Destinations: Nairobi | Amboseli| Lake Naivasha |Samburu |Olpejeta |Meru | Lake Nakuru | Maasai Mara
ITINERARY
| Day 1: Arrival – Nairobi |
Jambo and welcome to Kenya! On arrival at the airport, you will be met by our experienced guide and the regional Manager. After a short briefing, you will be transferred to your city hotel. The guide will give you an insight on the wonderful adventures ahead of your safari.
Overnight: Fairmont the Norfolk
Meal Plan: Bed & Breakfast
| Day 2: Nairobi Excursions |
Wake up for breakfast at your prestigious Hotel. After breakfast, you will have an excursion within Kenya’s capital. You will Start your exploration of this beautiful country as you first do a city tour of the Capital. You will then visit the Daphne Sheldrick at 1100hrs which is a nursery and rehab Centre for infant elephants that have lost their families, as well as the occasional rhino, zebra and other wildlife. Daphne was the first person to successfully raise an orphan infant elephant, discovering a formula that has now been used widely. The widow of the famous naturalist and warden of Tsavo from 1948 to 1976, David Sheldrick; Daphne has dedicated her life to conservation. These infants are eventually released into the wild at Tsavo East National Park and end up in the care of other orphans who have been successfully reintroduced to the wild.
After the visit, you will go for lunch at the Karen area
After lunch, you will visit the Karen Blixen museum and Giraffe Centre, which are close by. The center has been ostensibly set up as a breeding center for the endangered Rothschild Giraffe. It was started by Jock Leslie-Melville, the Kenyan grandson of a Scottish Earl, when he and his wife Betty captured a baby giraffe to start a program of breeding giraffe in captivity at their home in Langata – home of the present Centre. Since then the program has had huge success, resulting in the introduction of several breeding pairs of Rothschild Giraffe into Kenyan national parks.
You will then be dropped at your Hotel for Dinner and Overnight stay.
Overnight: Fairmont the Norfolk
Meal Plan: Bed & Breakfast
| Day 3: Nairobi – Amboseli National Park |
After a sumptuous breakfast at your first class hotel, start exploring this beautiful country as you travel to Amboseli National Park located at the foot of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. Arrive for lunch followed by an afternoon game viewing drive.
Overnight at Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge orKibo Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board
| Day 4 & 5: Amboseli National Park |
Spend the entire day exploring this park that is rich in diversity. You will have full day game drives The Park is famous for the dramatic views of Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world, and the highest peak on the African continent. Kilimanjaro at 19,340ft or 5,894m rises dramatically out of the 4000ft (1,200m) Amboseli plains. Amboseli is also famous for its elephant herds, which have been followed and documented by world renowned researcher Cynthia Moss.
All meals will be served at the Lodge
Overnight at Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge orKibo Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board
| Day 6: Amboseli – Lake Naivasha |
After a sumptuous breakfast at your Lodge, you will depart to Lake Naivasha. This is one of Kenya’s fresh water lakes and you arrive in time for late lunch.
After lunch, you will visit Hell’s gate National Park which is famous for its natural hot geysers, eagle and vulture breeding grounds. It’s the only Park where visitors can walk or cycle past huge herds buffaloes on looking. The Park has special locations for great viewing including: Fischer’s Tower, formerly a volcano’s plug, the Central Tower and Njorowa Gorges. The hot springs and a fabulous scenic landscape besides the diverse game are just incredible. Some game available include buffaloes, giraffes, gazelles, zebras among others.
After the Park, if time permits, you will take a leisurely boat ride to the Crescent Island; a private Wildlife Sanctuary on the eastern side Lake Naivasha. It is one of the most beautiful parks in Kenya and is often called Naivasha’s best kept secret. Surrounded by water, it is actually a peninsula and is currently only accessible by boat from the East or West side. The shores host abundant birdlife including pelicans, cormorants, and fish-eagles with their haunting cry. There are more animals per acre than any other Kenyan Park. Some animals you can see are Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Zebra, and Gazelle. The island is a submerged rim of a volcanic crater and here; you can walk among the yellow barked “fever trees” and have a 360-degree view across the Lake from Longonot to Hell’s Gate to the Mau Escarpment to Eburu and onto the Aberdares.
Return later for dinner and Overnight.
