Kenya & Madagascar

Package Price Includes:

Package Price: $11,890*

*Per person cash discount price, based on double occupancy. Does not include airfare and tips.

Day 1: November 13: Fly from the US to Nairobi, Kenya.

Day 2: November 14: Nairobi, Kenya
We arrive late this evening into Nairobi.  We will transfer to our hotel and overnight.  (Transfers are included if you booked our group airfare or your flight arrives on or before and departs on or after our group flights.)

Day 3:  November 15: Nairobi – Lake Nakuru
We have an early morning departure for Lake Nakuru arriving in time for a late lunch at your Lake Nakuru Lodge. We will have an afternoon game drive in the park and around this lake that is famous for its pink flamingoes and other birdlife. This area is also considered to be the first rhino sanctuary for both the black and white species. You might have a chance to see many species including reedbuck, bushbuck, warthog, leopard, baboon and giraffe. You will have dinner and overnight stay at the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge.

Day 4: November 16: Lake Nakuru – Massai Mara Game Reserve:
Our day begins after breakfast with a drive to the famous Masai Mara Game Reserve. This drive will take us through the spectacular Great Rift Valley as well as the town of Narok (the major Maasai administration center). The Masai Mara Game Reserve is Kenya’s most precious wildlife sanctuary. This is big game country and long famed as having one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of game. Plains game is found here in staggering numbers, which in turn supports a tremendous predator population. We will be stop at the Mara Sarova Lodge to take a break from the drive, enjoy a late afternoon lunch and relax for an hour before continuing with the game drive to the Mara Serena Lodge, where we spend the next three nights. Along the way we might have the opportunity to see herds of buffalo, lions, impala, giraffe, elephant, ostrich, cheetah and many others. The drive from Nakuru to Sarova Mara Lodge is about 6 hours and then it is another 2 hours from Sarova Lodge to the Mara Serena Lodge.

Day 5: November 17: Massai Mara Game Reserve:
Today you will have two safari game drives.  One in the morning and one in the late afternoon.  During your safari’s you will might see herds of buffalo, lion, impala, giraffe, elephant, topi, warthog, ostrich, cheetah, Hyena, and many other types of animals.  All meals are included.

Day 6:  November 18: Massai Mara
In addition to your safari game drives, you will have time to rendezvous with the Mara residents. We will visit the Massai village, having a chance to see their mode of living and what kind of food they eat.  Massai Mara is the northern-most extremity of the great Serengeti ecosystem. Here black rhinos browse among dense thorn bushes, and herds of giraffe and elephant roam the woodlands. Large numbers of hippos gather and swim in the Mara River. The biggest draw to the Massai Mara is has the largest predator population in the world, the reserve is renowned for its large lion prides.  It is the one place in the world that you have a chance to see Lion, Leopards and Cheetahs all in the same game safari.

Day 7: November 19: Massai Mara – Nairobi
Today we will head back to Nairobi to overnight before flying to Madagascar tomorrow.  In the afternoon we will arrive back into Nairobi, we will proceed directly to our excursion to the Karen Blixen Plantation (This is where the movie “Out of Africa” was filmed). We will also having a chance to feed Giraffes. We will overnight at our Deluxe 4-Star Hotel in Nairobi. (B)

Day 8: November 20: Nairobi – Madagascar
Finally a day to sleep in.  After a late breakfast we will head to the airport for our early afternoon flight to Madagascar.  Upon arrival we will transfer to our hotel.

Day 9: November 21: In the Queen’s Palace
Your Madagascar adventure starts with a first highlight. Just outside the capital, the venerable royal residence of Ambohimanga sits on the sacred “blue hill”. The cradle of the Merina kings was taboo for Europeans for a long time and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Back in Antananarivo, you’ll pass the flower market, Lake Anosy lined with purple jacarandas, and the colonial-era train station. Finally, enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the capital from the old Rova Royal Palace.

Day 10: November 22: Death Cults and Ancestor Worship
In the morning you fly from Antananarivo across the highlands to Toliara on Madagascar’s sunny and dry southwest coast. In the ethnographic museum and at the Antandroy Tomb, the largest and most beautiful monument of its kind, you can immerse yourself in the world of ancestors and spirits. Then visit the Antsokay Botanical Garden with its breathtaking flora. Whether mother-in-law’s tongue, Madagascar palm or false baobab – all endemic plants are perfectly adapted to the drought. In the afternoon, the MV Island Sky awaits you in the busy port of Toliara, your comfortable home for the next 10 nights. Make yourself comfortable on board and enjoy the departure maneuver. (FMA)

Day 11: November 23: The Alley of Baobabs
The sleepy port town of Morondava is the gateway to another world, the 100 km² dry and thorn forest of the Kirindy National Park with its unique flora and fauna. Not only numerous lemur species such as the larval sifaka or red-fronted lemur, but also snakes, iguanas, chameleons and 90 species of butterflies feel at home here. The giant jumping rat, which can hop like a miniature kangaroo, is curious and threatened with extinction. The secret ruler of the national park is an eerie creature that only occurs in Madagascar: the Fossa. This predator is best observed during the mating season in late November/early December. In the afternoon you will enjoy a photo opportunity for eternity: you walk through the “Alley of Baobabs”, a landscape like on another planet. Completely inspired by these impressions, we go back on board. (FMA)

Day 12: November 24:  Fun Day at Sea Along the West Coast
The west coast of the giant island passes by throughout the day. Every now and then colorful fishing boats cross your route. Enjoy the comfort on board or listen to exciting lectures that will give you further insights into Madagascar’s flora and fauna. (FMA)

