Kenya: Amboseli, Tsavo and the Diani Coast

Arrive in Nairobi

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to your hotel in Nairobi

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Nairobi
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Soir

Then we drive about half an hour into the city centre, past the matatu minibuses and office towers, for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, a first taste of nyama choma, Kenya's grilled meat, with kachumbari salad, sukuma wiki greens and ugali. Pack tonight with the morning train in mind.

Compris

• Pick-up at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner in central Nairobi, with transfers

By train to Emali, then Amboseli

Nairobi Terminus by the Madaraka Express to Emali, then Kimana and Amboseli National Park

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Amboseli
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

An early breakfast at about 6 am, then a short transfer to Nairobi Terminus at Syokimau for the 8 am Inter-County train on the Madaraka Express, the standard gauge line to the coast; this is the one start before 8 am that is not for wildlife. About an hour and a half later we step off at Emali, on the plains south-east of the city, where our own 4x4s and driver-guides are waiting; they drove down empty so you do not have to sit through the Mombasa Road traffic. From Emali it is about two hours south past Maasai grazing land and the farms around Kimana to Amboseli, with Kilimanjaro rising ahead if the cloud allows.

Après-midi

Lunch is at our lodge. Amboseli is a small park, about 392 sq km, built around swamps fed by underground water from Kilimanjaro's snowmelt, and its elephants have been studied by researchers since the 1970s, so many families here are known by name. In the late afternoon, when the heat goes out of the day, we drive out to the swamps for the first game drive until the light fades.

Compris

• Madaraka Express, Nairobi to Emali, first class
• Lunch and dinner at the lodge
• Late-afternoon game drive in Amboseli National Park, park fee included

A full day under Kilimanjaro

A full day in Amboseli National Park

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Amboseli

Matin

We leave the lodge at first light with coffee and a packed breakfast, because Kilimanjaro, just over the border in Tanzania, is usually clearest at dawn and often hides in cloud by late morning. The plan is to be by the swamps as the elephant families walk in from the dry plains to drink and feed, with the mountain behind them. Buffalo, hippos, zebras, wildebeest and many water birds share the swamps; lions, cheetahs and hyenas are possible, never promised.

Après-midi

Mid-morning we climb Observation Hill for the view across the swamps and the dry lake bed, then return to the lodge for lunch and a free middle of the day. Those who want to stretch their legs can walk for about an hour and a half on community land outside the park with a Maasai guide, learning how herders and elephants share the grazing.

Soir

In the late afternoon we drive out again, back by dark for dinner.

Compris

• Dawn game drive in Amboseli
• Observation Hill viewpoint
• Late-afternoon game drive
• Guided walk on community land with a Maasai guide
• All meals at the lodge

Activités en option

• Hot-air balloon flight at sunrise (price confirmed at booking)

Lava and springs in Tsavo West

Amboseli to Kimana and the Chyulu gate, then the Shetani lava flow and Mzima Springs in Tsavo West

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Tsavo West
• Environ 3.5 h de route

Matin

After a last short drive by the swamps and breakfast, we head east past Kimana and enter Tsavo West National Park at the Chyulu gate, about three and a half hours of mostly gravel road with game viewing on the way. Tsavo West is rougher and greener than Amboseli, with volcanic cones and lava fields below the Chyulu Hills. We stop at the Shetani lava flow, a black field of jagged rock left by an eruption a few centuries ago, and walk a short way onto it with the guide. Late in the morning we reach Mzima Springs, where water filtered underground from the Chyulu Hills rises into clear pools. A path leads along the bank to an underwater hide where, with luck, you watch hippos and fish through the glass; crocodiles bask on the far side, so a ranger walks with us.

Soir

Lunch is at our lodge, then the afternoon is free until a sunset drive near the lodge.

