Self-Launched Kenya & Tanzania Safari + Zanzibar: Nairobi to Stone Town

Land at Jomo Kenyatta International (JKIA). Take an airport taxi or the Airport Bus shuttle to a hostel in Westlands or Kilimani (Kibera/Upper Hill also work) — roughly KES 1,500–2,500 (£9–£15). Afternoon: walk to the Giraffe Centre or Nairobi National Museum if you have energy. Evening: use the hostel common room to compare quotes from 2–3 Nairobi safari operators for the Kenya leg (Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara, Amboseli), or pre-book a small-group departure on GetYourGuide/Viator before you arrive. Do your own 'welcome meeting': check your Namanga border paperwork and eTA, buy a local Safaricom SIM with data (£2–£3).

🚌Airport taxi/shuttle ~£12; walking or matatu around town ~£1

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Westlands/Kilimani (£12–£22)

• →Giraffe Centre or Nairobi Museum (optional, ~£10)
• →Buy SIM card and confirm safari operator quotes

Join a shared safari shuttle or take a matatu/bus from Nairobi to Nakuru town (about 3 hours, KES 500–800, £3–£5), then a boda-boda or taxi into the park gate area (£5). Budget guesthouses cluster near the park entrance. Afternoon: book a 3-hour game drive with a park-approved guide at the gate or via your guesthouse (£25–£35 per person in a shared vehicle, plus park fees). Lake Nakuru is famous for flamingos (when water levels allow), white rhino and Rothschild's giraffe.

🚌Shared shuttle/matatu Nairobi–Nakuru ~£4; taxi to gate ~£5; shared game-drive vehicle ~£30

🛏Guesthouse near Lake Nakuru National Park (£15–£25)

• →Afternoon game drive in Lake Nakuru NP
• →Flamingo viewpoint and baboon cliff lookout

Early 6:30am game drive into the park with a shared vehicle — best light for rhino and lion sightings (£30 including park entry). Back for late breakfast, then a free afternoon: relax, or take a matatu to Nakuru town for the market and a cheap nyama choma lunch (£3–£5). Book your onward Maasai Mara transfer tonight (shared shuttle from Nakuru to Narok/Sekenani gate, or back via Nairobi).

🚌Shared game-drive vehicle ~£30; matatu to town ~£1

🛏Guesthouse near Lake Nakuru National Park (£15–£25)

• →Sunrise game drive
• →Nakuru town market wander

Travel by shared shuttle or matatu via Narok to the Maasai Mara area (4–5 hours, £10–£15). Check into a budget tented camp or guesthouse just outside the reserve (Talek or Sekenani gate area). Afternoon: arrange a Maasai village visit through your camp — many Maasai-run conservancies offer this for £10–£20 with a local guide, far cheaper and more respectful than a fixed tour stop. Evening: sundowner on the camp deck, sort your full-day Mara game drive for tomorrow (£60–£80 per person in a shared 4x4 with park fees).

🚌Shared shuttle Nakuru–Narok–Mara ~£12

🛏Budget tented camp, Talek/Sekenani (£18–£30)

• →Maasai village visit with local guide (~£15)
• →Conservancy sunset walk

Full-day shared game drive through the reserve with a packed lunch (£65–£85 including entry). This is prime big-cat country, and July–October brings the Great Migration river crossings at the Mara River. Pre-book a hot-air balloon safari independently if you want it — Governors' Balloon Safaris and Mara Balloon Safaris sell direct, roughly £350–£420 including breakfast (this is the single biggest optional add-on and not in the total).

🚌Shared 4x4 game-drive vehicle ~£70

🛏Budget tented camp, Talek/Sekenani (£18–£30)

• →Full-day Maasai Mara game drive
• →Optional hot-air balloon safari (~£380, extra)

Morning departure with wildlife-spotting stops on the way out of the reserve, shared shuttle back to Nairobi (5–6 hours, £10–£15). Check back into your Nairobi hostel. Evening: head to a nyama choma spot or the K'osewe/Mama Oliech area for cheap local food (£5–£8), or a beer in Westlands. Confirm your Amboseli transport — the shared shuttle Nairobi–Emali–Amboseli leaves early.

