Kenya Highlights Safari

You leave Nairobi early and drive south through Maasai land to Amboseli National Park. You arrive in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive. The park sits at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, and on a clear day the mountain stands high above the plains. This is elephant country, and the herds are often out on the grassland in the late afternoon light. You settle into your lodge near the park for the first of two nights. Lunch and dinner are included.

A full day in Amboseli, with morning and afternoon game drives. The park is known for its large elephant families, including some very big tuskers. On a clear morning, sunrise is a good time to photograph Kilimanjaro's snow-capped summit. During the day you climb Observation Hill for a view over the park and its marshes, which draw plenty of birdlife. It's a second night in Amboseli, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

After an early breakfast you drive north into the Great Rift Valley, past escarpments and small Rift Valley towns, to Lake Nakuru National Park. You arrive in the afternoon for a game drive around the alkaline lake. Nakuru is known for gatherings of flamingos along its shore and for its rhino sanctuary, so there's a good chance of your first rhino today. You spend the first of two nights here, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

A full day at Lake Nakuru, with morning and afternoon game drives through its different habitats. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the best places in Kenya to see both black and white rhinos. Your guide also looks for Rothschild's giraffes, waterbuck, flamingos and pelicans on the shore, and leopards resting in the fever tree forest. Leopards are shy, so treat one as a bonus. It's a second night at Lake Nakuru, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

A short morning drive brings you to Lake Naivasha, a freshwater lake edged with papyrus and acacia woodland. In the afternoon you go out on a boat, past pods of hippos and a wide range of waterbirds, fish eagles among them. If you'd like to stretch your legs, there's an optional walk on Crescent Island, a conservancy with no predators where you can walk among zebras and giraffes. After days in the vehicle, it's a welcome change of pace. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

You leave Lake Naivasha and drive west toward the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The road passes rolling wheat fields and Maasai villages before it drops into the Mara ecosystem. You reach your camp in the Mara in time for an evening game drive across the grassland, often with a sunset over the savannah to close the day. This is the first of three nights in the Mara. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

A full day in the Mara, with morning and afternoon game drives across the open plains. Your guide searches for the Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. The Mara is known for its large lion prides and cheetah families, and cheetahs hunting on the open plains are a real possibility. Your guide also stops at the hippo pools along the Mara River. It's a second night in the Mara, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Today's drives head for the areas where the migration herds gather, which happens seasonally from about July to October. In those months you may find thousands of wildebeest and zebra massing near the Mara River. If the timing is right, you could see a river crossing, though the herds choose when to cross and nobody can schedule it. Birdlife along the river keeps the waiting interesting. In the afternoon you visit a Maasai village to meet the people who live alongside the reserve. Third night in the Mara, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

You go out for a final sunrise game drive in the Mara, then set off for Nairobi. The road back runs through the Great Rift Valley, and you reach Nairobi by late afternoon. After checking into your hotel, you have a farewell dinner to round off the trip and swap stories about the past nine days. The night is in Nairobi, so there's no early start tomorrow unless your flight needs one. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

After breakfast you have some free time in Nairobi before your flight. You can shop for souvenirs at a curio market, or take an optional visit to the Giraffe Centre or the Karen Blixen Museum. Later we transfer you to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your departure flight. Breakfast is included. If you'd like to continue across the border into Tanzania instead, our Arusha team can plan the next leg with you.