Day 1 – Arrival in Tanzania

Overnight: Arusha

Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport, where your driver will meet you and transfer you to your hotel in Arusha. After check-in, take time to rest after your journey. If time permits, enjoy a short town visit or relax in the hotel gardens.

In the evening, meet your safari guide for a briefing about the journey, wildlife viewing, travel arrangements and any planned domestic flights.

Day 2 – Tarangire National Park

Overnight: Tarangire area

After breakfast, travel to Tarangire National Park for your first full safari experience. The park is famous for its large elephant herds, ancient baobab trees and wildlife that gathers around the Tarangire River, particularly during the dry season.

Enjoy a game drive with your guide, stopping to observe animals and take photographs. A picnic lunch can be arranged inside the park before continuing your afternoon exploration.

Later, drive to your lodge or tented camp for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 3 – Karatu or Ngorongoro area

Depart early for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descend into the crater for a game drive. The crater floor offers excellent opportunities to look for buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, elephants, lions and, with luck, the endangered black rhino.

Enjoy a picnic lunch at an authorized picnic site before continuing your safari. In the afternoon, ascend the crater and travel to your lodge in Karatu or the surrounding highlands.

The evening is free to relax and prepare for the next stage of your trip.

Day 4 – Journey to Serengeti National Park

Overnight: Serengeti

After breakfast, continue towards Serengeti National Park, travelling through changing landscapes as you enter the great savannah plains. Depending on the route and wildlife activity, you may enjoy game viewing along the way.

Arrive at your camp or lodge, settle in and head out for an afternoon game drive. Your guide will look for lions, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes and other wildlife.

The Serengeti is also part of the wider Serengeti–Mara ecosystem, where wildebeest and zebras move according to rainfall and grazing conditions.

Day 5 – Full-Day Serengeti Safari

Overnight: Serengeti

Spend a full day exploring the Serengeti with your private safari guide. Set out early when predators are often active, then continue across the plains in search of wildlife.

Depending on the season, you may encounter large herds of wildebeest and zebra, as well as predators following them. The precise location of the migration changes throughout the year, so your guide will plan the day around current conditions.

Enjoy a picnic lunch during the game drive, followed by further wildlife viewing in the afternoon. Return to camp for dinner and an evening beneath the African sky.

Day 6 – Travel from Tanzania to Kenya

Overnight: Maasai Mara area or Nairobi, depending on connections

After breakfast, begin your transfer from the Serengeti towards Kenya. The exact arrangements will depend on the chosen border crossing, park access, flight availability and the permissions required for cross-border travel.

For a smoother journey, a combination of scheduled or charter flights and pre-arranged ground transfers may be preferable to a long overland transfer. Immigration formalities and vehicle arrangements must be confirmed in advance.

Depending on the available connections, you may reach the Maasai Mara area that evening or overnight in Nairobi before continuing the following day. The final route should be confirmed when the travel dates are fixed.

Day 7 – Maasai Mara National Reserve

Overnight: Maasai Mara

Begin the day with an early game drive across the Maasai Mara. The reserve is known for its open grasslands and excellent opportunities to spot lions, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes and several species of antelope.

After breakfast or a picnic in the reserve, continue exploring different areas with your guide. If you are travelling during the migration season, your guide can check where herds are currently moving. River crossings are never guaranteed.

Return to camp in the late afternoon and enjoy dinner at the lodge.

Day 8 – More Wildlife and Maasai Culture

Overnight: Maasai Mara or Nairobi, according to match timing

Enjoy another morning safari to explore areas you have not yet visited. A second day in the Mara gives you more time to look for elusive wildlife and appreciate the reserve’s varied landscapes.

Subject to local availability and your interests, you may arrange a visit to a Maasai community to learn about traditional homes, beadwork, pastoral life and local customs. Any cultural visit should be organised respectfully through an established local host.

If your AFCON match is scheduled in Nairobi the next day, transfer to Nairobi today rather than risk a same-day journey from the reserve. If your match is in Tanzania, the routing should instead be adjusted to allow a safe return to the correct host city.

Day 9 – Return to the AFCON Host City

Overnight: Confirmed host city

Travel to the city where your match is scheduled. If you are attending a match in Nairobi, allow time for the journey from the Maasai Mara and check in at a hotel with convenient access to your stadium.

The rest of the day can be spent relaxing, enjoying a meal at a local restaurant or exploring the city, depending on your arrival time. Your tour coordinator can help confirm match-day transport and provide guidance on stadium entry arrangements.

This buffer day is important: it reduces the risk of missing a match because of a delayed flight, road conditions or a cross-border connection.

Day 10 – AFCON Match and Departure or Extension

End of itinerary

Enjoy the atmosphere of African football on match day. After breakfast, follow the agreed transport arrangements to the stadium for your scheduled AFCON fixture. Match tickets must be arranged separately or included in the package only if explicitly confirmed.

If your international flight departs later that day, the departure arrangements should allow sufficient time after the match. For an evening fixture or an early flight, an additional hotel night may be necessary.

If your match is scheduled in Tanzania rather than Kenya, this final section should be reversed or redesigned around the confirmed venue. The safari should never be planned around an unconfirmed match location.

Arusha

Arrival night

Arusha Coffee Lodge or a comfortable city hotel, depending on budget and availability.

Tarangire and Ngorongoro

Safari lodges

Tarangire Safari Lodge or a Karatu lodge for convenient access to the crater.

Serengeti

Safari camp

Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge or another camp selected according to the seasonal wildlife location.

Maasai Mara

Safari camp

Choose a well-located camp in or near the reserve, based on the desired comfort level, park access and transfer arrangements.