Day 13: November 25:  In the Kingdom of the Lemurs
Today you anchor in the harbor and holiday destination of Mahajanga with its palm-lined sandy beaches at the mouth of the Betsiboka River. Not to be missed is the symbol of the city, Madagascar’s largest and oldest baobab tree, a place of assembly and execution during the 19th century. From here we head inland to Ankarafantsika National Park. It couldn’t be more contrasting: dry forest, jungle, wide savannah, numerous lakes and lunar landscapes. 80% of the flora is endemic. Eight different species of lemurs call this place home, including the mongoose lemur, the Coquerel’s sifaka, the western fat-tailed lemur and the mouse lemur, the smallest primate on earth. Banded hawks and Madagascar sea eagles circle above the park. And iguanas and crocodiles sunbathe at the idyllic Lake Ravelobe. A nature conservation project takes care of the endangered beaked-breasted turtle. (FMA)

Day 14: November 26:  Finding Nemo
Madagascar’s northwest is a tropical paradise: islands with golden beaches line up like pearls in the turquoise sea. The small island of Nosy Tanikely is the center of a marine national park. Its forest is populated by shield lizards and panther chameleons, tons of hermit crabs, black lemurs and a colony of flying foxes. After sunbathing on the dream beach, be sure to take a look below the surface of the water. The untouched coral gardens extend all the way to the beach. While snorkeling you will discover a dazzling world of starfish, sea urchins, moray eels, surgeonfish, groupers and puffer fish. You can even spot whale sharks and dolphins here from time to time. The national park is famous for its huge sea turtles, which circle majestically right below you. In the afternoon your ship sails north along the west coast. (FMA)

Day 15: November 27: Three Bays on the Emerald Sea
Today you circumnavigate Madagascar’s extreme northern tip and enter the turquoise-green natural harbor of Antsiranana, formerly Diego Suarez. In 1543, the Portuguese explorer Diego Dias, probably the first European to visit Madagascar, landed here. A colorful mixture of Creoles, Arabs, Chinese and Indians welcomes you at the colorful weekly market. The journey into the picturesque hinterland is lined with dreamy villages, flame and mango trees. Your destination is a particularly spectacular national park called Montagne d’Ambre, a volcanic massif covered in dense mountain rainforests. Depending on your mood, you can undertake an easy or challenging hike to hidden jade-green crater lakes and thundering waterfalls. The reward: rare lemurs, parrots and, with a bit of luck, the world’s smallest chameleon. In the evening you set sail again from the port of Antsiranana – heading southeast. (FMA)

Day 16: November 28: Between Jungle and Sea
The Masoala National Park on the Masoala peninsula on the east coast is Madagascar’s largest protected area at 2,100 km² and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A world of coastal rainforest, flooded forests, marshland and mangroves awaits you here. In addition to ten different species of lemurs, the park is the last refuge for the critically endangered Roufous vari lemur. If you’re lucky, you’ll see Helmvanga birds with their bright blue beaks or bright red tomato frogs. Madagascar owls and snake eagles look for prey in the treetops. On the way back you will learn about myths, dances and everyday life in a village of the Betsimisaraka, the second largest ethnic group in Madagascar after the Merina. (FMA)

Day 17: November 29: On the Pirate Island
In the morning you will cross Antongil Bay and land with Zodiacs on the golden sandy beaches of Nosy Mangabe. Shipwrecks bear witness to the small island’s adventurous past as a pirate nest. Be on the lookout for white-headed lemurs, flat-tailed geckos, black and white lemurs while wandering through the primary forest. The island is known for the mythical creature Aye-Aye, a nocturnal animal with long fingers and large bat ears, which is also a lemur. Bird lovers can spot Madagascar buzzards, kingfishers and paradise flycatchers. If you still have power, you can climb to the highest point on the island, a sacred place with the burial places of the Betsimisara. (FMA)

Day 18: November 30: On the Indian Ocean
Madagascar’s mountains gradually disappear into the horizon behind you. Before you lies the brilliant blue of the Indian Ocean. Enjoy a relaxing day on board before new travel adventures await you. (FMA)

Day 19: December 1: A magic Volcano
A spectacular sight at breakfast: In front of you, La Reunion’s bizarre volcanic cones rise majestically from the sea. The most active one, called Piton de la Fournaise – last eruption in 2018 – is the first to visit. First we go through tropical rainforest past orchids and towering waterfalls. Then the road winds up through the ash desert Plaine des Sables to the edge of the crater at an altitude of 2300 m. On the return journey you will enjoy the atmosphere of sleepy villages, enveloped in the scent of vanilla and exotic spices. After a typical Creole lunch, learn exciting facts about the world of volcanoes in the Volcano Museum. In the afternoon there is still some free time in the colonial old town of the island capital St. Denis. Then your ship weighs anchor. Under the stars of the south you set off on your final leg with an lovely dinner. (FMA)

Day 20: December 2:  Mauritius, a Place of Longing – Fly Home
In the morning you reach the coast of Mauritius. In the harbor of Port Louis you say goodbye to your ship and its lovely crew. On an island tour you will discover the south of the island away from the tourist beaches: First you go to Trou-Aux-Cerfs, a dormant volcano with a pine-covered crater. Mauritius is a multicultural Garden of Eden. Guava trees, Ravinala palms, coffee and sugar cane plantations line your way to the Shiva sanctuary at the Grand Bassin, the sacred lake of the local Hindus. In the Black River Gorges National Park you can expect deep gorges, thundering waterfalls, green jungle and the natural phenomenon Chamarel: shimmering seven-colored earth. You drive to the airport in the late afternoon and fly back home.  (Transfers are included if you booked our group airfare or your flight arrives on or before and departs on or after our group flights.)

Day 21: December 3: Arrive Home