Take an optional game drive through Nairobi National Park aboard an overland truck, watching for wildlife around its grasslands and waterholes. The park’s unusual setting places open savannah within sight of the city skyline.

It is a striking introduction to Kenya’s protected landscapes: scan for animals against an urban backdrop that few other safari parks can offer. This activity is at additional cost and is bookable on tour.

Choose an optional canoeing experience on Lake Manyara to see the lakeside landscape from the water. Paddling offers a quieter, lower viewpoint than a safari vehicle and a chance to take in the shoreline at a gentler pace.

The lake is an important feature of this part of Tanzania’s Rift Valley, with scenery and birdlife that change with the seasons. Look out across the water towards the surrounding landscape. Canoeing is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to local conditions.

Opt for a game drive in Tarangire National Park, searching for wildlife among its baobab-dotted landscapes. Keep watch for the elephants for which the park is particularly well known, along with other animals encountered along the route.

Tarangire’s towering baobabs and elephant herds give it a character different from the crater and open Serengeti plains. Wildlife sightings vary, but the landscape itself rewards close attention. This optional drive is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit the Shanga Community Project in Arusha to see artisans at work and learn how this social enterprise creates employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Watch skills such as weaving, beading, glasswork, papermaking and metalwork in practice.

The visit connects Tanzania’s craft traditions with the people sustaining them. Meet the makers behind the finished pieces and gain an insight into the skill, patience and purpose involved in their work.

• 7 Lunch (L)
• 8 Dinner (D)
• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Picnic Lunch (PL)

• Nairobi National Park: Yep – and it’s so worth it. After the Free Time Add-On Nairobi National Park game drive, you’ll have the option to swing by the Sheldrick Elephant Nursery. Note, however, that you’ll need to grab your own ticket in advance directly from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website. This costs around $20 USD.
• Maasai Mara National Reserve: Hot air balloon rides may be available in the Maasai Mara and Serengeti through independent local operators. While floating over the savannah sounds pretty iconic, this isn’t an activity Contiki promotes, sells or books, as local provider insurance does not meet our required standards. If you’d like to take a hot air balloon ride, you’re free to arrange and pay directly with a local operator while on tour. This is completely independent of Contiki and follows the operator’s own terms, safety standards and insurance cover.
• Amboseli: Premium camping is classic camping, levelled up. Our road crew will set up these tents for you – all with premium facilities like chill-out zones, communal bathrooms and all the creature comforts.
• Amboseli: Nope, you’re all good! All equipment (tents, sleeping bags, etc) will be provided for you.
• Amboseli: You don’t have to. Your road crew will set up camp, cook meals, and clean up afterwards – but you’re always welcome to help!
• Amboseli: You’ll have access to proper bathrooms with real toilets, hot showers and everything you need – just shared with the crew.

• Nairobi: Meet the dedicated team and see for yourself the work being done to help the women and children who live here in the Kibera slum.
   
• Maasai Mara National Reserve: Known for its grassy plains and rolling hills, home to lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras and hippos, the Maasai Mara is a jewel in Africa’s wildlife crown, so don’t miss your chance to explore it from sunrise to the afternoon, with a picnic lunch in the wild. 
• Amboseli: Get that iconic wildlife shot with the snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. 
   
• Amboseli: Get up early in search of the famous elephants in this iconic Kenyan National Park. 
• Arusha: Support this social enterprise that employs local disabled people with artisanal skills. Watch weaving, glass blowing, beading, paper making and metal work. 
• Serengeti: Watch out for local wildlife as we head to our camp, which is bang in the middle of these endless plains. Could the location be any more epic? 
   
• Serengeti: Was that lion we heard last night? Let’s go find out. Take an incredible morning drive in search of the wildlife we heard throughout the night. 
• Serengeti: Cruise around the plains at sunset to explore new areas and spot a few more animals before they head off to bed. 
• Serengeti: Another day, another game drive, giving us the most amount of opportunities to see the wildlife that roams these plains.

Visit Mirror of Hope in Nairobi’s Kibera neighbourhood to meet the team behind a community initiative supporting local women and children. Hear directly about their work and the opportunities they are creating.

This hosted community visit offers a more personal perspective on Nairobi through the people who live and work here. It is an opportunity to listen, ask thoughtful questions and learn about a locally led organisation.

Explore the Maasai Mara on included game drives, scanning its grasslands and rolling hills for lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras and other wildlife. A picnic lunch in a scenic spot keeps the focus on time out in the reserve.

The Mara is part of the wider Serengeti ecosystem, with open country that makes wildlife viewing particularly compelling. During migration season, there may be a chance to see wildebeest and zebra moving across the plains, though sightings depend on nature.

Search for Amboseli’s elephants on included game drives, including an early outing when the plains come to life. Watch for other wildlife among the park’s open grasslands, wetlands and acacia trees.

