Stone houses and makuti roofs along the Lamu waterfront, fishing boats moored at the jetty

Kenya · 8 days

Empty Nesters' Safari & Beach Escape

Eight days for two, at the pace two people set. Karen, then the Naboisho Conservancy with night drives and bush walks, then Watamu for the reef, the spa and a dhow. Hemingways throughout.

Duration: 8 days, 7 nights · 2 flights
Where: Kenya
Experiences: Road Safaris
Board: Board varies by stay
Price: On request

At a glance

Where the nights go

232

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

Overview

The shape of the journey

This is Hemingways' answer to the trip people take once the house is quiet: eight days, three places, and nobody else's schedule to work around. Nairobi to settle, the Mara for the animals, the coast to stop.

NairobiMaasai MaraWatamu

Two nights, three nights, two nights. It moves twice and no more than that, and both moves are flights rather than long days in a car.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Hemingways Nairobi

A boutique hotel in Karen with a private terrace off every suite, a spa, and the Ngong Hills in the middle distance.

Hemingways Ol Seki Mara

A tented camp in the Naboisho Conservancy, on private land where night drives and off-track guiding are allowed.

Hemingways Watamu

A beach hotel on the north coast beside Watamu Marine National Park, with a spa and Mida Creek a short drive away.

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
You land, clear the airport and are driven out to Karen. A terrace, a drink, and an early night after the flight.
Hemingways Nairobi
Day 2
Karen, at half speed
Karen is Nairobi's green edge, and there is enough on the doorstep for one unhurried day. The spa if the flight has caught up with you, the neighbourhood if it hasn't.
Hemingways Nairobi
Day 3Flight
Fly to the Maasai Mara
A light aircraft to the Naboisho Conservancy and Ol Seki. Lunch, then your first game drive out in the afternoon.
Hemingways Ol Seki Mara
Day 4
Naboisho, on wheels and on foot
Private drives at your own pace, and a guided bush walk with a Maasai guide for the parts of the conservancy a vehicle rushes past.
Hemingways Ol Seki Mara
Day 5
A night drive
The conservancy allows driving after dark, which the reserve does not. Sundowners first, then the spotlight, and everything that only comes out once the sun has gone.
Hemingways Ol Seki Mara
Day 6Flight
Fly to the coast
Morning drive, then the airstrip and a flight to the coast. You arrive at Watamu to a different climate and lunch by the sea.
Hemingways Watamu
Day 7
Reef, creek, and not much else
The marine park in the morning while the water is clearest. A spa treatment in the heat of the afternoon, and a dhow through Mida Creek's mangroves as the light goes.
Hemingways Watamu
Day 8
Depart
Sunrise over the Indian Ocean, breakfast, and a transfer timed to your flight.

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.
Packing list for the Kenyan coastDiani, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu need less than you might think, plus a few things you would not guess: reef shoes for low tide, a rash vest for the reef, and clothes that cover your shoulders for the old towns.
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.