Safari Highlights Tour Schedule

Day One: Leave Japan 2315. Night on plane.

Day Two: Arrive Nairobi, via Dubai. Check-in 1700. Dinner in hotel.

Day Three: Leave Nairobi for Amboseli, 0800. Break in Namanga. Arrive Amboseli for late lunch. Evening Safari, 1600 to 1830.

Day Four: Morning Safari, 0630 to 1000. Visit Maasai Village. Lunch. Evening Safari, 1600 to 1830.

Day Five: 0730 departure for Nakuru (lunch stop near Nairobi). (5h+ to Nairobi, then 3h30+ to Nakuru) Mini-Safari 1700 to 1830.

Day Six: Lake Nakuru Safari, 0700 to 0930. Drive to Maasai Mara (6h30), with Evening Safari on arrival, before check-in.

Day Seven: Morning Safari, 0630 to 1000. Free time in lodge. Evening Safari, 1600 to 1830. New Year's Day Dinner.

Day Eight: All-day Safari, as far as the Tanzanian border, 0700 to 1800.

Day Nine: 0700 depart straight for Nairobi with break in Namanga. Lunch near Nairobi. Flight to Japan, via Dubai 1640.

Day Ten: Night at Dubai airport. Arrive Kansai International Airport, 1730.

The time in Nakuru was rather short, especially given the time to drive there from Amboseli and then to Maasai Mara. An extra day would have been good, especially for birdwatchers. Also there is a prehistoric site nearby at Hyrax Hill, which would have been interesting. Nonetheless, it was worth the travel, and there is nothing that the party members would have given up in exchange for an extra day in Nakuru. If the tour had gone Nakuru to Amboseli to Maasai Mara, then one five-hour drive from Amboseli to Nairobi on the way to Nakuru could have been used for extra time in Nakuru. However, the logic of the tour was: big animals in Amboseli - a change of scene with the Lake in Nakuru - big animals in Mara (which is rather different from Amboseli). This worked well.