Spirit of Kenya

Arrive in Nairobi, where you will be met at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transferred to a hotel for your overnight.

Depart Nairobi in the morning for Samburu National Reserve, crossing the Equator and driving through changing terrain to the rugged semi-desert region of northern Kenya. Though the environment is harsh, it is blessed with species rarely found elsewhere. Have lunch at the lodge, then experience your first game drive, looking for the stars of Samburu. Dinner and overnight at Samburu Serena Lodge, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, enjoy a full day of game drives. Search for rare liver red reticulated giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, Beisa oryxs, blue flanked Somali ostriches, Vulturine guinea fowls, and longnecked gerenuks. Observe lions, cheetahs, leopards, and plenty of other game as they prowl the plains. You will also have the opportunity to visit Samburu villages. All meals and overnight at Samburu Serena Lodge, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Have breakfast at the lodge, then drive to the foot of Mt. Kenya. This area offers wonderful game viewing opportunities, as well as a glorious panorama of mountain vistas and the splendors of the ancient rainforest. After lunch at the Outspan Golf & Country Club, transfer by lodge vehicle to the Treetops Lodge. From the lodge balcony, you can view game visiting the floodlit waterhole and saltlick, such as elephants, rhino, buffalo, and giant forest hogs. Dinner and overnight at the Treetops Lodge, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Depart Treetops Lodge, eat breakfast at the Outspan Golf & Country Club, and then travel to Lake Nakuru via Thompson Falls. After lunch, explore this extraordinary soda lake environment. Enjoy the view overlooking the lake at Baboon Hill Lookout. Take a game drive through Pink Lake, which earns its name from the hundreds of thousands of pink flamingos bathing and courting. Walk along the shore to observe heron, cormorants and less conspicuous species. It’s truly a bird watcher’s paradise, though other animals like waterbuck are abundant. Dinner and overnight at a lodge on the shores of Lake Nakuru, such as Lake Naukuru Lodge, Sarova Lion Hill, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, depart for Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley. This gem, amidst the necklace of Rift Valley lakes, has a variety of bird life and many hippo colonies. Enjoy your meals and overnight at the Lake Naivasha Country Club, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drive across the floor of the Great Rift Valley, the longest rift in the crust of the earth, and continue on to the famous Masai Mara game reserve. Along the way, you may see red-clad Masai warriors tend their herds on the plains. As soon as you enter the reserve and cross the protected area, you will be on a game drive. This is where most people lose count of the animals. Within the first few hours, you may see thousands of zebras, wildebeest, impalas and gazelles in huge mixed herds. During your stay at Masai Mara, you can expect to see such animals as lion, giraffe, rhino, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, hyena, baboon, warthog and thousands more topi, wildebeest, gazelle, zebra and other large mammals. If you are lucky, you may see lions or cheetah make a kill. In the afternoon, drive to the hippo pools on the Mara river at the edge of the park. Between game drives, you might look for the colorful paradise flycatcher, grey-headed kingfisher and the sunbirds and bee-eaters. Dinner and overnight at a permanent tented camp in the Masai Mara, with private baths, hot showers and dining area, such as the Mara Sarova luxury tented camp, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The safari day that you have dreamt about is here. After breakfast at the lodge, depart with picnic lunches for a full day game drive inside the park. Between meals, there is also an optional visit to the Masai village, where you can gain insight into the unique culture and lifestyle of this tribe. Meals and overnight at the Mara Sarova luxury tented camp, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After a morning game drive to savor the beauty of the park at daybreak, eat breakfast at the lodge and return to Nairobi. The afternoon is free for visiting the market or museums. Transfer to the airport for your evening flight home.

Meals: Breakfast