How much safari is too much?

Good combination, i think the only missing part would be be Botswana. Gorilla trekking and Victoria falls and probably they could fit in if your budget allows. 3 weeks in South Africa you can combine this with Botswana and Victoria fall...you will have covered sufficiently the southern Part. Then fly to Zanzibar for a bout a week at the beach alternatively you could fly straight to Kenya and do 10-12 nights safari in Kenya and 1 week at the Kenya coast, from here you fly to Addis Ababa for cultural and historic experience for about 2 weeks. I suggested Victoria falls since this is different from game drives and Gorilla trekking if you do Rwanda it will only take you 4 days with a good pace and vic falls can be done in 3 days as well. This will break the game drives though South Africa, Botswana are different with what you get in Kenya...Migration will be on Aug-Sep are the peak months though starts as early as June sometimes. Spend about 3-4 nights in Masai Mara and you can introduce some game walks so that you don't spend all the time in the vehicle.
Hope this will help...

Too much safari is never enough.
Kruger and Mara would not be overkill. If by serengetti you mean Serengetti NP, Tanzania, then I would say not to that. A lot of time, money, borders etc, for not much difference between that and Mara. Amboseli and Tsavo would provide two different safari experiences within Kenya. There are also a few parks in western Kenya where you can hike and that would provide another different wildlife experience.

So 10-12 or 15 nights safari is not too much? It doesn't get repetitive?

I guess never having been I'm having a little bit of a hard time imagining that but I hear that POV more often than i hear that it does get old. There are many opportunities for game viewing in S Africa if we travel from the Cape to Kruger as well.

I don't think we are up for Gorilla trekking but Vic Falls is a possibility for sure.

safaris: obviously this depends on you. for me, it doesnt get repetitive. every safari is different, the weather is different, the light is different, the animals you see, the way they behave etc. i've spend about 2 months in total on safari in southern africa (south africa, namibia, zambia and malawi) and i'm looking forward to go back soon.

i havent been to kenya and tanzania yet, so cant comment on that. from what i know from friends who went to the masai mara, its quite different (in matters of landscape and wildlife) to the krüger. and krüger np is a must in my opinion.

" krüger np is a must in my opinion. "

Did you just rent a car and drive into the park on a daily basis or did you stay in the park and go on organized game drives?

I did my Safari in Tanzania at Mikumi National Park. I saw everything and it was very affordable. I also did countless cultural activities as well. Serengeti from what I heard can be a bit overwhelming and of course expensive.

So difficult to choose when you have so much time! And there's plenty of food for thought on this thread already.

The key for me is a good guide - a professional, qualified individual who can find you the animals through tracking skills, experience and the almost-sixth sense that some guides have. And then can communicate what you're seeing (appearance, behaviour, interactions) in an engaging way. Self-driving probably won't give you that opportunity.

I think you're right to focus on the Mara ecosystem in early-mid September, as that's frequently been the best time for the most impressive migration scenes as thousands of wildebeest surge across the Mara River. These completely unpredictable crossings take place in both directions over a period of several months. The downside can be the number of other visitors, trying to witness the same drama. So it's a good idea to consider staying for at least part of your time in this region not in the Maasai Mara National Reserve itself but in one of the Maasai-owned private conservancies leased to small tourism operators that fringe the northern edges of the reserve. These areas have superb wildlife, very few visitors and some great little camps.

And your question about repetitiveness? Don't give it another thought! (unless you suspect you're really not that interested in wildlife after all). I've been visiting Kenya for more than 30 years, and I'll never get tired of new discoveries about animal species I thought I knew well, and seeing others for the first time (aardvark twice in two years but after 30 years of waiting, zorilla for the first time, honey badger for the first time, and I'm still waiting to witness my second kill after seeing a cheetah take down a Thomson's gazelle in 1985!).

Whatever you decide – Safari njema!

That's a hard question to answer because it depends on personal preferences. For me I love safaris (though after twenty years of it I am still waiting to see my first hunt!), but even for me I would quickly have had enough of driving safaris. So, one thing I would always tell someone who is planning their first safari is that for many people two solid weeks of getting up at dawn and bouncing around in a jeep in the heat looking at a dozing lion can very quickly get too much. I have a very deep interest in the wildlife but no way would I want to do two straight weeks of driving safari. My advice would be to do a few days in the Mara (if you can afford it go to one of the conservancies fringing the Mara as the experience will be ten times that of the reserve - but yeah it'll cost a lot more as well!) and then mix it up with other things like bushwalks. Better still, after the Mara head to the Loita Hills, Kakamega forest, the islands in Lake Victoria, the area around Kitale or somewhere around Mt Kenya. Anywhere where you can get out and feel, touch and smell the environment. And most importantly visit, and stay in, some towns and villages. Doing this would give you a more cultural experience. Too many people go to East Africa and bounce around the parks and then fly home without ever actually visiting a town or village and therefore, in my opinion, without ever visiting Kenya.

Have fun. You'll surely love both Kenya and Ethiopia.
Stuart

Richard- when you say "So it's a good idea to consider staying for at least part of your time in this region not in the Maasai Mara National Reserve itself but in one of the Maasai-owned private conservancies leased to small tourism operators that fringe the northern edges of the reserve. " would a place described as being on the Siria Escarpment, Oloololo qualify?

Stuart- when you say "most importantly visit, and stay in, some towns and villages. Doing this would give you a more cultural experience. Too many people go to East Africa and bounce around the parks and then fly home without ever actually visiting a town or village and therefore, in my opinion, without ever visiting Kenya." Are you suggesting that I rent a car on my own and do this? Will the smaller towns and villages have Accomodations?