Travel to Kenya: Luxury Kenya Safari

Home  >  Destinations  >  Africa  >  Kenya  >  Luxury Kenya Safari

Luxury Kenya Safari

			DAYS: 11 GRADE: I-II, Easy Hiking, Luxury Camps define PRICE: From $7995 per person (Includes Local Air) HIGHLIGHTS: Chyulu Hills Reserve Laikipia Reserve Maasai Mara ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels/Lodges Deluxe Camp MEALS: As noted  [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch,   D-Dinner] Prices, Departure Dates and Included Services Send to a Friend Print this Itinerary

Explore the remote wilds of the Kenyan bush in pure luxury. As we fly from camp to camp, we gain a broader understanding of this vast country and its diverse wildlife. Visiting private reserves, in addition to the National Parks, allows us to take to the bush on foot getting a closer look at the flora and fauna. After days filled with game drives, walking safaris and horseback rides retire to hand-selected boutique lodges and camps where some of the best service and atmosphere in East Africa awaits you.

On arrival in Nairobi rest from your travels at the welcoming Macushla house in the leafy suburbs of Karen and in the Chyulu Hills venture into the private reserve based from Ol Donyo Wuas with its individual thatched cottages. Heading north to the Laikipia region, we search for the unique species of Northern Kenya including gerenuk, Oryx, Grevys zebra and reticulated giraffe and in the evenings we retire to the exclusive cottages of Lewa Wilderness Lodge. In the Maasai Mara we find ourselves at the remote Rekero Camp set at the confluence of the Talek and Mara Rivers.

Evenings are filled with sundowners overlooking serene landscapes, candle-lit dinners prepared with fine local ingredients and the best star gazing in the world. Whether sleeping under thatch, stone or canvas these ten nights are sure to be some of the most memorable youll experience.

DAY 1 :  ARRIVAL IN KENYA
Upon arrival in Nairobi youll be met and transferred to overnight in the quiet suburb of Langata at Macushla House. Designed to provide the amenities of a hotel and the atmosphere of a private home, this guesthouse is a refreshing alternative to the bustling city.  Macushla House has two lounges, each with a terrace leading to the swimming pool, a private study, cozy bar, dinning room, and two separate bedroom wings.  Open ceilings, natural woodwork, and spacious rooms create an atmosphere of warmth and style. 

	Spend your morning watching a family of elephants.

DAYS 2-4 :  CHYULU HILLS
This morning transfer to the domestic airport in Nairobi for your flight South to Chyulu Hills, just outside of Amboseli National Park.  Our next three nights are spent as guests of Ol Donyo Wuas. Ol Donyo Wuas is located on a 275,000 acre Maasai-owned conservancy between Amboseli, Chyulu Hills, and Tsavo National Parks. This area serves as a migration corridor for game moving between Amboseli and Tsavo and is habitat for elephant, buffalo, eland as well as specialist species such as gerenuk, oryx, and lesser kudu. Predators are present including lion, leopard and cheetah, and this area is home to one of the last Kenyan populations of black rhino.

Because it is a private concession the number of vehicles on game drives is limited to just the guests at the lodge youre unlikely to see another vehicle. Just over the border in Tanzania Mt. Kilimanjaro stands over this entire area, serving as a stunning photography backdrop and quiet guardian.

Activities in the area include game drives in open land rovers, night game drives to see nocturnal species, walking with Maasai guides, and horseback riding. The lodge also has a hide made from a collection of heavy logs in front of a waterhole. Its a great place to safely see elephants at close range. Dinners and breakfasts are often served al fresco in the middle of a game drive and sundowners are a splendid way to cap off a day in the bush. 

In partnership with the surrounding communities Ol Donyo Wuas has assisted in the construction of local schools and a health clinic, and during your stay youll have opportunities to visit these projects as well as meet some of the resident Maasai.  Overnights at Ol Donyo Wuas. [BLD]

Samburu and Maasai women in northern Kenya are adorned with brightly colored fabrics and beads.

DAYS 5-7 :  LEWA CONSERVANCY, NEAR MT. KENYA
Fly from Chyulu Hills through Nairobi and on to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, located in the shadow of Mt. Kenya. Founded in 1983, the sanctuary was originally named the Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary and was comprised of a 5,000 acre piece of land that was turned from grazing land to a conservancy to protect Kenyas black rhinos. Today the conservancy spans 62,000 acres and supports more than 440 species of birds and 70 different mammals including black rhino, Grevys zebra, lions, leopards, and cheetah. Elephants thrive at Lewa and a resident pack of wild dogs is usually spotted on a weekly basis.

Lewa Wilderness Lodge offers many different ways to experience this ecosystem through open vehicle game drives, night game drives, walking safaris, and horseback riding. Because the area is a conservancy game drives are very private, and the walking safaris are led by local Maasai guides who have grown up in the conservancy and the surrounding area.  Conservation has always been a cornerstone to the Lewa Conservancy and there are opportunities to visit a carpet making project, a furniture workshop, and the local vegetable garden where 60 different varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown for use in the lodge.

Overnight for 3 nights in the comfortable stone cottages at Lewa Wildlife Lodge. [BLD]

	Herds of zebra dot the plains of the Maasai Mara and migrate annually between Kenya and Tanzania.

DAYS 8-10 :  MAASAI MARA RESERVE
Return to the airstrip for your flight to Nairobi connecting to a flight to the Maasai Mara. No other place on earth compares with the multitudes of wild animals found in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, part of the vast Serengeti ecosystem spanning Kenya and Tanzania. Here herds of zebra, wildebeest, and topi mingle on the short grass plains keeping an eye out for numerous predators, including lion, cheetah, leopard, and hyena. Maasai giraffe and impala graze in the woodlands and hippos and crocodiles bask along the shores of the Talek and Mara Rivers.

Our base is Rekero Camp, located inside the Maasai Mara Reserve near the confluence of the Talek and Mara rivers. We explore through game drives in 4WD land rovers and walking safaris. To maximize the activities of each day we set out early and have a picnic breakfast in the bush followed by a game drive. During the afternoons, when wildlife is least active, we rest at camp and then take an afternoon game drive culminating with drinks around the fire followed by a sumptuous dinner. Overnight for three nights at Rekero Camp. [BLD]

DAY 11 :  DEPARTURE
Fly from the Maasai Mara back to Nairobi today where you have a dayroom at Macushla House in anticipation of an evening departure flight. [B]

Questions? Ask Our Program Directors.

. C o n t a c t Julia Nesbitt 1(800)345-4453