This 12-day Kenyan Game Parks 4x4 Lodge Safari explores a wide diversity of wildlife-rich habitats and landscapes in southern, central and northern Kenya.
The 4x4 journey starts with game viewing in the massive Tsavo National Park and Amboseli in the southeast, traveling north to Samburu National Park and then the Aberdares National Park and Lake Nakuru in central Kenya. End off with an unforgettable wildlife adventure in the world-famous Masai Mara National Reserve in the southwest, before returning to Nairobi where the trip began.
An excellent-value-for-money tour including all game drives in 4WD safari vehicles, all meals, except for one dinner in Nairobi, and all accommodation in carefully selected, top-quality lodges, as well as transport and airport transfers.
Jambo, and welcome to Kenya!
Arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, we meet you at arrivals and transfer you to a hotel from where we head to our first lodge inside Tsavo West National Park. From city to bush, the drive takes about three and a half hours, arriving at Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge in time for lunch. The lodge looks out over the open plains and an active watering hole, with Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance.
After lunch and a little rest, the game viewing adventure begins! We venture into Tsavo National Park on a 4x4 game drive, returning to the lodge for dinner. The lodge's waterhole is one of the best in Kenya and attracts a variety of animals and birds, so you can watch the action from the dining room and bar.
Rise and shine for our first full day out in the Kenyan wilderness. After breakfast at the lodge we set off on our 4x4 adventure in Tsavo National Park, returning to the lodge for lunch overlooking the waterhole and a quick dip in the pool. After cooling off and resting up, we head back out into Tsavo National Park.
Kilaguni offers a range of optional activities such as bush walks with their naturalist, sundowners and dinners in the bush, trips to Mzima Springs or Rhino Sanctuary, and traditional dance performances. In the evening we relax at the lodge, watching wildlife at the waterhole and enjoying a drink in the bar. Fall asleep to the nighttime noises of the bush, listening to buffalos, antelopes and elephants close by.
Tsavo – this is one of the hugest wildlife reserves in the world, covering 13747km squared combining Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks! Named after the Tsavo River, this is one of Kenya’s oldest parks, hosting diverse wildlife. The reserve is best known for the famous Tsavo lions, but you can spot the other Big Five animals too – leopards, buffalos, rhinos and elephants. Wildlife sightings include kudus, giraffes, hippos, hyenas and cheetahs, along with more antelope species. The park is quite arid, consisting mostly of grassland plains and some mountains in Tsavo West.
Day three begins with breakfast and then we are off to our next incredible game viewing destination, Amboseli National Park.
The one and a half hour drive northwest brings us to Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge where we settle in and have lunch. The lodge is situated amid acacia trees inside the national park and offers sweeping views over the savannahs and Mount Kilimanjaro. Unwind at the pool or take a nap before we embark on our afternoon drive in Amboseli Park.
We spend the entire day exploring Amboseli National Park, taking a morning and afternoon game drive in our 4x4 safari vehicle. In between game viewing activities there is time to take a dip in the pool and take it easy at the lodge.
Amboseli National Park is renowned for its large elephant herds, including big bulls with impressive tusks. Amboseli Park offers fantastic photographic opportunities of elephants and other wildlife roaming the open plains, with majestic Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. The park is home to rich birdlife and many big mammals, such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, buffalos, jackals, antelopes and giraffes.
On day five we make our way back to Nairobi, after breakfast at the lodge in Amboseli.
The three hour drive gets us to the capital in time for a trip to the Giraffe Centre, a wildlife sanctuary and educational centre. Then we head to the famous Carnivore Restaurant for a feast, followed by time to relax or explore.
Tonight dinner is not included in the tour price, so that you can have dinner out in the city, or stay in and dine at the hotel.
We hit the road in our 4x4 this morning, after breakfast at the hotel, leaving the city behind.
Travelling north to Samburu National Reserve, we take in the scenery along the way. Arriving at Samburu Sopa Lodge we have lunch, followed by free time to chill-out and swim in the pool.
Next up, a game drive in Samburu National Reserve this afternoon.
A big day of game viewing today - look forward to an early morning game drive, and then a mid-morning drive, followed by another game drive later in the afternoon. We explore Samburu National Reserve in a 4x4 game drive vehicle with a pop-up roof for taking unobstructed photos of the wild things.
All Meals & Accommodation: Samburu Sopa Lodge
Samburu National Reserve offers outstanding game viewing, with frequent sightings of Grevy’s zebras, oryx, buffalos, strange-looking gerenuks and an array of interesting grazers. This is a good place to see leopards and all of Africa’s big cats, as well as endangered wild dogs. Birding enthusiasts will also be pleased with more than 350 species to be found. One of the highlights of visiting Samburu is meeting the traditional Samburu people, who still follow old customs, rituals and ceremonies. This is a hot, dry part of Kenya, characterised by scrub land and savannah plains flanked by mountains, notably Ol Olokwe Mountain.
