2020 Sample Itinerary - Kenya and Rwanda Safari

On your arrival into Jmo Kenyatta airport, you will be met and driven to the Fairmont Norfolk hotel.  

Located just minutes from Nairobi’s best attractions, including the home of Karen Blixen, from the Academy Award winning film ‘Out of Africa’, Sheldrick’s Elephant Sanctuary, and the Giraffe Centre Fairmont The Norfolk offers luxurious guestrooms and suites, set amidst tropical gardens. The hotel is walking distance from artisanal craft shops, modern shopping centers and the National Museums of Kenya.

On the morning of Day 2 you will be driven to Wilson airport in time to fly with Air Kenya to Nanyuki airstrip.  Your guide will be there to meet you in Nanyuki and drive you to Ol Pejeta Bush Camp where you will spend the next 2 nights. On the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River in central Kenya’s Laikipia region, Ol Pejeta Bush Camp is the ultimate in Kenyan hospitality and safari excellence.

You may learn about the varied and plentiful animal species and birdlife of the conservancy during morning and evening game drives with an expert guide. You will also have the opportunity to visit the Chimpanzee Sanctuary during your stay.

On the morning of Day 4  you will be driven to Nanyuki airstrip and flown by Air Kenya to the Masai Mara where you will be met and driven to your next destination, Offbeat Mara camp. Here you will be staying for the next 3 nights. 

One of the smallest camps in the Mara, Offbeat Mara Camp small and exclusive tented camp offers a truly private, traditional safari experience with close access to the famous Masai Mara National Reserve. The Mara North Conservancy is incredibly rich in wildlife and has one of the lowest densities of tourist visitors in the greater Mara ecosystem, enabling guests to enjoy game viewing in privacy. Tucked away in this prime wildlife area and far away from other lodges and camps, they provide guests with great game viewing 'away from the masses'. Lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo are all seen regularly in the stunning valley that surrounds the camp.  

Day 7 will be a travel day.  You will be driven to the airstrip and then flown by private charter to Jmo Kenyatta airport in time to check in for your flight to Kigali.  From Kigali you will be transferred by road to Virunga Lodge which is a 3 hour drive through the volcanic hills, where mist swirls amongst the forests and monkey troops are spotted along the road. It is a good road that meanders through the countryside with beautifully terraced hills. People walking along the road or riding bicycles laden with bananas or sorghum beer, are a typical site.

Now the seclusion of a Rwanda getaway starts to come into its own. Volcanoes National Park is  tucked away and the luxurious Virunga Lodge is perched high on a ridge with stunning views of the Virunga Volcanoes and the Musanze valley to the west and Lake Bulera and Ruhondo to the east.

On Day 8 you will be tracking mountain gorillas through the dense African forests of Volcanoes National Park. This is a magical experience that most who get this unique opportunity say was the highlight of their trip. Only eight visitors are allowed per gorilla group each day and tracking will take from 3 to 8 hours and requires some agility and fitness; however, all fitness levels can be accommodated and no one should feel deterred from missing this once in a lifetime experience.

Other activities available during your stay include trekking for the endangered, beautiful and playful golden monkey, a visit to the graves of Dian Fossey and some of her beloved research gorillas, bird watching some of the 700 different bird species, a village walk through the local village, Lake Bulera, or a climb up one of Virunga's chain of volcanoes.

This morning you will be driven to Kigali in time to catch your international flight onwards.