A black rhino and her calf standing in dry grass on a northern Kenya conservancy, oxpeckers riding on the mother's back

Kenya · 8 days

Safari Secrets

Eight days in the northern Kenya most itineraries drive straight past. Black rhino tracked on foot in Sera, then Kalama, then three nights in the Mara at Naboisho. Saruni Basecamp camps throughout, and a light aircraft between each one.

Duration: 8 days, 7 nights · 3 flights
Where: Kenya
Experiences: Road Safaris Flying Safaris
Board: All-inclusive
Price: FromUSD 4,985per adult sharing

At a glance

Where the nights go

223

7 nights across 3 places · 3 flights · All-inclusive. Drawn from the draft day-by-day below.

Overview

The shape of the journey

Most Kenya itineraries visit the same four places. This one goes to Sera, Kalama and Naboisho, three community conservancies where the land is privately managed, the vehicle count is low, and a guide can leave the track because nobody is going to stop him.

NairobiSera ConservancyKalama ConservancyMara Naboisho

The headline is the rhino. Sera runs the first black rhino tracking programme in East Africa that puts you on foot, and Saruni Rhino is the camp inside it. After that it is Kalama for two nights, then a flight south for three nights of Mara.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Saruni Rhino

A small camp with exclusive access to the Sera Community Conservancy, and the first place in East Africa where black rhino are tracked on foot. Elephants come to the camp waterhole on their own schedule.

Basecamp Samburu

An eco-built lodge, small against a very large landscape, with mountain views and 200,000 acres of private conservancy to work with.

Basecamp Wilderness

Classic canvas in Naboisho, with unlimited access to the conservancy, a lion population that rewards the effort, and skies worth staying up for.

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 1Flight
Nairobi, then north to Sera
Met at Jomo Kenyatta and driven across to Wilson for the flight to Kalama, about an hour and a quarter in the air. Your guide meets the aircraft, and the drive on to camp doubles as your first game drive. An afternoon drive in Sera and sundowners after it.
Saruni RhinoAll meals
Day 2
Rhino on foot
Out early to track black rhino with the Sera trackers, which is a slower and much quieter business than a game drive. Seasonally, the singing wells at Kisima Hamsini. Picnic lunch, then a candlelit dinner in the bush with Samburu dancing.
Saruni RhinoAll meals
Day 3
Across to Kalama
A morning game drive with breakfast laid out in the bush, taken slowly as the route towards Kalama is the point. Lunch outside with Ololokwe on the skyline, a short evening drive, sundowners at a waterhole, dinner under the stars.
Basecamp SamburuAll meals
Day 4
Samburu, and the people of it
A morning drive along the Ewaso Nyiro. The afternoon is the Warrior's Academy, which is as close as a visitor gets to how Samburu men are actually trained. An evening drive in Kalama, a bush dinner, and a night drive back.
Basecamp SamburuAll meals
Day 5Flight
Fly to the Mara
The morning flight south, about ninety minutes. Either a game drive with a picnic lunch on the way in, or straight to camp and a slow afternoon. Drive in Naboisho before dinner, and a night drive if you want one.
Basecamp WildernessAll meals
Day 6
A full day in Naboisho
Out at first light, back for breakfast. The afternoon drive goes looking for leopard and for the conservancy's lion prides, which are the reason people book Naboisho in the first place. Bush dinner, with Maasai singing.
Basecamp WildernessAll meals
Day 7
On foot, then a table for two
A guided walk through the valley below camp, or another drive. Naboisho is big enough that the two do not overlap. Dinner is served privately, just your party, which after a week of shared tables is the right way round.
Basecamp WildernessAll meals
Day 8Flight
Depart
A last drive across the conservancy to the airstrip, then the flight to Nairobi and a transfer to Jomo Kenyatta. If the international flight leaves late, there is time for lunch in town and we will book it.
Breakfast

What's covered

Inclusions and exclusions

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

Included

Full-board accommodation, including meals and non-premium drinks
Internal flights, road transfers and airport assistance
Conservation fees and levies, VAT and local taxes
Selected laundry service
Temporary Flying Doctors cover

Not included

International flights, visas, and travel and medical insurance
Premium drinks and exclusive use of a vehicle
Additional activities, entry fees and payable services, childcare included
Gratuities and items of a personal nature

Price & terms

What it costs

FromUSD 4,985per adult 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.