16 Days Kenya Safari & Beach Tour to Mombasa

Your first glimpse of Kenya will be as you jet into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.  Kenya is home to dozens of wildlife parks and reserves, hundreds of miles of white sand beaches, millions of awe-inspiring animals, fascinating prehistoric sites, and a range of local tribes, each with their own language and culture.

Just before your plane touches down at the airport in Nairobi, you will have a great view of Nairobi National Park. The day is yours to rest at your hotel or do some preliminary sightseeing in the city.

Optional activities you can choose to do today include visiting the Giraffe Center, where endangered Rothschild giraffes are cared for, touring the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage Trust, a haven for orphaned baby elephants, or exploring the Karen Blixen Museum to learn more about the Danish author of Out of Africa.

Meal Plan: – Dinner

Activities & Services: –

• Pick up from the airport
• Transfer to the hotel

Your day of the 16 days Kenya safari & beach tour to Mombasa begins at 7.30 am. You’ll embark on a beautiful drive of around 5 hours north past Mount Kenya, Africa’s second tallest mountain (5,199m) to Samburu Reserve, northern Kenya’s most popular park. You’ll arrive in time for lunch at your lodge for the next 3 nights.

This afternoon, you get your first real taste of Samburu wilderness on an afternoon game drive. The 165km² park was established in 1985 and is situated on the banks of the EwasoNyiro River, along whose banks both big game and vegetation flourish.

The river runs through the park and provides life-giving water to the game in this semi-arid environment – without which, the animals could not survive. Samburu is a peaceful park that is much quieter than the majority of east Africa’s other reserves, but it still boasts an astonishing variety of African safari big game animals.

Of great interest are the rare and localized species, including the adorable long-necked Gerenuk, the regal Beisa Oryx, the Reticulated Giraffe, and the ultra-striped Grevy’s Zebra. These four animals together with the blue-legged Somali Ostrich make up the “Samburu Special 5”, and you’ll hopefully tick off all five easily.  After a game drive, return to your lodge or camp for dinner and overnight. at lodge or camp

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx.300km/5½ hours

Activities & Services: –

• Drive to Samburu
• Afternoon game drive

Optional Activity:-

• Night game drive

Today, enjoy an early breakfast at your lodge, have your packed picnic lunch and go on a full day of game drive in Samburu, as the sun rises.  Sunrise is the best time for spotting wildlife as animals tend to be the most active during the “golden hours” when the first rays of sunshine come to rest on the savannah.

Alternatively, you can also choose to drive back to the lodge for lunch after a morning game drive, then set out again in the afternoon after some relaxation. You can plan your day as you like with your guide. Samburu is a predator haven for Lion, Leopard, cheetahs, and even the rare and elusive striped hyenas.

Big game species include elephants, Buffalo, Hippos, and many antelope species like Grant’s gazelle, Dik-dik, Impala, Waterbuck, and Kudus.

Samburu is also home to over 450 bird species, including the charismatic Vulturine Guineafowl, the Somali bee-eater, the Taita falcon, the Golden pipit, and the Secretarybird. The EwasoNyiro River also contains massive Crocodiles, and the Critically Endangered African Pancake Tortoise also calls the reserve home.

After a wonderful day in Samburu, return to your camp for dinner and relaxation.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services: –

• Drive to Samburu National Reserve
• Samburu afternoon game drive

Optional Activity:-

• Visit a Samburu a traditional village
• Guided walking safari

Night game drive

After breakfast, take a drive of about five hours south to Lake Nakuru. The drive is spectacular with scenic stops en route at the Great Rift Valley viewpoint. You arrive at your lodge in time for lunch before embarking on an afternoon game drive.

Lake Nakuru is one of the soda lakes in the Great Rift Valley and is protected by the 188km² Lake Nakuru National Park. Flanked by rocky escarpments, pockets of dense forest, and waterfalls, the park is beautiful and you’ll get some great photographs here. You hope to see the endangered White and Black rhinos, rare Rothschild giraffe, lion, and if you’re lucky the elusive leopard.

There is a stunning view from baboon cliffs above the lake, and here you may see the small furry Rock hyrax, which is related to the elephant! Lake Nakuru is also home to large flocks of pelicans, as well as African Fish Eagles, Little Grebes, Goliath Herons, Hamerkops, and Kingfishers – so there’s plenty to see! After a game drive, return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Please Note: Lake Nakuru has been famous for the vast population of flamingos (sometimes over 1.5 million of them at one time) who come to the lake to mate and feed. But since 2014, the rising water levels from heavy flooding have significantly reduced this phenomenon, shrinking their breeding and feeding grounds. A safari in Lake Nakuru still delivers some of Kenya’s best wildlife viewings.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – About. 250km/5 hours

Activities & Services: –

• Drive to Lake Nakuru

Afternoon game drive

After breakfast on day six of your 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour, set out on a scenic drive of about 4 hours across the Rift Valley to the world-famous Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Affectionately known as the Mara, Masai Mara is one of the world’s greatest wildlife reserves and is home to the annual Great Wildebeest Migration, recognized as one of the 7 New Wonders of the World.

