Kenya Safari Express
The perfect taste of Kenya: Nairobi, plus a boat safari on Lake Naivasha, a game drive in Hell's Gate & 3 game drives in Masai Mara
Overview
Style | Small Group TourTravel with a small, intimate group of no more than 16 likeminded travelers (and often much fewer), escorted by an English speaking guide and/or tour manager for some or all of your journey. (Some exceptions, including special promotional packages, may accommodate up to 30.) More of these packages
Dedicated tour escorts & guides throughout |
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Departures | December 2024 – December 2025 | Group Size | 16 travelers max |
Themes | Active, Bucket List, Nature & Wildlife | ||
Activity Level | Recreational | ||
What to Expect | This fast-paced, partially escorted tour includes a reasonable amount of walking or hiking and requires an average level of physical fitness. This tour also includes long scenic drives between destinations, sometimes on bumpy unpaved roads and may have limited rest stops. Travel safely and confidently with our new health & safety protocols. | ||
Already booked? | Find everything you need to know before you go, including information about passport & visa requirements, flights, luggage, and more. |
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Who wouldn't include Kenya on their "bucket list" of places to see? Our 7-day Kenya Safari Express is one you won't want to miss! Our package includes airfare, transfers, great hotel and lodge accommodations, daily breakfast, lunches, and dinners on safari, and plenty of touring. See orphan elephants at Daphne Sheldrick's Elephant Orphanage, embark on a thrilling boat safari on Lake Naivasha, experience fantastic game drives in the Masai Mara National Reserve, and more! And as always, in true Friendly Planet style, we've managed to package a dream vacation at an unbelievable price.
Package includes
- Flights
- Coach
- Transfers
- Hotel
- Meals
- Guides
- Round trip airfare from New York City to Nairobi, including taxes & fees
- 5 nights superior hotel and safari lodges, plus day-use room on Day 7
- All intra-Africa land transportation and transfers
- 14 Meals: 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners, including a special farewell lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant
- Comprehensive sightseeing tours and game-viewing drives
- All-wheel drive (4x4) safari vehicles with guaranteed window seat and access to roof hatch, maximum 6 guests per vehicle
- Hell's Gate National Park, boat safari on Lake Naivasha and 3 game drives in the Masai Mara National Reserve
- Experienced driver/guide
- Comprehensive sightseeing tours in Nairobi by local English-speaking guide
Optional add-ons
- Masai Mara Hot Air Balloon Safari with champagne breakfast
- Masai tribal village tour
Why you'll love it
- Set out on three exciting game drives at the Masai Mara National Reserve and one at Hell’s Gate National Park.
- Visit the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphans' Nursery, where young elephants are cared for until they are ready to be released back into the wild.
- Help in reforestation by seed bombing, a technique of introducing vegetation to land by throwing or dropping seedballs.
- Tour the Karen Blixen Museum, previously home to the author whose memoir inspired the Oscar-winning film, Out of Africa.
- Hand-feed endangered giraffes at the Langata Giraffe Center.
- Embark on a safari boat ride on Lake Naivasha, home to a wide variety of animals, including giant hippos.
Itinerary at a Glance
- 1 Depart USA
- 2 Arrive Nairobi
- 3 Nairobi & Lake Naivasha
- 4 Lake Naivasha National Park
- 5 Masai Mara National Reserve
- 6 Masai Mara Game Reserve
- Optional Excursion: Masai Mara Hot Air Balloon Safari with champagne breakfast, $465
- Optional Excursion: Masai Village Tour (purchased locally), $25
- 7 Masai Mara & Nairobi/Depart Kenya
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Dates & Prices
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Depart USA
- Depart the USA on your overnight flight to Kenya
Day 2 Arrive Nairobi
- Upon arrival in Nairobi, Kenya following customs and immigration formalities, meet our representative and transfer to your hotel
EKA Hotel Nairobi or similar
Day 3 Nairobi & Lake Naivasha
- Visit the Karen Blixen Museum
- Visit the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
- Depart Nairobi for the Great Rift Valley
- After lunch and check-in, enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure
Lake Naivasha Country Club or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Full Day ItineraryAfter breakfast and check-out, proceed to visit the Karen Blixen Museum. "Out of Africa" author Karen Blixen formally owned the house and surrounding 4500-acre farm from 1917 until 1931, before becoming a museum in 1991.
Next, visit the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, where young orphaned elephant babies are hand-raised until they are returned to their natural habitat in the Tsavo National Park. Here, they can mingle freely with the wild community.
Later, depart Nairobi and travel west through Kenya's fertile farmlands and into the Great Rift Valley. Arrive at your lodge, set amidst acacia trees and overlooking Lake Naivasha. After lunch, check in and spend the remainder of the day leisurely. Tonight, enjoy dinner at the lodge.
Note: Visiting Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage requires advanced booking with limited tickets available per day and has become increasingly difficult to secure advanced tickets. A visit to Nairobi Animal Orphanage, located just outside the Nairobi National Park, will be substituted should Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage be unavailable.
