Kenya offers a feast for the senses and this action packed safari itinerary will reveal it all. In six days you'll visit five national parks, exploring the breathtaking beauty and diversity of Kenya's unique landscapes. Dramatic scenes are combined with serene panoramas and unbeatable safari moments. Visit the Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli, Tsavo East, and Tsavo West. Each park offers unforgettable experiences and unexplored wilderness. Great tailor-made safaris best for all holiday makers combing the best aspect of a great holiday in Kenya ranging from wildlife, nature, culture and scenery.
Upon arrival you will be picked up by your safari guide and transferred to House of Waine. Immersed in the leafy surrounds of Kenya’s beautiful Karen Forest is the elegant House of Waine – an upmarket retreat, which offers guests intimacy and superb accommodation. Guests can unwind in one of 11 individually decorated suites —each with a spacious, marble en-suite bathroom, satellite television, a complimentary personal non-alcoholic mini-bar, TV with satellite and local channels, and tea and coffee-making facilities. Appreciate colourful fresh flowers and delicious cookies delivered to your room each day.
House of Waine offers a wonderful selection of menus, served in various locations on the property, which reflect the diversity of flavours found in Nairobi. There are also two bars, which are exclusively for the use of guests and a sparkling heated swimming pool for those quiet hours between sightseeing. Must-see attractions include a visit to Kazuri Beads, the Karen Blixen Museum, Matbronze Art Gallery and Foundry, Giraffe Centre (to hand feed giraffes and for nature walks), the Daphne Sheldrick Wildlife Sanctuary – where you can interact with (and perhaps adopt) elephants and rhinos – and the renowned Nairobi National Park.
From Nairobi you'll be driven to the Maasai Mara. Enjoy a long afternoon game drive before spending the night at the Mara Serena Safari Lodge. Your Kenyan adventure begins on the vast plains of the Maasai Mara. Grass stretches beyond the horizon, the landscape dotted with large herds of zebra and wildebeest. Thompson's gazelle join the animal party, tentatively grazing on the vivid lands of the Mara. During the summer months over two million mammals migrate to the Mara, humongous herds thundering north from the neighboring Serengeti. This influx is only an addition to the permanent residents. At all times of the year, the Maasai Mara holds one of the greatest concentrations of wild game on the planet. The grass disappears under a moving trail of four hooves and swirling dust, an evocative scene that marks your first day on safari.
The Mara Serena Safari Lodge has a beautiful hilltop location overlooking the rolling plains and woodlands of the Masai Mara, one of the world’s richest wildlife sanctuaries. The annual migration of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle takes place across these plains, and even outside of the migration season you can look forward to spectacular sightings. You can spend your day on a game drive; enjoy a morning bird walk with the lodge’s resident naturalist, or visit a traditional Masai Manyatta (village). A great extra is a hot-air balloon safari where you can enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the wildlife below and then descend to a scenic champagne breakfast served in the middle of the bush. In the evening, you can enjoy tribal dancing displays, as well as wildlife and cultural talks.
Today you will head out to Lake Nakuru National Park, a rift valley lake that is a birdlife haven. The breathtaking Lake Nakuru National Park is a mecca for a plethora of birds, specifically the lesser flamingo. These fascinating birds, bright pink in colour, stand on tall stilted legs and their knees bend backwards each time they take a step. Enjoy a thrilling drive through the fascinating Rift Valley where the sight of a sweeping flamboyance of flamingos is an overwhelming attraction. A unique take on ‘pretty in pink’, spend some time observing these unique creatures. Wading in picturesque Lake Nakuru these flamingos create a stunning spectacle as they take flight from the surface of the lake. 2.5 million gangly-legged, shockingly pink-feathered birds caught up in a powerful surge as they glide through the air in an enormous V formation. You will check in at the Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Located on a range of hills that form the western limits of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, the lodge offers spectacular views over the vastness of Africa. The lodge also overlooks Lake Nakuru and its surrounding National Park, one that is a paradise for bird watchers and wildlife lovers alike. Lake Nakuru National Park is mainly a wooded and bushy grassland with a wide ecological diversity and characteristic habitats that range from the lake waters to the escarpment and ridges.