It is a classic African savannah reserve, with golden grass, blue skies, towering escarpments, occasional trees, and rocky hills. The Masai word ‘Mara’, meaning spotted, refers to these dots in the landscape. The reserve boasts a wealth of wonderful wildlife, including some of the largest populations of lion, leopard, hyena, and cheetah in Africa and over 470 different kinds of birds.

Nowhere on the continent is wildlife more abundant, and you’re almost guaranteed to see the Big Five – Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion, and Rhino. You’ll reach in the afternoon, check in, enjoy lunch, relax and then depart on an exciting late afternoon game drive.

You’ll stay out in the park until sunset and hopefully, you can find some predators as they start to become more active at this time.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 237km/4 hours

Activities & Services: –

• Drive to Masai Mara
• Afternoon game drive

On day 7 of your 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour, you will have a full day in the wonderful Masai Mara. Your safari wildlife game drive will begin before sunrise as wildlife is most active in the morning and late hours of the day.

Few predators hunt during the heat of the day, so the early morning is the best time to observe the thrill of the chase, or at least the aftermath of a hunt. And if you’re lucky, you could spot a cheetah chasing down a gazelle or a lion taking down a wildebeest or a Buffalo.

To properly enjoy this full day of adventure, you have a bush picnic lunch and plenty of drinking water available.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Mara Leisure Camp/Mara Serena Lodge/ Ashnil Mara Camp

Midrange: – Mara Sopa Lodge/Basecamp Masai Mara/Jambo Mara Lodge

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services: –

• Morning game drive
• Maasai village visit

Optional Activities:-

• Hot Air Balloon ride
• Bush breakfast
• Sundowner

Head out on another game drive into the Mara on day 8 of your 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour. Look out for the species that may be returning from their nocturnal forays/waking up and getting ready for the day.

Remember to bring extra camera batteries; the Mara is a photographer’s paradise with stunning African scenery and ideal weather conditions.

This is where the BBC Television nature documentary series “Big Cat Diary” was filmed. The Great Migration, one of the greatest natural spectacles in the world, occurs here every year from around July and October.

This is when over two million Wildebeests, Gazelles, and Zebras trek across the crocodile-infested Mara River in the Maasai Mara, searching for fresh pasture.

You will return to the lodge later in the afternoon for lunch and some downtime. In the late afternoon, visit an authentic Maasai village to learn about the interesting culture of the famous MaasaiPeople. Your guide will lead you through the village as you discover their traditions and beliefs, and daily practices like demonstrations of how to make fire using sticks.

At the end of the tour, you can buy some gift items/curios made by the villagers – a chance to give back to the local community.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services: –

• Masai Mara full day game drive

Optional Activity:-

• Hot air balloon safari

On day one of your 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour, enjoy one last morning game drive in Masai Mara and drive to Lake Naivasha, where you arrive in time for lunch. The lake has floating islands of papyrus reeds and a border of flat-topped acacias. It’s also home to a healthy population of hippos and a tremendous variety of birds.

In the afternoon, you will enjoy a relaxing boat cruise with close-up views of hippos, waterbucks, and countless waterbirds. There is a variety of optional activities you can opt to do, including a walking safari on Crescent Island, as you stroll among giraffes, zebra, and other peaceful, relaxed animals.

You can also visit local artisans for a handcraft demonstration or drive to the nearby Hells Gate National Park for game viewing. Without predatory animals, the park is safe for walking, cycling, rock climbing, bird watching, and trekking through the lower gorge among the geysers.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 232km/3-4 hour drive

Activities & Services: –

• Drive to Lake Naivasha

Boat cruise & relaxation

After an early breakfast today, leave Naivasha and drive south for about 5 hours to Amboseli National Park, near the border with Tanzania. Amboseli was established as a national park in 1974 and declared an International Biosphere Reserve in 1991. Covering just 392km², this park is a core part of the Greater Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem, a massive area of over 8000km².

Its top attraction is the sight of hundreds of huge-tusked elephants set against the backdrop of the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s tallest peak at 5895m and the world’s free-standing mountain. It’s one of the most iconic images of Africa.

On arrival, you will enjoy lunch and have some time to relax. Then set out on an evening game drive in search of Amboseli’s incredible wildlife. You could see its famously photogenic elephants and fierce predators like lion, leopard, hyena, and cheetah, as well as their prey such as Buffalo, Giraffe, Zebra, and Antelope. Return to your accommodation at sunset for dinner and overnight.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 320km/5 hours

Activities & Services: –

• Drive to Amboseli
• Afternoon game drive

After breakfast on day ten of your 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour, enjoy a full day in Amboseli with sensational views of Mt Kilimanjaro. You will have morning and late afternoon game drives, returning to your lodge in the heat of the day for lunch and relaxation.

Amboseli is known for being the best destination in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants.

