8-Day Kenya Highlights Safari Itinerary

You’re met on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transferred to the Sarova Stanley Hotel, Nairobi, where you’re booked for one night on a bed & breakfast basis — a smooth, unhurried start before the long drive north begins tomorrow.

After breakfast, you depart driving north past one of the world’s largest pineapple plantations and into Kenya’s agriculturally rich central highlands, where vast farms of arabica coffee unfold beneath the Aberdare range. The road continues past the Equator and along the scenic slopes of Mount Kenya before descending into Shaba National Reserve, where you arrive for lunch and check-in at Sarova Shaba Game Lodge.

Shaba carries a story unlike any other reserve in Kenya. During World War II, Italian warplanes mistakenly bombed this ground — and the impact of those bombs caused a natural water spring to burst from the earth. Those springs still flow today, sustaining the wildlife and local communities of the area. In the afternoon, your first game drive introduces you to the Samburu Five: the Somali ostrich, the Gerenuk antelope, the Beisa oryx, the Grevy’s zebra, and the reticulated giraffe — all found nowhere else in Kenya.

A full day given over to Shaba and the adjoining Buffalo Springs National Reserve — morning and afternoon game drives in search of the Samburu Five and the broader cast of northern Kenya’s wildlife. All meals and overnight at Sarova Shaba Game Lodge, full board.

After breakfast, you depart Shaba heading south-west toward Ol Pejeta Conservancy, arriving at Sweetwaters Tented Camp — situated directly on the geographical Equator — in time for lunch. An afternoon game drive follows before returning to camp for dinner.

Ol Pejeta holds the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa — over 100 individuals — and the world’s only two surviving northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu. The conservancy also houses a chimpanzee sanctuary established by Jane Goodall, whose numbers have since doubled. Ol Pejeta gained global recognition as home to Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, who passed away in 2018.

After breakfast at Sweetwaters, you depart heading west along the base of the Aberdare mountain range, with a brief stop at the scenic Thomson’s Falls, before descending into Kenya’s Great Rift Valley and on to Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge, where you’re booked for one night on a full board basis.

Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake set in the heart of the Rift Valley, famous for its extraordinary birdlife, resident hippo populations, and the wildlife-rich shores of the nearby Crescent Island. Over 400 bird species have been recorded here. Hippos are frequently spotted during boat rides on the lake, while giraffe, zebra, and antelope roam the surrounding terrain. A boat ride on the lake is strongly recommended.

After breakfast at Lake Naivasha, you drive through the Rift Valley past Kenya’s agricultural heartland — vast wheat and maize plantations stretching to the horizon — before arriving at Sarova Mara Game Camp in time for lunch. An afternoon game drive carries you into the Masai Mara National Reserve.

The Masai Mara is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife destinations and home to the Big Five. Between July and October, an estimated two million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of plains zebra, and countless gazelles cross into the Mara from Tanzania’s Serengeti in the greatest wildlife migration on Earth. Even outside migration season, the Mara’s plains remain among the most wildlife-rich on the continent.

A full day given over to the Masai Mara — morning and afternoon game drives across the reserve’s iconic grasslands, in pursuit of the Big Five and the extraordinary cast of wildlife that calls this place home year-round. All meals and overnight at Sarova Mara Game Camp, full board.

After a leisurely breakfast at Sarova Mara, you depart the Masai Mara and drive back to Nairobi, JKIA, for your homebound flight.