Safari · Kenya
10 Night Amboseli & Masai Mara
The shortest trip that still feels unhurried, and the best-value way into a proper East African safari. Elephants against Kilimanjaro, then four nights in the Mara.
The shortest trip that still feels unhurried, and the best-value way into a proper East African safari. Elephants against Kilimanjaro, then four nights in the Mara.
Similar wildlife to Tanzania, meaningfully lower cost, and direct flights from London.
Kenya sits at the value end of the East African market — private safaris commonly start around US$300 per person per day, against considerably more in Botswana or for gorilla permits. Direct overnight flights from London to Nairobi take about eight and a half hours, so you lose less of the holiday to travel. This itinerary keeps to two camps rather than four, which cuts internal flights and packing days, and puts the saved nights where they matter: four in the Mara rather than two.
Ten nights across two parks, with a beach option at the end.
1Arrival night after the overnight flight.
Where you stay: Karen or Langata, both green and quiet, 40 minutes from the airport.
Getting there: Overnight from London, about 8h 30m direct to Nairobi (NBO).
2The elephant park, with Kilimanjaro filling the horizon on clear mornings.
Where you stay: Inside the park for the early light; Kimana conservancy outside for fewer vehicles.
Getting there: Light aircraft from Nairobi, about 45 minutes, or four hours by road.
3Five nights here is the point of the trip. Cats, plains, and the crossings if the timing lands.
Where you stay: Conservancy camps cap vehicles and allow off-road; reserve camps cost less and get busier.
Getting there: Light aircraft direct from Amboseli, about an hour.
Everything below is quoted up front. Nothing appears after you've paid a deposit.
Guide prices per person, two sharing, outside school holidays. The hotel standard is the biggest single variable.
| Standard | What that means | Guide price pp |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | Comfortable tented camps, shared drives, reserve-side Mara | from £2,899 |
| Superior | Conservancy camps, off-road driving, fewer vehicles | from £3,999 |
| Premium | Private vehicle and guide, top-tier camps throughout | from £5,999 |
As with any Kenya trip, the conservancy question matters more than the lodge. Conservancies limit vehicles per sighting and permit off-road driving and night drives, which the national reserve does not. If you upgrade one thing, upgrade that.
June to October for the migration; January and February for green plains and fewer people.
July to October is peak — the herds are in the Mara and the river crossings happen, and prices and camps are at their fullest. June is a good shoulder. January and February are hot, green and quiet, with excellent resident game and much lower rates. The long rains in April and May close some camps and the black-cotton soil becomes difficult, though the discounts are substantial. Amboseli is good year-round, but Kilimanjaro shows itself most reliably in the clear air of January and February.
We'll tell you honestly what your window gives you, and whether adding Diani or Zanzibar at the end is worth the extra flight.
Comfortably, for two parks. It's the shortest trip we'd recommend that doesn't feel like a sprint, and the five Mara nights are what make it work.
Usually at dawn, from Amboseli, on a clear morning. It clouds over by mid-morning almost every day. January and February give the best odds.
Easily. Diani is a 90-minute flight from the Mara and needs no second visa; Zanzibar is a separate country and about 80 minutes from Arusha.
Rough. The internal flights exist for good reason — the road from Nairobi to the Mara is five hours and hard going. We build in flights rather than pretend otherwise.
Similar shapes, and the ones people most often weigh up alongside it.
Same approach, different shape. All reshapeable around your dates.
13 nights · Jul–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £4,299pp
12 nights · May–Oct · from £6,499pp
11 nights · Jun–Aug, Dec–Feb · from £4,899pp
14 nights · May–Oct · from £3,299pp
11 nights · Apr, Oct · from £2,699pp
12 nights · Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £3,399pp
