Private Kenya Classic Sentrim Experience

On arrival at Nairobi International Airport, we will meet you in the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel. Please note that check in is from 2:00 pm – if you arrive during the night you must book an additional night, as waiting in the lobby is not permitted. Spend the afternoon at leisure – relax in the landscaped gardens or by the large pool. If you wish, you can head into Nairobi’s city centre and return for dinner at the hotel restaurant at your own expense. Overnight in Nairobi.

We leave Nairobi early, travelling through Kenya’s fertile highlands before descending the Rift Escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners during World War II – look out for the small chapel at its foot. We pass the Longonot earth satellite station, cross the valley to Narok and continue through fields of wheat and barley, reaching the Maasai Mara and Sentrim Mara Camp in time for lunch. You may choose to rest during the heat of the day.In the afternoon we head out on our first game drive. Sentrim Mara Camp sits three kilometres from the Sekenani Gate and makes an excellent base for safari, with rustic tents set among acacia trees. Each has a modern en suite bathroom, hot shower and an elevated private balcony with views of the sunsets and surrounding hills, and the pool also enjoys expansive vistas. Dinner is served at the lodge in the evening. 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 remarkable wildlife including the Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino – as well as antelopes, gazelles and vast herds of wildebeest. We return to the lodge for lunch and time to relax before heading back out for an afternoon game drive and a visit to a Maasai village. We arrive back at the lodge as the sun sets and end the day with dinner. Overnight in the Maasai Mara.

After breakfast we leave the Maasai Mara, driving through Kenya’s agricultural heartland towards Narok, the district headquarters of this part of Maasailand. We cross the vast plains on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, watching for herds of giraffes and gazelles, then climb the Mau Escarpment to reach our lodge at Lake Elementaita around midday. After lunch we set out on an afternoon game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park – its waters are often tinged pink by thousands of flamingos. This fully fenced 188 square kilometre park carefully protects both black and white rhinos, and also shelters the rare Rothschild’s giraffe alongside buffaloes, leopards, zebras, elands, waterbucks and lions. We return to Sentrim Elementaita Lodge on the lakeshore at sunset for dinner and an overnight stay.

We rise early for breakfast, then drive south to Lake Naivasha for a one hour boat ride to observe prolific birdlife and hippos. The lake sits at one of the highest elevations in the Rift Valley. We continue towards Nairobi for an early lunch – or a picnic lunch depending on road conditions – before heading south to Amboseli National Park, arriving at Sentrim Amboseli Camp by late afternoon.The camp lies on the park border with views of Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest peak – and is considered one of the best places to view elephants at close range. Tents each have a private veranda for taking in the scenery, and the property features a pool, restaurant and bar. We round off the day with dinner at the lodge. Overnight at Amboseli.

After breakfast we head out for morning and afternoon game drives in Amboseli, exploring its partially dry lakebed of evaporated salts, fragile grasslands and pockets of acacia woodland. We look for a wide range of wildlife – rhinos, giraffes, gazelles, lions, cheetahs and leopards – and enjoy prolific birdlife around the swamp areas. All of this unfolds beneath Mount Kilimanjaro, which rises some 5,000 metres above the park. We pause for a warm picnic lunch in the park, then return to the lodge later in the afternoon. On arrival you can unwind – perhaps take a quick dip in the pool – before dinner.Overnight at Amboseli.

After an early breakfast, we take in the last views of Mount Kilimanjaro before driving north across the Athi Plains to Nairobi. We arrive in the capital or at the airport by around 1:30 pm for drop-off and onward travel arrangements – we recommend booking departure flights from 4:00 pm.