About 1500 elephants live in the park which features some of the largest body and tusk sizes in Africa. Elephants can be found everywhere in the park, enjoying the waters of the marshes, walking across the park led by a trusted matriarch, or, occasionally, posing against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro.

On your game drive, also look out for Yellow baboons, Black-backed jackals, Honey badgers, Bat-eared foxes, fringe-eared Oryxes, Giraffes, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Serval, and Warthog. Bird watchers will be enthralled by over 420 species.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services: –

• Full-day game drive

Optional Activity:-

• Visit the Amboseli Elephant Research Project Centre
• Visit one of the local Masai villages

After a good breakfast today, set off on a 3-hour drive further southwest to wild Tsavo National Park. As part of the wider Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem, something is remarkable about Tsavo – a feeling of vast space and ancient magic of the truly wild.

Thick red soils stain the leathery skins of its elephants, and the sight of a herd of red elephants crossing the Tsavo River beneath lush palms is memorable. The incredible beauty of Tsavo captured the heart of Denys Finch Hatton, an English aristocratic big-game hunter in a way no other wild space ever had, and it was here that he was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed.

Tsavo has not had an easy road, from untimely deaths to man-eaters and poaching wars, but now, Tsavo East and West together account for the largest protected places in Kenya with over 2 million hectares and it is one of the world’s largest protected wilderness areas. You’ll arrive at your lodge in Tsavo West National Park in time for lunch.

Then go on an afternoon game drive in search of lions, buffalos, elephants, kudus, klipspringers, and more.

After a game, return to the lodge for dinner, and  overnights at camp or lodge

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services: –

• Drive to Tsavo

Game drive

Today, enjoy a whole day in Tsavo.

The park is topographically fascinating with dramatic mountains and inselbergs that are a result of recent and ancient volcanic eruptions.

At the base of the volcanic Chyulu Hills, a natural reservoir of water permeates through the permeable rock before eventually emerging, filtered, at Mzima Springs. Here, you can enter a glass viewing chamber to see the life beneath the surface of a crystal-clear pool, including Crocs, Hippos, and thousands of primeval-looking fish.

Near amazing Mzima springs, are the wonderful Shetani lava flows, a vast expanse of folded black lava that spreads for 50km² across the savannah are now inhabited by agile klipspringers, ubiquitous hyraxes, and lounging leopards. “Shetani” means “devil” in Swahili; the flows were formed by a volcanic eruption around 200 years ago and local people believed that it was the devil himself emerging from the earth.

After exploring Tsavo, return to your lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnig

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services: –

• Full-day safari in Tsavo

Today, you will leave the African bush with its incredible wildlife and head to the coast and its beautiful, tropical beaches. Your 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour takes you to Mombasa Diani Beach, a long-time traveler favorite, with a long stretch of soft, powder-white sand and an excellent and vast choice of hotels and countless restaurants.

This afternoon you’re free to relax from your safari by taking a refreshing dip in a private swimming pool, followed by a sundowner on your lavish veranda overlooking from high the white sand beach and the Indian Ocean, cooled by the early evening tropical breezes.

You can enjoy delicious seafood offerings paired with exquisite wines before falling asleep to the soothing sounds of the ocean.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Spend your day fourteen of the 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour at leisure relaxing and swimming, sunbathing at the beach hotel, and strolling along the beach. However, there are a variety of other activities to enjoy. You will be spoilt for choice when you see what activities the beach resort offers, noting that some may be at extra cost. Here are the suggested activities:-

• Snorkeling to see some of the stellar underwater life which could include spotting wild dolphins.
• Cruise on a traditional sailboat
• If you’re feeling adventurous, try kitesurfing, windsurfing, skydiving, standup paddle boarding; deep-sea fishing, jet skiing, or go scuba diving.
• Discover Kaya Kinondo, a forest revered by the Digo people and the only sacred forest open to visitor. You can take a guided nature walk through the small grove, stepping over chunks of ancient coral and tangled roots as you discover medicinal plants and an ancient tree believed to take away fears and worries.
• Visit the 16th-century Kongo Mosque, Diani’s last surviving relic of the ancient Swahili civilizations that once controlled the coast. Consider bringing a packed lunch with you to enjoy a picnic under the baobab trees that are clustered here.
• Tour the Colobus Conservation Center to view the injured or orphaned Colobus, Sykes’, and the Vervet monkeys who are receiving rehabilitation.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Swahili Beach Resort/AfroChicDiani Beach /Baobab Beach Resort

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Today you’ll have the whole day to discover a sunseeker’s paradise, Diani Beach, at your own pace. You can choose from a host of water-related activities as well as plenty of restaurants to try and sights to see. Otherwise, you can enjoy a quiet day suntanning or dipping into the clear turquoise water.

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 16: Depart

After a hearty breakfast at the resort/hotel and your check-out, our company representative will pick you up and transfer you to the airport. You will fly to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to take your flight home. This marks the end of this amazing 16 days Kenya safari & Mombasa beach tour.