Affordable – Less Than 2 Week Kenya Tanzania Combined Itinerary
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This is the review for those who are looking for less than 2 week Kenya Tanzania Combined Itinerary. If you are greedy like me, include both Countries in a 2-week (or less) vacation, including a long international flight. Also want to ensure the trip is a reasonable budget, not too low at the expense of the time or too overpriced compared to the value. My plan for visiting both Countries with 6 safaris is the best for you. I will start on day 1
Planning a less than 2-week Kenya Tanzania combined itinerary can seem daunting, especially if you’re aiming for an affordable Kenya Tanzania safari trip that packs in wildlife adventures without breaking the bank. As someone who has traveled to over 70 countries, I crafted this budget Kenya Tanzania itinerary to balance city exploration, iconic safaris, and seamless border crossings—all while keeping costs under USD 3,000, including flights.
The itinerary is well-proven based on my recent experiences to maximize your time and budget.
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
Tanzania 🇹🇿 :
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Arusha to Ngorongoro Crater
✅3 Days 2 Nights – Safari trip including Serengeti & Ngorongoro
Kenya 🇰🇪 :
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
More About East African Safaris
There are multiple safari packages available on reputable travel agency platforms like Viator and GetYourGuide. The duration could be a day trip to 2 weeks, starting from 200 USD or so, and all inclusive. If you want a further discount, you can even contact the local tour operator directly.
Day 1: Arrival
My flight landed in Nairobi at around 4 pm, when most museums closed. I took Uber in Nairobi to the hotel. After settling down, I just had dinner with grocery shopping at Carrefour.
I intentionally reserve day 2 for a city center visit in Nairobi. This is essentially in case there is any delay in flight on the first day, I shall still have one day as a buffer before my safari trip begins.
If your arrival is in the late afternoon like mine, prioritize rest over rushing into sightseeing—many attractions close by 5-6 pm anyway (even the Masai market). I hopped into an Uber from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) for a smooth, budget-friendly ride to my hotel in the CBD area, costing about 1,000-1,500 KES (around $7-12 USD). For detailed tips on navigating the airport pickup, check out my guide on Nairobi Airport Uber.
Day 2: Nairobi City Center Visit
The main attractions in Nairobi can be covered in one day, including multiple museums, markets, and of course, the great Giraffe Center, where it is the only place in Kenya you can have a close encounter with giraffes.
Dedicating a full day to Nairobi’s highlights is a smart move in any budget Kenya city exploration, as it adds urban variety to your wildlife-focused itinerary. The local food is cheap, and Uber rides are affordable. For the deep-dive itinerary, you can refer to my other post for one day in Nairobi.
🦒🦒🦒 Package Tour Is Also Available! ✅
For Dedicated Time Saver Only
Package tour that includes the Nairobi Giraffe Center, Elephant Orphanage, and Nairobi National Park are also available online. But I would only recommend that to those who want to save time for planning and would stay in Nairobi mainly for layover
Day 3: Beginning of the Safari Tour
The second day was the beginning of my 10-day safari tour. Despite being 10 10-day safari tour, note that the participants who share the same jeep could be with different packages or even tour operators. A jeep can accommodate up to 8 people. We brought 2 40 L backpacks and a large Ikea bag in total. In general, the driver will help you to stuff your luggage, but better not to bring oversized luggage.
Noting that the driver is also the guide. The first day is mainly for driving from Nairobi to the Masai Mara with a stop at the Great Rift Valley. The souvenir shop is usually overpriced on the road (the best place to buy is at the Central market in Nairobi or Amboseli National Park on Day 7).
After that ~ 5-hour drive, you will be served with a buffet lunch at the campsite. There is an optional activity for an evening game drive at the Masai Mara for ~ 100 USD. But given that there will be a whole game drive there, I decided to skip and visit the village nearby instead.
The dinner at the campsite starts at around 7 pm. Take a good rest in the tranquil environment of the campsite, because the next day you will be starting early at around 5 am.
Day 4: Masai Mara National Park
After breakfast at around 6 am. You will be spending your whole day in the Masai Mara National Park. It is the place renowned for the climax of the Great Migration for over 1.5 million wildebeest. Whether you will be seeing them depends on luck and timing.
However, you are likely to see a lot of lions in the national park. During my last visit, I saw a tribe of lions eating a gigantic buffalo. The game drive will also include several toilet breaks, a picnic lunch, and a walk near the Mara River. For the detailed experience, feel free to check my review of the Masai Mara National Park.
The drive ends at around 6 pm, followed by another relaxing buffet dinner at the campsite, where the tranquil bush sounds and starry skies provide a peaceful contrast to the day’s excitement.
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
The Once In Life Experience
The Masai Mara National Park is the most famous safari park in Kenya. All it takes is just 3 days, 2 nights in Kenya and you can have a taste of this one in life experience.
