Nine days between Kenya and Tanzania, in the camps East Africa Camps runs itself. The Nyota is the house classic: three ecosystems in succession that look nothing alike, and camps small enough that they call you by name by the third meal.

The three grounds of the circuit

• The Masai Mara, in Kenya, open plains and the Talek River, where the herds cross when the migration moves north
• The Serengeti, in Tanzania, in the Seronera area, away from the park’s main tracks
• The Ngorongoro Crater, a twenty-kilometre caldera where wildlife stays all year, with a camp set on the rim

The camps used are the group’s own: Olengoti, Pumzika and Pakulala. The exact combination and the order of the stops are confirmed on your file, according to dates and availability.

Crossing from one country to the other

The circuit crosses an international border, and that is the part travellers prepare least. Kenya requires an electronic travel authorization or a visa, obtained online before departure, and a passport valid at least six months beyond the date of entry. Tanzania requires a visa; it can be obtained in advance or, as a single entry, at the main ports of entry, and the passport must remain valid six months beyond the planned date of departure.

Yellow fever, on this circuit in particular

Both countries require proof of yellow fever vaccination from travellers arriving from a country where the disease occurs. Since the Nyota takes you into one after staying in the other, the certificate becomes a document to carry rather than a theoretical formality. Speak to a travel health clinic well before departure: the vaccine is not given the day before.

What the nights are like

These camps run on solar power, with no wall socket in the tents. The shower is a bucket shower filled with hot water on request, the toilets are eco toilets, and on the Ngorongoro rim hot water bottles go into the beds because the nights are cold and windy. Bring a power bank, a headlamp and a good wool layer.

Choosing your dates

The Nyota runs all year, but not for the same reasons. From January to March, calving concentrates in the southern Serengeti. Between July and October, the herds generally cross into the Mara, on the Kenyan side. These dates follow the rains and shift every year: your advisor checks what the camps are seeing on the ground before holding places.

Getting between the stops

Distances are measured in hours of track. Most files combine the bush flight between parks and the camp’s 4x4 on the ground. If your itinerary includes a bush flight, the baggage limit is strict and a soft bag is required.

Before you book

Kenya and Tanzania both carry a Government of Canada advisory to exercise a high degree of caution, with regional warnings that do not affect the parks on this circuit. That advisory affects travel insurance: if it already existed when you bought the policy, claims tied to its reason can be refused.

For camp details, see East Africa Camps. Talk to an advisor or write to us through the contact page. Quebec permit 702703.