Visit a world of grassy steppes, tall mountains, beautiful people, and the country’s renowned abundance of wildlife. This East African adventure is an amazing blend of natural wonders and local cultural experiences. You'll watch the sun set over the plains, view animals from four-wheel drive vehicles, and stay in comfortable lodges. Visit a local school, sample traditional foods, and make friends with people from Maasai, Samburu, and Kikuyu communities. Wilderness Inquiry teams up with the best local guides in Kenya to offer this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Sample Itinerary

Please note: While the itinerary presented is an accurate depiction of what your trip will be like, it is only an example. Our trips are real adventures in the outdoors--not pre-packaged tours that happen on a schedule.

DAY 1: Your guides will meet you in the evening at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Enjoy a meal and the head to comfortable hotel in Nairobi.

DAY 2: Leave Nairobi, passing through the coffee farms and tea farms of the central highlands. Interact with local farmers along the way and learn about their work. Stop over in Karatina, a town in central Kenya named for the largest market in Africa. Spend the night at Naromoru River Lodge near the base of Mount Kenya.

DAY 3: Visit Kambi Primary School where Muthoga, one of our guides, attended school as a child. You'll have a chance to tour the school and possibly listen to a performance from class choir groups. Have tea with the headmaster and leave a donation of some much-needed school supplies before continuing on to Sweetwater Sanctuary. In Sweetwater, get your first chance to spot animals and meet some of Jane Goodall's chimpanzee refugees. You'll also be able to pet a tame, orphaned rhino and meet some warthogs up close. Take a walk on the equator on your way back. Spend the night again at Naromoru River Lodge.

DAY 4: Leave for Kenya's exotic Samburu National Reserve. The reserve is situated on the Ewaso Nyiro River, where there's plenty of water, trees and shade to attract elephants, lions, giraffes and zebras from the surrounding savanna. Lions and leopards are also regularly seen in this area (from a safe distance). Stay overnight at Samburu Game Lodge.

DAY 5: Spend the morning and evening combing the reserve for African mammals. During the day you can relax by the pool. Before your evening drive you'll visit a Samburu village where you can experience the dancing, fire making, beadwork, and company of these distant cousins to the Maasai.

DAY 6: Leave early for Nakuru town but stop en route to explore Thomson's Falls. Spend some time in the Nakuru market buying fresh foods before heading into the park for dinner and sunset from Nakuru Guest House. Guests have spotted antelope, buffalo, hyena, and even rhino right from the dining room windows!

DAY 7: Get up early and watch the sun rise over Lake Nakuru, where you'll see rhino, giraffe, baboon, and birds in their most active state. Circle the entire lake and attempt to count just how many thousands of pink flamingos there are. After the game drive, have lunch in Nakuru town and then continue on to Lake Naivasha and Crater Lake. Enjoy a boat cruise in the Crater Lake volcano oasis amongst Cyprus, flamingos and colobus monkeys. Return to Fish Eagle Inn in time to watch the hippos come out of Lake Naivasha to graze.

DAY 8: Leave Naivasha for the Maasai "city" Narok to meet up with Jonathon, your Maasai laiason. Tour Narok, pick up some gifts for your Maasai hosts and then continue on to Jonathon's boma. Here you will be introduced to the intricacies of Maasai life and have a chance to interact with the children living in Jonathon's boma. They will be excited to show you their homes and take pictures with you. Make a fire and share a traditional goat roast with new friends. Come nightfall, Jonathon will share stories and songs about Maasai origin. You'll have the opportunity to sleep in a Maasai home or in comfortable camping arrangements.

DAY 9: After hot tea and breakfast you can help take the livestock out to graze and try your hand at milking. Walk down to visit the local school before heading off to the Masai Mara Reserve–the Mara is the Africa that you've seen in pictures. Rolling plains as far as you can see bring sightings of all the "big five" African mammals. This is your best chance to see cheetah as well. We will stay overnight at one of several spectacular Safari lodges.

DAY 10: In the morning head all the way down to the Mara river. Walk a few steps into Tanzania and trek along the riverbanks searching for an answer to the age-old question: which is king of the river? The hippo or the crocodile?

DAY 11: Head back to Nairobi stopping for scenic vistas of the fertile Great Rift Valley along the way. Enjoy a banquet at the Carnivore Restaurant (rated in the top 100 in the world). You'll have a chance to taste local game and drink dawas... the perfect closure to an amazing African adventure.

DAY 12: Visit the Giraffe Center and then shop the Nairobi city market for souvenirs to bring home. Dine at traditional "nyama choma" restaurant before catching the evening flight to Amsterdam, arriving home the following day.

Travel, Terrain, Etc...

TERRAIN/ROUTE CHOICES: Kenya varies in terrain from tall mountains to vast plains. You'll complete a circuit route that takes you North out of Nairobi to Mt. Kenya, then Southwest to Nakuru, on to Masai Mara, and back to Nairobi with lots of great stops along the way.

TYPE OF TRAVEL/DISTANCE: East Africa is a welcoming escape for travelers of all levels of experience. Travel between destinations is provided in four-wheel drive vans where everyone has a window seat. For the safari sections we'll open the roofs of these same vehicles for excellent wildlife viewing and photography. No previous experience is necessary.

WEATHER: In the area where most safaris take place, it gets very hot during midday and cools dramatically at night (50º-95ºF). "Rainy Seasons" are roughly mid-March through April and October to December, but rain is possible year-round.

