Summary

KENYA

Special 2012 pricing:

Starting at $5455 per person based on double occupancy

Price dependent on dates of travel and number of passengers.

10 nights in country included in price
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Join EXPLORE for an unforgettable journey through Kenya, home of epic landscapes and some of the world’s most magnificent wildlife. The Magic of Kenya itinerary has been crafted to create memories that will last a lifetime.

• Visit Amboseli National Park to witness a herd of elephant crossing the vast plains of East Africa with the continent’s most iconic mountain, snow-capped Kilimanjaro, rising in the background.
• Explore two of Kenya’s great wildlife reserves, where your visit supports conservation and community in an eco-friendly environment.
• Visit the heart of safari country, Kenya’s Masai Mara, which boasts one of the world’s greatest wildlife spectacles: the annual migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra, followed closely by their predators.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1

NAIROBI

PALACINA RESIDENCE & SUITES

Upon arrival in Nairobi, Kenya, you are met and transferred to the Palacina Residence, located in the tranquil gardens of the State House Valley. A family owned and run hotel, the core emphasis is on making guests feel at home in an atmosphere of understated elegance and warm hospitality. Dinner is on your own account tonight at the hotel’s restaurant or any of the great restaurants in the area.

Day 2 & 3

TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

FINCH HATTON'S CAMP

Transfer to Nairobi’s Wilson airport for your morning flight to Finch Hatton’s Camp, located in the Tsavo West National Park. Tsavo West National Park is well known for the Mzima springs where an incredible volume of crystalline water flows above ground. Filtered by the volcanic rock the waters form a sequence of wildlife-attracting pools where hippo and crocodile may be observed. 

At the foot of the Chyulu Hills, within Tsavo National Park, Finch Hatton’s provides a taste of life as it was for the big game hunters in the earlier part of the century. Tsavo is world renowned for its elephant and other game and it offers terrain ranging from rich golden savannahs to misty mountains. 

The luxury tented lodge offers elegant and refined accommodation under canvas. When the aristocratic Denys Finch Hatton, played by Robert Redford in the film "Out of Africa", went on safari he took Mozart and cut crystal, fine wines and real porcelain. At Finch Hatton’s the style is the same. The tents, with deluxe beds and beautiful slate walled shower rooms, are the last word in tented comfort. A well-stocked cellar offers an excellent range of European, American and South African wines.

The 35 acres that form Finch Hatton’s Lodge are unfenced. Lion, buffalo, elephant, giraffe and plains game may come and go as they wish. Hippo and crocodiles live in the three huge pools on the site and the hippos often graze around the tents. Therefore, armed askaris escort you back to your tent when you wish to retire. A close encounter with a hippo reminds you that you are in Africa and anything might happen!

Activities at Finch Hatton's Camp include:

Day 4 & 5

AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

TORTILIS CAMP

Drive to Tortilis Camp located in the heart of Amboseli National Park (approx 4 hours) which lies at the base of Africa’s most majestic site: the snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro. Amboseli is best known for its unrivalled views of Kilimanjaro and the local elephant population. There are over 1000 elephants in the parks eco-system, featuring some of the largest in Africa. Situated in one the areas Acacia Tortills woodlands, the tents at Tortilis Camp are all large and spacious. There is a main lounge, bar and dining area, all exquisitely built with natural materials and thatched roofs, with magnificent views of Kilimanjaro. 

Amboseli National Park lies immediately northwest of Mt. Kilimanjaro on the border with Tanzania and embodies 5 main wildlife habitats (open plains, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bush country, swamps and marshland) and covers part of a pleistocene lake basin, now dry. Within this basin is a temporary lake, Lake Amboseli, which floods during years of heavy rainfall. Amboseli is famous for its big game and its great scenic beauty! Of course, where wildlife goes, humans often follow. The local Masai tribespeople have lived in the Amboseli region, generally in harmony with the wildlife, for more than 400 years.

In Amboseli, the traditional cultural heritage is strong: the Masai communities adhere to an age-old lifestyle, herding and trading cattle; a life which they will share with you in their Manyattas (Masai homes), a circle of dung and mud huts protected by a barrier of thorns against the predators.

Activities at Tortilis Camp include:

Day 6 & 7

KIGIO WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY

KIGIO WILDLIFE CAMP

Drive to Kigio Wildlife Camp (approximately 7 hours with a stop for lunch at the Karen Blixen restaurant) located in the Kigio Wildlife Conservancy. Kigio Wildlife Camp is a luxury wildlife retreat inside the impressive 3500 acre Kigio Wildlife Conservancy. This brand new, stunning property provides superb accommodations in an unbeatable location overlooking the glorious woodlands and the Malewa River, which together attract over 200 species of birds to the area. Renowned for its excellence and innovation in environmental management and resource use, the lodge uses solar power to generate electricity; waste is recycled; water is filtered using natural methods; and hot water is supplied by efficient kuni (wood) boilers. In addition, local farmers provide much of the food, and local community members are involved in the running of the lodge and conservancy.

