An immersive Kenyan safari that flips the script.
This is the luxury Kenyan safari for the traveler who likes something different. Start your trip in the Maasai Mara to check all of the wildlife off your list. We love the family-run House in the Wild, in a private conservancy to get away from the crowds. From there, head back north to the big-sky ranchland of Laikipia and the singular Ol Malo Lodge. The Francombe family will be your personal hosts, and their massive ranch will be your playground for 5 nights. There are more activities here than anywhere in Kenya: horseback riding, camel treks, village visits, and walking (or jogging) across a private wilderness. Finish the trip with an epic helicopter ride with owner, Andrew Francombe, to some of Kenya's most scenic and inaccessible landscapes.
1 night
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).
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.
5 nights
Laikipia is a vast patchwork of private conservancies and ranches on the high plateau north-west of Mount Kenya — Loisaba, Ol Pejeta, Lolldaiga and the Ol Malo escarpment among them — where conservation and community land-use have made room for some of Kenya's richest wildlife outside the parks. Expect big herds of elephant, the endangered Grevy's zebra and wild dog, rhino on Ol Pejeta, and a different, uncrowded rhythm of safari: walking, horse and camel riding, fly-camping, night drives and helicopter excursions. Lodges range from owner-run tented camps to exclusive-use houses with Mount Kenya on the horizon.
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.
Children are priced at each lodge's child rate. Exact rates and room allocation are confirmed at booking, once ages are collected.
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