🚌Shared shuttle Mara–Nairobi ~£12

🛏Hostel dorm/private room, Nairobi (£12–£22)

• →Scenic exit drive from the Mara
• →Nairobi street-food evening

Shared shuttle or matatu from Nairobi to Emali, then a shared taxi into Amboseli (total 4–5 hours, £8–£12). Check into a budget lodge or banda near Kimana gate and take an afternoon game drive with a local guide (£30–£40 plus park fees). Amboseli's draw is enormous elephant herds against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro — clearest in the early morning.

🚌Shared shuttle Nairobi–Emali–Amboseli ~£10; shared game drive ~£35

🛏Budget lodge/banda near Kimana Gate (£20–£35)

• →Afternoon game drive in Amboseli NP
• →Elephant herds with Kilimanjaro views

6:30am game drive for the classic Kilimanjaro-and-elephants photo (£30). Then take a shared vehicle or boda to the Namanga border (£8–£12), walk through Kenyan exit and Tanzanian entry, and pick up a shared shuttle/coach from Namanga to Arusha (2–2.5 hours, £6–£10). Note: you'll need your Kenyan eTA, Tanzanian e-visa and (as of 2026) Tanzania's mandatory NIC inbound travel insurance plus a yellow fever certificate — have printouts ready. Evening in Arusha: walk the clock tower area, eat at a cheap local hotel, and shop your Ngorongoro/Serengeti/Tarangire package with 2–3 Arusha operators.

🚌Amboseli–Namanga border ~£10; Namanga–Arusha shared shuttle ~£8

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Arusha (£12–£25)

• →Sunrise game drive in Amboseli
• →Sort Tanzania safari package in Arusha

Join a 2–3 day shared or small-group Northern Circuit safari from Arusha (either a fixed-group departure sold by operators like Ranger Safaris, Easy Travel or Leopard Tours, or a seat in a shared 4x4 — typically £150–£200 per person per day including park fees, lodging and most meals). Day one: morning drive to Tarangire for baobabs and huge elephant herds, picnic lunch in the park, then continue to Karatu or Mto wa Mbu for the night. Do the Mto wa Mbu community visit and lunch independently — it's a village-level activity you can just turn up to or arrange with your lodge (£5–£10).

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle from Arusha ~£60 (within package)

🛏Budget lodge in Karatu or Mto wa Mbu (£20–£35, often included in safari price)

• →Tarangire NP game drive
• →Mto wa Mbu community visit and local lunch

Slow morning in Karatu. Optional: an independent half-day Lake Manyara safari (£70–£100 with fees, best for tree-climbing lions and flamingos at the lake shore). In the afternoon, walk or boda to a Karatu coffee cooperative — the area's arabica farms run farm tours with sorting and roasting for £10–£20, and you avoid the tour-group markup. Dinner at a local guesthouse; Karatu is cool at night, so bring a fleece.

🚌Boda/local taxi ~£3

🛏Budget lodge in Karatu (£20–£35)

• →Karatu coffee farm tour and roasting
• →Optional Lake Manyara half-day safari (~£85, extra)

Very early start for the descent road into Ngorongoro Crater — 600m down into the caldera with black rhino, lion, elephant and buffalo all in a day's game drive. Picnic lunch at the Ngoitokitok springs, then continue up onto the Serengeti plains via Naabi Hill Gate, game-driving en route to a budget tented camp or public campsite in the central Serengeti (Seronera). Note park fees are steep (roughly £50–£60 per day for Serengeti conservation + entry), which is why the multi-day package is the efficient way to do this.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle ~£80 (within package)

🛏Tented camp or public campsite banda, Seronera (£20–£40)

