Kenya Safari Travel Experience
June 2, 2024 – June 11, 2024
Are you a lover of travel and wildlife on the hunt for an unforgettable trip? If your answer is “Yes!”, then an African Safari should really be a part of your travel bucket list!
By going on a safari, you will embark on the adventure of a lifetime, as you explore faraway places, surrounded by unique landscape and spectacular wildlife.
Itinerary:
Day One (Sunday, June 2, 2024) – Nairobi
Your flight arrives Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport late in the evening. You will be met outside of customs by our safari leader and drivers who will take you to the Boma Inn in time for a good night’s rest. At the hotel, you will be assisted with check in, and your luggage transported to your rooms. Located close to Nairobi National Park, yet only 5 km from the city center, The Boma Inn hotel is ideal for safari seekers in transit like us. Boma Inn offers very comfortable accommodations with world class facilities such as a spa and health club, swimming pool and sundeck and multiple restaurants. Meals included: None. Overnight: Boma Inn.
Day Two (Monday, June 3, 2024) – Aberdare National Park
This morning we will drive north to the Aberdare National Park in central Kenya, where we’ll enjoy lunch at the Aberdare Country Club The Aberdare National Park has an area of 767 sq. km (296 sq. miles) and covers the higher areas of the Aberdare Mountain Ranges of Central Kenya, from altitude of 1829 meters to 4001 meters (6000 ft. to 13127 ft.) above sea level. The topography is quite diverse with deep ravines that cut through the forested eastern and western slopes. Animals easily observed in the park include the Black Rhino, leopard, baboon, black and white Colobus monkey and Sykes monkey and a variety of birds. Rarer sightings include those of lions, the golden cat and the bongo, an elusive forest antelope that lives in the bamboo forest. Animals like the eland and spotted serval cats can be found higher up in the moorlands. After lunch, we’ll check into our rooms and spend the afternoon at The Ark Lodge. Set in the heart of the Aberdare National Park, The Ark Lodge is a tree-lodge which is iconic and yes, a bit quirky. The Ark overlooks a floodlit waterhole and salt lick, which attracts a host of awesome wildlife. It is uniquely shaped to resemble Noah’s Ark and is designed with decks from which numerous balconies and lounges provide superb vantage points for viewing the animals visiting the salt lick and waterhole. A ground-level bunker at the lodge provides excellent photographic opportunities, and the Yasabara waterhole is floodlit by night to enable all-night viewing of game. So as not to miss any animal sightings, the resident guide will buzz your room when special animals come to the waterhole. Simply throw on your provided robe and slippers, grab your camera and view nightlife at the waterhole! Elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, monkeys, and a wide range of birds are to be found here. Rhinos, bush hogs, leopards are also known to visit at late night hours. Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Overnight: The Ark Lodge.
Day Three (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)
– Samburu/Buffalo Springs
Today after breakfast and check out, we will drive north to Samburu region of Kenya located in a semiarid region in the northern parts of Kenya. Samburu National Reserve lies 325 km (202 miles) north of Nairobi in the warm and arid fringes of the vast northern region of Kenya. The Reserve is within the lands of the colorful Samburu people, close relatives of the Maasai, and harbors of several wildlife species rarely found elsewhere. These include Grevy’s zebra, the reticulated giraffe and Beisa oryx, all species found only north of the equator. The long-necked gerenuk is a graceful antelope which spends much of its time in a bi-pedal stance seeking succulence among the withered scrub which dots this terrain. The Ewaso Nyiro River which rises some hundreds of kilometers to the west on the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains, and which vanishes beyond Samburu in the recesses of the Lorian swamp, provides the lifeline to both wildlife, people, and their domestic animals. The river is at its best in the reserve, broad and sluggish with a large population of crocodile seen on sand banks at almost every bend. The river is fringed with giant acacias, figs and doum palms all of which provide shade and sustenance to the wildlife which comes to drink. One of the highlights of your visit to Samburu will be the tour of a native village. You will enjoy a game drive enroute arriving at our accommodations located along Ewaso Nyiro River in time for lunch. After checking into our rooms at the Ashnil Tented Camp which is spread out along the shady banks of the river under a thick stand of doum Palms, we will have time to relax before departing on our afternoon game drive. Our night will be spent in a luxury spacious tent which features a luxurious ensuite bathroom and its own private veranda overlooking the river. Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Overnight: Ashnil Samburu Camp.
Day Four (Wednesday, June 5, 2024)
– Samburu/Buffalo Springs
Morning and afternoon game drives will give us more opportunity to enjoy the unique game species, which are found only north of the Equator. Today, following breakfast, we will have an opportunity to visit a Samburu Village and learn about these pastoral people who are closely related to the Maasai tribe as well. These people still live the traditional life they have enjoyed for centuries. A village elder will escort you on a guided tour of the village and explain their way of life. Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Overnight: Ashnil Samburu Camp.
Day Five (Thursday, June 6, 2024) – Ol’ Pejeta Conservancy
Today we’ll travel south to Sweetwaters Tented Camp which lies in the heart of the privately owned Ol’ Pejeta Conservancy. This 24,000-acre reserve straddling the Equator enjoys magnificent views across the plains to the snowcapped peaks of Mount Kenya and has an abundance of wildlife and tropical vegetation. There are many advantages to visiting this private reserve, which means guests can enjoy special activities not permitted in most Kenyan National Parks and Reserves. It boasts a plethora of wildlife – lions, elephants, rhinos, and cheetahs and over 400 species of birds to name just a few. You will also visit Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary during your stay, the project initiated by Lonrho East Africa, Kenya Wildlife Services, and the Jane Goodall Institute, and the excellent information center on the grounds. For the night we’ll stay at a tented camp where you will enjoy magnificent views across the game studded plains while relaxing on the veranda of your tented accommodations. Built in the 1970s, the Camp’s main building was originally the residence of the ranch manager of this private reserve. Both the Sweetwaters Game Reserve and the sumptuous Ol’ Pejeta Ranch were once the private domain of famed multi-millionaire, Adnan Kashoggi. Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight: Sweetwaters Serena Tented Camp
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: Thanks to its private status, this camp offers optional unforgettable pleasures such as night game drives, guided bush walks and both horse and camel riding across its game teaming plains.
