13 Days Kenya Safari Tour

6.30 am: A buffet breakfast is served in the hotel dining room. After a quick breakfast we depart from the hotel to the Only National Park within the city in the World. The game drive will take us up to 9.30 am when we transfer to the suburb of Karen & visit the giraffe conservation center. Here you’ll get your first up close & personal look at the endangered Rothschild’s giraffes. We will also get a short talk from the resident ranger on the life history of this amazing animal. From the Giraffe Center we drive to the Shedrick’s elephant Orphanage where we will learn about the care & upbringing of orphaned elephants from around Kenya. From the elephant orphanage we will proceed to a wonderful outdoor lunch. After lunch we continue to the Karen Blixen Home, now a museum. The house was made famous after filming the Hollywood movie, “Out of Africa”. It is a beautiful house & the gardens are lovely. After which we’ll return to the hotel to relax before dinner.
6.00pm: We depart the hotel for a lovely evening of cocktails & dinner at a local restaurant for a local experience specializing in local cuisines including the popular NYAMA CHOMA (Barbequed beef) also an opportunity to meet your host ( Basil’s) family and friends.

Overnight: Sarova Pan Afric Hotel. Nairobi.
Meals: BLD (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

6.30 am: Breakfast is served from 6.30am in the hotel.
*Please bring your own luggage (or ring the concierge to have someone come & collect it) by 8.15am or earlier to be loaded into our vehicles. Basil will store any bags you are not taking on safari. * be sure to empty your safe before leaving the room.
8.00am: We depart the hotel & say farewell to Nairobi for our overland journey to Amboseli National Park, located 137 miles from the city. The quintessential African safari portrait is Amboseli National Park. Located at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africans highest peak (19340 ft.), the mountain overshadows the arid savannas & provides rivers that create swamps that support a rich diversity of wild animals & birdlife. This is a very interesting drive & our first opportunity to see both the countryside of Kenya & the possibility of wildlife. Once we enter the park you’ll know why you came to Africa. We hope to see quite a variety of bird & animal life prior to arriving at our lodge for check-in & lunch. There’ll be time to relax after lunch.
4.00pm: Meet at the lodge entrance & proceed to our vehicles for our first game drive through the park looking for herds of elephants, rhino, Grant & Thomson’s gazelle, birds & other wildlife that make Amboseli their home. Park regulations require all vehicles to be out of the park & back at the lodge by nightfall.
6.30pm: Dinner is served at the lodge dining room.

overnight: Amboseli Serena Lodge
meals: BLD

6.00am: Self-service coffee or tea is available outside of the bar area. Beware of the black-faced vervet monkeys that live at the lodge. They’re quick to steal sugar packets & cookies off your table & will likely leave quite a mess.
6.30am: We depart the lodge from our parking area for our morning game drive returning around 9.00 am for breakfast. Weather permitting, we could get some great views of wildlife with the backdrop of Mt.Kilimanjaro.
10.30am: The lodge offers an optional guided nature walk. The cost is $25.00 /person. It is a great walk outside the lodge compound to learn about the plants, birds &s wildlife that live within the national park.
4.00pm: We depart from the parking lot for our afternoon game drive. We will be on the lookout for elephants, lions, wildebeest, cheetah, leopard & gazelles in the drier areas away from the swamps. Alongside the swampland, we will watch for kingfishers, bee-eaters & raptors such as the African fish eagle. We will then hike up to the lookout tower for incredible views plus an African Sundowner (drinks & snacks)
6.30pm: Dinner is served at the Lodge

overnight: Amboseli Serena Lodge
meals: BLD

6.30am: Have all your bags packed & outside your room before going for a rather quick breakfast at 6.30 am. Please check your safe to ensure you’ve removed all your belongings
7.15am: We depart the lodge for a short & final drive though the park to the airstrip to catch our flights back to Nairobi.
8.30 am: Our 1hr flight lands at Wilson Airport, a domestic airport in Nairobi. After landing we gather our luggage & walk to our vans for the drive into Great Rift Valley. The scenery is fantastic. We’ll make one bathroom & photo stop before reaching the first of our two rift lakes known as Lake Naivasha. We arrive in time for lunch at Lake Naivasha Resort.
2.00pm: After lunch we take an approximately 1hr boat excursion on the lake to discover the bird & wildlife on the lake & along the shoreline. We then return to our vehicles & take a short drive to the second & bigger rift lake known as Lake Nakuru. We will check into our rooms & then have time to explore our lodge area or relax in your room. Watch for the many yellow weaver birds who build wonderful pocket nest in the thorn trees around the lodge.
4.00pm: Meet in the parking lot for our first game drive into the park. The second most visited National park in Kenya, Lake Nakuru, is one of the best places to see white rhinos, flamingos & many other species of birds & wildlife. We may get back to the lodge in time for a cultural show below the dining room area.
6.30pm: Dinner is served in the dining room

overnight: Sarova Lionhill Lodge
meals: BLD.

