Hi,
I'm a planning a 10 days trip to Kenya, can you please advise on must see / not to miss places ?
I'm thinking of:
- Amboseli
- Lake Nakuru
- Masai Mara
- Tsavo
- Mombasa (and/or Lamu)
Also, appreciate if you can recommend a tour operator who can help organise it all. We will be 2 and looking to hire a private 4x4.
Looking forward to your feedback.
Many thanks,
Hi Electron!
It seems you have made your decision to come to Kenya! YEA!!!! A tour operator worth his or her salt would advise you that 10 days for this itinerary is just not enough time! It also depends on your interests(birds, the big 5, elephants, predators, views?). When are you planning ongoing? What is your budget like? You could do this only if you were flying everywhere, very pricey!!
If you can't possibly extend the time by a few more days, then I would suggest you try Lake Nakuru 1 night(Lake Bogoria if you want to see the flamingos), then Maasai Mara 3 nights, then fly to Mombasa or Lamu. An alternative, again assuming you cannot add a few days, is to go to Amboseli for 2 nights, Tsavo East for 2 , Tsavo West for 2, then on to Mombasa. You can fly back to Nairobi. While you CAN do your entire itinerary(although not in the order you have indicated), you will be driving all day every day...
I will recommend the Nairobi-based Tour operator that I have used for my last 3 trips, and wouldn't even consider coming to Africa without consulting my dear friend, Joyce at Asili Adventure Safaris. I emailed many tour operators, when planning my first trip and she was the only one who told me my tentative itinerary was not doable in 14 days. Similar to yours, but add in Samburu, Sweetwaters and Meru!!!), and that I would just be driving, driving, driving!!! I know much better now what the distances mean in Africa!!
Hi Electrontree,
I'll have to agree with franandbrian that 10 days will be painful to cover all those places. You'll probably just get frustrated that you don't have enough time to spend in any of the places. If you flew from Nairobi to the Coast and back then you could cover Nakuru, Maasai Mara and Amboseli in 6 or 7 days.
As far as Mombasa and/or Lamu goes - do Lamu! If you are going to fly to the coast, you may as well fly to Lamu. Different story if you are driving (if you do the Amboseli, Tsavo, Mombasa route suggested), the drive to Lamu is a bit tedious, so I would stop in Mombasa in that case.
You could do Mara OR Nakuru before the Amboseli, Tsavo Mombasa route ... but how long do you want on the coast? Instead of Tsavo, next door is Lumo Sanctuary which is worth considering. It's part of the same eco-system but smaller. Nice lodges in the park (Lion's Bluff and Sarova Saltlick).
The time of year will be a better decider as to where's best to go as well - migration in Mara, flamingos in Nakuru, raining in Mombasa, etc all impact on the final itinerary.
Cheers,
Tracey
There are plenty of "must see" places in Kenya and 10-day period is just short of seeing all of them. However with that said, you still have a good chance to make practical and effective use of your time.
You can achieve this by either minimizing the number of "must see" places or opting to fly to the various places of interest.
Sample itineraries:
Driving: Spend 1 night Mt. Kenya/Sweetwaters, 2 nights Samburu, 1 night Nakuru and 2/3 nights Maasai mara then fly out to Lamu direct for 2/3 nights.
Option two: Flying
Fly Amboseli 1 night, then to Samburu for 2 nights, then to mt. Kenya/Sweetwaters for 1 night followed by a flight to Maasai mara for 3 nights finishing up at Lamu for 3 nights.
Either of the options above are doable with the latter being a little more dearer in terms of cost.
Tsavo is a little bit out of the way if you still want to get the best out of the Northern circuit, not unless you increase the number of days to 12/14 as franandbrian recommends.
A good tour operator will see you through this critical planning stage. a good example being http://www.e-safaris.com
Most of the places that you have your mind set at are good year round, just weigh your budget and give a shot at a few tour operators mentioned here for price comparison.
Bon voyage!
Dear electrontree,
Hello!
In support of the above 10 days is short for all the mentioned parks. I would advise you ignore Tsavo and Amboseli if you must do the 10days. Then arrive Nairobi do:
1 Day Lake Nakuru
3 Days Maasai Mara then choose to fly to Mombasa for beach.
I happen to have used Maasai Trails East Africa this year october www.maasaitrailseastafrica.com, i would say excellent services and affordable