Amboseli is especially known for its long-studied elephant families and occasional large-tusked bulls. When the sky is clear, Mount Kilimanjaro rises behind the wildlife, creating one of East Africa’s most recognisable safari scenes; the mountain view is weather-dependent.

Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for an included game drive, keeping watch for lions, elephants, buffalo and other animals across its grasslands, woodland and wetlands. The varied habitats support a remarkable concentration of wildlife.

Formed by the collapse of a vast volcano, this caldera is one of Tanzania’s most distinctive safari landscapes. Scan the crater floor beneath its steep rim for changing wildlife scenes; sightings, including any of the Big Five, can never be guaranteed.

Explore the Serengeti on included game drives that offer opportunities to spot big cats, elephants, giraffes, zebras and plains game. Wildlife viewing spans different times of day, including morning and sunset outings and a full day in the park.

The Serengeti’s immense grasslands are shaped by seasonal rains and the movement of grazing herds. If migration is in the area, wildebeest and zebra may fill the horizon; their location and all wildlife sightings vary naturally.

Join an included game drive at Lake Manyara, looking for wildlife in a landscape that contrasts with the open Serengeti plains. Forest, grassland and the lake’s shoreline create different habitats to scan as you travel through the park.

Lake Manyara is known for its birdlife and for lions that have sometimes been seen resting in trees. Look from the forest canopy towards the lakeshore for a sense of what makes this compact Tanzanian park distinctive; particular sightings are not assured.

Visit the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant nursery in Nairobi to watch young elephants play and bathe while hearing about their care and rehabilitation. The visit offers a close look at the work involved in helping orphaned elephants recover.

This is an optional activity at additional cost, with admission costing approximately US$20. Book your ticket independently in advance through the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website; unlike the tour’s other optional activities, admission is not bookable on tour.

Visit a Maasai village near the Maasai Mara to meet community members and learn about traditions they choose to share with visitors. The experience adds a cultural perspective to time spent exploring the reserve’s wildlife.

The Maasai have a long history of pastoral life in this region, with living traditions that continue to evolve. Hear about local customs from your hosts rather than viewing them only through a safari lens. This visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Opt for another morning game drive in the Maasai Mara to spend more time searching its grasslands for big cats and other wildlife. Changing light and animal movement mean an extra outing can reveal a very different scene from earlier drives.

The reserve’s open plains offer broad views, but wildlife remains unpredictable. Watch the Mara come to life in the morning and make the most of another chance to observe it. This additional drive is at extra cost and bookable on tour.

Take to the water for an optional white-water rafting experience in Sagana, a Kenyan riverside adventure base. Paddle with your group through moving water for a more active contrast to the tour’s vehicle-based safaris.

Sagana’s rivers have made the area a centre for outdoor pursuits. Feel the pace of the current from the raft while following the activity team’s guidance. Rafting is at additional cost and bookable on tour; conditions and available sessions may vary.

Try optional rock climbing in Sagana and trade the safari vehicle for a hands-on outdoor challenge. Work your way up a climb, concentrating on footholds, balance and the next move.

This activity draws on Sagana’s reputation as an adventure destination, giving travellers a different way to experience Kenya’s outdoors. Test your confidence on the rock at a pace suited to the available session. Climbing is at additional cost and bookable on tour; arrangements may vary.

Take aim during an optional archery session in Sagana, focusing on stance, control and the satisfying precision of each shot. It is an active choice for travellers who prefer a challenge on land rather than in the river.

At Sagana’s outdoor adventure base, archery offers a change of pace from longer safari drives. Practise your aim and technique in a focused session. The activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to availability.

Choose an optional zip-line experience in Sagana for a brief burst of speed above the adventure site. Clipped into the equipment, you can take in the surrounding scenery from a perspective quite unlike a game drive.

Sagana is known for combining riverside surroundings with active outdoor experiences. Feel the rush of gliding through the air in an activity that calls for less exertion than rafting or climbing. Zip-lining is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to availability.

Join an optional Maasai village tour near Mto wa Mbu to meet local hosts and learn about aspects of their community and traditions. It offers a cultural activity in the area around Tanzania’s northern safari parks.

The Maasai’s pastoral heritage remains an important part of the region’s identity, alongside contemporary community life. Listen to your hosts’ own perspectives and approach the visit as an exchange rather than a performance. This tour is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the Mto wa Mbu area by mountain bike on an optional active outing. Riding rather than driving gives you a closer feel for the landscape and a chance to experience this gateway to Tanzania’s northern parks at a different pace.

Mto wa Mbu sits amid a varied landscape near Lake Manyara and the Rift Valley escarpment. Take in the surroundings from the saddle while following the route provided for the activity. Biking is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Head out on an optional night game drive in the Lake Manyara area to look for wildlife after dark. With the daytime landscape reduced to pools of light and shadow, attention shifts to movement, sounds and animals that may be more active at night.

A nocturnal drive offers a distinctly different safari atmosphere from the tour’s included daytime outings. Scan the darkness for signs of wildlife, remembering that sightings are never guaranteed. This activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour.