The Masai Mara,
an hour's flight from Nairobi.
Private safaris in Kenya, planned for your dates: the Masai Mara, Samburu, Amboseli and Lake Nakuru, with flights in and out through Nairobi.
The Masai Mara is Kenya's side of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, and the wildebeest herds spend part of each year there. When they reach the Mara River, your guide finds you a place to wait, set back from the bank.
Light aircraft fly from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to the Mara several times a day, in 45 minutes to an hour to the first airstrip, against about three and a quarter hours by road to Sekenani Gate, without traffic.
What Kenya does not have is gorillas. If you want them too, we can add a gorilla trek in Uganda or Rwanda to your Kenya safari.
Safaris in Kenya
Typically 7 to 10 daysWildlife safariBest of Kenyafrom USD 4,900per personSee the itineraryLonger, shorter, a different month, two countries in one run. Say what you have in mind and a first route and a real price come back within one working day.
Start with a dateThe places worth the drive
Maasai Mara National Reserve
1,530 square kilometres on the border with Tanzania, where Narok County estimates around 270 lions and 50 black rhinos.
From late July to early November the herds are usually by the Mara River. The private conservancies beside the reserve add guided walks and night drives.
Amboseli National Park
Small, flat and dominated by the view south to Kilimanjaro, which stands in Tanzania and is best photographed from here.
Around 1,600 elephants, many of them studied individually since 1972, which makes this the best understood elephant population on earth.
Samburu National Reserve
Semi-arid country north of Mount Kenya along the Ewaso Ng'iro river, and the only place to reliably see Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, gerenuk and Somali ostrich.
Hot, dry, and far less visited than the Mara.
Lake Nakuru and the Rift Valley lakes
A soda lake inside a fenced park, which makes it one of the surest places in Kenya for both black and white rhino.
Flamingo numbers rise and fall with the water level, so treat them as a bonus rather than the reason to go.
The coast
Diani, Watamu and Lamu, an hour's flight from Nairobi, with reef diving and Swahili towns that predate every park in this list.
Three or four nights here turns a safari into a holiday, and the flight timings work.
The year in Kenya
Kenya runs from sea level to 5,199 metres, so the weather depends as much on where you are as on the month. The pattern below is for the Mara and the Rift Valley parks.
The long dry season
The wildebeest are usually in the north of their range, from the northern Serengeti into the Masai Mara, and July and August are the Mara's busiest months.
If the wildebeest are why you are going, send your dates early.
The short rains
Short afternoon storms, green country and far fewer vehicles. Game viewing stays good because the parks are dry underneath.
The short dry season
Hot, clear and excellent for photography. Calving season for many species, which brings predators into the open.
Amboseli is at its best here, with the clearest views of Kilimanjaro in the year.
The long rains
The wettest stretch. Some camps close through April and May, tracks become difficult and the grass grows tall.
The lowest prices of the year, and the birding is exceptional.
What we tell everyone
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