Kilimanjaro to the Mara | 7-Day Kenya Safari from Nairobi

🛏 Overnight: Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages (Bed & Breakfast)

Our driver meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and takes you to Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages for the night, with breakfast included.

The cottages sit on part of Karen Blixen’s original coffee farm estate, on the site of the original farmhouse. They’re set in mature gardens in the quiet suburb of Karen, about half a mile from the Karen Golf and Country Club: a peaceful, historic place to recover from your flight before the safari begins.

🛏 Overnight: Ol Tukai Lodge (Full Board)

After breakfast, drive to Amboseli National Park (about 4–5 hours). Check in at Ol Tukai Lodge, inside the park, in time for lunch. In the afternoon, take a game drive until sunset.

Amboseli lies at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain at 5,895 metres, just across the border in Tanzania. Snowmelt from the mountain feeds underground springs that fill Amboseli’s swamps and marshes, supporting large elephant herds and abundant birdlife all year. It’s the best place in Kenya for the classic photo of an elephant or giraffe in front of snow-capped Kilimanjaro.

🛏 Overnight: Ol Tukai Lodge (Full Board)

Set out before dawn on a game drive. Early morning is when Kilimanjaro is most often clear of cloud and the animals are most active. Return to the lodge for breakfast and a relaxed morning. After lunch, take another game drive to look for elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, hyenas and, with luck, lions.

🛏 Overnight: Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort (Full Board)

After breakfast, drive north through Nairobi to Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley. This is the longest drive of the trip, about 6–7 hours. Check in at Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort, and in the afternoon take a boat ride on the lake to see hippos up close.

Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake on the floor of the Great Rift Valley and one of Kenya’s best places for birdwatching, with more than 400 bird species recorded. Cormorants breed here all year, pelicans and spoonbills perch on dead acacia trees along the shore, and you’ll almost certainly see the African fish eagle.

🛏 Overnight: Sarova Mara Game Camp (Full Board)

Leave at about 8:00 am for the Maasai Mara, driving through Great Rift Valley escarpment scenery. Take a short game drive on the way in, arriving at Sarova Mara Game Camp in time for lunch. In the afternoon, take your first game drive in the Maasai Mara National Reserve to look for lions, cheetahs and other predators.

🛏 Overnight: Sarova Mara Game Camp (Full Board)

After breakfast, set out on a game drive to see the Mara’s resident wildlife. If you’re lucky, you may see a hunt. Return to camp for lunch, then take an afternoon game drive to look for the Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and, rarely, rhino.

🎈 Optional (extra cost): Maasai Mara hot air balloon safari. Rise before dawn for a sunrise balloon flight. Balloons usually take off at about 6:30 am, and you can watch the crew inflate them. The flight lasts about an hour, following the wind over the Mara plains, and gives you a bird’s-eye view of the wildlife below. After landing, enjoy a champagne bush breakfast on the plains and receive a flight certificate from your pilot. Your evening game drive goes ahead as normal.

After breakfast, drive back to Nairobi (about 5–6 hours). On arrival, there’s time for last-minute shopping, then lunch at Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens. Afterwards, we take you to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your flight home, or drop you at your Nairobi hotel or home.

End of safari.

This 7-day Kenya safari covers Amboseli National Park, Lake Naivasha and the Maasai Mara. You can expect elephants beneath Mount Kilimanjaro, hippos and over 400 bird species at Naivasha, and lions, cheetahs, leopards and the Big Five in the Mara.

Yes. Seven days is the most popular length for a first Kenya safari. It gives you two full days in both Amboseli and the Maasai Mara, the two parks most visitors come for, with Lake Naivasha as a scenic stop in between.

Yes. Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, but Amboseli National Park in Kenya has the best views of it. The mountain is usually clearest at sunrise and late afternoon, which is when this itinerary’s game drives are scheduled.

The safari runs all year. July to October is peak season in the Maasai Mara, when the wildebeest migration arrives. January to March is also dry, with excellent game viewing and clear Kilimanjaro views.

No. This is a wildlife safari that includes views of Kilimanjaro from Amboseli. We can arrange a Kilimanjaro climb in Tanzania as a separate trip.