Overnight at Enashipai Resort & Spa or Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board (B, L, D)
| Day 7 : Lake Naivasha – Samburu game reserve |
After breakfast, you will drive to the North, past vast vegetation and agricultural fields in what used to be called the ‘white highlands’. As you drive, you will notice different climatic conditions; warm, cold then hot as you approach the Northern corridor. Arrive at your Camp in Samburu right on time for lunch. After lunch, enjoy an afternoon game viewing drive.
Samburu game reserve is a unique reserve; in the sense that it is home to Five special rare species like gerenuk, Somali ostrich, Beisa Oryx, Reticulated giraffe and Grevy’s zebra. These are only found in the Northern part of Kenya. Other animals found here includes the elephants, lion, impalas, cheetahs, civet Cats, African wild dogs, hippos and a variety of different bird species where over 350 have been recorded.
After the game drive, return to your Camp for dinner and overnight.
Overnight Elephant Bedroom Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board (B, L, D)
| Day 8: Inside the Samburu game reserve |
Spend the entire day inside this beautiful reserve that is locally owned by the local community and managed by the local government. Enjoy the undulating landscapes, the warm and sometimes hot weather, the friendly local residents and immense wildlife. Mid-morning, you will visit one of the Samburu villages and get to learn about their unique lifestyle. The Samburu’s are Maa speakers who are cousins to the Maasai people. For ages, they have preserved their culture and up to date their traditions still count. Their beadwork, songs and dance and different colorful ceremonies makes them one of the most conservative tribes of Kenya.
Enjoy the full day game drives.
All meals will be served at your Camp.
Overnight Elephant Bedroom Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board (B, L, D)
| Day 9: Samburu – Olpejeta Conservancy, Nanyuki |
After breakfast at your Camp, you will drive down to the foot of Kenya’s highest mountain, Mt. Kenya. Here you will experience drastic weather changes, as it gets colder towards the mountain. You will be able to see the highest peak on a clear day. Arrive in time for lunch at Olpejeta Conservancy. This conservancy is the home to the last remaining Northern white rhinos in the world. Although it is unfortunate that SUDAN, the only remaining Male died on 19th March 2018 due to age complications, there are still Two female that are heavily guarded within the conservancy at an endangered species Boma. You will have the once in a life time experience of getting up close and personal with them, and listen to their story. Other animals to see are the Jackson’s hartebeest, Grevy’s zebra, and chimpanzees among others.
Dinner and Overnight will be at the Camp.
Overnight at Sweetwaters Tented Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board (B, L, D)
| Day 10: Olpejeta Conservacy – Meru National Park |
After breakfast at your Camp, you will drive to Meru National Park. Arrive in time for lunch and later an afternoon game drive. This 870KM squared less visited park is a beautiful gem. This magnificent scale, the Meru park feature luxuriant jungle, coursing rivers, verdant swamp, khaki grasslands and gaunt termite cathedrals all under the sky’s great blue bowl. Little visited and utterly unspoilt, few places are comparable to the remote and rugged atmosphere found here. Visitors can see Grevy’s zebras, elephants, Bohor reedbucks, hartebeests, pythons, puff adders, cobras, buffalos and more than 427 recorded species of birds.
After game drives, return for Dinner and overnight;
Overnight at Ikweta Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board
| Day 11: Meru National Park |
Spend the entire day exploring Meru National Park.
The national park receives an abundance of rain allowing for the growth of tall grasses and the development of rich swamps. This makes it a wildlife haven. The Tana River referenced above combined with the Rojerwero and Ura rivers are the leading sources of water. Each of these rivers and related tributaries is lined with riverine forest along with stands of dome and raphia palms.
The northern section of the park features rainforest with the majority of the park covered in an array of density with bushes and grasslands. The famous Acacia trees that Africa is known for are all found in much of the park.
Wildlife is varied and plentiful. Some of the more common species include elephant, giraffe, black rhino, white rhino, kudu, gazelle, hartebeest, reedbuck, zebra, and hippo. Each of the above-referenced rivers is highly populated with hippopotamuses. Predator species include lion, leopard, cheetah, jackal, African wild cat, and hyena.
Birdwatchers are happy to learn that there are 427 species of birds to check off during an exploration of the park area. Snake enthusiasts can hope for a chance to see pythons, puff adders, and cobras. River safaris are one of the best ways to capture sightings of some of the bird species that live along the banks. Ostrich can be found in some of the bushy grasslands.
Meru National Park is the location where the famous George and Joy Adamson raised the lioness named Elsa. The story was shared via the book and movie of which both were named Born Free.
