Kenya 14-Day Luxury Private Tour

Welcome to Kenya. Your driver meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and takes you to your hotel, where you can settle in and rest after the long flight. Nairobi traffic can be slow, so we keep the first day free of plans. If you arrive early and feel like going out, a garden lunch in Karen or a drink on the hotel terrace is an easy way to begin. Your local team will go over the days ahead with you and answer any questions about the safari, the light-aircraft luggage limits and the coast. Tonight’s welcome dinner is included, timed around your arrival.

After breakfast you meet your driver-guide and the Land Cruiser that is yours for the north. The road leaves Nairobi on the highway to Thika, then climbs through green farmland, coffee and tea country toward Mount Kenya. At Nanyuki you cross the Equator, a good place to stop for coffee and a stretch. On clear days the jagged peaks of the mountain fill the horizon. The drive takes about three and a half to four hours, and the last stretch into the conservancy is already a game drive. Lunch at camp, a rest, then a first drive as the light softens.

Laikipia is one of the best places in Kenya to see rhinos, both black and white, protected by dedicated ranger teams. Set out in the early morning with your guide in search of them, along with elephants, reticulated giraffes, Grevy’s zebras and, with luck, wild dogs or a leopard. Back at camp, enjoy a long lunch and a rest. In the late afternoon, go out again and finish with a drink as the sun sets behind the plateau. Wildlife is never guaranteed, but the conservancies here are rich and quiet.

A day to enjoy Laikipia at your own pace. Many conservancies allow guided bush walks, a good way to learn about tracks, plants and birds with someone who knows the land well. Depending on your camp, you may also be able to ride horses or camels across the plains, as optional extras. Spend the afternoon by the pool or on your veranda, looking out over the grasslands. Where conservancy rules allow, an evening drive after dark brings a chance of spotting nocturnal animals.

After breakfast, leave Laikipia for the drive north to Samburu, about two to two and a half hours. Mount Kenya stays in your mirror as the road drops from the green plateau through Isiolo into dry country of red earth, doum palms and rocky hills. The change of scenery is part of the pleasure. You arrive at your lodge or camp in time for lunch and a rest through the heat of the day. In the late afternoon, go out along the Ewaso Ng’iro River, where elephants come down to drink and the light turns warm on the hills.

Samburu is home to animals you will not see in the south of Kenya. With your guide, look for the reticulated giraffe with its bold net pattern, the striped Grevy’s zebra, the long-necked gerenuk standing on its hind legs to feed, the beisa oryx and the Somali ostrich with its blue-grey legs. Lions and leopards also live along the river. Return to camp for a late breakfast and a quiet midday, then head out again in the late afternoon as the hills turn red in the setting sun.

Enjoy a last early drive or a slow breakfast before the short transfer to the Samburu airstrip. By road the Mara is the best part of two days away, so this crossing is made by light aircraft, about two hours with a stop or two at other airstrips on the way. We confirm the exact flights before you book. Watch the country change from dry northern bush to the green highlands and the open plains of the south. A Land Cruiser and guide meet you on the Mara airstrip, and the drive to camp is your first game drive. Lunch, a rest, then out again in the late afternoon.

The best wildlife viewing comes early, so set out with a coffee as the sun rises over the plains. Your guide reads the land and follows the animals, from elephant families and giraffes to lions resting in the shade of a lone tree. You can stay out with a picnic breakfast or come back to camp for a late brunch and a quiet midday on your veranda. In the late afternoon, go out again until sunset. Wildlife is never guaranteed, which is part of what makes every sighting feel special.

Early risers can book a hot-air balloon flight at dawn, drifting over the plains as the herds wake below, followed by breakfast in the bush. It is an optional extra and depends on weather and availability. Otherwise, enjoy another morning drive with your guide, perhaps to a stretch of plains you have not yet explored. Rest at camp through the heat of the day, then go out again in the late afternoon, when the cats begin to stir and the light softens over the grass.

Take a morning drive toward the Mara River, where hippos and crocodiles gather in the brown water. Between about July and October the great migration is often in the Mara and herds may cross the river, though the timing changes every year and crossings are never certain. Outside those months the resident wildlife is still superb. Spend the afternoon at camp with a book or by the pool. If you like, your camp can arrange an optional visit to a nearby Maasai village at extra cost, or a guided walk in some conservancies.

Enjoy a final early drive or a slow breakfast before your guide takes you to the airstrip. Flights to the coast usually connect at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, and the journey to Manda, the airstrip opposite Lamu, takes about four hours in all. We confirm the exact flights before you book. At Manda a boat takes you across the channel to your hotel in Lamu town or the village of Shela. After the early starts on safari, the afternoon is free to settle in, swim and watch the dhows sail past.

Lamu is the oldest continuously inhabited Swahili town in East Africa and a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are no cars on the island, only donkeys, boats and narrow lanes. In the cool of the morning, walk through the old town with a local guide, past carved wooden doors, coral-stone houses, mosques and the old fort near the busy waterfront. The Lamu Museum tells the story of the coast and its trade. Return to your hotel for lunch and a lazy afternoon on a shaded rooftop.

A day with nothing you have to do. Shela’s beach runs for about twelve kilometers of soft sand and dunes, with room to walk for an hour and hardly see anyone. Swim, read or have lunch in a seafront café in the village. As the afternoon cools, set out on a traditional dhow, a sail included in your tour, gliding along the channel as the sun goes down behind the mangroves. It is a quiet, fitting way to spend your last evening in Kenya. Your farewell dinner tonight is included.

Enjoy a final breakfast and, if time allows, one more walk along the waterfront. A boat takes you across the channel to Manda airstrip for the domestic flight to Nairobi, about an hour and a half, where you connect to your international flight home. We time this connection with plenty of room between flights. If you would like a final night in Nairobi before flying out, it can easily be added. Your local team stays in touch with you until you leave.