Compris

• Short morning drive in Amboseli
• Shetani lava flow
• Mzima Springs and the underwater hide, with a ranger
• Lunch and dinner at the lodge
• Sunset game drive in Tsavo West, park fee included

Across the line to Tsavo East

Tsavo West to the Tsavo River gate and Manyani, then Mudanda Rock in Tsavo East

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Tsavo East
• Environ 4 h de route

Matin

We drive out of Tsavo West after breakfast towards the Tsavo River, where the old railway bridge stands near the spot where two lions killed railway workers in 1898, a story your guide tells on the way. We cross the Mombasa Road and the railway at Manyani and enter Tsavo East, about four hours in all including game viewing, broken by a coffee stop. Tsavo East is flat, open and dry, and its elephants are often coated red from dust-bathing in the red earth. We stop at Mudanda Rock, a long ridge of rock above a natural water hole where elephants come to drink in the dry season, and stretch our legs on top.

Après-midi

Lunch is at our lodge, a free hour by the pool, then the late-afternoon drive takes us towards the Aruba Dam, where the reservoir draws buffalo, elephants and antelope, and where lions and cheetahs are possible.

Soir

Dinner is at the lodge.

Compris

• Tsavo River and the railway bridge
• Mudanda Rock
• Lunch and dinner at the lodge
• Late-afternoon game drive to the Aruba Dam, park fee included

First light in Tsavo, then the train to the coast

Tsavo East to Voi station, the Madaraka Express to Mombasa Terminus, then Diani Beach

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Diani Beach
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

A last drive in Tsavo East at first light, when animals are moving and the air is cool, then breakfast back at the lodge and a short drive to Voi station.

Après-midi

Here we say goodbye to our 4x4 driver-guides and board the Inter-County train on the Madaraka Express that stops at Voi around midday, about two to two and a half hours across the bush and down to the coastal plain, with a packed lunch in the carriage. Watch from the window as the dry scrub turns to coconut palms and green farms. At Mombasa Terminus in Miritini a minibus meets us for the drive south on the Dongo Kundu bypass to Diani Beach, about an hour and a half, arriving at about 4.30 to 5 pm. Diani runs for about 17 km of white sand on the Indian Ocean, sheltered by a coral reef.

Soir

There is time for a swim before dinner at the hotel, and the evening is free to walk the beach.

Compris

• Early game drive in Tsavo East
• Madaraka Express, Voi to Mombasa, first class
• Transfer to Diani Beach
• Dinner at the hotel

Diani: the kaya forest and the beach

Diani Beach and the Kaya Kinondo forest

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Diani Beach
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

Early in the morning, before the heat, a guide from the local Digo community walks us through Kaya Kinondo, one of the Mijikenda kaya forests, a community-run site on this coast. For about an hour and a half we follow narrow paths under the trees, hear how the kaya was a fortified village and is still a place of prayer, and learn which plants are used as medicine. Visitors wear a cloth wrap, lent at the gate, and the elders' rules are explained before we enter. Then the day is yours. Swim inside the reef, read in the shade, or choose an option: a half day in Shimba Hills National Reserve, the only place in Kenya with sable antelope, with a walk to Sheldrick Falls; a dhow and snorkelling day at Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park; or the Colobus Conservation centre in Diani.

Après-midi

Lunch is on your own.

Soir

In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner.

Compris

• Guided walk in the Kaya Kinondo sacred forest
• Farewell dinner

Activités en option

• Shimba Hills National Reserve half day with the Sheldrick Falls walk (price confirmed at booking)
• Dhow and snorkelling day at Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park (price confirmed at booking)
• Colobus Conservation visit, Diani

Mombasa Old Town and home

Diani Beach by the Likoni ferry to Mombasa Old Town, then Moi International Airport

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we check out and drive north to the Likoni ferry, the short crossing onto Mombasa Island, and on to Fort Jesus, about an hour and a half in all. The fort was built by the Portuguese in the 1590s, fought over by Omani Arabs and later used by the British as a prison, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We go in near opening time with a local guide, before the tour buses, then walk into the Old Town for about two hours: carved Swahili doors, the old harbour where dhows once tied up, the Mandhry Mosque and the spice and fruit stalls near the market.

Après-midi

Lunch is at a Swahili restaurant in the Old Town, with biryani, coconut fish or pilau. Then your guide sees you to Moi International Airport (MBA), about 30 minutes away, and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm; for an earlier flight we go straight to the airport.

Compris

• Fort Jesus, entry included, with a local guide
• Guided walk in Mombasa Old Town
• Lunch in the Old Town
• Drop-off at Moi International Airport (MBA)