About This Journey
Five days is the shortest sensible window for the Big Five in Kenya, and this is the route that does it without turning the trip into a driving marathon. Two parks, both excellent, both close enough to Nairobi that the transfers do not eat the days.
Amboseli comes first: dry lake bed, swamp, and the big-tusked elephants that made it famous, with Kilimanjaro filling the southern sky whenever the cloud lifts. Then the Masai Mara, the most consistently productive big-cat ground in East Africa, for two full nights.
Buffalo and elephant are effectively certain. Lion is very likely. Rhino and leopard are the two that decide whether you complete the five, and we would rather tell you that now than promise you a tick list.
Trip Highlights
- Amboseli's big-tusked elephant herds with Kilimanjaro behind them
- Two full nights in the Masai Mara — enough to actually find the cats
- All of the Big Five in range, with honest odds given on each
- Short transfers: no day wasted entirely in the vehicle
- Optional dawn balloon flight over the Mara
- Runs as a private trip or a scheduled small-group departure
Day by Day
Met in Nairobi and driven south towards the Tanzanian border, arriving at Amboseli in time for lunch. The landscape flattens and dries as you go, and the mountain begins to appear ahead of you.
An afternoon game drive takes you out across the pans as the light drops — the hour when the elephant families cross open ground and Kilimanjaro is most likely to be clear.
- LuxuryTortilis Camp · Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangeOl Tukai Lodge
- BudgetAmboseli Sopa Lodge
- Meals
- Lunch, Dinner
A full day in the park, structured around the two windows when Kilimanjaro is usually visible: first light and the last hour before sunset. In between, the swamps hold elephant, buffalo, hippo and enormous numbers of waterbirds.
Amboseli's elephants are among the most studied in the world and include some of the last really big-tusked bulls in Africa. Lion, cheetah and spotted hyena are all resident on the short grass.
- LuxuryTortilis Camp · Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangeOl Tukai Lodge
- BudgetAmboseli Sopa Lodge
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A long but scenic transfer west, climbing to the Rift Valley viewpoint before dropping towards the Mara. Travellers who would rather not spend the day driving can swap this for a light-aircraft flight — we are happy to price both.
Arrive in the afternoon and head straight out on a game drive. The Mara announces itself quickly.
- LuxuryGovernors' Camp · Sand River Masai Mara · Naboisho Camp
- Mid-rangeMara Intrepids Tented Camp · Mara Ngenche Safari Camp
- BudgetTalek Bush Camp · Oseki Maasai Mara Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Out at first light with a packed breakfast, which is how the Mara is best done — the cats hunt early and the light has gone by nine.
A full day gives you the range of the reserve: the river, the open plains where cheetah work, and the acacia country that holds leopard. Between roughly July and October the migration herds are here. A dawn balloon flight can be added at a supplement.
- LuxuryGovernors' Camp · Sand River Masai Mara · Naboisho Camp
- Mid-rangeMara Intrepids Tented Camp · Mara Ngenche Safari Camp
- BudgetTalek Bush Camp · Oseki Maasai Mara Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A final morning game drive, then either the road back to Nairobi or a forty-five minute flight from the reserve airstrip — the flight is the better use of a departure day and we recommend it.
Transfers are arranged around your onward flight. Diani, Zanzibar or a gorilla trek in Uganda all extend naturally from here.
- Meals
- Breakfast
What's Included
Included
- 4 nights' accommodation at your chosen tier, with all meals as indicated
- Private or small-group 4×4 with a pop-up roof and a window seat each
- Professional Kenyan driver-guide throughout
- All park and reserve entry fees
- Airport transfers and bottled drinking water in the vehicle
Not Included
- International airfares
- Kenya eTA
- Travel and medical insurance
- Light-aircraft flights, where you choose to fly rather than drive
- Balloon safari and other optional activities
- Alcoholic drinks, tips and items of a personal nature
Accommodation
Tortilis Camp
Governors' Camp
Ready to Plan This Safari?
Every trip we run is private and tailored around you — your dates, your pace, your budget. Tell us what you have in mind and one of our safari planners will craft it into a detailed, costed proposal.
Quoted per person sharing. The group departure price is lower than the private one because the vehicle and guide are shared — ask us which departures still have space.