Day Six (Friday, June 7, 2024) – Lake Nakuru
Your southward journey takes you to Lake Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley, issued as a bird sanctuary in 1960 to protect the "greatest bird spectacle", Lesser Flamingoes, for the future generations. In 1968, Lake Nakuru was upgraded to a National Park where up to 350 different birds’ species can be spotted. Lake Nakuru National Park is the only fully fenced park in Kenya and has become very famous as a Rhino sanctuary. Both Black and White Rhino are found in the open grassland area of the park. Your afternoon game drive will also bring you close to rhinoceros, cape buffalo, zebra, lions, and baboon. Game drives here will give you more opportunities to view more bird life and the thriving population of antelopes such as impalas, gazelles, giraffe, and quite likely a leopard among the yellow barked acacia trees, or as some say, yellow fever trees. Tonight, we’ll stay at the Lodge where being inside the park will allow guests to view wildlife without even leaving their room Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Overnight: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge
Day Seven, Eight & Nine (Saturday, Sunday, Monday June 8, 9, 10, 2024) – Maasai Mara
Today you depart after breakfast traveling out of the Rift Valley and into the fabulous Maasai Mara National Reserve. The Maasai Mara Reserve covers 1670 sq. kms (645 sq. miles) and is part of the finest wildlife ecosystem in East Africa. The Mara is the northern extension of the Serengeti plains, with rolling grassland and riverine forests. It has more permanent water, a higher rainfall, and more wildlife residents than anywhere in East Africa. It is also home to the Maasai people who live and graze their cattle on the fringes of the park. The Mara is especially noted for its predators with large prides of lion, hyena, and cheetah being the focus. Elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, topi, hartebeest, and large herds of gazelle are also found here year-round. Hippos and crocodiles can be seen lying in secluded pools along the Mara River and its tributaries, ranging from extensive grassy plains, rounded hills, and dense tropical forest and acacia woodlands, it is also an exceptional place to see birds. Nights will be spent at the luxurious Ashnil Mara Camp which is arguably in one of the very best positions in the Masai Mara for game viewing and provides the perfect setting to sit and relax at the end of an exciting day of game drives or you can take a dip in the swimming pool or simply relax in a lounge chair And the restaurant serves set buffets featuring international and traditional African cuisine Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Overnight: Ashnil Mara Camp
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: During your stay, you may want to enjoy the ultimate safari experience. As the sun rises over the Maasai Kopjes, so the hot air balloon rises above the savannah and drifts for about an hour above the plains for an unforgettable bird’s-eye view of the wildlife below. Upon landing, a “champagne-style” full English breakfast is impeccably served in the bush before driving back to the lodge.
Day Ten (June 11, 2024) – Nairobi
After breakfast our group will travel by road back to Nairobi for and check-into our day rooms at Boma Inn where we’ll have the afternoon free for reorganizing and preparing for the trip home. We will spend our evening together with a farewell dinner, then transfer to the airport for your flight back home with lots of safari memories. Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Group Size:
This travel experience can accommodate up to 20 travelers.
Pricing:
The price is $5195 per person, based on double occupancy. $150 discount for past QTS tour travelers.
Single supplement is $795.
$1000 non-refundable deposit due at the time of booking.
$1500 non-refundable payment due by June 1st, 2023.
Final non-refundable payment due by February 21st, 2024.
What is Included:
• 9 nights & 1 day upgraded luxury, deluxe accommodations
o 1 night & 1 day at Boma Inn (or similar)
o 1 night at The Ark Lodge (or similar)
o 2 nights at Ashnil Samburu Camp (or similar)
o 1 night at Sweetwaters Serena Tented Camp (or similar)
o 1 night at Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge (or similar)
o 3 nights at Ashnil Mara Camp (or similar)
• All road transport, transfers, and daily game drives
• 20 meals including a farewell dinner on last day of main safari in Nairobi
• Park fees for visits to all game reserves and National Parks
• Services of professional naturalist and English-speaking driver guide
• Water in all buses during transfers and game drives
• Wi-Fi services (where available)
• Gratuities for wait staff, room attendants, and porters in the hotels/lodges/camps
What is Not Included:
• Airline flights
• Travel and entry Visa
• Travel Protection (QTS will provide you with a quote)
• Gratuities for drivers and naturalist
• Optional activities (village visits, balloon flights, night game drives, etc.)
• Beverages consumed at lodges other than tea and coffee
• Personal expenses such as shopping, meals not included in the itinerary, and alcoholic beverages
To join us on this experience, please fill out the registration form link here:
https://form.jotform.co/QTSolutions/RegistrationForm
For more information:
Don Capparella
info@qualitytravelsolutions.com or 602-614-6679
Optional Nairobi Pre-tour:
• Boma Inn: $125 pp/double occupancy per night
• Boma Inn: $150 pp/single occupancy per night
• Extra day tour: $160 pp (minimum 2 guests required). Potential activities: Elephant orphanage, giraffe center, Karen Blixen Home/museum or visit and support a local women’s project. If guests are interested in this option, reservations must be made 4 months prior to the safari and 2 of the above activities will be scheduled based on the interests of the guests enrolled.
