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A couple in robes on a private deck at sunrise, looking out over open plains

Experience

Honeymoons

Bush then beach, usually. We know which camps put two people somewhere nobody else can see, and which ones only say they do.

Plan this experience
At a glanceCelebration
How longTen to fourteen daysTen days is plenty; fourteen is better
SeasonSeptember costs noticeably less than Christmas

Working backwards

Plan backwards from the date

A wedding date is fixed long before the honeymoon is, which is the advantage. Here is what to do with the lead time.

  1. The day the date is fixedAsk, even if nothing else is decided.The rooms that make a honeymoon work are the ones each camp has one or two of, and the festive season goes close to a year ahead. Nothing is lost by asking early.
  2. Once the rooms are heldThe order, then the flights.Bush first, beach second, unless a long-haul arrival lands you flat, in which case a night on the coast first is the kinder routing. Ten days is plenty. Fourteen is better.
  3. Nearer the dateTell the camps what this is.Most of them do something about it and none of them can if they do not know. Exclusive use, a celebrant, a cake and a photographer all need lead time in the bush.

The shape that works is bush first, beach second: game drives while you still have the energy for a five-thirty start, then a week where the only decision is lunch.

What makes the difference is the room, not the brochure. A tent at the end of the walkway rather than beside the mess. A bath you can fill with the flaps open. Dinner brought to your own deck the night you cannot face a table of strangers, without having to ask twice.

We have stayed at these places. We know which honeymoon suite looks straight down the shoreline at Watamu, which Mara camp will put a vehicle at your disposal so you are not sharing a leopard with eight cameras, and which lodge sends the rose petals whether you wanted them or not.

Not every honeymoon should be a safari. If one of you has been thinking about two weeks horizontal and the other about the Mara, say so at the first email. We would rather build a trip that admits the difference than sell you a compromise you both quietly resent.

Tell us the wedding date and how much you can bear to travel afterwards. Ten days is plenty. Fourteen is better.

Anniversaries

A tenth or a thirtieth is a different brief, and it usually travels better. You know what you like by now, you are less interested in being surprised, and there is often a reason to go back somewhere rather than somewhere new.

So we plan anniversaries backwards from one evening. The camp you stayed at the first time, if it is still good, and we will tell you if it is not. A private dinner on the night itself rather than the night you land jet-lagged. Children left at home, or brought and quietly occupied, which is a different trip and a different set of camps.

Vow renewals

Renewing vows in the bush is simpler than a wedding and needs more notice than people expect. The ceremony is short: a spot, a celebrant or a friend who does the reading, twenty minutes at the right hour of the light.

What takes the lead time is everything around it: the camp held on exclusive use, or the two rooms nobody else can see into, the cake that travels on the same aircraft you do, the photographer who has to come out from Nairobi.

We do not handle the legal side, and no honest agent should imply otherwise. A renewal is a ceremony rather than a marriage, which is exactly what makes it easy to hold on a riverbank.

Celebrating something else? Special occasions covers proposals, milestone birthdays, babymoons, graduations and family reunions.

Good to know

  • Say it is a honeymoon, an anniversary or a renewal when you book. Most camps do something about it, and none of them can if they don’t know.
  • Room upgrades and stay-pay offers move seasonally; a September honeymoon costs noticeably less than a Christmas one.
  • Zanzibar and Watamu are two hours from the bush by light aircraft. Seychelles and Mauritius are a full travel day, so budget a night either side.
  • Exclusive use, celebrants, cakes and photographers all need lead time in the bush. Ask early rather than late.

Camp honeymoon offers, stay-pay nights, room upgrades and any published honeymoon supplement move by season and by property. We confirm what applies to your dates in writing before you pay anything.

Illustrative

A sample first day

An example, not an itinerary. It is the shape of a first day in the bush, and the reason we put the bush first rather than the beach.

Five-thirty
Out while it is still dark. Game drives reward the energy you arrive with, which is why this half comes first.
The long middle
Nothing. Your tent is at the end of the walkway rather than beside the mess, which is the whole difference.
A bath
One you can fill with the flaps open.
Dinner
Brought to your own deck, on the night you cannot face a table of strangers, without having to ask twice.

What makes the difference is the room, not the brochure.

Where to do it

Where we arrange honeymoons

These itineraries already include it. Any of them can be rebuilt around your dates.

Or browse every itinerary andthe rest of the experiences.

Questions we are actually asked

How long should a honeymoon in East Africa be?
Ten days works and fourteen is better. Four or five nights of bush and the rest on the coast is the shape most couples end on, because it puts the early mornings first and the doing nothing second. Under a week and you spend a disproportionate share of it in transit.
Bush first or beach first?
Bush first, almost always. Game drives start at five-thirty and reward the energy you arrive with, and a beach week is a much better way to end a honeymoon than to begin one. The exception is a long-haul arrival that lands you exhausted, where a night on the coast first can be the kinder routing.
Do camps actually do anything for honeymooners?
Most do, and none of them can if they do not know. Tell us when you book and we pass it on: a private dinner, a turndown, a bath drawn, breakfast on your own deck. What arrives varies by camp and is a gesture rather than a contract, so we would rather set it up quietly than promise it in a brochure.
Can we plan an anniversary trip the same way?
Yes, and they are usually easier. An anniversary is planned backwards from one evening rather than one week, so tell us the date that matters and whether you want to go back somewhere or somewhere new. We will say honestly if a camp you loved a decade ago has slipped.
Do you arrange vow renewals?
We arrange the ceremony and everything around it: the spot, the hour of light, the celebrant or the friend who reads, the camp on exclusive use, the cake and the photographer. We do not handle the legal side. A renewal is a ceremony rather than a marriage, so anything legally binding is a lawyer's job at home before you fly.
When should we start planning?
As soon as the wedding date is fixed. The rooms that make a honeymoon work are the ones each camp has one or two of, and the festive season goes close to a year ahead. Nothing is lost by asking early, and a great deal is lost by asking in October for December.

Keep reading

Where to go next

Each of these answers one of the questions this page opens.

Before you write

What we need from you

Three things in the first email are enough to start. The third is the one people leave out.

  • The wedding dateSend it as soon as it is fixed, even if nothing else is. A great deal is lost by asking in October for December.
  • How much you can bear to travelTen days is plenty and fourteen is better. Under a week, a disproportionate share of it is spent in transit.
  • The one thing that matters mostIf one of you has been thinking about two weeks horizontal and the other about the Mara, say so now. We would rather build a trip that admits the difference.

Ask us about honeymoons

Dates and how many of you is enough to start. We reply within one working day.

Plan your journey

Tell us a little; we’ll do the rest. One of our travel designers replies within one working day.

When would you like to travel? (a rough month is fine)

“Honeymoon in September, two of us, bush then beach…” A sentence is plenty.

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Plan your honeymoons

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