Day 4 Lake Naivasha National Park
- After breakfast, take a game drive in Hell's Gate National Park
- Return to the lodge for lunch
- Embark on a safari boat ride on Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha Country Club or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Full Day ItineraryAfter breakfast, discover Hell's Gate National Park, named for the intense geothermal activity within its boundaries. It is a remarkable quarter of the Great Rift Valley. The spectacular scenery, including the towering cliffs, water-gouged gorges, stark rock towers, scrub-clad volcanoes, and belching plumes of geothermal steam, make it one of Africa's most atmospheric parks. You may see African buffalo, zebra, eland, hartebeest, Thomson's gazelle, baboons, klipspringer antelope, and Chandler's mountain reedbuck. Return to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, embark on a safari boat ride on Lake Naivasha.
Day 5 Masai Mara National Reserve
- After breakfast, depart for the Masai Mara
- Arrive at the lodge and enjoy lunch
- Take your first game drive this afternoon
Keekorok Lodge, Zebra Plains Mara Camp or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Full Day ItineraryAfter breakfast, depart for the Masai Mara National Reserve. This park offers terrific scenery and plenty of game viewing. In addition, it is perhaps the only region remaining in Kenya where visitors can see animals in the same abundance and variety as they existed a century ago. You'll find lions, cheetahs, buffalo, and abundant bird life, such as ostriches, cranes, and storks, among the grassy plains and lush landscape.
Every year, between June and September, millions of wildebeests and zebras migrate into the Mara in search of water. The timing of this phenomenon varies, depending on the rains, but they usually start heading back to the Serengeti in October. Whether you see the migration or not, the Mara almost guarantees you'll enjoy a magnificent time in Kenya. Enjoy lunch at your lodge, then relax until later this afternoon, when you'll take your first game drive through this haven of wildlife, lasting until sunset.
Note: 2025 departures will stay at Zebra Plains Mara Camp.
Day 6 Masai Mara Game Reserve
- Enjoy a morning game drive, or take an optional hot air balloon safari
- Have lunch at the lodge, followed by some free time to relax
- Embark on a late afternoon game drive
Keekorok Lodge, Zebra Plains Mara Camp or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Full Day ItineraryContinue your discovery of the many species of wildlife in the park today on two game drives, one this morning and another later in the afternoon. You can replace the morning drive with an optional balloon safari, which provides an exciting opportunity to soar high over the plain for animal viewing from above. Whether you go by air or land, you will enjoy searching for animals native to this fascinating and beautiful area guided by your expert driver, who will amaze you with his ability to spot game hidden in the bush. You may see a variety of antelope, including wildebeest and Thomsons and Grant gazelles. The "Big Five" are all found in the Masai Mara, as well as cheetahs, bat-eared foxes, and other varieties of wildlife.
After lunch, enjoy some leisure time at the lodge.
Note: 2025 departures will stay at Zebra Plains Mara Camp.
Optional Excursion: Masai Mara Hot Air Balloon Safari with champagne breakfast, $465Enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a balloon ride across the Masai Mara. Weather permitting, your flight begins in the pre-dawn hours, when the view over the park is most magnificent. Toward the end of your adventure, you'll rise to 1,500 feet for a panoramic view of the twisting Mara River and the savannah below. After an hour in the air, your safari finishes with a champagne breakfast in the bush, cooked on the balloon's burners. Flight may not operate if weather conditions are not suitable.
Note: $490 July - September, 2024.
Optional Excursion: Masai Village Tour (purchased locally), $25This afternoon, get an in-depth look at these colorful and pastoral people in their natural settings. Experience the Masai tribal life as you walk through a traditional village compound. You'll be greeted by the village chief and be escorted around the village by a local host who will explain the history, culture, and practices of the Masai. Before departing the village, enjoy a cultural performance by the young men of the tribe, the famed warrior "morans."
Note: Credit cards not accepted for this excursion.
Day 7 Masai Mara & Nairobi/Depart Kenya
- After breakfast, depart the Masai Mara for Nairobi
- Enjoy a farewell lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant
- Next, stop at the Langata Giraffe Center
- Enjoy time to relax in your day-use room
- Transfer to the airport for your overnight return flight back to the USA
Hilton Garden Inn Nairobi Airport or similar Breakfast & lunch
Full Day ItineraryAfter breakfast, depart the Masai Mara for Nairobi. Upon arrival, enjoy an "all you can eat" farewell lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant. After your meal, visit The Langata Giraffe Center, which protects the endangered Rothschild's giraffe. Several warthogs roam freely with the giraffes. Guests may feed the giraffes from a raised feeding platform. Later, visit the Utamaduni craft center. Then, transfer to your day-use room to relax and freshen up.
Bid farewell to Kenya as you transfer to the airport for your overnight return flight. Arrive in the USA the following day.
Hotels
In the unlikely event that a particular hotel is not available, a similar or better hotel may be substituted.
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Trip Details
- What should I know before I go? We've compiled a comprehensive checklist, including information on how to pay your balance due, flights & transfers, packing & luggage, and more.
- Do I need a visa or other documents? Are there any entry requirements? Travel visas are required for this package. Please review the visa & entry requirements.
- Can I make changes to my trip? Want to upgrade your seats? Stay a few extra days? Something else? Just ask!
- Can I bring my kids? Are there any age restrictions? To book this package, you must be 18 or older. Your traveling companions must be 12 or older at time of travel.
- Should I purchase travel insurance? Yes! We recommend you purchase travel insurance to help protect you and your travel investment against the unexpected. For your convenience, we offer a plan provided by Travelex Insurance Services.
- What's the fine print? Review the terms & conditions for this package.
- What should I know about Kenya? Check out our guide for practical travel tips, the best time to go, videos, and more.