Seven days exploring Kenya’s most iconic safari destinations, combining breathtaking landscapes, rich wildlife, and comfortable stays along the way. From the elephants of Amboseli with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background, to Lake Nakuru’s wildlife-rich shores and the open plains of the Maasai Mara, this journey brings together three very different sides of Kenya.
We keep the pace comfortable, with time to enjoy game drives without feeling rushed. Expect close encounters with elephants, lions, buffalo, giraffes, flamingos, and, with good timing and luck, the Mara’s famous big cats. Between safari drives, you can slow down at your lodge, enjoy the views, and take in the peaceful atmosphere of the African bush.
- Highlights
What makes this journey unforgettable
- Elephant herds with Kilimanjaro backdrop
- Maasai Mara big-cat country
- Optional balloon safari over the Mara
- Rhino tracking at Lake Nakuru
- Maasai village cultural visit
- Day-by-Day Itinerary
Your journey, day by day
- Day 1
Nairobi Arrival
You are met at Jomo Kenyatta International and driven into Nairobi — usually forty minutes, sometimes rather more, this is a real city. The afternoon is free to sleep or, if you land early, to visit the Sheldrick elephant orphanage or Karen Blixen’s house. Dinner with your guide covers the route, the wildlife you can expect this month and how you like your days paced.
- Meals: Dinner
Click to see the lodge description and photos in Hemingways Nairobi.
- Day 2
Drive to Amboseli
We leave early to clear Nairobi’s traffic and drive south towards the Tanzanian border, reaching Amboseli in around four hours. Lunch at the lodge, then the first game drive across the dust flats and swamps. Amboseli’s elephants are the most studied population on earth and they are enormous, calm and completely used to vehicles — you will be close to them, and Kilimanjaro is usually clear in the last hour of light.
- Meals: All meals
Click to see the lodge description and photos in Tortilis Camp.
- Day 3
Amboseli Full Day
A full day in Amboseli. We are out at sunrise because that is when the mountain is uncovered and the elephants walk out of the swamps in single file with the snow behind them — the classic image, and it takes an early start to get it. Back to the lodge for lunch and the hot part of the day, then out again at four for the swamps, where hippo, buffalo and pelican gather.
- Meals: All meals
Click to see the lodge description and photos in Tortilis Camp.
- Day 4
Drive to Lake Nakuru
After morning breakfast start a long drive north through Nairobi and up the Rift Valley escarpment to Lake Nakuru (about six hours, with a viewpoint stop and lunch on the way). Nakuru is a fenced sanctuary and one of Kenya’s best places to see both black and white rhino, along with Rothschild’s giraffe, waterbuck and tree-climbing lion. The afternoon drive circles the lakeshore.
- Meals: All meals
Click to see the lodge description and photos in Mbweha Camp.
- Day 5
Drive to Maasai Mara
We drive south-west into the Maasai Mara, dropping off the escarpment and into the rolling grassland that most people picture when they think of Africa (roughly five hours). Game-viewing begins as soon as we enter the ecosystem. The first afternoon usually delivers your first lion — the Mara has one of the highest lion densities anywhere on the continent.
- Meals: All meals
Click to see the lodge description and photos in Angama Mara.
- Day 6
Mara Full Day
A full day in the Mara with a packed breakfast, out before dawn when the cats are still hunting. We work the Talek and Mara river areas, the marsh prides and the open plains for cheetah; between July and October we also position for the wildebeest crossings. In the late afternoon we visit a Maasai manyatta with a family we’ve worked with for years — no staged photographs, just a genuine conversation.
- Meals: All meals
Click to see the lodge description and photos in Angama Mara.
- Day 7
Return Nairobi
A final sunrise drive if your schedule allows, then either the short bush flight or the road transfer back to Nairobi. We’ll get you to Jomo Kenyatta or Wilson in good time, with a day room arranged if you have an evening flight.
- Meals: All meals
Click to see the lodge description and photos in Day room.
- What's Included
- All Kenya park and conservancy fees — Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara
- All government taxes and VAT
- Private 4x4 safari Land Cruiser with pop-up roof for unobstructed game viewing
- Professional English-speaking driver-guide with deep regional knowledge
- Accommodation as listed, on the comfort tier you select
- All meals as indicated in the day-by-day itinerary
- Unlimited drinking water, soft drinks and snacks in the vehicle
- Airport meet-and-greet, transfers and complimentary pre-trip briefing
- Personalised welcome pack and 24/7 on-trip support
- Nairobi arrival and departure day rooms where flight times require them
- Full-day packed breakfasts and bush picnic lunches in Amboseli and the Mara
- What's Excluded
- Hot-air balloon safari over the Maasai Mara (from $550 per person, including champagne breakfast)
- International flights and visa fees
- Travel and medical insurance (strongly recommended)
- Personal expenses — laundry, phone calls, alcoholic and soft drinks
- Tips and gratuities for your guide, porters and lodge staff
- Optional activities not listed in the itinerary (e.g. hot-air balloon, spa, scenic flights)
- Items of a personal nature and any pre/post-tour accommodation
- Anything not expressly listed under what's included
- Return bush flight Mara–Nairobi if selected in place of the road transfer (from $250 per person)
- Tour Price