Kenya Classic Serena Experience

On arrival at Nairobi International Airport, we meet you in the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel. Check in is from 2:00 pm – if you arrive during the night, you must book an extra night as waiting in the lobby is not permitted. The afternoon is at leisure – you can relax and use the facilities. Part of the Serena group, the Nairobi Serena is set amid landscaped gardens of jacaranda, bougainvillaea and acacia, overlooking Central Park and a short walk from All Saints Cathedral, the Supreme Court, City Hall and parliament. You may also head into Nairobi’s city centre and return for dinner at the hotel restaurant at your own expense. Overnight in Nairobi.

After breakfast we leave Nairobi early, travelling through the fertile highlands before descending the Rift Escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners during World War II – look out for the small chapel they constructed at its base. We pass the Longonot satellite earth station and continue across the valley to Narok, then drive through wheat and barley fields en route to the Maasai Mara, arriving at Mara Serena Safari Lodge in time for lunch. In the afternoon we head out on our first game drive, returning to the lodge at sunset. Inspired by traditional Maasai manyattas, the lodge offers comfortable rooms, a pool with wide views over the plains, and a main dining room with domed design where meals are served – an occasional alfresco barbecue is offered by the pool. The surrounding savannah forms part of the route of the annual wildebeest, zebra and gazelle migration between Kenya and Tanzania. Dinner is at the lodge. Overnight in the Maasai Mara.

After an early breakfast, we set out on a morning game drive in the Maasai Mara National Reserve – home to millions of wild animals, including the Big Five of lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and black rhino, as well as antelopes, gazelles and wildebeests. We return to the lodge for lunch, and you may wish to rest before we head back out for an afternoon game drive and a visit to a Maasai village. We drive back to the lodge at sunset and end the day with dinner. Overnight in the Maasai Mara.

After breakfast, we leave the Maasai Mara and drive north across Kenya’s fertile highlands towards Narok, passing wheat and barley fields before crossing the Rift Valley floor and climbing the Mau Escarpment. Keep an eye out for giraffes and gazelles on the plains. We stop en route for a picnic lunch, then continue to Lake Nakuru National Park for an afternoon game drive. The lake’s shores are often tinged pink by thousands of flamingos, and this fully fenced park covers 188 square kilometres where both black and white rhinos are carefully protected – the population exceeds 50. We also look for Rothschild’s giraffe, as well as buffalo, leopard, zebra, eland, waterbuck and lion.Later, we continue to Lake Elementaita Serena Camp in the Soysambu Wildlife Conservancy on the lake’s northern shore. The camp offers luxury tents, a dining and lounge area, spa and swimming pool, with wide views over the lake and its prolific birdlife. Lake Elementaita is East Africa’s only breeding ground for the great white pelican. We arrive as the sun sets and end the day with dinner.Overnight at Lake Elementaita.

After an early breakfast, we leave the Rift Valley and drive to Nairobi for an early lunch – or a picnic lunch, depending on road conditions – then continue south to Amboseli, arriving at our lodge by late afternoon. Set beneath Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli Serena Lodge is surrounded by acacia woodland and gardens, with 96 comfortable rooms in a design inspired by Maasai manyattas. In the late afternoon and evening, you can relax on the terrace by the pool and watch as wildebeest, antelope, elephants and other wildlife come in to graze. We end the day with dinner at the lodge. Overnight in Amboseli.

After breakfast, we head out for morning and afternoon game drives in Amboseli National Park, pausing at the lodge around noon for lunch. The park’s scenery ranges from a vast, seasonally dry lakebed of evaporated salts to fragile grasslands and pockets of acacia woodland. Wildlife is diverse – look out for rhinos, giraffes, gazelles, lions, cheetahs and leopards – and birdlife is prolific, especially around the swamps. All of this unfolds beneath the towering presence of Mount Kilimanjaro, which rises some 5,000 metres above the plains. We return to the lodge in time to freshen up before dinner is served. Overnight in Amboseli.

After an early breakfast, we take in final views of Mount Kilimanjaro before driving north to Nairobi, crossing the Athi Plains. We plan to arrive in the city or at the airport by 1.30 pm for drop-off and onward travel arrangements – please book departure flights from 4.00 pm.