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Lions resting on open grassland beneath an acacia tree at golden hour

Luxury safari and beach · Kenya

9-Day Kenya Luxury Bush & Beach — Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli & Diani

Kenya is one of the few countries where you can finish a serious safari and be swimming in the Indian Ocean the same afternoon. This journey takes the three parks that best justify the time — the Mara for predators, Nakuru for rhino and birds, Amboseli for elephants and the mountain — and then flies to Diani for three nights on the coast. The beach is not an afterthought here; it is three genuine nights, which is what it takes to actually unwind after six days of early starts.

  • 9 days
  • Kenya
  • Luxury safari and beach
  • On Request
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The journey

A closer look at your trip.

Kenya is one of the few countries where you can finish a serious safari and be swimming in the Indian Ocean the same afternoon. This journey takes the three parks that best justify the time — the Mara for predators, Nakuru for rhino and birds, Amboseli for elephants and the mountain — and then flies to Diani for three nights on the coast. The beach is not an afterthought here; it is three genuine nights, which is what it takes to actually unwind after six days of early starts.

NairobiMaasai MaraLake NakuruAmboseliDiani
Duration
9 days / 8 nights
Countries
Kenya
Trip style
Luxury safari and beach
Transport
4x4 Land Cruiser
Start
Nairobi
End
Diani
Price
On Request

Trip highlights

The places that shape this journey.

  • 01

    Three nights in the Maasai Mara with time for a balloon flight

  • 02

    Black and white rhino at Lake Nakuru

  • 03

    Elephant families beneath Kilimanjaro in Amboseli

  • 04

    A flight rather than a long drive to the coast

  • 05

    Three nights on the reef at Diani

Your route

Across Kenya.

Nairobi → Maasai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Amboseli → Diani → Nairobi

We will confirm the day-by-day sequence and overnight stops in your detailed proposal.

KENYATANZANIANairobiMaasai MaraLake NakuruAmboseli

Schematic route · See the day-by-day programme for travel details.

Day by day

9 days in East Africa.

  1. Day 1

    Nairobi to the Maasai Mara

    Collect from your Nairobi hotel or the airport and drive south-west through Narok, stopping at the escarpment viewpoint where the Great Rift Valley opens out below the road. Reach camp in the Mara for lunch. The afternoon game drive in a 4x4 Land Cruiser is an orientation to the reserve — the river systems, the open plains between them, and the resident lion prides that make this among the most reliable predator country in Africa. Dinner and overnight at camp.

    Overnight
    Governors' Camp, Maasai Mara
    Meals
    Lunch and dinner

  2. Day 2

    A full day in the Maasai Mara

    A full day with a picnic lunch, which is what the Mara deserves. All of the Big Five are present, and the density of lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena is higher here than anywhere else in Kenya. Along the Mara River there are substantial crocodile and resident hippo; out on the open grass, cheetah use termite mounds as vantage points. Between roughly July and October the migration herds are usually in the reserve, though their position and timing shift with the rainfall each year. Dinner and overnight at camp.

    Overnight
    Governors' Camp, Maasai Mara
    Meals
    Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

  3. Day 3

    The Maasai Mara at your own pace

    An optional hot-air balloon flight lifts off before first light and drifts over the plains as the sun comes up, landing to a breakfast set out on the grass; it is charged separately and needs booking in advance. Otherwise the day is yours — a second full day in the reserve, or time with a Maasai community from the neighbouring group ranches, arranged directly rather than staged. Evening game drive and overnight at camp.

    Overnight
    Governors' Camp, Maasai Mara
    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch and dinner
    A hot-air balloon rising over the Maasai Mara plains at sunrise
    Balloon flights lift off before first light and land to breakfast on the plains.

  4. Day 4

    Maasai Mara to Lake Nakuru

    Leave after breakfast and drive north through the floor of the Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park, arriving for lunch. Nakuru is fenced, which is unusual for a Kenyan park and is the reason it works as a rhino sanctuary — it holds both black and white rhino in numbers that make a sighting likely rather than lucky. The afternoon game drive also takes in Rothschild's giraffe, introduced here as a conservation measure, and the acacia woodland where leopard are occasionally found. Dinner and overnight.

    Overnight
    The Cliff Nakuru
    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch and dinner

  5. Day 5

    Lake Nakuru to Amboseli

    A morning game drive along the lake shore before breakfast. Nakuru's flamingo numbers rise and fall with the water's alkalinity and have been far lower in recent years than the photographs of the 1980s suggest — the pelicans and cormorants, though, remain in large numbers. Then the long drive south past Nairobi to Amboseli, arriving in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight. This is the longest road day of the journey.

