Sample pre-trip schedule:

WED 10 JAN - Depart USA - most flights depart dinnertime and fly overnight to Europe.

THU 11 JAN - Transfer in Europe for 2nd flight. Arrive Nairobi in the evening. You will be met at the airport for transfer to the Stanley Hotel for the evening.

FRI 12 JAN, Day 1 – 11:00 AM Stanley Hotel Start
11:00 AM – Hemingway’s East African Safari Travel Program starts in the lobby of the Stanley Hotel for a Half Day Regional Tour of Nairobi including a visit to the historic Railway Museum to learn the history of the railroad in Nairobi and the man-eating lions of Tsavo. We will also visit the Karen Blixen House Museum, Giraffe Manor, and the Kazuri Bead Factory (with shopping time).

Early Evening Welcome Reception at the Stanley Hotel. Our Hemingway expert will set the tone of the trip with a review of Hemingway’s visits to Africa.

Overnight at the Stanley Hotel. (Welcome Reception)


SAT 13 JAN – Day 2
Depart after breakfast for the Tsavo West National Park (with a area of 20,720 square kilometers) with touring enroute. In the park, we will participate in an Afternoon Game Drive. The park has a huge population of elephants.

Overnight is at the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge with its sweeping views of the Chyulu Hills at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. The hotel has a large terrace; a perfect spot to witness a spectacular African sunset. (B,D)

SUN 14 JAN – Day 3
Morning Game Drive with a transfer to the Taveta Border Crossing where we will transfer across no-man’s land to be met by Tanzanian representatives and transferred to the Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort on the eastern flank of the mountain. The Kilimanjaro Resort Hotel is a new facility built around the original family home of the owners and offering a variety of comforts. Guests will be invited to spend their free afternoon visiting nearby villages, the famous Marangu Gate where climbers start or finish their mountain climb, beautiful waterfalls, or perhaps go hiking in search of colobus monkeys. After dinner, we will tour the local Chagga Live Museum and take in a Dance Performance by local young women from the Chagga tribe. Overnight at the Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort. (B, D)

MON 15 JAN – Day 4
After breakfast, we’ll depart the cool and lush sides of Kilimanjaro to make our way to the world famous Serengeti Wild Animal Reserve. As the world’s largest wild animal reserve, guests may see first hand thousands of migrating wildebeests, a pride of lions dining on a fresh kill, hippos lounging in a mud pool, vultures basking in the sun, leopards and cheetah stalking their prey, hundreds of gazelle, kory bustards, crowned cranes, zebra, buffalo…. And the birds! – such fantastic colors and unique songs! Be sure to have plenty of film ready, for the coming days will be an amazing array of wildlife and dazzling scenery.

We will have an Afternoon Game Drive en route to our hotel, the Serengeti Serena Lodge for overnight. This property magically appears in the remote Serengeti, and does not disappoint. With most of the western amenities you are accustomed to, the Serena also offers delicious meals, game security, and an infinity pool that is so inviting you may have difficulty tearing yourself away. (B,D)

TUE & WED 16-17 JAN – Days 5 and 6
Full Day Game Drives through the Serengeti (though lounging back at the Serena is always an option!). Here is our opportunity to explore all that the Park has to offer. Drives can be a full day (with a box lunch) or split into morning and afternoon drives. We suggest that the group take the full day drive at least one day because there is so much to see, but if you want to relax for a few hours, here is the place to do it! At least one night you should get back in time to enjoy watching the sun setting in the Serengeti from the comfort of your pool-side lounge chair!

One evening will be spent with our Hemingway expert discussing Hemingway’s hunting experiences and the impact of these experiences on his writing. Overnight at the Serengeti Serena Lodge. (B,L,D)

THU 18 JAN – Day 7
After breakfast our bags will be loaded onto our safari vehicles and we will enjoy a day of driving through the Serengeti on our way to the Ngorongoro Crater. Between the Serengeti and the Crater we will stop at Olduvai Gorge. There is a Leaky Walk that we can do here to see where Mary Leaky uncovered “Lucy” as well as hundreds of other anthropological discoveries. We will also have time to visit the little museum on the rim of the gorge. Later in our journey, we will have the opportunity to visit a Masai Boma or village. Here guests will have the opportunity to mingle with a local tribe, step inside their homes, “jump” with the men, hear the women sing, and barter for beaded and carved goods.

Later that afternoon we arrive at the Ngorongoro Crater Serena Lodge. This lodge is built into the side of the crater and made to look like a cliff of rocks. It is too cool here for a pool, so we suggest that you grab your sweater and a beverage and watch evening set in the crater below from one of the balcony chairs.

Overnight at the Ngorongoro Crater Serena Lodge. (B,L,D)

FRI 19 JAN – Day 8
After breakfast, we’ll have a Full Day Game Drive in the Ngorongoro Crater, tracking and photographing the game that lives in this fascinating microcosm. The Crater, which is actually a caldera – or the remains of a volcano that blew it’s top off – is about 90 square miles, and contains forests, salt and fresh water lakes, plains, and an incredible variety of game. Here you’ll see elephants, zebra, wildebeests, flamingos by the hundreds (or even thousands, depending on the water levels), and may encounter rhinos and large lion prides. At lunch, you’re almost sure to “encounter” kites (aggressive scavenger birds that will snatch your sandwich from your hands if you’re not careful), as you dine near the hippo pool in the Crater. Be sure to try to get up early for sunrise over the crater – it’s spectacular!
Overnight at the Ngorongoro Crater Serena Lodge. (B,L,D)

SAT 20 JAN - Day 9
After breakfast we will drive from the Crater to Arusha. We have day rooms at the Mezza Luna until we transfer to the airport for evening flights to Nairobi and home or to begin an optional journey to the Beaches of Zanzibar (4 nights) or Mount Kilimanjaro Climb (7 days). (B)

LAND Cost: $3,895 per person, double occupancy
Single Supplement: $595
Domestic AIR cost: Arusha to Nairobi: $150 estimate
International AIR: Contact us for international air prices and schedules.

REGISTRATION FORM LINK

Contact Scott Schwar or Luis Vasquez at Ernest Hemingway Travel Destinations, at 800-367-7378 or at milalatin@aol.com for additional details.