Kenya Classic Keekorok Experience

On arrival at Nairobi International Airport, we meet you in the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel. Check-in is from 02:00 pm – if you arrive during the night, you must book a pre-night as waiting in the lobby is not permitted. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure – you could relax by the swimming pool or choose between the hotel’s two restaurants and bar. This contemporary hotel offers a comfortable base before your Kenyan journey begins. Overnight in Nairobi.

We leave Nairobi early, travelling through the fertile highlands before descending the Rift Escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners of war during the Second World War – look out for the small chapel they constructed at the foot of the escarpment. We pass the Longonot earth satellite station and cross the valley to Narok, continuing through fields of wheat and barley. We arrive at the Maasai Mara and check in to Keekorok Lodge in time for lunch – you may wish to take a short rest before we head out on our first afternoon game drive. Keekorok, the Mara’s first lodge, sits on the path of the annual Great Migration and, at its peak, can be surrounded by vast herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle with predators close by. Rooms and public areas use sandstone, cedar wood and other indigenous materials, and a 300 metres elevated walkway leads through a small riverine forest to a bar overlooking a dam where resident hippos and other game are regularly seen. The lodge is unfenced – wildlife such as elephants and buffalo may wander close – and vigilant watchmen are on duty. We return to the lodge for dinner. Overnight in the Maasai Mara.

After an early breakfast, we head out on a morning game drive in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, home to millions of animals including the Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino – as well as antelopes, gazelles and wildebeest. We return to the lodge for lunch and time at leisure – you may wish to take a siesta – then set off to visit a Maasai village, followed by an afternoon game drive. We make our way back to the lodge as the sun sets and round off the day with dinner. Overnight in the Maasai Mara.

After breakfast we leave the Maasai Mara, travelling north across Kenya’s agricultural heartland towards Narok and the vast plains of the Great Rift Valley. Keep an eye out for giraffes and gazelles as we climb the Mau Escarpment, arriving at Lake Nakuru around midday for lunch.In the afternoon we set out on a game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park, renowned for its often pink-tinged shoreline when flamingos gather. This fully fenced park spans 188 square kilometres and protects both black and white rhinos, with a population of more than 50, as well as the rare Rothschild’s giraffe. Buffaloes, leopards, zebras, elands, waterbucks and lions are also present. We return to the lodge at sunset for dinner. Lake Nakuru Lodge sits in the south-east of the park – part of one of Kenya’s internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands – with wide views over the lake and surrounding gardens. Overnight in Lake Nakuru.

After breakfast, we drive to Lake Naivasha for a one-hour boat ride on this beautiful Rift Valley lake, home to hundreds of bird species and hippos and set at one of the region’s highest elevations. We then continue towards Nairobi for an early lunch – or a picnic lunch, depending on road conditions – before heading south to Amboseli National Park, arriving at Ol Tukai Lodge by late afternoon. The lodge sits in the heart of the park at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, with cottage-style accommodation spread on either side of the main lodge. Built from indigenous materials, the rooms are designed to offer uninterrupted views of the wetlands or Mount Kilimanjaro. You can relax by the acacia-shaded swimming pool, enjoy a drink at the two-storey Elephant Bar – not included – or stroll the spacious gardens. In the evening, we gather for dinner at the lodge.Overnight at Amboseli.

After breakfast, we head out for morning and afternoon game drives in Amboseli National Park. The terrain ranges from a vast, partially dry lake bed of evaporated salts to fragile grasslands with patches of acacia woodland. Wildlife is abundant – we keep an eye out for rhinos, giraffes, gazelles, lions, cheetahs and leopards – and birdlife is prolific, especially around the swamps. 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 before returning to the lodge in the afternoon – dinner is served there in the late afternoon. Overnight at Amboseli.

After an early breakfast, we take in the final views of Mount Kilimanjaro before driving north across the Athi Plains to Kenya’s bustling capital. We aim to arrive in Nairobi or at the airport by around 13:30 for drop-off and onward travel arrangements – we recommend booking departure flights from 16:00 onwards.