    Overnight
    Tawi Lodge, Amboseli
    Meals
    Breakfast and dinner

  6. Day 6

    A full day in Amboseli

    Out early, when Kilimanjaro is most likely to be clear of cloud. Amboseli's elephants are among the most studied in the world, with individual families followed for over fifty years, and the swamps keep them in the park when the surrounding country has nothing left. A full day lets you cover the pans, the swamps and Observation Hill, one of the few places in Kenya where you can get out and look over an entire park on foot. Dinner and overnight at camp.

    Overnight
    Tawi Lodge, Amboseli
    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch and dinner
    Elephants walking across the dry pan in Amboseli with acacia trees behind
    Amboseli's swamps are fed by meltwater from Kilimanjaro, decades underground.

  7. Day 7

    Amboseli to Diani Beach

    A final morning drive with the mountain, then transfer to the airstrip for the flight to the coast — a short hop that replaces what would otherwise be a very long drive. Diani sits south of Mombasa behind a reef, which keeps the water flat and clear inside the lagoon. The rest of the day is unstructured: the beach, the pool, or nothing at all. Dinner and overnight at your resort.

    Overnight
    Neptune Palm Beach Boutique Resort & Spa, Diani
    Meals
    Breakfast and dinner

  8. Day 8

    Diani Beach

    A full day on the coast with nothing scheduled. The reef is close enough to reach easily, and snorkelling, diving and dhow trips can be arranged locally; Kisite-Mpunguti marine park to the south is a day trip if you want one. Equally, this can be the day you do nothing whatsoever, which after a week of five-o'clock starts is a reasonable choice. Dinner and overnight at your resort.

    Overnight
    Neptune Palm Beach Boutique Resort & Spa, Diani
    Meals
    Breakfast and dinner

  9. Day 9

    Departure

    A last morning on the coast before transferring to Ukunda airstrip or Moi International in Mombasa for your flight — either back to Nairobi for an international connection, or directly onward. We will match the timing to your outbound flight when we quote the journey.

    Meals
    Breakfast

Where you stay

Accommodation for your journey.

Your written proposal will name the accommodation, room or tent arrangements and meal plan for each night. Share your preferences so we can confirm suitable available options.

Suggested accommodation

  • Maasai Mara

    Governors' Camp

  • Lake Nakuru

    The Cliff Nakuru

  • Amboseli

    Tawi Lodge

  • Diani

    Neptune Palm Beach Boutique Resort & Spa

Suggested accommodation is subject to availability. A property of a similar standard may be proposed where necessary.

What is included

Your quotation will itemise transport, guiding, entry fees, accommodation and meals where applicable. Please confirm the included services with our team before booking.

What to allow for

Ask for an itemised list of exclusions and optional activities with your quotation so you can plan your total travel budget.

When to travel

Seasonal considerations.

Game viewing across Kenya is at its most reliable in the dry months, roughly June to October and again in January and February, when the grass is shorter and animals concentrate around permanent water. The long rains fall around April and May and the short rains in November; both bring green country, fewer vehicles and lower rates, at the cost of some unpredictability on the roads. There is no month in which this journey cannot run.

Read the full season guide →

Who it suits

Is this the right journey?

  • Travellers with time to spend and a wish to see the region properly rather than in outline.
  • Parties who want the vehicle and the pace to themselves; this journey is arranged privately.

Pricing

Plan with the details in view.

On Request

This journey is quoted to your dates, party size and chosen properties.

This itinerary can also be arranged privately in a 4x4 Land Cruiser on request. A private departure is quoted separately and confirmed with your dates and group size.

Request a quotation

Made for your plans

Let’s shape the details together.

Tell us what matters most: time in a particular destination, room preferences, photography or a gentler pace. We will explain the practical options and provide a revised proposal.

Discuss this trip on WhatsApp →

Your questions, answered.

Is the flight to the coast included?

It is part of the intended routing rather than an optional extra, but domestic flights are quoted separately from the ground arrangements so you can see the cost. Your written quotation will make this explicit.

When is the coast at its best?

Diani is pleasant for most of the year. The heaviest rain falls around April and May, and some coastal properties close for part of that period. December to March is hot and clear; July to October is cooler and coincides with the best Mara game viewing.

Will we see flamingo at Lake Nakuru?

Possibly, but not in the numbers older photographs show. Flamingo move between the Rift Valley soda lakes according to water level and algae, and Nakuru's numbers have been low in recent years. Pelican and cormorant remain abundant.

Is the named property guaranteed?

No. Properties are suggested for fit and current operation, and are confirmed on your written quotation. If a camp is full for your dates we will propose a comparable one rather than substitute something lesser without telling you.

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Open grassland and scattered acacia in a Maasai Mara conservancy at low light

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Most Kenyan itineraries stay south. This one goes north first, to Samburu, where the country is dry, rocky and stocked with species you will not see in the Mara at all — reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, gerenuk, Beisa oryx and the blue-necked Somali ostrich. From there it drops to Ol Pejeta, the most significant rhino conservancy in East Africa, before finishing with three nights in the Mara. The contrast between the three is the point of the trip.

On Request

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