A canvas safari tent on a raised deck, directors' chairs on the veranda and acacia beyond

Kenya · 13 days

Reconnect to the Wilderness

Thirteen days off the beaten track with The Safari Collection. Canvas and no wi-fi at Siruai in Laikipia, Solio's rhinos, a lakeside house on Naivasha, then the Mara at Sala's Camp.

Duration: 13 days, 12 nights · 4 flights
Where: Kenya
Experiences: Road Safaris Horseback Safaris Flying Safaris
Board: Full board
Price: FromUSD 18,020per person sharing

At a glance

Where the nights go

13323

12 nights across 5 places · 4 flights · Full board. Drawn from the draft day-by-day below.

Overview

The shape of the journey

Most Kenya itineraries move between lodges. This one spends three nights in a mobile camp with no permanent structures, no internet and no other visitors in the area, and builds the rest of the thirteen days around that.

NairobiLaikipiaSolioLake NaivashaMaasai Mara

Five places, five different reasons to be there: the giraffes in Nairobi, canvas and river valleys in Laikipia, Solio's rhinos, a lake house on Naivasha, then the Mara. Guide prices are set on a minimum of six travelling, so it suits a family or a group booking together.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Giraffe Manor

A boutique house inside a small giraffe sanctuary in Langata, where the resident Nubian giraffe put their heads through the breakfast windows. The AFEW Giraffe Centre is next door.

Siruai Mobile Camp

Classic canvas with bucket showers, no permanent structures, no internet and nobody else in the area. Views over the Laikipia plains to Mount Kenya, and a chance at African painted dog.

Solio Lodge

The only lodge on a 45,000-acre ranch that became the world's first private rhino sanctuary in 1970 and now holds over two hundred black and white rhino. Wood-fired sauna, kitchen garden, horses.

Ajabu House

A private family house under fig trees on the lake shore, with a wooden veranda over the water, a clay tennis court and Mount Longonot on the far side.

Sala's Camp

A tented camp at the confluence of the Sand and Keekorok rivers in the Mara's far south, with private plunge pools, hammocks and resident big cats.

The Retreat at Giraffe Manor

The wellness house beside the Manor, used as a day room at the end, with spa, gym, infinity pool over the giraffe sanctuary, and an airport transfer timed to your flight.

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
Land, and meet the giraffes
Met at Jomo Kenyatta and driven half an hour to Giraffe Manor along the edge of Nairobi National Park. Afternoon tea on the lawn, then the Giraffe Centre next door if there is time.
Giraffe ManorAll meals
Day 2Flight
Charter into Laikipia
Twenty minutes from the Manor to Wilson, then a private charter north. Siruai meets you at the strip, and there is a game drive on the way in if you want one.
Siruai Mobile CampAll meals
Day 3
The Ewaso Narok by kayak
Kayaking downriver, breakfast beside the hippo pools, and time on foot along the rocky ridges and river valleys. Elephant, lion and Grevy's zebra are all in the area.
Siruai Mobile CampAll meals
Day 4
Walking, and painted dog
The point of Siruai is being able to walk wherever you like. Guides track painted dog here, which is a genuinely rare sighting. Evenings are a campfire and a lot of stars.
Siruai Mobile CampAll meals
Day 5Flight
Charter to Solio
A morning charter south to Solio, and a complete change of climate: high, green, cool at night. The lodge is the only one on the ranch.
Solio LodgeAll meals
Day 6
Rhinos in numbers
Morning and afternoon drives across open plains where rhino turn up in numbers that do not look real. Lion, leopard and buffalo are on the same ground.
Solio LodgeAll meals
Day 7
Solio at its own pace
Horse riding, guided game walks, spa treatments in your room, and a wood-fired sauna looking at Mount Kenya. Trout fishing in the Aberdares and helicopter trips up the mountain can be added.
Solio LodgeAll meals
Day 8
Drive to Lake Naivasha
Out through the Aberdares with a picnic, stopping for whatever turns up. Roughly five hours, sometimes more. Ajabu House is on the lake shore under fig trees.
Ajabu HouseAll meals
Day 9
The lake
A boat ride out for hippos, birdlife off the veranda, and Mount Longonot across the water. Tennis on the clay court, or water-skiing, tubing and kayaking for anyone who wants to be moving.
Ajabu HouseAll meals
Day 10Flight
Fly to the Maasai Mara
Loldia airstrip to Keekorok on the scheduled flight, then across to Sala's Camp in the reserve's far south.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 11
Big cats
Morning and afternoon drives in one of the densest wildlife areas in East Africa. The resident cats are seen often enough that the guides know them individually.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 12
A last full Mara day
The Big Five, the Little Five and the Ugly Five if you want a list to work through. Otherwise a plunge pool, a hammock and the riverbank.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 13Flight
Kwaheri
Breakfast in camp, the scheduled flight to Wilson, then a day room at The Retreat with spa, gym, pool and lunch, before the transfer to Jomo Kenyatta.
Breakfast and lunch

What's covered

Inclusions and exclusions

In line with the itinerary above. Your written quote is the version that counts.

Included

Full-board accommodation with meals, house wines and spirits, soft drinks, beers, laundry and selected activities
Internal scheduled and charter flights
Park and conservation fees
Game drives, sundowners and bush picnics
Road transfers between airports, airstrips and camps and to and from activities, in 4x4 vehicles
Meet and assist at the airport
Medical evacuation cover

Price & terms

What it costs

FromUSD 18,020per person sharing

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.