Itineraries. Updated November 2026. 5 min read.
If you have never been to Africa, start here: one country, two parks, one optional beach, no borders, no 6am road trips, and a guide who has done this a thousand times. This is the trip we plan for people who want to see if safari is for them without gambling a long, complicated first trip on it.
The shape is deliberately simple. Two nights in Nairobi to land and settle, with Nairobi National Park and the giraffes and elephant orphans on the gentle second day. Then a 45-minute flight to the Maasai Mara for four nights in one camp, so you unpack once. Home from the Mara airstrip via Nairobi, or on to Diani for three nights on the beach. In mid-range camps it starts at about $3,200 per person sharing, excluding international flights. It is a sample route we tailor to you, not a fixed departure.
How this differs from our classic week
Our 7-day Kenya route is the classic Kenya week: Amboseli, a Rift Valley lake and the Mara, three landscapes, with two long road days. It is excellent if you want variety and do not mind the road. This route makes the opposite choice: fewer places, more time in each, almost no road. For a nervous first-timer, a family, or anyone who suspects the jet lag will hit hard, we think it is the kinder trip.
| This first-timer route | Our classic 7 days | |
|---|---|---|
| Places | Nairobi and the Maasai Mara | Nairobi, Amboseli, a Rift Valley lake, the Mara |
| Times you unpack | Twice | Four times |
| Road time | City and airport transfers only | About 20 hours by road, less with flights |
| Nights in the Mara | Four | Two |
| From, per person sharing | About $3,200, mid-range with flights | About $2,600 by road, $3,600 with two legs flown |
| Best for | A first trip, families, light sleepers | Variety, photographers, people who like a road trip |
The six decisions every first-timer makes
Most of the stress of a first safari is in the choosing. Here are the six questions everyone has to answer, with the answer we give most first-timers, and the guide to read if you want the full argument.
| Decision | Our usual answer for a first trip | Why |
|---|---|---|
| How long? | Seven days, with four nights on safari | Enough for the three-night rule, not so long that you over-commit; read our guide on how many days you need |
| Which park? | The Maasai Mara | The highest chance of big cats in the shortest time, all year round |
| Drive or fly? | Fly to the Mara | Saves 10 to 12 hours of road and the worst of the jet lag; see fly-in vs road |
| Private or shared? | Private if you are two or more | You set the pace; shared drives at the camp save money for solo travelers |
| Reserve or conservancy? | Either; conservancy if you can stretch | Fewer vehicles, walks and night drives; our conservancies guide explains |
| When? | July to October, or January to March | Dry, with the migration in the first window and better value in the second |
The three-night rule is the one we hold to most firmly. With one or two nights in a park, a single rainy morning or a quiet day can take half your safari. With three or more, the odds swing in your favor: you get repeated dawns, time to wait at a den or a river, and a guide who has learned what you like. Four nights in the Mara, as here, gives you a margin.
What is already taken care of
- Language: English is spoken everywhere you will go, alongside Kiswahili; guides, camp staff and drivers all speak it
- Water: bottled or filtered drinking water is provided in the vehicle and at camp
- Support: one Kenya Experience contact before you go, and a 24-hour number while you are in Kenya
- Entry: the Kenya eTA is applied for online before you fly, about $30 at the time of writing, plus Kenya's $44 inbound health insurance on eCitizen
- Yellow fever: Kenya does not ask for a yellow fever certificate if you fly in directly from the U.S.; the CDC does recommend the vaccine for much of Kenya, so ask your travel clinic
- Everything booked: transfers, flights, camps, park fees and game drives are booked before you leave; nothing is improvised on the ground
What first-timers worry about, honestly
Safety: on safari you are with a guide, in a vehicle or a staffed camp, all the time, and camps have night guards who walk you to your tent. In Nairobi, take the usual big-city care, use the transport we arrange or a ride-hailing app after dark, and do not walk with your phone out. Animals: wild animals are dangerous only when people behave badly around them; your guide will tell you the few rules, and you follow them. Bugs and malaria: the Mara is a malaria area, so take the tablets your clinic prescribes and use repellent at dusk. Bathrooms: camps have proper flush toilets and hot showers; on a long drive, your guide knows the quiet bushes.
Our first-safari mistakes guide covers the rest: packing too much for the 15 kg bush-flight limit, booking too many parks, skipping travel insurance, and tipping in the wrong currency.
Adding the beach
If you have three more days, fly from the Mara straight to Ukunda for Diani, about 2 to 2.5 hours with a stop, instead of back to Nairobi. Three nights on a long white beach after four on safari is the classic finish, and it keeps the trip in one country with no extra paperwork. Our 10-day route shows the full safari and beach version with its prices.
When to go
The Mara is good in every month, because its lions, cheetahs and leopards do not migrate. Late July to October usually brings the wildebeest herds and the river crossings, and the highest prices; book six to nine months ahead. January to March is dry and quieter, with the Mara reserve fee at $100 a day instead of $200, which suits a first trip well. April and May are the long rains, and we would not choose them for a first safari.
What is included
- Airport pickup and drop-off in Nairobi
- Two nights in a Nairobi hotel and four in a Mara camp, full board on safari
- The Wilson to Mara flights, with game drives on the way to and from the airstrip
- A morning in Nairobi National Park, the Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick elephant nursery visit
- Park or conservancy fees, game drives, drinking water and our 24-hour support
What is not included
- International flights
- Kenya eTA, Kenya's inbound health insurance, vaccinations and travel insurance
- Optional extras: the balloon flight (about $450 to $550 per person) and a Maasai village visit
- Tips, premium drinks and personal items
How to book
Send us your dates and anything that worries you, and a specialist will talk it through with you before we send a plan. We send a written quote that lists every fee, so the price you see is the price you pay on the ground. You can pay in full or monthly with no deposit. If you would rather travel with a group on fixed dates for your first trip, our dated departures are on the trips page.