Day 5: Transit to Lake Nakuru National Park
Starting with another 6 am breakfast, it will be a 4-hour drive to Lake Nakuru, arriving for lunch at a nearby hotel (also the only hotel we will be staying at in the Kenya part). This soda lake park is famed for its flamingo flocks and rhino sanctuary, offering diverse wildlife in a compact area—perfect for birdwatchers and those seeking black and white rhinos.
My Lake Nakuru National Park review covers the vibrant pink shores and easy animal spotting. The afternoon game drive revealed an inspiring scene of “herbivores kingdom” with a mix of herbivores, including Thomson’s gazelle, zebras, buffaloes, and elephants, on the same grassland.
The day ended with a buffet dinner at the hotel. This was my sole hotel stay in Kenya’s safari leg—more comfortable than campsites (although not as scenic) with 24-hour hot water and WiFi.
Day 6: Lake Naivasha Boat Ride Optional
After breakfast in the morning, around 7 am in the hotel, day 6 is the optional activity for the Lake Naivasha Boat Ride. During my last visit, the combination of Lake Naivasha Boat ride with a walking safari on the private farm cost around 40 USD.
Instead of skipping that, as I did for the first day of the Masai Mara, I decided to join it and also recommend you do so. First, the ~ 3-hour boat ride plus safari walk is very fruitful. You will be able to spot a variety of bird lives on the boat ride, and I even spotted a group of hippos during my last visit. An African fish eagle feeding show is included, and during the safari walk, you can get reasonably close to different herbivores for a photo, which is hard to do during a normal game drive.
On the other hand, you will have to stay in a coffee shop with no other attraction worth exploring for 3 hours if you choose not to join the boat ride. After the boat ride in the morning, the rest of the day is mainly a transition to another campsite near the Amboseli National Park with a buffet lunch in a restaurant and another buffet in the campsite.
PS: Yes, another 3 buffets in a day. That’s why I said the food is super abundant even for a budget tour…
Lake Naivasha Standalone Tour
Lake Naivasha is only 2 hours drive from Nairobi. In that, there are multiple tours (usually in combinations with Lake Nakuru or Hell Gate National Park). The below is a one day standalone tour for boat ride at Lake Naivasha and walking safari on the Crescent Island.
Day 7: Full Day Amboseli Game Drive
Similar to the day at the Masai Mara safari, today we will be having a full day game drive in Amboseli National Park, after, of course, another buffet breakfast. The full day game drive includes a break at a lodge, a picnic lunch at a viewpoint, and the highlights are the tribes of elephants with Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. For more details and pictures about Amboseli, feel free to check out my review post.
You will encounter a couple of souvenir shops at the entrance of Amboseli National Park. They are by far the most affordable I have ever seen in Kenya for the locals.
The day will end with a final buffet dinner at the campsite. During my visit, I stayed in the Nyati Safari Camp and enjoyed the large camp house in the wild a lot. This is our last night in Kenya.
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
A Day In Amboseli
Amboseli National Park offers you a great variety of animal encounters. There you will find most elephant tribes in Africa with the great backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Day 8: Border Crossing to Tanzania (Arusha)
Day 8 is for border crossing from Kenya to Tanzania. After breakfast at around 6 am at the campsite, it will be a around 3 hours drive to the Namanga border crossing. From there, you will be crossing the border.
There, you need to make sure you have your visa and yellow fever certificate ready. The travel operator will arrange transport from the border to the Arusha hotel for you. Usually, you will arrive in Arusha around 2 pm. Lunch will be a packed lunch similar to those you have during a game drive.
There will be a different agent sent by the tour operator to pick you up at the border. Just make sure whoever is picking you up knows what they are doing. I had a hiccup that caused a long wait after clearing customs because the agent didn’t know I should be in a private car instead of the shuttle. In the end, I had to log a complaint via WhatsApp to the tour operator to get that settled.
So make sure you WhatsApp the tour operator if it senses something not working; they are usually responsive and fast. Arriving in Arusha, you can grab a half-day to explore the main attractions there and have a local dinner.
Despite arriving at the hotel around 3 pm due to the delay, I was still able to visit all the main attractions of Arusha within a half-day. It is a great city exploration after a week of safaris, and I would recommend doing so as well. The whole city is accessible via Bolt at a low price.
Day 9: Serengeti Half Game Drive
Today will be the beginning of the Tanzanian safari. The drive from Arusha to Serengeti is around 6 hours long. So will only have half a day for the game drive. The Tanzanian part of the trip is a bit different from Kenya, where you will have two staff members accompanying you. One as a driver and guide, similar to Kenya, and another as a chef to prepare local food.
The accommodation in the safari will be wild tent camping (unlike the large campsite house in Kenya).
Day 10: Full Day Game Drive At Serengeti
Breakfast starts at around 6 am at the campsite with the chef-prepared food. The day will begin with a full-day game drive in Serengeti. Despite being on the same piece of land, the Serengeti is way larger than the Masai Mara. Because of that, the animal density is a lot lower than in probably all the other safaris you have been on so far on the trip. Although it is the most famous safari in Tanzania, it did disappoint me a bit. For details, you can check my Serengeti review on another post.
