A sea turtle swimming over a shallow reef in clear turquoise water

Kenya · 9 days

Conservation & Community Journey

Nine days meeting the people doing the work, at community organisations in Nairobi, the Mara Elephant Project in the conservancies, and marine research, recycling and turtle work at Watamu. With Hemingways throughout.

Duration: 9 days, 8 nights · 2 flights
Where: Kenya
Experiences: Road Safaris Flying Safaris
Board: Board varies by stay
Price: On request

At a glance

Where the nights go

233

8 nights across 3 places · 2 flights · Board varies by stay. Drawn from the draft day-by-day below.

Overview

The shape of the journey

Most safaris mention conservation in the brochure and then drive past it. This one books time with the organisations themselves: a community project in Nairobi, the elephant researchers in the Mara, and the marine teams, the association and the recycling plant on the coast.

NairobiMaasai MaraWatamu

The wildlife is still the wildlife: three nights of conservancy game drives in the middle of it. What changes is that you meet the people whose job it is to keep it there.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Hemingways Nairobi

The Karen hotel, a short drive from the community organisations the collection works with in the city.

Hemingways Eden Residence

A small house in Karen with its own artisanal gallery, used on this trip for the campfire, the Deck and the art.

Hemingways Ol Seki Mara

A tented camp on private conservancy land in Naboisho, guided by Maasai from the surrounding community.

Hemingways River Camp Mara

A riverside camp in the Mara North Conservancy, the alternative Mara base on this itinerary.

Hemingways Watamu

A beach hotel next to Watamu Marine National Park, in the middle of the coast's marine research and recycling work.

Day by day

How the days run

A proposal, not a timetable. The routing, timings and inclusions are confirmed in writing before you pay anything.

Day 1
Arrive in Nairobi
Out to Karen after the airport. Cocktails at the campfire, a Samburu performance, and dinner on the Deck.
Hemingways Nairobi or Hemingways Eden Residence
Day 2
One Horizon, and the gallery
A morning with One Horizon, the community organisation the collection supports in Nairobi. The artisanal gallery at Eden Residence in the afternoon, where the work is for sale and the makers are named.
Hemingways Nairobi or Hemingways Eden Residence
Day 3Flight
Fly to the Maasai Mara
A light aircraft into the conservancies. Settle in, then an afternoon drive on private land where the vehicle is not tied to a track.
Hemingways Ol Seki Mara or Hemingways River Camp Mara
Day 4
Drives and Maasai guiding
A full day out, some of it on foot with Maasai guides who grew up on this ground. The walking is where you get the detail the vehicle drives over.
Hemingways Ol Seki Mara or Hemingways River Camp Mara
Day 5
The Mara Elephant Project
Time with the Mara Elephant Project and the work it does to keep elephants and farmland apart. Afternoon drive, then sundowners.
Hemingways Ol Seki Mara or Hemingways River Camp Mara
Day 6Flight
Fly to the coast
The airstrip, then east to Watamu. Lunch by the sea, and the afternoon off before the coast's schedule starts.
Hemingways Watamu
Day 7
Marine research
A morning with the Kenya Marine Mammals Research and Conservation team, then the Watamu Marine Association, which runs the protection work along this stretch of reef.
Hemingways Watamu
Day 8
Recycling, then the creek
EcoWorld Recycling, where the coast's waste plastic is sorted and remade, and where the scale of the problem stops being abstract. A dhow through Mida Creek at sunset to end on.
Hemingways Watamu
Day 9
Depart
Breakfast, then the transfer for your flight home.

Price & terms

What it costs

Priced on request. This itinerary is quoted for your dates, your party and the grade of camp you choose, which is why there is no single number on this page.

What this price covers

Rates are per person sharing unless the line above says otherwise.
Prices move with the season and with availability, and are held only once your quote is confirmed in writing.
The day-by-day above is a draft. Final routing, timings, inclusions and any park or permit fees are confirmed with your quote.

Before you go

Worth reading before this trip

The best time to visit Kenya, month by monthJanuary and February, then July to October, are the months we send most people.
Safari packing list for KenyaA working checklist for a week on safari in Kenya: the bag, the layers for a cold six o'clock start, optics, health and documents, with quantities for seven nights and what changes by season.
Kenya safari cost: where the money goesWhat you pay for on a Kenya safari, why two similar weeks can differ threefold, who sets the park fees, and how to get more from the same budget.
Practical facts by countryPlugs, currency, time zone, driving side, SIM, tipping and tap water.