So I see SOOO many requests on here for people looking for advice on the nuances of booking/choosing a safari, often from first timers, so I thought I would share my experience, after over a year of planning.
We are a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids, 18 and 15) and we were celebrating a number of special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) and wanted an experience of a lifetime
I started the research by going OLD SCHOOL and getting brochures from a travel agent!
We were limited to school holidays so the timings were kinda chosen for us. (Late March-early April, and we had a number of things on our “must have” list.
They were
1 week on safari, 1 week on the beach
Something for kids to do when NOT on drives (pool was a must!)
All inclusive throughout for accommodation
Minimising the amount of time spent driving between camps
Variety and likelihood of viewings
Private driver throughout
We looked at LOTS (and I mean LOTS!) of options, from Amboseli, Tsavo, Ol Pejeta, Nakuru and various others. Most of the “international agents” were pushing pre-built itineraries of 2-3-4 different camps with a night or two in each. But basic research showed that there were often 4-6 hour drives between each one (and internal flights x4 really pushed prices up!)
This is ONE example of the driving BETWEEN lodges from one sample itinerary for some context
Nairobi - Amboseli National Park- Approx. 4.5 hrs driving time
Amboseli- Lake Naivasha - Approx. 340 Kilometres (6 hrs driving time)
Lake Naivasha- Masai Mara - Approximately 5 hrs driving time
Masai Mara – Lake Nakuru National Park- Approx. 4.5 hrs driving time
Lake Nakuru - Nairobi – Mombasa- Approx. 3.5 hrs driving time (up to Nairobi)
We decided (especially with 2 kids getting bored in a truck!) that this would eat FAR too much into our time actually doing what we wanted to do (See animals!)
SO we made the call to do a week in the Mara in ONE lodge, followed by one week on the Beach in Diani/Galu. This was ratified by talking to a local agent who basically was the only one who LISTENED to our requirements, and actually talked us OUT of doing 2 safari camps due to the distances/time drags.
We then researched a number of lodges that had been proposed and, due to the quality offered (bearing in mind we had a fixed-ish budget!), narrowed it down to 3-4 lodges in each place that met our criteria
The key things for us were
Safari element :
PRIVATE driver (this was the best decision we made)
Pool at lodge
2 tents (one for adults, one for kids) rather than a large “family” room
Wi-Fi (I know, but I have teenagers!)
Access to the National Park, AS WELL as conservancy for night drives)
ALL INCLUSIVE is a MUST (for budget adherence)
Quality of accommodation
Private Butler service
Beach element:
All inclusive
POOLS! (My boys are big “water babies”
Direct Beach access
Trips available from the hotel (snorkelling, boat trips, etc)
Activities during the day and evening
NICE accommodation (again in TWO rooms)
Spa Facilities
Boutique -ish resort (don’t want to be amongst 200 people fighting for the buffet!)
In the end, we settled on
Neptune Hotels Mara Rianta Luxury Tented Camp
https://www.neptunehotels.com/neptune-mara-rianta-luxury-tented-camp/
And the
Neptune Palm Beach Boutique Resort & Spa
https://www.neptunehotels.com/neptune-palm-beach-boutique-resort-spa/
These both ticked all OUR boxes (yours may vary!)
We then set about contacting a number (4-5) of different travel companies with this itinerary in mind and getting quotes accordingly
As others have mentioned, there is a LOT of upselling involved when talking to agents, who REALLY want to push either certain camps or certain itineraries. Some didn’t seem interested in building anything bespoke like this.
The experience.
We arrived in Nairobi late evening (direct flight from London) and went straight to the Airport Crowne Plaza, where we had a simple check-in and went to bed, knowing we were being collected early the following morning. (2 rooms, but at check-in, they were kind enough to give us connecting rooms!)
Up at 0730 for collection at 0830, when we were collected by our driver who would stay with us for the whole week in a MASSIVE, specially adapted Land Cruiser.
A couple of hours' drive took us to the Great Rift Valley lookout, where we stopped for a break (We stopped in Nairobi quickly for breakfast on the way too!) for half an hour to stretch our legs and grab photos.
Another 3 hours from there took us to our camp for the week!
The one thing to bear in mind is that the roads are NOT roads. Once we were off the main roads, there was still 2.5 hours to go on pothole ridden tracks, with an average speed of about 15 mph.
But once we arrived at Mara Rianta, it was all worth it!
Greeted with ice-cold towels and a welcome drink at reception, our bags were whisked away and we were shown to our tents.
It was at this point, that the manager explained that due to the Middle East crisis and flights being cancelled etc, that we were the ONLY guests in the hotel all week !!
We had a private hotel to ourselves (with about 20 staff running around after us!)
Up early the next morning (0630 wake up with coffee, hot chocolate and snacks served by our butler in the room!) and off to breakfast, and a 0730 game drive.
It did take about 30 minutes to GET to the Mara due to the state of the roads (they had some VERY heavy rain the week before we got there), but once in the park, we had the whole day to do as we wished. The hotel had packed us a picnic lunch, which we stopped for in a very beautiful scenic location under a Baobab tree, and wildlife sightings were good.
Having a private driver meant that WE chose the itinerary. For example, we stayed on a lion pride hunting warthog for almost an hour (they were unsuccessful!), but the thrill of staying with them as they hunted was incredible. There was no pressure from someone else not wanting to do the same thing. Stayed on a couple of lion kills for a while before going off looking for an elusive leopard sighting.
Back to the hotel around 6pm when park closed for casual dinner and drinks for the evening before an early night for the next day's activity
The next day was more of the same, and again, WE chose the day's activities. Another kill, more lions, and enough wildlife to shake a stick at!
Day 3 was VERY early with a 0430 wake-up so we could go and do Hot Air Balloon Safaris at sunrise. That was an experience of a lifetime, ad if you have the opportunity (and the budget!) I would highly recommend it . Champagne breakfast in the bush was the best end to it (around 1000) followed by, you guessed it, another day of lions, cheetahs and anything else we could find
The driver knew just about every other driver, and they were in constant communication with each other, guiding each other to sightings, etc., which meant that we were never far away from yet another amazing sight. We found a male lion on a kill but it was so warm, he sought shade under our truck, which meant we could not move for another 30 minutes!!
Day 4, and another day in paradise. I cannot recommend the private driver/guide enough. We finished this day a little early and went back for drinks by the pool. And then after another sumptuous dinner, we went out into the conservation for a night drive. Elephants everywhere, and at one point, we found ourselves in the middle of a herd of buffalo: There must have been around 200 of them, with their eyes shining in the torchlights. Hippos just wandering around in the marsh. Zebra and gazelle everywhere!
Day 5 followed a similar pattern, and HONESTLY, you could not be bored of that routine!
We didn’t see Rhino, unfortunately, but that was ok, as everything else more than made up for it.
Day 6 was a lay-in, as we went for a late breakfast, and then headed to the local airstrip for our 2.5-hour flight to the beach (Diani airport). We were lucky that the day we went was clear, and as we were above the clouds, we got great views of Kilimanjaro from above!
I won't bore you with the beach holiday, other than to say it was beautiful and the hotel was amazing
Take aways
Whatever you do, and if budget allows, please make sure you have a private guide/driver. This made our holiday. The knowledge and skills of these guys is extraordinary.
I am going to highly recommend the company we used (shameless plug incoming, but they deserve it!
u/waysofafrica (he is new to Reddit but has been around for some years)
https://www.waysofafrica.com/
Some photos here for anyoen interested
https://www.flickr.com/photos/204496815@N06/