Three days of lions and river crossings, then four days of spice-island sand — the Mara-to-Zanzibar combination is one of the best week-long itineraries in East Africa. It does involve a border, so here's how to make it seamless.
The routing
There's no direct Mara–Zanzibar flight. The standard routing is Mara → Wilson Airport (Nairobi) → a scheduled international hop to Zanzibar, usually via Nairobi's JKIA on Air Kenya/Precision or a direct Kenya Airways service. We book the whole chain for you, with a buffer between flights so a delayed bush plane never costs you a beach day.
Visas and logistics
Kenya and Tanzania have separate entry requirements. Most nationalities need an eVisa or visa-on-arrival for Tanzania (Kenya now uses an eTA system). Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, so one Tanzanian visa covers both the Serengeti and the island. We confirm the current rules for your passport before you book — they change often enough that yesterday's advice may be stale.
How many days?
Our favourite split is 3 nights in the Mara plus 4 in Zanzibar — enough safari to feel satisfied, enough beach to actually slow down. If you have longer, add the Serengeti or Ngorongoro on the way through Tanzania and turn it into a full northern-circuit-plus-island trip.
Send us your dates on WhatsApp and we'll map the routing, the flights and the lodges into one clean itinerary — priced in USD, end to end.
Ready to plan it? Tell us your dates — we reply within hours on WhatsApp with a tailored itinerary and clear USD pricing.