Designed in a dramatic architectural style inspired by traditional African building methods, the lodge's thatched-roofed buildings create a rustic feel, while its cozy sitting area with fireplace and the dining room and bar offer a warm and inviting ambience. The spacious suites are built on decks and contain a large bedroom and sitting area, a private bathroom with flush toilet, shower and balcony. The dining and sitting areas are situated in a glade overlooking a towering red cliff that houses colonies of bee-eaters.

The Conservancy is at the forefront of ecotourism in the Rift Valley lakes area. Activities are designed to be low impact and eco-friendly. Your stay here includes a nature walk and evening game drive on Day 6. Day 7 includes a full day game drive to Lake Nakuru National Park with picnic lunch and a visit to a community project near camp on your return.

Activities at Kigio Wildlife Camp include:

Day 8 - 10

MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE

KICHWA TEMBO CAMP

Drive (approx 7 hours) to Kichwa Tembo Camp in the famed Masai Mara National Reserve, probably the most famous of the reserves, which boasts an astonishing amount of game. Unfenced, the Mara is bounded in the east by the Ngama Hills and in the west by the Oloololo or Siria Escarpment. Gazelle, wildebeest and zebra graze in large numbers and where prey is found so are predators. Not only is this a great place in which to find game, but also the wide greeny-gold savannahs spotted with thorn trees make it ideal for photography. The Mara, as it is known in Kenya, is ravishingly beautiful and also offers long, undisturbed views and utterly dramatic panoramas.

The famously black-maned Mara lions are possibly the stars of the Mara show, but cheetah, elephant, kongoni, topi, Thompson's gazelle, waterbuck, hyena, and primates are all here too. As with the rest of Kenya, the birding is good. The Mara is the northerly end of the Great Migration: the great primeval surge of wildebeest, zebra and antelope that sweeps in from Tanzania's Serengeti to Kenya's Masai Mara. The great herds, nearing their destination by July, mass along the Mara River waiting for the first animal to cross so they can all follow on the final leg of the journey. Crocodiles lie in wait, sluggishly cruising the waters, fully prepared for their best meal of the year. The Masai Mara is not to be missed.

Laid out along the banks of the Sabaringo River on the edge of the Oloololo escarpment, Kichwa Tembo Masai Mara Tented Camp looks out onto the seemingly endless plains of the Masai Mara. Set on a private concession leased from Masai landlords in the less populated northern part of the Mara, the camp offers total seclusion coupled with abundant wildlife. Forty spacious tents, twelve of them luxury suites, are laid out in immaculate grounds with leisurely groups of warthog feeding right outside the tent doors.  Classic safari interiors illuminated by soft lantern light open up onto majestic African landscapes.  

Activities at Kichwa Tembo Camp include:

Day 11

NAIROBI

Depart

After breakfast, check out and transferred to local airstrip for your scheduled flight to Nairobi’s Wilson airport. On arrival, you are met and transferred to the Jomo Kenyatta Airport for your international flight back home.

General Information

Special 2012 pricing:

Starting at $5455 per person based on double occupancy

Price dependent on dates of travel and number of passengers.

INCLUSIONS

All ground transportation upon landing in Nairobi, Kenya; flight from Nairobi to Tsavo on Day 2; flight to Nairobi on Day 11 after the program; all accommodation as stated in itinerary; guides and vehicle throughout; tourism taxes; meals, beverages, and activities stated below.

• Palacina: Airport transfers and breakfast
• Finch Hatton's Camp: All meals, local beverages, activities as stated in itinerary
• Tortilis Camp: All meals, local beverages, activities as stated in itinerary
• Kigio Wildlife Camp: All meals, local beverages, activities as stated in itinerary
• Kichwa Tembo Camp: All meals, local beverages, activities as stated in itinerary

EXCLUSIONS

U.S. domestic and international airfare; internal commercial flights; medical immunizations; passport fees; park fees; visa fee for Tanzania; accident/baggage/ medevac & cancellation insurance; individual transfers; excursions deviating from the scheduled tour; excess baggage charges; medical expenses; airport departure fees and taxes; spa treatments; telephone or fax charges; room service; gratuities to guides and staff; and other items of a purely personal nature.

• Palacina: Dinner, all beverages, activities
• Finch Hatton's Camp: Premium wines and imported spirits; additional activities
• Tortilis Camp: Premium wines and imported spirits; additional activities
• Kigio Wildlife Camp: Premium wines and imported spirits; additional activities
• Kichwa Tembo Camp: Premium wines and imported spirits; additional activities

Contact Us

Please call the EXPLORE office (970.871.0065) or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details on our Affordable Africa itineraries.