A giraffe's head and neck close up against sunlit garden trees at Giraffe Manor, a second giraffe leaning in from above

Kenya · 11 days

Ultimate Giraffe Safari

Eleven days across three of The Safari Collection's properties with the founders of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, to see three of the world's four giraffe species, Nubian, reticulated and Masai, in the country that holds all three.

Duration: 11 days, 10 nights · 3 flights
Where: Kenya
Experiences: Road Safaris Camel Safaris Helicopter Safaris Flying Safaris
Board: Full board
Price: FromUSD 32,950per person sharing

At a glance

Where the nights go

244

10 nights across 3 places · 3 flights · Full board. Drawn from the draft day-by-day below.

Overview

The shape of the journey

Kenya is the only country in Africa with three giraffe species, and this trip sees all three in eleven days: Nubian at Giraffe Manor, reticulated in Samburu, Masai in the Mara. The Safari Collection built it with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, and Julian and Stephanie Fennessy, who founded GCF and started World Giraffe Day, travel with the group, along with GCF's East Africa coordinator, Dr Arthur Muneza.

NairobiSamburuMaasai Mara

It runs as a set departure for a small group, eight guests at most, with a vehicle held exclusively for you at every stop. Expect fieldwork rather than a lecture: identification and survey methods, data collection on the drives, the Twiga Tracker GPS study, and the community programmes that monitor giraffe day to day. Ask us for the next departure dates.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Giraffe Manor

Home to the critically endangered Nubian giraffe that come to the windows and the lawn, and part of the AFEW breeding programme that brought the subspecies back from the edge.

Sasaab

A lodge above the Ewaso Nyiro in Westgate Community Conservancy, in the small band of northern Kenya where reticulated giraffe still live alongside people and livestock.

Sala's Camp

On the Mara's southern border near the Serengeti, and the third giraffe of the trip, Masai giraffe, in an area rich in wildlife all year.

The Retreat at Giraffe Manor

The wellness house over the same sanctuary as the Manor, taken as a day room on the last day, with the Nubian giraffe browsing in front of it.

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
Nairobi, and the Nubian giraffe
Met at Jomo Kenyatta and driven half an hour to Giraffe Manor. You meet the GCF team here, and if the timing works, the giraffes over afternoon tea on the front lawn.
Giraffe ManorAll meals
Day 2
Nairobi National Park with the experts
Breakfast at the windows, then out into the oldest national park in Kenya, 117 square kilometres of it, with the city skyline behind. You learn how individual giraffes are told apart, and help collect the data.
Giraffe ManorAll meals
Day 3Flight
Fly to Samburu
Wilson to Sasaab on the scheduled flight, with the GCF team. The land goes hot and open, and the reticulated giraffe start appearing on the drive in.
SasaabAll meals
Day 4
Reticulated giraffe, and the people who live with them
Fewer than sixteen thousand reticulated giraffe are thought to remain, in a small area of northern Kenya, southern Somalia and southern Ethiopia. Today is spent with the communities who share that ground with them.
SasaabAll meals
Day 5
Twiga Walinzi
GCF's Giraffe Guards programme trains local pastoralists to monitor giraffe. You work alongside them, then drive Westgate Conservancy and into Samburu National Reserve for the rest of the Special Five.
SasaabAll meals
Day 6
Samburu, on your own terms
Bush breakfasts, sundowner drives, quad bikes, camel rides, and the 4C Centre for the culture and the geology. A half-day helicopter trip north over volcanoes, lakes and dune fields can be booked in advance.
SasaabAll meals
Day 7Flight
Fly to the Maasai Mara
Sasaab airstrip to Keekorok with Steph, Julian and Arthur, then a first Mara game drive on the way to Sala's Camp.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 8
Masai giraffe
The third species, and by now you can tell them apart yourself. The Mara's conservation picture is different again from Samburu's, and the GCF team talks through why.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 9
Twiga Tracker
GCF and its partners have fitted solar-powered GPS units to more than 450 giraffe across seventeen countries. You see how the study works, and occasionally a tagging operation runs while guests are here. That part can never be promised.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 10
A last full day in the Mara
Morning and evening drives, bush breakfasts, sundowners. The Mara does not need a theme to be worth a day.
Sala's CampAll meals
Day 11Flight
Relax and reflect
Keekorok to Wilson, then a day room at The Retreat, looking out at the same Nubian giraffe you started with. Pool, spa, gym and lunch, then 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
All internal flights, scheduled and private charter
Park and conservation fees
Game drives, sundowners and bush picnics
Talks and discussions with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation team
Exclusive use of a vehicle for all transfers and game drives, with a GCF team member aboard
Road transfers between airports, airstrips and camps and to and from activities, in 4x4 vehicles
A US$10,000 per-person donation to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, payable directly
Meet and assist at the airport
Medical evacuation cover

Price & terms

What it costs

FromUSD 32,950per 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.