Today we will spend the entire day within Lake Nakuru national park with both morning & afternoon game drives. We will concentrate our drive on searching for both black & white rhinos along with the vast variety of birdlife that lives within the park.
6.00am: Coffee is served in the lodge dining room.
6.30am: Meet in the parking lot for morning game drive. Don’t forget your binoculars! We’ll be on the lookout for white rhinos & hartebeest. We’ll return to the lodge in time for breakfast in the dining room. You’ll then have time to explore the lodge grounds or relax in your room.
12.30pm: Lunch is served in the dining room.
3.30pm: Meet in the parking lot for the evening game drive. We may get back in time for the cultural performance near the dining room.
6.30pm: Dinner is served in the dining room

overnight: Sarova Lionhill Lodge
meals: BLD

6.30am: Breakfast is served in the dining room. Please place your luggage outside your room by 8.30am ready for pickup. * be sure to empty your safe.
9.00am: Meet in the parking lot for our drive to Ol Pejeta conservancy, a 140 sq. mile, not-for-profit, Wildlife conservancy. The conservancy is situated on the equator west of the city of Nanyuki between the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains & Mount Kenya & boasts the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa along with the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary which provides a home for orphaned, abandoned & rescued chimpanzees in conjunction with the Jane Goodall Institute. It is the only place in Kenya where these great apes can be seen. We’ll be visiting the Chimpanzee Sanctuary during our stay. Upon arrival we are shown to our tents. Ol Pejeta is our one opportunity to experience sleeping in a tented camp.
12.00pm: Lunch is served in the camp. After lunch relax & enjoy the amenities of this lovely, tented camp.
3.00pm: Meet in the parking lot for our afternoon game drive into the Conservancy. We’ll first drive to & visit the chimpanzee sanctuary. Visiting hours are from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. From there we will continue our afternoon game drive. Fingers crossed we may have the opportunity to get an up-close look at the highly endangered Black Rhino called BAHATI a Swahili name for “LUCK”

6.30pm: Dinner is served in the camp.

overnight: Sweetwaters Serena Tented Camp
Meals: BLD.

6.30am: Breakfast is served in the camp. Please place your luggage outside your tent ready for pick-up before coming to breakfast. Remember to empty your safe.
8.00am: Meet in the parking lot & depart from our tented camp. We have a long day in the vehicles, but it is one or the most scenic rides through Kenya. We being our drive traveling through the rural farmlands on the shoulders of Mt. Kenya reaching an elevation of 9,000 ft. Then proceed into the rugged semi-desert region of 'Samburu lands' in the northern part of Kenya. Samburu, Shaba & Buffalo Springs National Reserves are three connected National Reserves blessed with species rarely found elsewhere in Kenya including reticulated giraffes, Grevy's zebra, Beisa oryx, the long-necked gerenuk, Somali ostrich, vulturine guinea fowl & the tiny Dik-Dik antelope.
1.00pm: Arrive Shaba Sarova Lodge. The lodge is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ngiro River which has many large crocodiles. The lodge also has a lovely swimming pool for afternoon dips. After checking into your room come back to the main lodge for lunch. After lunch relax around the pool, in your room or explore the lodge grounds but do not wander down to the banks of the river.
4.00pm: Meet in the parking lot for our afternoon game drive into Shaba National Reserve. We will concentrate our energy looking for Grevy's Zebras. We will also get a close of view of some very large termite mounds. Sunset views of the Shaba Mountain range can be breath-taking. We will return in time for dinner.
6.30p.m: Dinner is served in the dining room.

Meals: BLD
Overnight: Shaba Sarova.

