Highlights of Kenya Safari

To give as much time as possible to immerse yourself in nature, you will be picked up from your hotel, residence, or the airport at 5.30am to embark on your safari. The early start will give you chance to see the Kenyan countryside as it awakes to start a new day. You will see sunrise as you progress south through the Great African Rift Valley, and your guide will be able to stop for you at strategic locations for photo opportunities along the way.

You’ll stop at the town of Narok to get a hearty breakfast, Kenyan style, to give you energy to head out into the savanna upon arrival. Through the gates of the Masai Mara, the game viewing commences. As you’d expect from such a renowned reserve, here you can see the big five of African safari:

• Elephants
• Rhinos
• Lions
• Leopards
• Buffalo

Roaming across the landscape, as well as plenty more beasts you may have only seen on screen before now. You’ll have lunch served as a picnic, keeping your surrounded by nature for as long as possible.

Sure to be tired after a long and adventurous day, your guide will take you to your chosen camp or lodge to place down your bags, have dinner, and take in the plains after sunset from the viewing decks provided. Your first day on safari in Kenya includes:

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Masai Mara National Reserve
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

You may not have a lot of time on safari in Kenya, but you can still pack in plenty of experiences to make it the trip of a lifetime. The first morning on safari presents a chance to take a hot air balloon ride over the plains to watch the sunrise and the park awaken. Watching the movement of the animals from the air offers a different perspective, allowing you to understand the patterns more, and get scenic photos with long shadows cast over dusty lands. The trip is rounded off by a bubbly bush breakfast served on a view platform above the Masai Mara. There is an extra fee for the activity of $425 per person.

Even if you choose to remain with two feet firmly on the ground this morning, you still have ample chance to spot animals on a dawn game drive before breakfast back at your accommodation. The rest of the day will be spent traversing this vast land, flat and grass covered, with a few trees randomly dotting the plains. Here is where you can spot all of the animals you’ve dreamed of for so long. Be sure to tell your guide the creatures you’re really keen to see and they will do their best to get you a sighting.

Lunch is offered today as a picnic, relaxing by the Mara river and surrounded by the wildlife. The river offers chance to spot crocodiles and hippos, as wells as some of the many hundreds of bird species that breed and nest here. After a long day of exploration, head back to your accommodation for dinner and a well-earned rest, taking advantage of any optional spa facilities. Included in your first full day adventuring on safari in Kenya is:

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Masai Mara National Reserve
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

Your swansong to the Masai Mara will come in the shape of one last game drive to depart the park, following an early breakfast. You will have one last chance to gaze across the open grasslands and hopefully see some of the stunning wildlife:

• Dik-diks
• Gazelles
• Hippos
• Warthogs
• Baboons

And more, as you head towards the gates and on to your next destination.

Although long, the journey to Amboseli will be broken up with stops at opportune locations for photos of the beautiful scenery. There’ll be lakes, rivers, and mountains along with snapshots of everyday life for Kenyans. In a local town, you’ll stop for lunch and a chance to stretch your legs on the journey.

Entering Amboseli, the most striking feature is undoubtedly Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain stands steadfast; an eternal backdrop to all your photos of the park. As you head towards your accommodation, you will have a brief game drive. The lands here have more trees than the Masai Mara, yet the same brilliant range of wildlife is present, too. Once at your selected camp or lodge, you will be given dinner and time to enjoy the views from terraces or picture windows that are on offer. This, the third day of your Kenyan safari, will have included:

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Amboseli National Park
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

Bright white snow may not be the first thing that comes to mind when contemplating your Kenyan safari, yet an early morning game drive out in Amboseli should afford you wonderful views of the snow-capped peak of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro. As the sun spills over the landscape and begins to bounce off the ridges and creases of the mountain, the colours and views will evolve through the morning. Once the clouds start to build, it’s back to your camp or lodge for breakfast, before another full day out exploring the plains.

Having lived a nomadic life in these lands for thousands of years, the Masai people have a special connection with the savanna. Their culture has tales of lion-fighting warriors and they have a deep understanding of the lifecycles of Amboseli. You are invited to pay a visit to a village of one of the tribes, where they will welcome you with singing and dancing that’s customary in their culture. Then you will be shown around the village and presented with a chance to visit a house of one of the families. This mind-expanding visit is an optional extra, priced at $20 per person.

The day will be spent out exploring, looking for the animals you may not have seen yet, or searching for a second sighting to get even more photos of your favourite mammals. Lunch comes a picnic to ensure you get as much time as possible to get deep into the wilderness. Dinner is back at your accommodation with rest and relaxation time thrown in, too. The fourth day of your Kenyan safari includes:

• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Overnight stay inside Amboseli National Park
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Drinking water, other drinks are extra

Since you’ve been rising early every day, finish your safari in the same way and head out for a dawn game drive. Along with a second chance to photograph Kilimanjaro without the daytime clouds, you get to appreciate the dawn chorus of the birds and mammals rising from their slumber and calling to their herds, prides, and flocks as the new day begins.

Once you’ve had your fill of nature, it’s time to fill up on food at your camp or lodge and take a long, slow, drive out of the park so you can fit in one last game drive. From the gates of Amboseli, it’s off westwards to return to Nairobi. This is your last chance to watch the world pass by and eat a delicious lunch at a local town.

Upon arrival in Nairobi in the early afternoon, the next step is up to you. You can request your guide to drop you off either at your hotel, your residence, or at the airport to catch a flight to your next destination, or home. The final day of your whistle-stop safari in Kenya includes:

• No accommodation, this is the final day
• Breakfast and lunch, no dinner
• Drinking water other drinks are extra