YOUR GROUP: The group size typically ranges from 5 to 12 participants, plus one Wilderness Inquiry staff and several local guides. Each group consists of people of various ages, backgrounds and abilities, including people with disabilities.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Throughout the trip you will be staying in wonderful safari lodges, small hotels, and guest houses. Most trips also include one night tent camping in Maasailand. Wilderness Inquiry provides all camping gear.

MEALS: Kick back and relax while all meals are made for you. You'll indulge in a mix typical Kenyan and British cuisine, including beef, chicken, potatoes, rice and lots of fruit. The water in is not safe to drink out of the tap, but bottled water is readily available.

EQUIPMENT AND CLOTHING: Packing for the mild weather of Kenya is very straightforward, however a detailed equipment list will be sent to you upon confirmation.

SINGLE TRAVELERS: If you are traveling alone, you will feel at home with a welcoming group. When sharing rooms, we match same gender single travelers. If you would like to have your own room throughout the trip, you may purchase a single supplement for an additional $850. Please call us if you would like this option.

HEALTH: Simply put, it is important that you let your doctor know you are traveling to Kenya and make an appointment at least 4-6 weeks before your trip. This allows for adequate time to get new immunizations, if required, and ensure that others are up-to-date. You will also need a prescription for an anti malarial medication.

PASSPORT/VISA: Citizens from most countries are required to obtain a visa costing $25 USD. Visas can be obtained directly upon entry. Make sure that your passport is valid for at least six months starting from the date of entry.

[ Dates & Fees ]      

Kenya lies on the equator, and borders the Indian Ocean, Tanzania, and Uganda, among other countries. It has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean that changes to wildlife-rich savanna grasslands as you move inland towards the capital of Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder as you move towards Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snowcapped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards Lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region.

Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, lies next to a national park. The country is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park that attract tourists from all over the world.

Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater lake (after Lake Superior in the U.S. and Canada) and the world’s largest tropical lake, lies in the southwest part of Kenya and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania.

Mount Kenya, an imposing extinct volcano, dominates the landscape of the Kenyan Highlands east of the Rift. Mount Kenya lies about 140 kilometers north-northeast of Nairobi with its northern flanks across the equator. The mountain has three main peaks - Batian (5200 meters), Nelion (5188 meters), and Point Lenana (4985 meters). The mountain slopes are cloaked in forest, bamboo, scrub, and moorland that give way to rock, ice, and snow as you ascend in altitude.

Designated as both a Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, Mount Kenya covers 715 square kilometers. This reserve includes the peaks consisting of all the ground above 3200 meters with two small salients extending down to 2450 meters along the Sirimon and Naro Moru tracks. Surrounding the park is Mount Kenya National Reserve with an area of approximately 2095 square kilometers (517,000 acres).

The tourism sector has exhibited steady growth in most years since independence and by the late 1980s had become the country’s principal source of foreign exchange. Tourists, the largest number from Germany and the United Kingdom, are attracted mainly to the coastal beaches and the game reserves, notably, the expansive Tsavo National Park (20,808 square kilometers, or 5.14 million acres) in the southeast. Tourism has seen a substantial revival over the past several years and is the major contributor to the pick-up in the country's economic growth. Tourism now ranks as Kenya’s largest foreign exchange earning sector, followed by flowers, tea, and coffee.

Kenya’s human population remains quite diverse. About 41 million people live in Kenya, coming from 42 different peoples and cultures. Notable peoples include the Swahili on the coast, pastoralist communities in the north, and several different communities in the central and western regions. The Maasai culture is well known because of tourism, despite being a minor percentage of the Kenyan population. They are renowned for their elaborate upper body adornment and jewelry.

Recommended reading list:

Facing Mount Kenya, The Tribal Life of the Kikuyu by Jomo Kenyatta (Memoir): The story of the Kikuyu people of central Africa told by a countryman.

Enkop ai (my country): My Life with the Maasai by Catherine Oddile (Cultural Portrait)

No Picnic on Mount Kenya by Felice Benuzzi & Rick Ridgeway (Exploration): A thrilling story of escaping a prisoner of war camp to climb Mount Kenya.

Zara's Tales by Peter Beard (Memoir): Stories told to his daughter about life, about living and about Africa. Illustrated with photographs by Beard, a well known photographer.

Zanzibar Chest by Adrian Hartley (Travel Narrative): A journalist's story of life, love and death in Africa.

Dangerous Beauty: Life and Death in Africa by Mark Ross (Memoir): True stories told by a safari guide who survived being taken hostage in Uganda by Rwandan terrorists.

 

For more information, visit these links:

Kenya Tourist Board -- Official Website

Kenya Wildlife Service

Useful Swahili

[ Dates & Fees ]

2012 Dates		Fee
09/09/2012 - 09/20/2012		$3145	Register Now
2013 Dates		Fee
01/15/2013 - 01/26/2013		$3145	Register Now
09/08/2013 - 09/19/2013		$3145	Register Now
Transportation This trip includes airport transfer from Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, on the first evening of the trip. To make your travel arrangements for this trip we recommend that you consult with our travel agency, Travel One (800-245-1111). They are very familiar with our trips and can help you make the best flight connections at the best prices. Detailed meeting place instructions will be sent to you when you are confirmed for the trip.
Meeting Places:		Additional Round-trip Fee:
Nairobi, Kenya - Jomo Kenyatta International Airport		$0 (No charge)