After the end of the game drive, you will be moving to Simba Campsite or another campsite located near the Ngorongoro Crater for a local dinner.
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
Tanzania 🇹🇿 :
3 Days 2 Nights – Safari trip including Serengeti & Ngorongoro
Kenya 🇰🇪 :
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
3 Day 2 Night Serengeti tour package
Due to its size and distance from Arusha, a day trip to the Serengeti is not possible, or at least not worth it. Most of the basic safari tours will be 3 to 4 days, including a game drive in Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Day 11: Last Game Drive at Ngorongoro Crater and Return
Day 11 is the last day of the safari. Our last drive will be a half-day at Ngorongoro Crater. I didn’t have many expectations after the disappointment of Serengeti yesterday. But the crater proved me wrong, then the density of animals and the beauty of the landscape down at the crater was the most impressive scene I had during my whole vacation. Later on, I found out that Ngorongoro is actually one of the seven wonders of Africa.
Because over 30,000 animals are crowded in the crater. You will actually see the “little migration” of wildebeests year-round. Lions and leopards are also available there. This is your last chance to get all the Big Fives. For more photos and details, you may take a look at my review of Ngorongoro Crater.
After the half-day game drive, you will have lunch at around 2 pm at the campsite before heading back to Arusha. Returning to Arusha around 7 pm, feel free to bolt to the town for dinner to celebrate the completion of the safari journey.
It Is Worth Going !
The Ngorongoro Crater has almost every merit you can find in an African Safari. Having all the big 5, a beautiful landscape, millions of history, clear weather, proximity to the city center, a cheap tour package, and even a mini-migration! It is definitely worth going.
Day 12: Last Day Return to Nairobi & Departure
The last day will be mainly returning from Arusha to Nairobi. You can book the bus from Arusha to Nairobi for ~ 20 USD in case it is not included in your tour package. You shall arrive at the Nairobi city center around 2 to 3 pm. During my time, I took the night flight, so basically I just did a last rush of souvenir shopping at the central market. Then take an Uber to the airport.
This marks the end of our less than 2-week combined trip for Kenya and Tanzania with 6 safaris and 2 city center visits.
Conclusion: Having a Meaningful Trip in Kenya and Tanzania in Less Than 2 Weeks Is Possible
Including the flight time, I roughly spent a bit less than 2 weeks on my vacation to Kenya and Tanzania. While the itinerary could be a bit packed, I did visit two major city centers, Nairobi and Arusha, plus visit 6 safaris.
Being in the real East African safari is amazing. The feeling of being in the Masai Mara and Serengeti, which I could only watch on TV when I was a kid, was just life-changing. This is also one of the best (and best-valued) trips I have had over my visits to 70 + Countries so far.
Although the transit from one safari to another would be long, it is suitable for kids (given that most of the time you just need to eat and sit in the jeep). Despite being on the bucket list of many, the expense is a lot cheaper than what others suggested.
I spent less than 3,000 USD, including a flight ticket and a professional lens purchase. Planning, as you see, is easy, basically a DIY visit in Nairobi & Arusha, plus the rest being handled by the tour operator.
I also made another article for the top 10 things you should consider before the trip. I hope you will be having your African adventure soon, too!
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
Tanzania 🇹🇿 :
3 Days 2 Nights – Safari trip including Serengeti & Ngorongoro
Kenya 🇰🇪 :
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
A Life Changing Vacation
The less than 2 week vacation is not onlywildlife feasible and affordable price, it offered a real wildlife experience in the safaris. Growing up with National Geographic documentaries and now finally being here, is very inspiring. I highly recommend you to do the same to!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the best less than 2-week Kenya Tanzania combined itinerary for budget travelers?
This 12-day plan covers Nairobi, six safaris (Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Naivasha, Amboseli, Serengeti, Ngorongoro), and Arusha, balancing cost and highlights.
How much does a budget Kenya Tanzania safari itinerary cost?
Around $2,500-3,000, including flights, tours (~$1,500), meals, and extras—far cheaper than luxury options.
What visas and vaccines are needed for Kenya Kenya-Tanzania combined trip?
E-visas for Kenya. For Tanzania, you will need a yellow fever certificate and a Visa (depending on the passport you are holding).
Best time for Kenya Tanzania wildlife itinerary?
End of June to avoid the crowd, in my opinion.
Are safaris in this itinerary kid-friendly?
Absolutely—jeep-based with minimal walking; campsites are secure.
How to cross the Kenya-Tanzania border affordably?
Via Namanga with tour-arranged transport; bus back from Arusha.
What food to expect on Tanzania safaris?
Chef-prepared buffets with local flavors; similar to Kenya but more varied.
Best apps for transport in Arusha and Nairobi?
Bolt for Arusha and Uber for Nairobi
Where to buy souvenirs in this itinerary?
Nairobi Central market for Kenya and the Maasai market of Curios and Crafts for Arusha.
