Self-Launched East Africa: Maasai Mara, Serengeti & Zanzibar

Land at JKIA and take an Uber or Bolt into Westlands or Kilimani (~£5-8) — far cheaper than a hotel transfer. Check into a hostel such as Wildebeest Eco Camp or a budget guesthouse in Kilimani. Sort your Kenya ETA before travel (approx £25) and buy a Safaricom SIM/eSIM at the airport (~£2-3 for data). Spend the evening acclimatising: dinner at a local nyama choma spot or the cheap-and-cheerful Habesha Ethiopian restaurants around town. Book your Mara shuttle for tomorrow morning tonight.

🚌Uber/Bolt from JKIA ~£6

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Westlands/Kilimani (~£14)

• →Airport transfer to hostel
• →Buy Safaricom SIM
• →Evening street food / nyama choma

Take a shared safari shuttle/minibus from Nairobi to the Mara (the main operators — e.g. Riverside shuttles, or shuttles booked through your camp — run daily, ~£25-35, 5-6 hrs with a Rift Valley viewpoint stop). Cheaper and faster alternatives are the 45-min safari-link flights from Wilson Airport (~£110-140 one way) if you want to skip the drive. Arrive at a tented camp or bandas just outside the reserve. In the afternoon, do a self-arranged Maasai village visit (~£15-20 arranged through your camp, which pays a community fee directly) and an evening game drive in a conservancy concession.

🚌Shared shuttle ~£30

🛏Budget safari tented camp outside the reserve (~£30)

• →Shared shuttle Nairobi-Maasai Mara
• →Maasai village visit
• →Afternoon conservancy game drive

Join a shared 4x4 game drive in the Maasai Mara National Reserve with other camp guests (day drive with park entry ~£75-90 including reserve fees; group-shared vehicles keep it affordable). Early morning and late afternoon are best for predator activity — take a picnic lunch and be out from 06:30 to 17:00. Skip the £380+ balloon flight unless it's a bucket-list priority; if you do want it, book direct with Governors' Balloon Safaris or Mara Balloon and expect ~£380-420. Back at camp for a campfire dinner.

🚌Shared 4x4 included in game drive

🛏Budget safari tented camp (~£30)

• →Full-day shared game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve
• →Optional hot-air balloon safari (~£400 extra)

Morning game drive out of the reserve on your way to the airstrip or shuttle pickup. Return to Nairobi by shared shuttle (~£30) or a cheap safari-link flight if booked. Afternoon free: the Nairobi National Museum (~£10), the Karen Blixen Museum, or the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage if you arrive early enough (book direct, ~£12). Dinner at a local spot in Kilimani, or head to the Amani Ya Juu café — the community project G Adventures includes — for lunch/coffee and crafts.

🚌Shared shuttle back ~£30

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Nairobi (~£14)

• →Morning exit game drive
• →Nairobi National Museum or Sheldrick orphanage
• →Amani Ya Juu café visit

Take the morning shuttle or a matatu route via Emali to Kimana/Amboseli gate (~£10-15, 4-5 hrs). Budget lodges and camps just outside the gate (e.g. in Kimana) run ~£25-40 a night, and most will arrange a shared afternoon game drive with other guests (~£50-60 including park fees of ~£45). Amboseli's elephants with Kilimanjaro behind them are the classic shot — the view is best in the early morning and at sunset.

🚌Shuttle + matatu ~£14

🛏Budget lodge/campsite at Kimana gate (~£30)

• →Shuttle/matatu to Amboseli
• →Sunset game drive in Amboseli NP

Early morning game drive in Amboseli (~£50-60 shared). Then a shared shuttle or local bus to Namanga border (~£8-10, 2 hrs). Cross on foot at Namanga (this is the same border post G Adventures uses) — get your Tanzania e-visa in advance (~£45-55) and have your yellow fever certificate ready. From Namanga, take a Namanga-Arusha shuttle/bus (~£5-7, 2 hrs) to Arusha. Check into a hostel or guesthouse in Arusha town and eat at a local 'mama lishe' canteen or the Arusha night market.

🚌Shuttles and border crossing ~£20

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, Arusha (~£14)

• →Amboseli morning game drive
• →Namanga border crossing
• →Arusha town evening

Join a shared day-safari from Arusha to Tarangire National Park (~£110-140 joining a group vehicle, including park fees of ~£55 and lunch). Tarangire's baobabs and huge elephant herds make it one of Tanzania's best-value parks. Most budget day trips combine Tarangire with an overnight in Karatu or Mto wa Mbu — a night in Mto wa Mbu is cheap (~£15) and puts you close to Ngorongoro for tomorrow. Alternatively join a 4-5 day budget camping safari (Tarangire–Serengeti–Ngorongoro, ~£600-750 all-in for park fees, camping, meals and vehicle) which is the standard backpacker route.