• →Ngorongoro Crater full game drive
• →Naabi Hill to Seronera game drive

Full-day game drive across the central Serengeti with a picnic lunch — leopards in the Seronera riverine trees, lions on the kopjes, and the migration herds if you're there June–September. Optional independent Serengeti balloon flight (book direct with Serengeti Balloon Safaris, roughly £450–£520 — significant extra). Sunset back at camp. Most shared safaris end this evening or the next morning depending on your package length — confirm this today.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle ~£80 (within package)

🛏Tented camp or public campsite banda, Seronera (£20–£40)

• →Full-day Serengeti game drive
• →Optional Serengeti balloon safari (~£480, extra)

Game drive out of the Serengeti via the Ngorongoro highlands back to Arusha (long day, 6–8 hours including stops). Alternatively, if your package was shorter, use this as an Arusha buffer day: sort your Zanzibar flight, buy bus/coach tickets, and visit the Maasai Market and Cultural Heritage centre. Evening: hostel bar or local restaurant, and pre-book your Stone Town spice tour for Day 15 via GetYourGuide (£20–£30).

🚌Shared safari transfer ~£40 (within package) or dala-dala around Arusha ~£1

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Arusha (£12–£25)

• →Return transfer Serengeti–Arusha
• →Maasai Market and Cultural Heritage centre

Fly from Kilimanjaro (JRO) or Arusha (ARK) to Zanzibar (ZNZ) — Air Tanzania, Precision Air and Coastal Aviation all fly this route; one-way fares booked direct are typically £55–£90 if you're flexible on dates. From Abeid Amani Karume airport, take a dala-dala to Stone Town for the night, or skip straight to Nungwi/Kendwa in the north by shared taxi (£20–£25 for the hour-long drive). Beach guesthouses in Nungwi start around £18–£30 for a private room. Sunset at Kendwa beach, fresh seafood dinner (£6–£10).

🚌Domestic flight JRO/ARK–ZNZ ~£70; airport to north coast shared taxi ~£22

🛏Beach guesthouse, Nungwi/Kendwa (£20–£35)

• →Domestic flight to Zanzibar
• →Kendwa beach sunset

Dala-dala into Stone Town. Join a half-day spice farm tour — bookable direct through your guesthouse or via GetYourGuide (£20–£30 including transport and tasting) — the islands' cloves, vanilla and cinnamon are the real thing. Afternoon: self-guided Stone Town walk: Forodhani Gardens, the Old Fort, Darajani Market and the Freddie Mercury house exterior. House of Wonders and the old slave market / Anglican Cathedral are worth a proper visit (£3–£5 entry). Evening: Forodhani night food market — Zanzibar pizza and sugared cane juice for under £4.

🚌Dala-dala from north coast ~£1; local taxis ~£1–£2

🛏Stone Town guesthouse/hostel (£15–£30)

• →Spice farm tour (~£25)
• →Forodhani Gardens night market
• →Old Fort and Darajani Market walk

Full day free for the island. Options: snorkelling or dhow sailing to Mnemba Atoll (£25–£40 booked direct on the beach or via guesthouse), the Jozani Forest red colobus monkey walk (£10–£15 with local guide), or a lazy swim at Jambiani's tidal flats. Keep it cheap by eating at local kiosks (urojo soup, grilled fish and chips, £3–£6). Wear modest clothing away from beaches — Zanzibar is overwhelmingly Muslim.

🚌Shared taxi between Stone Town and east/north coast ~£15

🛏Beach guesthouse (£20–£35)

• →Mnemba Atoll snorkel trip (~£30)
• →Optional Jozani Forest walk (~£12)

Morning swim or a last walk around Stone Town's alleys, then a taxi to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (£5–£8). If you're heading home, book an afternoon or later international departure — the same 2:30pm minimum connection time applies as on the group trip. Extend with a few extra beach days if your budget allows, or head on to Dar es Salaam by ferry (Azam Marine, ~2 hours, £10–£15) for onward buses.

🚌Taxi to Zanzibar airport ~£7

🛏N/A (departure day)

• →Stone Town morning walk
• →Airport transfer