1

You better drive to experience Kenya, it is worth it. You will experience a good scenery in the rift valley, meet locals and villages. You will also meet lots of the Maasai tribes on the way. You might see a few animals here and there like Zebras but you will have lots of that in the Maasai Mara.
The roads - you will experience both tarmacked roads as well as rough roads but not too bad. You will also get to learn more as you drive with the tour guides if you are getting one.

2

I enjoyed the drive. We crossed through some of the central highlands, into the Rift Valley, which was amazing, and then the transition into savannah. It's always fun to see the countryside and the people change. I learned a lot from the guide on the trip as well. I met a few people on the way, serendipitously, but I wouldn't count on it as you compare options. The roads closer to the park were obnoxious, but they're fine for most of those 4~5 hours.

That said, I imagine the flight is breathtaking too. It was also my first trip to Kenya.

3

For a different perspective, I recommend flying. I flew between the two and had a blast. We flew fairly low and were able to see several remote villages and some great scenery.

The real fun though was at the end when we got to the dirt airstrip and had to make a low pass and buzz the runway as there were a bunch of animals walking around, including a couple giraffe walking right down the middle of the strip. Once they all scattered we made a tight turn and came in for a landing.

A jeep from the camp picked us up at the strip and we had a great game sighting ride just getting from there to the camp.

Good luck.

4

the drive to Masai Mara is more fun! the excitement slowly starts to mount as the vast Kenyan landscape unfolds around you. We spotted zebra, giraffe, etc!

i suggest to drive there, and fly back!

enjoy!

5

I agree with #4. The drive in helps make you realize you are really in Africa and by the time you leave you will have had enough of rough roads.

6

Just wanting to second what laketraveller said :)

7

I am planning to travel to Kenya just as a quick weekend get away. I will have two full days there and would like to fit in as much as it is realistically possible including a safari.

Can someone recommend places to go, tour operators etc. my travel time is end of nov 2012, last minute plan.

8

My suggestion:

Day or overnight trip to Hells Gate National park - you can bike through a lovely park and see lots of wildlife (no cats though, or rhinos - rather giraffes, buffalo, zebra, gazelle. Then, take a boat ride on lake naivasha and see hippos. You can take public transportation or hire a driver to get you there. Let me know if you would like a recommendation for a driver

With your remaining time, you could also go to the Nairobi National Park which is an excellent place to see rhinos (and other animals, but again I doubt you will see any cats). You can hire a driver - any taxi will do though 4 wheel drive would be nice.

I my option you can't get much further than that from Nairobi in two days

I did do a flight to Amboseli National park, stayed one night, and then flew back to Nairobi. So that is also possible. If you would like to see elephants, this is the place. Absolutely exceptional.

It would also, I guess, be possible to fly to the Mara for an overnight stay. You could fly in in the morning, do a game drive in the afternoon, do a game drive the next morning, and then fly back to Nairobi in the afternoon. Again I would be happy to recommend to you a lodge that would do this. I stayed for two nights, and did four game drives, but I imagine one night is possible. This would be your chance to see lions and cheetah