After early morning breakfast, your safari guide will pick you up and transfer you by road to Amboseli National Park. Africa's highest mountain provides the backdrop to Amboseli, the snow-capped Uhuru Peak clearly visible above the flat savannah. Great elephant herds roam across this land, their distinct shapes providing a wonderful contrast on any photo of Mount Kilimanjaro. On one hand Amboseli offers a small and compact safari experience, the bountiful wildlife easily found congregating around swamps and dried out lake beds. Yet it's also a spacious place of serene beauty. Little compares to relaxing on a verandah and watching the elephants roam beneath Mount Kilimanjaro. Check in at the Ol Tukai Lodge for dinner and overnight.
With spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro and the golden plains, Ol Tukai Lodge is a charming, contemporary retreat situated within the pristine Amboseli National Park. Imbued with a quintessential African atmosphere and set amidst beautifully manicured lawns, the lodge’s luxury chalets offer uninterrupted views of the tranquil wilderness of the park or the snow-capped mountain in the distance. Beautifully appointed and inviting, the chalets boast private terraces where guests can make the most of their spectacular surroundings. Delicious meals are served al fresco on the main veranda, where guests have the opportunity to spot game just metres away, while the stylish Elephant Bar offers a variety of refreshing cocktails. In between game drives, guests can relax in a comfortable sitting room and play board games or browse through the wildlife library or art gallery. A range of rejuvenating treatments is available in the beauty spa.
Heading east towards Mombasa, your next safari stop is the dusty landscapes of Tsavo West. Areas of high grassland make this an ideal spot for predators, the big cats able to easily approach without being spotted. Elephants and giraffe wander across large red swathes of arid rock. Hartebeest and kudu drink from withering waterholes, while the daily sightings of buffalo and giraffe continue. You will spend the night at the sumptuous Kilaguni Serena Lodge, another lodge that combines a personal touch with a careful attention to detail.
Water is more abundant at the nearby Mzima Springs. Frolicking in this area are hippos and crocodiles, two animals with very different daily routines. When the afternoon sun beats down, crocodiles are found sunbathing beside the shore, often asleep with wide open jaws and ferocious looking teeth. Hippos like to stay cool. They can barely swim or float. But they're capable of sleeping underwater, and then emerging every few minutes to breath without waking up. They're waddlers, walking along the lake floor or rolling in the mud. Admire their interactions as males quarrel over mating rights. The largest bull controls a harem of females, and the bachelor males must either fight to reproduce or submissively back down from the commanding bull. Your game drive will wind through the park towards these unforgettable springs.
After breakfast, you will proceed to Tsavo East just right across the Mombasa Road. Parts of Tsavo East can be spookily quiet. As you wind through the sparse trees it seems that this is a desolate landscape. There is as much wildlife in this national park as is anywhere else in Kenya. Yet Tsavo East covers a huge area and searching for these inimitable sightings is a thrilling experience. An hour can pass with only sightings of elephants, giraffe, and zebra. Even when the savannah gives way to open grassland, there doesn't appear to be anything else to find. But turn another corner and a large lion pride is busily feasting on an impala carcass. An elusive jackal waits nearby hoping to scavenge some leftovers. Driving away you spot scattered footprints. Reedbuck and oryx are among the frightened herd beating a quick retreat from the cats.
Tsavo East is home to a phenomenal cast of Africa's great animals. They range from obvious predators to rare antelopes, and swinging primates to bizarre nocturnal rodents. Guides never like to predict or promise what might be seen on a game drive, even if they're 99% certain of particular sights. In Tsavo East it's impossible to suggest what might be found. And this unpredictability makes it an ideal final safari stop. After the four previous parks there shouldn't be any lingering desperation for an animal that hasn't been seen. Tsavo East becomes a thrilling adventure, a roller coaster ride that will reveal an assorted collection of special sights. Tsavo West and Tsavo East neighbor each other. With no transfer time between the parks, pretty much this whole day will be spent on a game drive. Your final overnight accommodation is in the wonderful Voi Wildlife Lodge.
Enjoy your final morning waking up surrounded by Kenya's beautiful wildernesses. An early morning game drive is an added bonus, a last chance to savor the charms of an untamed animal world. Return to the lodge for a filling breakfast before departing to Mombasa. You can be dropped off at either a hotel or the Mombasa Airport. This one way itinerary is easy to combine with a few days soaking up the sun on the glorious Indian Ocean beaches of Mombasa
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