A Grevy's zebra in dry grass, narrow stripes and big rounded ears turned to the camera

Kenya · 7 days

Spectacular Samburu & Mara Safari

Kenya's two headline regions in one week. Three nights tracking rhino in Sera, three in the Mara North Conservancy, and a ninety-minute flight instead of a two-day drive. Saruni Basecamp on both ends.

Duration: 7 days, 6 nights · 3 flights
Where: Kenya
Experiences: Road Safaris Flying Safaris
Board: All-inclusive
Price: FromUSD 4,540per adult sharing

At a glance

Where the nights go

6 nights across 2 places · 3 flights · All-inclusive. Drawn from the draft day-by-day below.

Overview

The shape of the journey

The north and the south-west of Kenya look nothing alike and behave nothing alike, which is the entire argument for putting them in one week. Sera is rock, doum palm and dry riverbed, with rhino you follow on foot. Mara North is grass and predators, and you cover it from a vehicle.

NairobiSera ConservancyMara North

Saruni Basecamp runs camps at both ends and a flight between them, so the six nights split evenly and nothing is spent in transit. Saruni Samburu and Saruni Wild are available in place of the standard camps at a supplement, if you would rather.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Saruni Rhino

A small camp with the run of Sera's 340,000 hectares, and the on-foot black rhino tracking that made the conservancy's name. Doum palms, a dry riverbed, and very few other vehicles.

Saruni Mara or Saruni Wild

Either the forest lodge or the three-tent camp, both in Mara North, both with a Maasai Wellbeing Space and guides who grew up on the ground they are driving you across.

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 Sera
Landed at Jomo Kenyatta and driven across to Wilson for the morning flight to Samburu, about an hour. Your Saruni Rhino guide meets the aircraft; the transfer to camp takes around ninety minutes. An afternoon drive in Sera, and sundowners somewhere the guide keeps to himself.
Saruni RhinoAll meals
Day 2
Rhino, on foot
Out early with the trackers. Tracking black rhino on foot is quiet, unhurried work and feels nothing like a sighting from a vehicle. A village visit afterwards, a picnic lunch, a slow afternoon, then a candlelit dinner in the bush with Samburu dancing.
Saruni RhinoAll meals
Day 3
Sera, and Reteti if you want it
A morning drive across the conservancy. Reteti, the community-run sanctuary for orphaned elephant calves, is close enough to visit and costs extra. An evening drive, sundowners, and a night drive back for dinner.
Saruni RhinoAll meals
Day 4Flight
Fly to Mara North
The morning flight south, ninety minutes. Either a game drive with a picnic lunch under a tree on the way in, or straight to the lodge and a rest before an exclusive afternoon drive in Mara North, a corner of the ecosystem that stays quiet even in August.
Saruni Mara or Saruni WildAll meals
Day 5
First light, and the predators
Out early for the big cats. Back for lunch, and a treatment at the Wellbeing Space if you want one. New ground in the afternoon, dinner at camp, and an optional night drive for the animals the daytime never shows you.
Saruni Mara or Saruni WildAll meals
Day 6
High ground and a fire
A walk through the valleys with a Maasai guide, or a drive up to one of the high points for the view across the whole ecosystem. More of Mara North in the afternoon. Weather allowing, dinner is outside, with singing round the fire.
Saruni Mara or Saruni WildAll meals
Day 7Flight
Depart
A last drive to the airstrip, past the river or the rhino sanctuary. The Mara flight leaves at 11:00 and lands in Nairobi at 12:20, and a Saruni Basecamp vehicle runs you to Jomo Kenyatta.
Breakfast

What's covered

Inclusions and exclusions

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

Included

All-inclusive accommodation, full board with soft drinks, beers, house wines and non-luxury spirits
Shared day and night game drives, guided bush walks, bush meals and sundowners
Internal flights, transfers, airstrip transfers and airport assistance
One 30-minute back and neck massage per room, per stay, in the Mara
Daily conservation fees, VAT and local taxes, and Flying Doctors cover

Not included

International flights and visa fees
Premium drinks, exclusive use of a vehicle and private guides
Reteti Elephant Sanctuary transport and entry, and Masai Mara National Reserve entry
Cultural visit entry fees, childcare, gratuities and anything of a personal nature

Price & terms

What it costs

FromUSD 4,540per 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.