An East African bush-to-beach honeymoon that delivers.
This is a Kenyan version of the classic bush-to-beach honeymoon theme that gives you a luxury safari at a reasonable price point. Start in Nairobi at Karen Blixen Cottages, for some time to recover from your flight and an excursion to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage. Then fly to Kenya's wild north at Saruni Samburu, where you will find authentic culture and breathtaking arid landscapes. End your safari with a peak wildlife experience on a private Maasai Mara conservancy with a dawn hot-air balloon over the plains. Finish your trip barefoot on the white sand of a private island off Diani Beach.
2 nights
Kenya's capital and the gateway to almost every safari — a green, high-altitude city on the edge of Nairobi National Park, where lions and rhino range within sight of the skyline. Most trips begin and end here: a night or two at Giraffe Manor, where the resident Rothschild's giraffes put their heads through the breakfast windows, or at a bush retreat on the park boundary, with time for the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage and the Karen Blixen house. International flights land at Jomo Kenyatta (NBO); light aircraft to the camps leave from Wilson (WIL).
3 nights
The arid northern frontier beyond Mount Kenya — the Samburu heartland of Kalama, Westgate, Sera and the Namunyak and Mathews Range conservancies — a land of red earth, doum palms and dramatic rocky hills. This is 'special five' country, home to species found nowhere further south: reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, Beisa oryx, gerenuk and the blue-necked Somali ostrich, alongside elephant and big cats along the Ewaso Ng'iro River. Samburu-run conservancies pair outstanding wildlife with deep cultural immersion — walks, camel treks and the famous singing wells — well off the main circuit.
4 nights
The private conservancies ringing the national reserve — Mara North, Naboisho, Olare Motorogi, Olderkesi, Enonkishu and others — community-owned land leased to a limited number of camps, and the connoisseur's way to do the Mara. Strict vehicle caps mean you often have a sighting to yourself, and because this is private land the camps offer what the reserve can't: off-road driving, night drives, guided walking safaris and cultural visits with the Maasai landowners. The same migration herds and resident big cats move freely between the conservancies and the reserve.
4 nights
Diani Beach on Kenya's south coast — a long ribbon of white sand and turquoise shallows below a coral reef, backed by coastal forest still home to Angolan colobus monkeys. The most accessible and resort-friendly of Kenya's beaches, it's an easy bush-to-beach finish: diving and snorkelling on the reef, kitesurfing in season, dhow trips and seafood, with the private sandbars and marine park of nearby Chale Island a short hop away. Reached by a scheduled flight to Ukunda (UKA).
Visa / eTA — required before you travel. Kenya has replaced tourist visas with an electronic travel authorization (eTA), which you must obtain before entry. The eTA now also includes a mandatory government travel-insurance fee — separate from, and in addition to, your own travel insurance.
Arriving from a neighboring country? If you’re flying into Kenya from DRC, South Sudan, or Uganda — or from an elevated-risk country including Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, or Somalia — you’ll need to complete an Electronic Traveler Health Surveillance Form before landing (your airline provides the QR code), and you may be temperature-screened on arrival. Worth knowing if your trip pairs Kenya with a Tanzania or Rwanda safari.
Passport. Valid for at least 6 months beyond your arrival date, with 2 blank pages.
Vaccinations. A yellow-fever certificate — the ICVP, or “Yellow Card” — is required if you’re arriving from a yellow-fever country, or you may be denied entry.
Currency. No limit in or out, but amounts over US$10,000 (or the equivalent) need documentation showing the source and purpose of the funds.
Good to know. Any US dollars you plan to spend must be dated 2014 or later and free of markings or tears. The embassy also recommends carrying international medical and evacuation insurance.
U.S. Embassy, Nairobi: ke.usembassy.gov
Guidance for US passport holders — if you travel on another passport, please confirm the requirements for your nationality.
Every departure runs a similar route with all-in pricing. Prices vary by season.
Inclusions: Safari lodge and camp rates are inclusive of all meals, drinks, and most activities — including game drives — but exclude top-shelf drinks and premium activities like helicopter excursions. City and beach stays follow each property's own board basis, shown on the lodge.
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