, about ₹8,030 a person in all, are on top.
When to go
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January, February and June to October suit the whole route, and the Mara's river crossings are from about July to October; in April and May the long rains turn the tracks to mud, close some camps and make Zanzibar's seas rough
Entry rules: two visas
Kenya
E-visa before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹3,270
At least 3 working days before you fly (you can apply up to 3 months ahead), apply for the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) at etakenya.go.ke: passport photo page, a recent photo, your return ticket and hotel or safari booking. The fee is US$30 plus bank and processing charges (about US$34 in all), paid by card. Save the approval; airlines check it at boarding.
E-visa before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹4,760
Apply for the Tanzania e-visa (ordinary, single entry) on the official portal at immigration.go.tz at least 2-3 weeks before you fly: US$50, about ₹4,830, for up to 90 days. Processing takes about 5-10 working days; print the grant notice. Avoid look-alike visa sites, which charge more.
·Indian passports need Kenya's eTA (at etakenya.go.ke, at least 3 working days ahead) and Tanzania's e-visa (at immigration.go.tz, 2-3 weeks ahead), and a yellow fever certificate, which India asks for when you land back
·Zanzibar requires its own inbound travel insurance of every visitor, even one with another policy: buy it online before you arrive
·The crossing is a long day: a flight from the Mara to Nairobi, then the shuttle bus over the Namanga border to Arusha, about 6 hours, leaving around 8 am and 2 pm
·On the Ngorongoro crater floor each vehicle may stay about six hours: go down at the 06:00 opening, and carry clean US dollar notes printed in 2009 or later for park fees and tips
·Mara camps fill 6-12 months ahead for July to October, and Christmas and New Year are the busiest fortnight on the northern circuit and in Zanzibar: book lodges and bush flights by September or October