6.00am: Coffee & breakfast snacks are served in the dining room.
6.30am: Depart the parking lot for our morning game drive into Samburu &/or Buffalo Springs
National Reserve. The drive is long, the road is rough, but the bird & wildlife rewards can be
huge. We hope to spot some Reticulated Giraffes, vulturine Guinee fowl, the tiny Dik-Dik
Antelope & possibly a leopard. We will return to the lodge in time for lunch.
12.30pm: Lunch is served in the dining room. Afternoon at leisure.
4.00pm: Meet in the parking lot for our evening game drive into the reserve areas. We will be on lookout for both lions & leopards as we transect the reserve areas.
6.30pm: Dinner is served in the dining room.

overnight: Shaba Sarova
meals: BLD

7.30 am: Breakfast is served in the dining room. Please place your luggage outside your room ready for pick-up before coming to breakfast. "Remember to empty your safe.
9.00 am: Meet in the parking lot & depart for the airstrip located in Samburu Reserve. We will stop for any wildlife we see enroute.
10.00 am: Board our plane for the 1.5-hour flight across the famous Rift Valley to the Masai Mara Game Reserve. We may have a direct flight, or the flight will make a brief stop at the Nanyuki Airstrip to pick up other guests before continuing to the Masai Mara. Upon landing on the airstrip our safari vehicles will be waiting to take us for a short drive to the Mara Serena Safari Lodge where we check-into our rooms & have a bit of time to enjoy this spectacular setting. The pool area is one of the prettiest there is in all of Kenya
12.30pm: Lunch is served in the Lodge dining room. After lunch you have time to relax at the swimming pool, explore the lodge grounds or nap in your room before our evening game drive. Mongoose & rock hyrax can often be seen around the lodge area.
4.00 pm: Meet in the parking lot for our first game drive into the Masai Mara. Along with a tremendous amount of wildlife & birdlife, the landscapes & skyscapes of the Mara are spectacular. The Masai Mara is home to many lion prides, Cheetahs & the odd-looking Topi antelope which we hope to encounter.
7.00pm: Dinner is served in the dining room.

Overnight: Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Meals: BLD

6.00am: Coffee is served near the dining room in the main lodge before we depart on safari.
6.30am: Meet in the parking lot for our morning game drive into this fascinating reserve. We will try to make it to the famous Mara River which is the permanent supply of water within the reserve, giving us good opportunities for wildlife & birds. We should see lions, Cape buffalo, gazelles, Topi, warthogs, cheetah, hyenas, hippos, & Nile Crocodiles along with many varieties of beautiful African birds.
12.30pm: Lunch is served in the dining room. After lunch enjoy the lodge amenities or relax at the pool.
3.30pm: Meet in the parking lot for our game drive deep into the Masai Mara. Coming back at 6.00pm in time for dinner.
7.00pm: Dinner is served in the dining room.

Overnight: Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Meals: BLD

4.30am: Dress warmly! We start the day before sunrise with a Hot Air Balloon Safari over the Mara. We will watch the balloons being inflated in the darkness before climbing aboard & rising slowly above the Mara to float effortlessly over the savannah in search of wildlife. We may go as high as 7000 feet for spectacular views & then slowly descend & glide over grazing wildlife. Our adventure will end with a wonderfully catered champagne bush breakfast. Followed by a game drive on-route back to the lodge.
12.30pm: Lunch is served in the dining room. Afternoon at leisure.
4.00pm: Meet in the parking lot for our final game drive deep into the Masai Mara toward the Tanzania border. Because of the distance we hope to cover we will have a security guard accompany us in one of the vehicles in case we don't make it to the lodge by the close of the reserve at sunset.
7.00pm: Dinner is served in the dining room.

7.00am: Breakfast is served at the dining room. Please place your bags outside your rooms ready for pick-up prior to coming for breakfast. Remember to check your room safe & assure you have all your belongings.
11.00am: Meet in the parking lot for our short drive to the airstrip. Our flight departs the Mara back across the Great Rift Valley to Wilson Airport in Nairobi. We gather our luggage & take it out to the parking lot where our drivers & vans will transfer us to the Four-Points, Sheraton Hotel, very close to the Jomo Kenyatta International airport. We have reserved dayrooms where you can shower & repack before being transferred to the airport for the flights back to the states. Lunch is served in the dining room & for those with late evening flights dinner will also be provided.

Meals: B, L, D.