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Africa is vast and varied with every point of the compass unique in its own way. East Africa is no exception and is famous for its traditional tribes people, exceptional wildlife and majestic vistas.
Kenya and Tanzania is where Escape Adventures first began back in 1999 and today remains our most popular cycle tour.
Break free from the bonds of ‘normal’ on our 16 day biking and camping adventure as we travel from Nairobi in Kenya to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. You will leave the fancy hotels to the less intrepid as you bike on remote back roads away from the chaos of Nairobi city to the sudden sparseness of open savannah. We bike alongside wildlife grazing the plains and camp with local families and villages along the way. We pass beneath the highest free-standing mountain in the world, Mt Kilimanjaro. Spend time game viewing in Amboseli National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater, with the highest concentration of plains game in the world, then cycle through the cool rain forested Usambara Mountains before ultimately dropping down the tropical Indian Ocean coast.
Join us and fully immerse yourself into East Africa and experience the people, culture, wildlife and landscapes of this amazing continent.
Start: Nairobi, Kenya
Finish: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Arrive in Nairobi, pre-departure meeting and first dinner together.
Accommodation: Safari Camp
A gentle day getting used to our bikes. We cycle from the city out into the savannah.
Cycling Distance: 25km.
Accommodation: Camping
A great day’s biking in the real African savannah.
Cycling Distance: 82km.
Accomodation: Camping
Cycling to Amboseli National Park. Game drive. Amboseli National Parks is one of Kenya’s most popular parks
Cycling Distance: 35km.
Accomodation: Camping
Morning game drive, afternoon bike around the lower slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro.
Cycling Distance: 20km.
Accomodation: Camping
DAY 6: Visit Maasai Friends & Cross the border into Tanzania
Paved road ride out to the foot of the Rift Valley Escarpment.
Cycling Distance: 105km.
Accommodation: Camping/Upgrades available
All day game drive Ngorongoro Crater. If you are after the ‘The Big Five’, it is all here waiting for you.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Heading towards the coast, cycle through the wide open spaces of the memorable Maasai Steppe.
Cycling Distance: 20-40km.
Accommodation: Riverside Camping
Explore the Usambara Mountains.
Cycling Distance: 45km.
Accommodation: Camping/Upgrades available
It’s up to you what you want to do today… a total rest day, or choose from other activities like going for a local hike, visiting a local school or helping with a local reforestation project.
Accommodation: Camping/Upgrades available
DAY 12: Rainforest & highland smooth cycle trail
Cycling towards the tropical coast through sleepy palm-lined villages.
Cycling Distance: 57km.
Accommodation: Camping on our family’s farm
Ride rolling dirt roads to meet the Indian Ocean and our campsite near a palm-lined beach.
Cycling Distance: 40km.
Accommodation: Camping
Our final ride on mostly quiet dirt roads, through small fishing villages and finally to Bagamoyo town.
Cycling Distance: 47km.
Accommodation: Coastal Lodge
Final breakfast together and a morning transfer to Dar es Salaam for those who are flying out. / enjoying the beach / onward travel.
Your tour itinerary offers 20-105km biking per day; a total distance of up to 540km spread over 12 days of biking.
The terrain is mostly undulating and flat with some short rolling hills. The riding surface (80% dirt roads, 15% paved roads and 5% non-technical single track) can be rough at times, slow going, pot-holed and sandy and the riding challenge of the tour should not be judged by mileage alone. The trip is suited to riders with a good level of biking fitness and off-road biking experience will greatly enhance handling on rough roads and add to the enjoyment of your tour. A mountain bike with front suspension is the ideal bike and we have a fleet of our own mountain bikes available for hire.
Support: Our trusty support vehicle carries all your luggage, has lunch, snacks and water at hand, and is there if you need a break from the saddle.
Your cycle tour includes rides of up to 105km per day. Please do read about the daily riding distances taking note of the riding terrain in the itinerary below and prepare accordingly. The more prepared you are the more you will enjoy your adventure!
Preparing for your cycle tour should involve:
Please do contact us if you would like some help with a detailed training plan.
Support: Our trusty support vehicle carries all your luggage, has lunch, snacks and water at hand, and is there if you need a break from the saddle.
