9-Nights Kenya Family Safari - Tailormade Journeys — CALL

Itinerary Details

1 Arrive Nairobi, Kenya

Few cities can claim to be home to endangered black rhinos, lions, giraffes and zebras, but Nairobi National Park is just half an hour from the center of this fun, fast-growing capital. Not only can travellers take a safari with a backdrop of skyscrapers and find the history of these creatures in Nairobi National Museum, but there’s also a thriving community of artists, musicians, party-starters and trend-setters that populate the independent shops and DJ booths around town.

Feed endangered Rothschild’s giraffe at the Giraffe Center, watch orphaned elephants play at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and listen to traditional storyteller weave age-old folk tales at an exclusive A&K experience in Oloolua Forest in Karen.

Straddling the equator northeast of Nairobi, this protected wilderness on and around sky-high Mount Kenya occupies 276 square miles and is encircled by a forest reserve of similar size. Together they make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site with an extraordinary range of habitats, from glaciers and mountain slopes carpeted in alpine and subalpine flora to bamboo forests, moorland and tussock grasslands. In the lower forest and bamboo zone, mammals include giant forest hogs, hyrax, mongoose, black rhino, duiker and leopard, while the surrounding plains lie on a migration route used by elephants.

Stay together and play together at Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, where athletes of all ages can take part in sports ranging from football, tennis and volleyball to swimming, or have fun with giant versions of hopscotch, Jenga and checkers. Take a walk with Tusker and Grammy, the resident dogs, tour the gardens or visit a tea and coffee farm.

Since its inception in 1983, Lewa has been a haven for endangered black rhinos, and now counts 248 of the beasts in its bounds, a remarkable increase from the initial 15. A significant proportion of its revenue is also invested into local community projects. Lewa is a private reserve, meaning guests have exclusive access to spotting the rhinos, lions, zebras and elephants that call the conservancy home, and can bed down in elegant lodges with breathtaking views of the powder-pink sunsets that bloom over the plains.

Spend your day viewing the conservancy’s epic game, either in safari vehicles or on foot; keep binoculars handy to spot lions, black and white rhinos, elephants and even the sitatunga, a semi-aquatic, swamp-dwelling antelope, before returning to your private veranda and toasting the day with a sundowner.

Bordering Tanzania in Kenya’s southwest, the Maasai Mara is named after its ancestral inhabitants and the dotted appearance of its acacia-studded plains. Its golden savannahs, riverine forests, low-lying mountains and sheer cliff are best known for hosting one of the most extraordinary events on the globe: the Great Migration, in which over two million wildebeest and zebra arrive from the southern Serengeti between June and November. Year-round, though, the reserve supports a range of wildlife from hippos, crocs, lions and hyena to elephants and eagles.

Set out on a game drive through the Maasai Mara, a 500-square-mile wilderness with habitats ranging from savannah and woodland to tree-fringed rivers. Watch crocodiles basking in the sun, spot ever-alert hippos wallowing in the mud, and observe the antics of mischievous monkeys. In more open ground, elephants meander in vast herds and giraffes snatch thorny snacks from the acacia trees that define the Kenyan landscape.

Spend your final day in the bush on the hunt for more incredible wild encounters. After your game drives, unwind in camp and take it all in, perhaps capturing a few more keepsake family photos before your homebound journey tomorrow.