15 Days: Victoria Falls – Maasai Mara – Serengeti and Zanzibar

You're met on arrival at Victoria Falls Airport and transferred to Bayete Lodge, a drive of about 23 km that takes around 30 minutes. In the late afternoon, around 4:20pm, you set out on the Zambezi River for a relaxed dinner cruise. Sip your favorite beverage as you watch for hippos, elephants, crocodiles and the abundant birdlife that gathers along the water's edge, a gentle and beautiful introduction to Africa.

After breakfast, at 9:00am, you explore the falls up close and on foot. Walk the path that runs right beside the falls, feel the thunder, be touched by the mist and take in endless views of one of the natural wonders of the world. At noon you enjoy lunch at the historic Victoria Falls Hotel, and at around 3:20pm the day finishes with an elephant encounter that makes for a memorable late afternoon.
 

An early start at 6:30am takes you into Zambezi National Park for a morning game drive, when the park is cool and wildlife is at its most active. It is a quiet, rewarding way to experience the wild side of the Victoria Falls region before you leave Zimbabwe, and the rest of the day is yours to relax at the lodge.

After a relaxed breakfast at Bayete Lodge, you have time to rest before checking out and transferring to the airport for your flight to Nairobi, Kenya. On arrival you're met at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and driven to the Boma Hotel, where a bed and breakfast stay is arranged, giving you a comfortable night's rest before the early start into the Maasai Mara.
 

You set off early for the Maasai Mara National Reserve, one of the few places left on earth where wildlife still lives in comparative peace, in the numbers that once roamed the plains and forests of Africa. As the northern tip of the vast Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara hosts the spectacular seasonal movement of many thousands of wildebeest and zebra, followed closely by the predators that depend on them. You arrive in time for lunch, then head out on your first afternoon game drive before dinner and overnight at your camp or lodge.

After breakfast you set out on a full day of game drives with a packed lunch. The Mara is renowned for its black-maned lions and its abundant resident wildlife, and it is one of the few places where it is possible to see the Big Five in a single morning's drive. Bird lovers are well rewarded too, with almost 500 species recorded, including many eagles, hawks and falcons, several vulture and stork species, and the Kori bustard, the world's heaviest flying bird. You return for dinner and overnight.
 

The day begins with an early morning game drive in the Mara as you make your way out of the reserve toward the Isebania border. After border formalities you cross into Tanzania and continue on to Serengeti National Park. It is a long day of driving, but game viewing on the way in and out of the parks can be surprisingly rewarding. You arrive in the Serengeti for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast you head out with a packed lunch for a game drive across the Serengeti's acacia savannah in the central and eastern parts of the park. You break for a picnic lunch between 12:30pm and 1:00pm, then continue with an afternoon game drive before returning for dinner and overnight.
 

Wake at 6:00am for an early morning game drive in the Serengeti, returning to camp or lodge at 8:45am. After checking out, you drive toward the Ngorongoro Crater Rim with lunch and game viewing along the way. If you'd like, you can stop at Olduvai Gorge, the archaeological site, which is available at an extra cost. You arrive at the crater rim for dinner and overnight.
 

You descend into the crater for a six-hour tour of this natural amphitheatre of roughly 100 square miles, host to an astonishing array of wildlife. You may be lucky enough to see rhino, elephant, lion and buffalo, along with large herds of zebra and wildebeest. A picnic lunch is taken on the crater floor, and later in the afternoon you drive to the Manyara area for dinner and overnight.
 

After breakfast you leave your lodge with a packed lunch for Lake Manyara National Park. At 1:00pm you stop for lunch at the park's picnic area, then continue with an afternoon game drive before driving back to Arusha in the later afternoon for your overnight.
 

You fly from Arusha to Zanzibar, where you're met at the airport and transferred to Tembo House Hotel in Stone Town for your overnight. The rest of the day is yours to settle in and explore the old town's waterfront at your own pace.

At 8:00am you're picked up from your hotel and driven to Fumba village, where you board a special boat for a full-day guided Safari Blue tour. You visit three different sandbanks and stop at one of them for a seafood lunch, followed by snorkeling and a chance to see dolphins. You return to Fumba village in the late afternoon and are driven back to your hotel in the early evening for your overnight.
 

After breakfast, at 9:30am, you're picked up for a spice farm visit, where you see how different spices grow, taste the seasonal fruits and get a feel for everyday village life. Lunch is served at the spice farm. In the afternoon you explore Stone Town, the historic heart of the island, taking in the slave market site, the daily market, the House of Wonders, the Old Fort, the Palace Museum and the narrow streets, with time for shopping. In the evening you transfer to Nungwi on the island's north coast for your overnight at Amaan Bungalows.
 

Depending on your flight schedule, you're picked up from your hotel and transferred to Zanzibar Airport for your flight home, with memories of waterfalls, wildlife and white sand to take with you.