In Kenya and Tanzania we have our own fleet of custom built bikes available for hire. They are hard tail mountain bikes custom built to be perfect for off-road touring in Kenya & Tanzania. They have full SLX 2×11, 120mm travel forks, XT tubeless 27.5 wheelsets and Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes (mechanical disc brakes are ideal for maintaining in Africa). We have them available in S, M, L and XL.
We carry all our spare parts out to East Africa and maintain them ourselves to make sure they are in optimal riding condition for your ride with us. If you will be hiring a bike from us please let us know prior to your trip, and please feel free to bring your favourite saddle and clip in pedals (if you normally clip in).
Your tour leaders will take care of your meals and snacks throughout your adventure with us. This excludes one lunch and two evening meals which are at your own cost to give you the opportunity to explore eating options of your own choosing. We are most definitely able to cater for vegetarians and special diets and if this includes you, it is essential to advise us of this before your tour begins, so that the support vehicle can be stocked with the necessary supplies. Typical meals include:
All accommodation for the duration of your tour is included. Eleven nights are camping and four nights are in small guesthouses and lodges on a family basis (2-4 star). The camping is ‘real camping’ and sometimes in remote locations.
We supply spacious dome tents which we will show you how to erect, and foam mattresses.
Singles: We do not charge a single supplement!
If you are traveling on your own, you can have your own tent for camping nights and we will pair you with another single biker of the same gender to share a twin room for the hotel nights. If you do not wish to share, that is fine too, but a single supplement will apply!
This trip has 6-12 bikers, plus two experienced Escape Adventures tour leaders and a local interpreter and driver.
Starting our cycle adventure in Nairobi, through the African savanna, arriving at the Amboseli national park with Kilimanjaro towering above us. I thought could it get any better…. OMG yes! Camping next to a Maasai village that has no obvious roads leading to it. Meeting the families that live in the village and interacting with the kids. What a magical place. A memory I will never forget. Across the boarder to Tanzania and biking towards the Rift Valley escarpment. Wow what a ride, passing elephants and giraffes. A well earnt day off to enjoy the Ngorongoro crater. Heading of towards the coast through small villages of the Maasai Steppe, beautiful big smiles that welcomed us, all wanting to meet and say Jumbo. Exploring the Usambara Mountains. Before heading back down towards the coast to Bagamoyo. The views, the people, the animals the accommodation, and oh yeah the biking with new friends. Absolutely amazing. Fabulous memories of beautiful friendly, welcoming and often astounded faces. It was the best 555km of cycling ever. It really is the best way to see the real Africa.
The Kenya Tanzania Escape Adventure was fantastic. I would do it again and highly recommend it if you want to experience wild-life in the wild, the people, and the culture! It was Kiwi style experience in Africa; fun, everyone pitching in and something new every day. Our group size was small which made it so much more personal. Camping meant we were off the beaten track, meeting locals and the food produced from the back of the “Beast”, our support truck, excellent. Their custom made bikes were easy to use, comfortable and well maintained. A truly memorable experience with wonderful guides.
Joey and I had the most incredible trip to Kenya and Tanzania during June of 2019. The information and helpfulness from Mandy in the office, to the actual bike tour with John and the crew, is a testament to them offering an experience of a lifetime and living up to it. We felt we had an authentic African experience – can’t get much more real than waiting for giraffes to cross the track and watching tribesmen herd their goats in to the village for the night at sunset. Next on the list is Madagascar with Escape Adventures of course!
I had a fantastic kind of once in a lifetime cycling trip through Kenya and Tanzania with Escape Adventures. The unique advantage they provided to me was going to remote places and villages to meet local people and see their way of life. We were often the only European looking people for days. Plus the wildlife close-up such as huge elephants coming up to our truck. But the best was cycling along this dirt track in the middle of nowhere and having to stop to give way to a family of giraffes intent on keeping on their way regardless of we cyclists!
Any adventure that is linked with some challenges, taking you out of your comfort zone is usually connected with that great word…”Rewarding”! To see parts of Africa at bike level & bike speed, interacting with locals, children & wildlife was just amazing. I’ll be hard pressed to get in a safari vehicle again, especially as my bike was sooo good, mine at home is going on the verge! Great food, Tim, Theresa and Joseph were organised, relaxed & clearly in sync with each other…& Africa! I’d do it again tomorrow!