Africa · Kenya
A week of private safari with an Italian-speaking guide, from the Aberdares to Samburu, Nakuru and the Masai Mara, followed by seven all-inclusive nights on the beach in Malindi.
Quick facts
Indicative price from
€3,199
per person
This itinerary is a starting point: we'll adapt it with you in your tailor-made proposal.
Request informationTwo weeks in Kenya, split in half: the first in the parks, the second by the sea. The safari starts in the Aberdares, green mountains and forests where animals come to the lodge waterholes at night, and heads north to Samburu, an arid reserve with species found nowhere else, such as Grévy's zebra and the gerenuk. Then Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara, with the big cats and, in summer, the Great Migration.
The second week is on the Indian Ocean, in Malindi, with seven all-inclusive nights at Sandies Tropical Village, white sand and warm sea.
The safari is private, with an Italian-speaking driver-guide and a six-seat 4x4, and departs every day. We can change the beach hotel or extend the safari.
14 days in the programme
Departure from Nairobi with your Italian-speaking driver-guide, in the private 4x4. The road heads north for about three hours to the Aberdares, a mountain range covered in forest and bamboo, with peaks close to 4,000 metres. It was at a lodge in these forests that, in 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen, on the death of her father. In the evening, from the lodge, you watch elephants and buffalo coming to drink at the floodlit waterholes. Full board.
Leaving the mountains, the road heads north at the foot of Mount Kenya: at Nanyuki it crosses the equator. The landscape grows ever drier, all the way to the Samburu reserve, along the Ewaso Ng'iro River, land of the Samburu people, semi-nomadic herders close to the Maasai in language and customs. Check-in at the lodge and, in the afternoon, a first game drive along the river, where elephants come down to drink and bathe. Park fees included. Full board.
A full day of game drives in Samburu, with your driver-guide. Usually you go out at dawn and in the late afternoon, when the animals are most active, and return to the lodge in the hottest hours. You look for the northern special five, which do not live further south: Grévy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx, Somali ostrich and gerenuk, the antelope that stands on its hind legs to feed. Along the river you also see elephants and, with some luck, lions and leopards. Full board.
A transfer day, the longest of the safari: about six hours on the road heading south-west. The route passes through Nyahururu, where Thomson's Falls drop about 70 metres, then descends into the Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru. The alkaline lake is protected by a national park that is also a sanctuary for white and black rhinos. It is home to Rothschild's giraffe and a great many water birds, including flamingos, whose numbers vary greatly from year to year. Full board.
Leaving Nakuru, you cross the Rift Valley heading south-west. After Narok, the last town, the road gets rougher and the landscape opens onto the grasslands of the Masai Mara, about five hours' drive away. The reserve covers some 1,500 square kilometres and continues across the border as the Serengeti, in Tanzania. Check-in at the lodge and, in the afternoon, a first game drive among wildebeest, zebras, giraffes and antelopes, looking for the big cats. Full board.
A day devoted to the Masai Mara, with your driver-guide and the private 4x4. On the savannah you look for lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants and buffalo. From July to October the Great Migration arrives: more than a million wildebeest, with zebras and gazelles, move up from the Serengeti and cross the Mara River, where crocodiles lie in wait. Two optional experiences, booked separately: a hot-air balloon flight over the savannah at dawn and a visit to a Maasai village. Full board.
A last game drive at dawn, with low light over the savannah and the predators still active after the night. After breakfast at the lodge you set off for Nairobi: about six hours on the road, back through Narok and up the Rift Valley escarpment, with views down over the valley. Nairobi lies at almost 1,800 metres and evenings can be cool. Arrival in the city in the afternoon and night in Nairobi, the last stop of the safari before the coast.
Domestic flight from Nairobi to the coast, not included in the price: from the highlands to the humid heat of the Indian Ocean. Arrival in Malindi and check-in at Sandies Tropical Village, on the beach, where the all-inclusive stay begins. Malindi is a Swahili town facing the ocean, with a long beach of light sand. The rest of the day is for a first swim and some rest after the safari days.
A free day, all inclusive. One idea: a walk around the centre of Malindi. Vasco da Gama landed here in 1498 and found the pilot who guided him to India: the coral pillar he had erected still stands on the headland. Nearby is the little Portuguese Chapel, among the oldest churches in East Africa. The link with Italy is strong: many Italians live here and just to the north is the Italian space base. The rest of the time is for the resort's beach.
A free day, all inclusive. One idea: Malindi Marine Park, created in 1968, among the first marine parks in Africa. A glass-bottom boat takes you to the coral gardens, where you snorkel among parrotfish, butterflyfish and, with some luck, sea turtles. It is best to go at low tide, when the water over the reef is shallower and clearer. Optional excursion, booked separately.
A free day. One idea for an optional excursion south of Malindi, about half an hour by road. The Gede ruins are the remains of a Swahili town built of coral stone, inhabited between the 12th and 17th centuries and then abandoned: mosques, houses and a palace wrapped in forest. Nearby, Mida Creek is a mangrove inlet visited by many migratory birds. The day ends in Watamu, with its white beaches and small coves among the rocks.
A free day at Sandies Tropical Village, all inclusive, between the beach and the warm sea. On the Kenyan coast the tides are wide: at low tide the beach broadens and you can walk a long way on the sand. If you want to get out, an optional excursion goes to Marafa, about an hour inland: a sandstone canyon called Hell's Kitchen, with red, pink and white walls carved by rain and wind, best seen in the late afternoon, when the colours glow.
A last full day on the coast, all inclusive: one more swim in the Indian Ocean, an afternoon on the beach and time to pack calmly. If you feel like going out, Malindi's craft market sells wood carvings and kikoi and kanga, the colourful fabrics of the Swahili coast. Towards evening, an optional dhow trip, on the traditional sailing boat of the Indian Ocean, to watch the sunset from the sea.
End of the stay at Sandies Tropical Village and, depending on the flight time, departure for the airport and flight home.
