Kenya safari tour
“As well as the Maasai Mara, this small group safari will take you away from the beaten path to look for leopards, elephants and other majestic beasts against the most impressive of backdrops.”
Highlights
Nairobi | Lake Nakuru | Lake Naivasha | Loita Hills Maasai Village | Maasai Mara National ReserveDescription of Kenya safari tour
Join us for a Kenya safari tour that takes you from a world famous national park, to little-known wilderness areas, to the country’s dynamic capital. After a day spent in Nairobi, perhaps visiting the National Museum of Kenya or the Karen Blixen Museum, you’ll head north through the dramatic scenery of the Great Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park, where you’ll have a good chance to spot rhinos, as well as other members of the Big Five.Next, it’s Lake Naivasha, one of the few freshwater lakes in the Great Rift Valley, and home to a large hippo population as well as diverse birdlife. Then you’ll move on to Loita Hills Maasai Village, the perfect place to learn more about Maasai culture – here you’ll visit a Maasai home and see how cattle are kept.
Your final stop is the iconic Maasai Mara National Reserve, the quintessential wildlife watching experience, with wide open plains, vast skies and some of the most incredible wildlife spectacles on earth.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
Check dates, prices & availability
Date
Price per adult
Basis
Status
24 Aug 2019
£1035
excluding flights
Full
28 Aug 2019
£940
excluding flights
On Request
31 Aug 2019
£1035
excluding flights
Full
14 Sep 2019
£1025
excluding flights
Full
21 Sep 2019
£995
excluding flights
1 space left
28 Sep 2019
£905
£769
£769
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
05 Oct 2019
£905
£814
£814
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
12 Oct 2019
£865
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
19 Oct 2019
£865
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
02 Nov 2019
£865
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
16 Nov 2019
£865
excluding flights
9 spaces left
07 Dec 2019
£865
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
21 Dec 2019
£905
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
28 Dec 2019
£925
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
04 Jan 2020
£915
excluding flights
9 spaces left
11 Jan 2020
£890
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
18 Jan 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
01 Feb 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
15 Feb 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
11 Apr 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
02 May 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
30 May 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
13 Jun 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
20 Jun 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
01 Jul 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
04 Jul 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
11 Jul 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
15 Jul 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
18 Jul 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
25 Jul 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
01 Aug 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
05 Aug 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
08 Aug 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
15 Aug 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
22 Aug 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
29 Aug 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
05 Sep 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
12 Sep 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
19 Sep 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
26 Sep 2020
£970
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
03 Oct 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
10 Oct 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
17 Oct 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
31 Oct 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
14 Nov 2020
£895
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
05 Dec 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
19 Dec 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
26 Dec 2020
£935
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
Vouchers
Accepted
Holiday type
Small group adventure
What is a small group adventure?It's a great way to travel! Whether you are travelling on your own, with a partner or with friends, a small group trip is a fantastic way to see the world. You'll travel on a fixed itinerary that has been designed to help you discover the best of region. From the known highlights, the hidden gems that you won't find in the guidebooks.
Itineraries run on set departure dates, accompanied every step of the way by an English speaking local group leader. You chose the itinerary and the date that suits you best and you book on.
Why travel on a small group adventure?
Small groups allow us to explore where larger tour groups can't. Our maximum group size of 16 travellers allows us to use local transport to get from A to B, to visit rural villages, spend time with the locals and even stay at a local home overnight, and it allows us to give our travellers genuine, real life experiences of the countries we are visiting; what you'll be doing and how you'll travel depends entirely on your chosen itinerary.
Is an adventure right for me?
The word adventure means something different to everyone, and our range of trips reflects that. Whether you want to explore local markets, visit out of the way temples and meet local people or go on an early morning safari drive searching for the 'big five', we'll have a trip for you. If you are looking for a physical challenge such trekking the Kokoda Track or summiting Kilimanjaro, we can help with that too.
So what can I expect on this trip?
This is one of our Basix trips, designed specifically for budget travellers who still want the security of group travel without lots of added inclusions. These trips don't have many included activities and meals are rarely included in the price, giving you the opportunity to search out local restaurants and sample regional specialities to your heart's content. The amount of free time in these itineraries means that the Basix trips often appeal to younger travellers looking to explore independently and tailor the trip to your own interests. You often won't spend too many days in any one place and you'll pack lots of different locations into your holiday.
As you might expect, accommodation on a Basix trip will be fairly basic! We'll stay in 1-2 star accommodation, often including homestays and there may be nights where the group stays somewhere multi-share / in a dormitory-style. Most accommodation however will be twin share; with solo travellers automatically roomed with a fellow group member of the same sex, this means that there are no single supplements on Basix trips.
On camping trips you will be expected to help out around the camp; putting up and taking down your own tent, helping with meals and other camp duties. We often find the nights where we are without a few creature comforts are those that are most amazing; wild bush camping in Serengeti anyone?! We'll use local transport where ever possible which is a great way of seeing the country and meeting locals as we travel.
Can I book my flights with you?
Yes! We are a fully ATOL bonded tour operator meaning that we can book flights from the UK as part of your holiday package. Just ask us for a quote including flights when you make your enquiry.
