An ideal itinerary for a first-time safari experience, visiting several of the main reserves in southern Kenya and spending a day sight-seeing in Nairobi. You can experience the thrill of being up close to elephants in Amboseli; watch the sunrise over Kilimanjaro; explore the Taita Hills wildlife sanctuary in Tsavo; enjoy a boat safari on Lake Naivasha and track down all the Big Five in Kenya’s world-famous reserve, the Maasai Mara!
Parks and places of interest: Nairobi, Amboseli, Taita Hills, Lake Naivasha & Maasai Mara
Activities: Game drives, boat safari, bush walks, Nairobi sight-seeing day
Accommodation: A mix of mid-range tented camps and lodges
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Depart Nairobi by road for Amboseli National Park (5 hours), a fantastic park with great views of Mount Kilimanjaro and is one of the best places in Africa to have close encounters with elephants! Amboseli has several habitat types ranging from savannahs and woodlands to swamps and wetlands and it’s these varied habitats that make Amboseli home to over 600 species of birds, big cats and many other species of mammals, including all the Big Five! You’ll arrive in time for lunch at Kibo tented camp, located just outside the park, each spacious en suite tent has a comfy bed, stone floor, canvas walls and is tastefully decorated. The camp has a large dining area where meals are served buffet style, there is also a bar, swimming pool to cool off and a small art gallery and souvenir shop. Late afternoon you'll head out into Amboseli for a game drive to explore the park, after which you’ll return to camp for dinner and an evening relaxing.
Morning and afternoon game drives with all meals at camp.
After breakfast you will depart Amboseli and head for the Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, a very scenic area with abundant wildlife, located inside Tsavo West National Park. There are more than fifty species of large mammals and three hundred species of birds here and it’s not uncommon to spot two dozen species on a morning game drive. You can find lions, cheetahs, large herds of elephant and buffalo as well as many other interesting species! You’ll arrive in time for lunch at the Sarova Salt Lick, an unusual game viewing lodge, set on stilts overlooking a water source which attracts a lot of wildlife, which can be viewed from the comfort of the lodge, your room, or from the excellent ground-level hide. Later, you’ll be taken out by your driver for a game drive in this very scenic park that covers over 28,000 acres of protected area before heading back to the lodge for dinner.
After breakfast you’ll head out on a final game drive, leaving the park mid-morning and heading back to Nairobi stopping for lunch along the way. You’ll arrive late afternoon at the Wildebeest Eco Camp, located on the outskirts of Nairobi in the leafy suburb of Karen. The camp has several styles of accommodation including luxury en-suite tents and en-suite cottages. There is a pool, restaurant, games room and excellent souvenir shop with all items made locally and it’s all set in a very attractive site with lots of trees and birdlife.
The next morning after a leisurely breakfast, you’ll spend the day sightseeing in Nairobi, the first stop will be the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage, where you can meet the many young elephants who are being rehabilitated for release back into the wild. After meeting the elephants, you will be taken to the historical Karen Blixen Coffee House for lunch, this will be followed by a visit to the Giraffe Centre which runs a breeding programme for the now rare Rothschild giraffe, only found in small numbers in the wild. At the end of the day, you will return to camp for dinner and an evening relaxing.
After breakfast you’ll depart Nairobi for Lake Naivasha and the Sopa Resort (1.5 hours), where you’ll arrive in time for lunch. The lodge is located close to the lake shore and has beautiful gardens where there is often wildlife wandering around such as bushbuck, zebra and giraffe. The lodge has a restaurant and very nice lounge and bar area with leather sofas and fireplaces for the cool Naivasha evenings. The rooms are spacious, Swahili style chalets either with a balcony or a glass fronted lounge area for relaxing and wildlife viewing. After lunch you’ll head out on a boat safari across the lake where you may see hippos and many species of bird including fish eagles and pelicans. Towards the end of your boat safari, you’ll stop off at Crescent Island for a guided nature walk. At the end of the day, you’ll retire to the lodge to spend the evening, have dinner, and watch the hippos come up from the lake to graze in Sopa’s grounds.
After an early breakfast, you’ll leave Naivasha for the open grassland of the Maasai Mara (5 hours). Rich in biodiversity and home to a large variety of bird species and wildlife, this savannah reserve offers great game viewing and bird watching opportunities. The Maasai Mara is regarded as the jewel of Kenya’s wildlife reserves and is home to the annual wildebeest migration (July to October), which involves over 1.5 million animals! There have also been 95 species of mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, and over 400 bird species recorded here. Nowhere in Africa is wildlife more abundant, and the visitor will rarely miss seeing the Big Five! You’ll arrive in time for lunch at Basecamp, a small-tented camp with just 15 tents located on the banks of the Talek river. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with a solar heated hot water shower and a private terrace area overlooking the river. The camp has an eco-friendly policy, all waste is 100% recycled and the camp is fully powered by a solar bank. The camp also supports local communities and there is a large art centre on campus where many articles are made for sale locally as well as for exporting abroad. After lunch you’ll head out for a game drive in the reserve where you’ll have the opportunity to see big cats and all the other members of the Big Five!
Enjoy a full day game drive in the reserve.
Spend the day on morning and afternoon game drives with all meals at camp
After breakfast and a morning game drive you'll head back to Nairobi where you'll be dropped at your preferred location
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