🚌Shared safari vehicle (included in day trip)

🛏Budget guesthouse, Karatu or Mto wa Mbu (~£16)

• →Tarangire NP game drive
• →Picnic lunch in the park

Book a coffee plantation tour direct with a local cooperative around Karatu or nearby Tloma/Iraqw villages (~£15-25, 2-3 hrs) — harvest, sort and roast beans yourself, then taste. Optional extra: a Lake Manyara morning game drive, bookable the night before in Mto wa Mbu (~£90 including park fee). Spend the afternoon walking Karatu's market and doing a village wander; a local guide for a couple of hours is ~£7-10 and a good way to put money directly into the community. Dinner at your guesthouse.

🚌Local boda/taxi ~£4

🛏Budget guesthouse, Karatu (~£16)

• →Coffee plantation harvesting and roasting tour
• →Optional Lake Manyara safari (~£90)
• →Karatu market walk

Early start for a shared safari descent into the Ngorongoro Crater (crater entry and vehicle fees ~£90-110 per person when shared). This is the world's largest intact volcanic caldera and the best single chance for black rhino. Picnic lunch in the crater, then continue to the Serengeti via Naabi Hill Gate with a game drive en route. Overnight at a public campsite inside or on the edge of the park (e.g. Simba or Nyani campsite, ~£20-30 with tent hire) — the same starry-night tented experience but without the en-suite glamping price.

🚌Shared 4x4 with camping safari group

🛏Public campsite tent/banda in the Serengeti (~£25)

• →Ngorongoro Crater descent and game drive
• →Game drive en route into the Serengeti

Full-day shared game drive in the Serengeti (~£70-90 day rate plus Serengeti park fees of ~£60-70 per 24 hrs). Scan for lion, leopard, cheetah, buffalo and elephant, and if you're there between roughly June and October, wildebeest migration river crossings in the north. Optional hot-air balloon flight (Serengeti Balloon Safaris, ~£420-480 direct, pre-book well ahead) for sunrise over the plains with a bush breakfast. Back at camp for a simple dinner cooked by the safari crew.

🚌Shared 4x4

🛏Public campsite tent/banda (~£25)

• →Full-day Serengeti game drive
• →Optional Serengeti balloon safari (~£450 extra)

Breakfast at camp and drive back out of the park, stopping at Mto wa Mbu — the village where G Adventures runs its community lunch — for a self-booked village walk and local lunch with a community guide (~£10-15). Arrive Arusha late afternoon. Cheap hostels and guesthouses in town run £12-18; sort out your Zanzibar flight booking tonight (Precision Air, Coastal Aviation and Air Tanzania all fly Arusha/Zanzibar, ~£85-120 one way, or fly from Kilimanjaro if that's cheaper).

🚌Safari vehicle + onward logistics

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, Arusha (~£14)

• →Drive out of Serengeti
• →Mto wa Mbu community walk and lunch

Free day before flying to Zanzibar. Options: the Arusha Cultural Heritage centre and Maasai market, a day trip to the Usa River or a hot springs trip to Kikuletwa/Chemka (~£25-35 with a shared taxi), or simply laundry and a slow day in town. Eat at a local grill for ~£4-6.

🚌Local transport ~£5

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, Arusha (~£14)

• →Arusha markets and Cultural Heritage centre
• →Optional Kikuletwa hot springs trip

Fly Arusha (or Kilimanjaro) to Zanzibar (~£85-110 one way). Zanzibar requires its own travel insurance if you haven't entered mainland Tanzania with the NIC policy — check this before flying. Take a dala-dala or taxi into Stone Town (~£1-4). Check into a budget guesthouse in the old town (~£18-25). Evening: do the Stone Town orientation yourself — wander the alleys, see the Old Fort and the House of Wonders, then eat at the Forodhani Gardens night market for £3-5 (Zanzibar pizza, urojo soup, grilled seafood).

🚌Flight ~£95 + taxi ~£3

🛏Budget guesthouse in Stone Town (~£22)

• →Flight to Zanzibar
• →Self-guided Stone Town wander
• →Forodhani night market

Book a half-day spice farm tour direct or via GetYourGuide (~£18-25 including transport from Stone Town) — see and taste cloves, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg growing, with a 'spice queen' guide. Then take a shared dala-dala or bus south to Jambiani or east to Paje (~£1-2, 1-1.5 hrs) for the classic white-sand, turquoise-water beach; budget guesthouses and hostels there run £15-25. Alternatively head north to Nungwi/Kendwa for calmer swimming at any tide.

🚌Dala-dala/bus ~£3

🛏Beach guesthouse/hostel, Jambiani or Paje (~£20)

• →Spice farm tour
• →Transfer to east-coast beach
• →Sunset swim

Morning swim, snorkelling trip direct with a local boatman (~£15-25 to the reef and back), or a Jozani Forest red colobus monkey visit (~£12-15 with entry). Head back to Stone Town by dala-dala (~£1.5) and to Zanzibar Airport for departures from 14:30 onward — the same departure cut-off as the G Adventures itinerary.

🚌Dala-dala to Stone Town and airport ~£4

🛏None (departure day)

• →Morning swim or snorkelling
• →Jozani Forest optional
• →Return to airport