Responsible tourism
Kenya safari tour
Carbon reduction
Your holiday will help support local people and conservation. We must also reduce CO2. Learn about the CO2 emissions of this holiday and how to reduce them.
Environment
For every week that our passengers spend in Africa, we plant a tree in Kenya through the Woodlands 2000 Trust, a local NGO. The Woodlands 2000 Trust is a wonderful project that provides seeds and seedlings with planting materials as well as land-planning, tree survival and woodlot management services. It aims to increase reforestation and bio-diversify in semi-arid regions, and also to create sustainable and profitable tree products micro-industries that contribute to alleviating poverty.
We believe strongly in low impact tourism and so during this trip we use existing locally owned facilities and camp ground such as the one used in Nakuru. By using locally owned and run facilities we are helping the local communities that we visit.
There is a local guide based permanently in the Loita which is his home base. He knows the area, its culture and way of life, the flora and fauna exceptionally well and you will have a great opportunity to interact with him and the local Masai. You will have an opportunity purchase their artefacts, bead necklaces, belts, shukas and even see how they are made. The time we spend here will again benefit the local community.
As a company we aim to contribute to the environmental preservation of the destinations we visit and to reduce any negative impacts our operations may have. This translates to actions such as using local transport where safe to do so in order to reduce emissions, observing all national and marine park visitor rules and operating a ‘take in, take back out’ waste management system, to name but a few examples. Through our inhouse foundation we also invest money into environmental initiatives that benefit the planet, including restoring kelp forests to help reverse the effects of global warming and protecting endangered species such as sea turtles and elephants.
2 Reviews of Kenya safari tour
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 16 Oct 2008 by Holly Foat
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The most memorable part was watching a cheetah stalk and chase a Thompson gazelle and listening to half the truck cheer the cheetah on whilst the other half were hoping that the gazelle would get away! There were many memorable parts including singing and dancing with the Masai, trying to comprehend the sheer number of flamingos at Lake Nakuru, holding hands with the beautiful children at the children’s home, watching the vultures tear apart the carcass of a wildebeest, seeing a serval trot through the long grass and having a barbeque with the Masai.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Our guide told us to be a family and it’s a great way to view the group. Sharing duties like washing up and sharing food really helps the group dynamics. Bring a wildlife guide book and have a look through before you arrive so you know what to look for (there is more to see than giraffes and big cats!). Bring a Swahili dictionary or phrase book. Just knowing a few words really helps relations with local people. Bring a hat that covers your ears and neck, the sun is strong and having sun burnt ears isn’t much fun! If you buy bottled water get the 5litre bottles or use water purification tablets, The chlorine ones are cheap and the water doesn’t taste bad either. In September, mosquitoes aren’t a problem – we didn’t need our mosquito nets and DEET, perhaps sun cream with insect repellent might be a better option. Bring a good camera, my 10x zoom was dwarfed by some of the kit of the others on the trip. A zoom is essential to catch some great animal photos. Be prepared to rough it a bit, long drop toilets and cold showers are part of the experience, as is dust so bring a scarf or something to cover your mouth and nose on some of the dustier roads. Bring pens or books for the children’s home. Drink the local Tusker beer!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
This trip is very much about local people. Our guide was Masai and took us to his village where we ate with them, visited their homes, learnt about their culture and bought souvenirs from them. Everyone in the group found it a real privilege to be welcomed into their community. We also visited a children’s home and took pencils for the children. All the food on this trip was bought locally and the park fees go towards the conservation of the parks. We also stopped to plant trees as part of a Friends of Conservation project.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
For me this was a fantastic trip. Our guide, cook and driver were so friendly and helpful, they really made the trip what it was. The itinerary is great, giving you a diverse range of environments so you can see a variety of wildlife building up to the great Masai Mara. There is a great mix of people and animals which means you won’t get bored of seeing zebra and you can get a real insight into the cultures and communities of the local people.
Reviewed on 10 Sep 2006 by Patricia Grey
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
On day one we saw four of the big five (with the aid of super-powerful binoculars!). Also the trip to the Maasai village was fantastic - we got a unique and amazing insight into a completely different way of life.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take layers! It can go from very hot to very cold on a road journey. Boots/sturdy trainers a must and a waterproof very useful. Can get really cold at night, so a sleeping bag liner might be an idea. A woolly hat isn't a bad idea either. Don't get bitten!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I did feel the holiday benefited local people. All of our guides were locals, which makes a huge difference. We saw other tour buses full of Australians and Europeans and I don't believe they got the same kinds of insights into the country, the people and the culture that we had.
The tour operator is very strict about not leaving any litter (even biodegradable stuff, as it could be harmful). Also, they stick to the paths in the reserve. Some others (including big name companies) drive right up to the animals just so that their passengers can get close ups (and the guide can get a bigger tip). We saw this happen with a cheetah who was sitting in the shade of a bush. Two vans drove right up to it, on either side of the bush, and it was clearly uncomfortable and had no means of escape.
4. Any other comments?
The holiday was fantastic and I'd highly recommend it... P.S. Hope I win the holiday!
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