Multigenerational Family Journeys · 14 nights
The East Africa Family Epic
In the Mara your guide will have the vehicle at the river before first light. Whether the herds cross is up to the wildebeest. Being in the right place is up to us.
At a glance
- Nights
- 14
- Party
- 4–6 guests
- From
- Price on application
- Best season
- July–October (Migration)
Every family remembers its first breakfast at Giraffe Manor. A Rothschild giraffe pushes its head through the window, the youngest holds out a pellet, and a long black tongue takes it off the palm. Grandparents react exactly the way the children do. It is a good way to start two weeks in East Africa.
From Nairobi we fly to Angama Mara on the escarpment above the Mara Triangle for the Migration, then south into Tanzania for the Ngorongoro Crater, and finish on Mnemba Island off Zanzibar with the reef in front of the beach. It suits families of four to six, up to three generations. One aircraft, one vehicle and guide, and a second vehicle on request in the Mara and the Crater so the generations can keep their own hours.
Highlights
- Breakfast with the giraffe at Giraffe Manor and the 11am feed at the Sheldrick elephant orphanage
- The Mara from Angama's escarpment, with the river crossings in season
- A dawn balloon flight over the Mara in a private basket, and breakfast in the grass afterwards
- The Ngorongoro Crater floor at first light
- Stone Town on foot, then four nights on Mnemba Island with the turtles and the reef
The places
Where this journey takes you
Kenya
Nairobi
The only capital with a national park inside it, and Giraffe Manor's giraffes in the leafy suburb of Karen.
Nairobi · Maasai Mara · Ngorongoro · Zanzibar
The route
- Day 1–2
Nairobi · Giraffe Manor
One of the family suites at Giraffe Manor in Karen, with the giraffe at breakfast and again in the late afternoon. Day one: a morning in Nairobi National Park, with lion and rhino against the city skyline. Day two: the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust orphanage at 11am, when the young elephants are fed and roll in the mud a few metres from the rope.
- Day 3
Nairobi → Angama Mara
Charter from Wilson Airport to Angama's airstrip. Interconnecting suites on the Oloololo Escarpment, 1,000 feet above the Mara Triangle, with a private vehicle and guide for your family. Angama asks for one when children under seven are travelling, and we include it whatever the ages. From here on you are in a malaria area.
- Day 3–6
Angama Mara · 4 nights
Dawn drives into the Triangle, with the vehicle at the Mara River before the herds move. One morning, the balloon over the plains, then breakfast at a table in the grass. The crossings are never guaranteed; your guide watches the herds every day and moves you when they gather.
- Day 7
Mara → Ngorongoro
Charter south, clearing out of Kenya and into Tanzania, to Lake Manyara airstrip. Road up to the Crater rim and &Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, where each suite has its own butler.
- Day 7–10
Ngorongoro Crater · 4 nights
Two or three days down on the Crater floor: flamingos on the soda lake, lion, buffalo and, with luck, black rhino. The second vehicle lets the grandparents stay at the lake while the others follow the lions. Balloons do not fly in the Crater; the balloon on this journey is in the Mara.
- Day 11
Ngorongoro → Zanzibar
Road back to Manyara and a charter to Zanzibar. An afternoon on foot in Stone Town, the carved doors and the old fort, with a vehicle following for anyone who tires of the lanes. Then road and boat to Mnemba.
- Day 11–14
&Beyond Mnemba Island · 4 nights
Adjacent bandas on a small private island off the north-east coast. Snorkelling straight off the beach, diving for those who are qualified, sea turtles, and dinner on the sand.
- Day 15
Home
Boat and road to Zanzibar airport for your onward flights.
Flown by turboprop. How we choose the aircraft
How each generation spends the days
Grandparents
A vehicle parked high on the bank at the crossings with a clear view; slower days on the Crater floor by the soda lake; on Mnemba, a chair in shallow water and a book.
Parents
Dawn starts in the Mara, the balloon, long Crater days, snorkelling or diving on the Mnemba reef.
Children
Giraffe and baby elephants in Nairobi, short drives with lots of stops, the balloon if they meet the operator's age limit, the warm shallows on Mnemba.
The balloon lifts off in the dark and the light comes up while you are a few hundred feet over the Mara. Below, the wildebeest are moving in long lines across the grass. The grandparents are seeing Africa from the air for the first time; the children have the binoculars and are calling out what they find. The pilot brings the basket down low over the herd and lets it drift. When you land there is a table laid in the grass, and the family sits down to breakfast with the wildebeest still within sight.
Where you stay
The lodges
Included
- Private air throughout in one Pilatus PC-12 class turboprop: Nairobi–Mara–Manyara–Zanzibar
- A family suite at Giraffe Manor; interconnecting suites at Angama Mara; family suites at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge; adjacent bandas on Mnemba
- Private vehicle and guide in Nairobi, the Mara (including the private vehicle Angama asks for with children under seven) and the Crater, with a second vehicle on request
- All meals and drinks
- Mara balloon flight in a private basket, with bush breakfast
- Nairobi National Park, the Sheldrick orphanage, the Stone Town walk, snorkelling at Mnemba
- Medical evacuation cover for the whole party
- Pre-departure pack and a coffee-table book of the journey afterwards
Price on application. Every family is different, so we price each journey on the number of guests and the ages of the children. Excludes international flights.
Treat this journey as a starting point. Your Journey Architect will change the pace, swap a lodge, add a round or take one out.
Download this itinerary (PDF)Day by day, the lodges, the courses and the aircraft, to share or forward.
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