Safari and Serenity is a seven-day Kenya and Zanzibar safari built on a single idea: that the best way to end a week in the wilderness is with your feet in the Indian Ocean. Three nights of private game drives on the Maasai Mara, then four nights of barefoot luxury on the coast, joined by one short flight.
No repacking between lodges. No long transfers. Two halves of one journey, each doing what it does best.
Why Pair the Mara with Zanzibar
A safari is exhilarating and it is also demanding. Early starts, long hours in a vehicle, constant stimulation. Most travellers hit day four wanting to slow down rather than speed up.
Zanzibar sits under an hour by air from Nairobi, which makes it the most natural decompression anywhere in East Africa. You finish the Mara on a high, fly out the same day, and are on a beach by late afternoon.
- One flight between the two halves. Mara to Nairobi, then a direct connection to Zanzibar.
- A private vehicle and guide for the safari leg, not a shared circuit seat.
- Reserve or conservancy, your choice. The private conservancies permit off-road viewing and night drives; the national reserve puts you in the heart of the classic Mara.
- Beachfront on the east or north coast, chosen for swimmable water at most tide states.
Into the Heart of the Maasai Mara
Three nights in Kenya’s most celebrated wildlife area, with the choice of staying inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve or in one of the private conservancies along its northern boundary. Each has its own character, and we will match you to whichever suits the way you like to travel.
Mornings begin before light, when the cats are still moving. Breakfast is taken wherever the morning has led. Afternoons are unhurried, and evenings end with a drink on a rise while the plains turn copper.
Between July and October the migration herds are here and river crossings are possible. Outside that window the resident game on this Maasai Mara safari remains among the densest in Africa.
Island Serenity in Zanzibar
The second half of this safari and beach holiday asks nothing of you at all. Four nights at an ultra-luxury beachfront resort, with white sand, turquoise shallows and a room that opens onto both.
Days are yours to shape or to ignore. Spa treatments in an open pavilion. A dhow out at sunset. Snorkelling on the reef at Mnemba, or diving if you are certified. Stone Town is an easy morning if you want the history, the spice market and the architecture, and entirely skippable if you do not.
Most guests, by day three, have stopped making plans. That is a good sign, and it is the point of a Zanzibar beach holiday after six days of early starts.
What Is Included
- Six nights of accommodation as described: three on full board on safari, four on full board on the coast
- All flights: Nairobi to the Maasai Mara, Maasai Mara to Nairobi, Nairobi to Zanzibar
- All park, reserve and conservancy fees
- Private 4×4 safari vehicle and professional guide throughout the safari leg
- Two game activities daily, including night drives where permitted
- All meals on safari
- All airport transfers in Nairobi and on Zanzibar
- Bottled water and emergency evacuation cover
What Is Not Included
- International flights, Kenyan travel authorisation and Tanzanian visa
- Travel insurance, which is a condition of booking
- Lunches and dinners outside the resort on Zanzibar
- Premium wines, champagne and imported spirits
- Optional activities: balloon flights, diving, Stone Town tours, spa treatments
- Gratuities for guides, camp and resort staff
When to Travel
June to October suits both halves of a Kenya and Zanzibar safari at once. The Mara is dry and the migration is in country; Zanzibar is in its cooler, drier season with calm seas. This is the strongest window and it books far ahead.
December to February is the other good pairing. Hot and clear on the coast, green and quiet on the plains, and calving season in the Mara ecosystem.
Avoid April and May. The long rains affect both destinations, and many coastal properties close outright.
Planning Your Kenya and Zanzibar Safari
Every luxury Zanzibar safari we operate is quoted for your dates, your party and your pace. Send us your travel window and we will return a full costing with camp and resort options within one working day.
Looking to add the Serengeti as well? See our full range of tour packages, or read the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism guidance on entry requirements.