First, we have breakfast and then we drive in our 4x4 to the high-lying Aberdare National Park in central Kenya.
Lunch is at the Aberdare Country Club on a hillside in the Aberdare Highlands, then we drive to our next overnight lodge - The Ark Tree Lodge. Tonight we have dinner at the lodge and look out for elephants wallowing in the floodlit waterhole and other wildlife visiting the salt lick and drinking hole. Have a drink in the bar, spend some quiet time in the library and watch the wildlife from the hide or viewing decks.
Aberdare National Park is in the Aberdare Mountains of Kenya’s central highlands, a cool retreat from the hot lower-lying plains. Colobus and skyes monkeys, giant forest hogs, baboons, leopards, buffalos and rhinos are typically seen in the forested ravines and mountains. Some of the less frequently sighted animals are shy bongo and tiny suni antelopes, golden, wild and serval cats. The vegetation varies from moorlands to rainforests, and this beautiful park features waterfalls, ravines and streams providing habitat for over 250 bird species.
Start your day with some tea or coffee at the Ark before going over to the country club for breakfast. Then we transfer to our 4x4 safari vehicle and head out of the hills, descending into the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, one of Africa's most impressive geological features.
Our next stop is at one of the Great Rift Valley Lakes - Lake Nakuru. Driving into the Lake Nakuru National Park we look for wildlife on the way to our lodge inside the game park. We have lunch upon arrival at Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge and spend some time resting and cooling down in the pool.
Later we embark on a 4x4 game drive in compact Lake Nakuru National Park. After our game drive we have dinner and enjoy a traditional dance performance back at the lodge.
Lake Nakuru National Park, the pretty home of black and white rhinos, hippos and baboons galore. Other inhabitants include elusive leopards, tree-climbing lions and, when conditions are right, massive flocks of greater and lesser flamingos. Giraffes, zebras, buffalos, hippos and antelopes are some of the typical African animals to be seen here. Lake Nakuru Park is also known for its birdlife, as a Ramsar Wetland area, attracting a diversity of birds, especially waterbirds.
Today we make our way to Kenya's ultimate safari destination - Masai Mara.
Entering the legendary Masai Mara we drive to Keekorok Lodge in our 4x4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof. Have lunch and a rest at the lodge, before our game viewing drive in Masai Mara Game Reserve.
End the day off with dinner and drinks at the bar, having experienced one of the best game parks in Africa today.
It's our last full day on safari and we spend the whole day game viewing in Masai Mara National Reserve. We start with a drive early in the morning and head back out later in the morning, before taking a lunch break.
Later in the afternoon we set off on one last game drive in world-famous Masai Mara.
Masai Mara - the ultimate safari destination in Kenya, if not Africa, and one of the top wildlife reserves in the world. This vast landscape is the quintessential African bush scene, an open wilderness of undulating grasslands dotted with acacia trees. The Masai Mara National Reserve is world-famous for the legendary Great Migration a wildlife spectacle of epic proportions, where a million wildebeest, gazelles (Thomson’s and Grant’s) and zebras migrate along an age-old route between Mara and Serengeti in Tanzania. The mass movement of herbivores draws an abundance of predators in search of an easy kill. The Masai Mara is however an exceptional Big Five game viewing destination year round, and is also the home region of the red-robed Maasai people.
After breakfast, check out and drive back to Nairobi city in 4x4 pop-up roof safari vehicle arriving in the mid afternoon. Drop off in Nairobi or at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
You have the option (extra cost) of visiting the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden and having lunch there on request.
Please note that the Wildebeest Great Migration is seasonal. As a natural wildlife phenomenon, it is fluid and unpredictable. For this reason, seeing the Great Migration cannot be guaranteed.
The wildebeest and other wild herbivores migrate between Masai Mara in Kenya and Serengeti in Tanzania. These herds move in a massive circular route covering some 1200 miles (1931km). It is a continuous movement of wildlife that can be seen in different areas at different times of the year. During certain phases of this annual trek the animals disperse or slow down, whilst at other times the migration picks up speed, with the herds becoming larger and denser. Not only does the Wildebeest Great Migration vary from place to place and season to season but the movement of these large wildlife herds varies from year to year.
Please talk to a travel expert from African Budget Safaris about seeing the Wildebeest Great Migration on your safari to find out more. Also, check out our detailed article about the Great Migration in Serengeti and Masai Mara.
This tour does take children.
Child rates provided above are applicable for children aged 3 – 11 years old, if sharing with 2 adults.
Chidren aged 2 years and below, sharing with adults, stay free of charge.
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