The Tana River and Adamson’s Falls are also key features of the national park. Adamson’s Falls is a cascading waterfall across rugged rocky terrain.
All meals will be served at the Lodge
Overnight at Ikweta Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board
| Day 12: Meru National Park – Lake Nakuru National Park |
After a sumptuous breakfast at the Camp, you will drive down past Kenya’s highest mountain, Mt. Kenya. You will pass through the equator and some beautiful landscape down to one of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley fresh water Lakes; Lake Nakuru. Arrive in time for lunch.
The park, which harbors one of the Great rift Valleys’ lakes, offers excellent bird watching and game viewing, with slightly over 315 bird species recorded. There are over 56 mammal species recorded in the Park. Some of the wildlife present includes; Eastern black rhino, southern white rhino, Rothschild giraffe, waterbuck, Rock pythons, gazelle and baboon among others. There are hundreds of lesser and greater flamingoes which dominate the lake and make it more attractive. Other main birds are cormorants and pelicans. Visit the baboon cliff and have 360 degrees view of the entire lake.
After enjoying the afternoon game drive, you will have an overnight at a Lodge inside the Park.
Overnight at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board (B, L, D)
| Day 13 & 14: Lake Nakuru – Maasai Mara National Reserve |
After a leisurely al fresco breakfast, you will now drive to the extraordinary destination of the Maasai Mara. The journey by road takes you past the floor of the Great Rift Valley. You will notice recent fissures caused by the tectonic movements that are suspected to have been aggravated by the heavy rainfall in April 2018 & 2023. These cut huge and long trenches along people’s farms, roads and even buildings for several kilometers. Arrive to the Maasai Mara Reserve for Lunch. After lunch you will have a rest, and then at about 1600hrs, you will have an evening game viewing drive. Spend the first two days in a Lodge at the West of Mara.
The Maasai Mara is perhaps one of the most prolific and famous reserves in Africa. Apart from being the home to the famous Big Five of Lion, leopard, Rhino, African Elephant and Buffalo, and having featured in perhaps hundreds of films forming up the ‘Big Cat Diaries’, the reserve got the status of the Seventh world wonder due to the annual wildebeest migration that takes place between July – September. This natural phenomenon is quite incredible. Over 1.3 million wildebeests cross the Mara River from Serengeti; many are swept away by currents, hundreds of predators get easy prey and this just gets dramatic. With crocodiles in the rivers, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs on land awaiting and the vultures in the skies, this creates a pile of activities that one never gets bored of watching.
Later before dusk, return for dinner and overnight at your Camp.
Overnight at Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board (B, L, D daily)
| Day 15 & 16: Inside the Maasai Mara Game Reserve |
These two days you will spend doing game drives leaning towards the Eastern Side. You will have an early game drive at this vast reserve. This time you are likely to see more wildlife as this is their most active time. Return for breakfast, then mid-morning you will take a visit to the Maasai village (Manyatta) where you will see their traditional beadwork, learn some of their culture from the village. After lunch, you will have another game drive till late in the evening. Return then for Dinner and overnight at your Camp.
Optional activity:
You may have an option of doing balloon rides, usually followed by bush breakfast. Best way to view wildlife at an aerial view.
Overnight at Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board (B, L, D daily)
| Day 17: Maasai Mara Game Reserve – Nairobi – Depart |
You can have an early game dive, and then return for breakfast at the Camp. After breakfast, you will depart back to Nairobi. You will have lunch (Own) at Kenya’s capital city; or some shopping in Nairobi, before being transferred to the airport for your departure flight back home.
Your guide will drop you at least 3 hours before your scheduled departure time.
What is included:
- Private transport in a 4X4 safari Land cruiser with Open roof for easy game viewing
- Return airport transfers in Nairobi
- Full day excursions in Nairobi with Lunch & Dinner
- Accommodation on Full Board on safari and BB in Nairobi
- Park entry fees and conservancy fees
- Services of a professional English speaking guide
- Full day game drives in the Parks and reserves
- Bottle of clean drinking water daily
- A visit to the Samburu villages
- Flying doctor’s service in case of an emergency
What is Excluded
- International Flights
- Visa and Visa fees
- TIP’s and gratuities
- Items of personal use
- Extra activities e.g Maasai Village visit or balloon rides (Can be pre-booked)
- Change of accommodation other than what is on the itinerary
- Sundowners (Can be arranged on request)