Kenya small group trips

June to October is the long dry season, with cool mornings, short grass and, from about July, the migration herds. January to March is warm and dry with resident wildlife and fewer vehicles. We do not run in April and May, the long rains, when many Mara camps close.

Answer for Kenya: Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara

Not very. Walking is limited to a flat walk on Crescent Island and an optional two-hour bush walk. The effort is early starts, around 6 am, but only on game-drive days, and long hours seated on bumpy, dusty tracks. You can skip a dawn drive and rest at camp instead.

Answer for Kenya: Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara

A room or tent of your own is from CAD 1,200 more than the shared price, shown before you book with no surprise later. Solo travellers are seated, fed and guided exactly like everyone else, and the window-seat rule applies to you too.

Answer for Kenya: Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara

Yes, every guest gets a window. The small group runs with 7 to 12 guests, and we put at most 6 in each 4x4, so a full group uses two vehicles. Each has a pop-up roof, so you can stand to watch and photograph at every sighting.

Answer for Kenya: Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara

Conservancies border the reserve on land leased from Maasai families. They limit how many vehicles gather at a sighting, let guides drive off the track, and allow walks and sometimes night drives, none of which the reserve permits. We still spend a full day inside the reserve, with its fee included.

Answer for Kenya: Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara

Most visitors, including Canadians, need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), applied for online before you fly. It replaced the old visa on arrival. Apply in good time, and check with a travel clinic about yellow fever and malaria advice for the Mara and the Rift Valley.

Answer for Kenya: Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara

July and August fit school holidays and usually bring the migration herds to the Mara, with more vehicles. March break falls in the warm dry season, with resident wildlife and fewer people. We do not run in April and May, the long rains, when many Mara camps close.

Answer for Kenya: Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru for three generations

Not very. Walking is light: about two and a half hours in Stone Town and short paths at camp. Most days have under four hours of road. Day 4 is the exception: about four and a half hours plus the border, reaching Arusha around 7 pm. Every start before 8 am is a wildlife start, and you can sit out any game drive.

Answer for Nairobi to Zanzibar: the Masai Mara, the Serengeti and the coast by land

A room or tent of your own is from CAD 1,650 more than the twin-share price, shown up front. Solo travellers get the same rotating window seat, a place at every group meal and the same guide as everyone else; tell us when you book if you would rather share and we will see whether a roommate is available.

Answer for Kenya and Tanzania: the Masai Mara, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro

The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in two 4x4s, at most six guests in each, so every guest has a window and room to stand under the pop-up roof. Seats rotate daily, so everyone gets turns at the front.

Answer for Kenya and Tanzania: the Masai Mara, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro