From the Mara’s big-cat plains to Zanzibar’s pale lagoons, by way of Stone Town’s old streets.
8–12 nightsSafari & seaMaasai Mara · Stone Town · Zanzibar coast
The journey
On your last Mara morning the light turns gold across the grass, and by evening you are beside the Indian Ocean.
Kenya’s big-cat plains come first, three or four nights of open sky and early starts. Then a day of flights carries you across the border to Zanzibar, where Stone Town’s coral-stone alleys lead on to pale lagoons.
Kenya Safari & Zanzibar suits a first trip to Africa that wants both bush and sea and can manage a border. The trade-offs are one connecting day through Wilson Airport and Tanzanian paperwork. For sea without a border, choose Kenya Safari & Beach; for the island alone, Shores of Zanzibar.
Bush first, then sea, with the crossing day planned carefully and every night shaped entirely on your terms.
Moments along the way
Two worlds, one journey.
01
Dawn on the Mara
Engines off, coffee in hand, on a plain where lion, elephant and buffalo all live.
02
The river in season
Dust, grunting wildebeest and a long wait on the riverbank while the herds are here.
03
Elephants below Kilimanjaro
With Amboseli added, elephants may cross below Kilimanjaro if the cloud clears; neither is promised.
04
Wilson to the island
A small aircraft leaves Wilson, may call at Mombasa, and lands beside the sea.
05
Stone Town at dusk
Carved doors, Forodhani Gardens and the call to prayer carried across the rooftops.
06
Swimming by the tide
At spring lows the east-coast lagoon retreats hundreds of metres, so the tide sets your swim.
Where you’ll stay
Each stay adds to the story.
From a simple Essential camp in the Mara to a Private Collection retreat on the coast, each stay is chosen for what it adds. The two halves need not match: put more into the camp and less into the beach, or the reverse.
Select an idea to carry into your brief. Nothing is added to a booking or priced automatically.
BEFORE YOU ENQUIRE
A route with room to breathe
Here’s how it comes together.
Nairobi → Maasai Mara → Stone Town → Zanzibar coast. Two flights join bush to sea, changing at Wilson Airport. Your proposal confirms exact times.
Preparing the route map…
A sense of the days
The rhythm of the journey.
Land at JKIA and allow for the cross-town transfer, which takes much longer than the map suggests in rush hour. The short flight to the Mara is often followed by game viewing on the drive in to camp. After a midday rest, the afternoon drive ends by early evening. If your flight lands late, stay overnight in the city and fly the next morning.
The day opens at first light with a drive, then breakfast or a rest at camp before the second. In the reserve, vehicles stay on the tracks. Conservancies, on Maasai land leased to camps, also allow guided walks and night drives, with age limits that vary by camp. Check your camp’s guidance on moving around after dark. A fourth night adds another full day.
This is the one long day. An early flight takes you from the Mara to Wilson, where you check in again. Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, so carry your entry papers (passport, visa, insurance cover and yellow fever certificate) in hand luggage. You land in the afternoon and drive to Stone Town. If the early flight does not run, a later one leaves from JKIA.
Stone Town suits walking in the cooler hours, through the markets and the lanes around the Old Fort; a guided walk helps with the maze. Cover your shoulders and knees away from the beach, and ask before photographing anyone. A late arrival leaves little time for the town, so a second night is what gives you a full morning here.
A swim before breakfast, shade at midday and a walk on the sand later fill the days. Where the lagoon empties at low tide, read the tide table before you plan a swim. Sea conditions change from day to day, so a boat morning runs to the weather; wear the lifejacket the crew offers. Follow your hotel’s advice on walking the beach after dark.
Leave the coast with time in hand: the transfer to the airport takes longer from some coasts than others, and your flight sets the hour. An evening flight leaves the morning free for a last swim, if the tide allows. From the airport you fly home, to Nairobi, or on to Pemba by a short flight.
Typically three or four nights in the Mara, one or two in Stone Town, four on the coast: eight to ten, twelve with Amboseli.
Clear from the beginning
What’s included.
Typically included
Park, reserve and conservancy fees
Expert driver-guide in the Mara
4x4 safari vehicle
Accommodation at your chosen level
Meals as set by each stay
Flights to the Mara and Zanzibar
Road and airport transfers
Game drives and drinking water
Not included
International flights
Kenya eTA, Tanzania visa, Zanzibar insurance
Premium drinks
Gratuities
Balloon and other optional extras
Every journey is quoted in full, with no surprises.
Good to know
Kenya and Zanzibar, in context.
The Maasai Mara, in south-west Kenya, is the northern end of the Mara–Serengeti ecosystem. Zanzibar belongs to Tanzania, so a Kenya safari and Zanzibar holiday crosses a border: Kenya’s eTA before you fly, then a Tanzania visa and Zanzibar’s inbound insurance for the island. Mara airstrips serve Wilson Airport, not JKIA, which is why the island is a connection, not a single flight. Kenya and Tanzania share a time zone.
Zanzibar gives the safari a second world: Stone Town, a World Heritage old town, then a lagoon coast, one connecting day away. Kenya’s own coast needs no border crossing; our Zanzibar or Diani guide weighs the two.
Lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo live in the Mara, and rhino are present but scarce, so nothing is promised. From July to October, the migrating wildebeest herds usually join them.
July to October usually brings the herds and a dry island, at higher Mara fees. January and February are drier and quieter on both halves. April and May bring long rains, closed camps and a thinner Zanzibar flight.
Eight to ten: three or four in the Mara, one or two in Stone Town and four on the coast. Two Amboseli nights make twelve, and a first night in Nairobi comes on top. Under eight nights, choose one half.
Usually. In Safarilink’s high seasons (January–March, mid-June–October, late December), its 08:30 from the Mara reaches Wilson well before the 14:00 to Zanzibar, about three hours. In other months it doesn’t fly: cross town to JKIA for Kenya Airways, or add a Nairobi night.
Most visitors need Kenya’s eTA, with travel health insurance added from 5 October 2026, and a Tanzania visa: US$50 for most passports, US$100 for US ones. Zanzibar’s government insurance is compulsory even with your own policy; landing there first, you buy it once, from the island’s insurer.
Government advice, checked October 2026: the US rates Kenya Level 2 (issued 28 July 2026) and Tanzania, which includes Zanzibar, Level 3, Reconsider travel (issued 31 October 2025). The UK warns against travel to parts of Kenya and, in Tanzania, only within 20 km of the border with Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, but notes armed crime across Tanzania, Stone Town included. Neither list names the Mara or Zanzibar; read both before you travel.
Tanzania asks for a yellow fever certificate from travellers arriving from a country on its risk list, and Kenya is on it. Malaria risk covers both the Mara and Zanzibar. This is general information, not medical advice — consult a travel clinic.
A seasonal snapshot for the Mara and Zanzibar together. Your camps, coast and interests matter as much as the calendar.
Typically drierLonger rainsMore variable
Jul / Herds and dry coast
Dry plains, dry coast, busier camps.
The Mara is dry from late June, the herds usually arrive in July and often stay into October, and crossings keep no timetable. Zanzibar is dry too. The Mara reserve fee doubles on 1 July.
Broad seasonal guidance — not a forecast, availability calendar or migration promise. Picking a month sets it in your plan.
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