You arrive at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and are met by our local guide, Nicholas who says Jambo! (“Hello!” in the local Kiswahili language) and transfers you to your boutique hotel in the leafy upmarket suburb of Karen. Should you wish and depending on your arrival time, Nicholas will happily commence your exploration of Nairobi this afternoon.  

Regarded as the major economic and transport hub of East Africa, Kenya’s sprawling capital of Nairobi is an unavoidable stopover on many travellers’ itineraries. While most wouldn’t choose to spend longer in the city than necessary, its temperate climate makes it a wise location to acclimatise and recuperate when first arriving in East Africa, which can take a day or two due to the long journey most travellers endure to get here. 

Your time in Nairobi can be totally customised to your wishes.  Nicholas accompanies you for the entire day and you don’t have to decide on what you want to do/see until you arrive. Suggested sights and experiences include visits to the city’s renowned Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage as well as the Giraffe Centre, along with Karen Blixen Museum and a number of crafts shops and workshops. There is also Nairobi National Park, which offers a surprisingly authentic if slightly surreal safari experience almost within earshot of downtown Nairobi’s traffic.

A popular inclusion is lunch or dinner at the famed Carnivore Restaurant, where meats – including game such as impala and wildebeest – are grilled over charcoal and continuously brought to your table until you lower the flag in surrender.

Nicholas transfers you to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport for your short flight to Kenya’s premier wildlife destination, the Masai Mara. The flight travels over the tribal homelands of the Masai before arriving at an airstrip on the fringe of the reserve, where you meet your camp guide and enjoy a game drive transfer to the camp. You stay here for three nights and your safari experiences include walking safaris and day and evening game drives – on one of your days you may wish to embark on a full day’s drive with a picnic lunch provided. Cultural visits to the nearby Masai village can also be arranged, as can a sunrise balloon safari (both at additional cost). 

The Masai Mara is Kenya’s most famous wildlife area, part of the Greater Serengeti ecosystem and home to the Great Migration of wildebeest. From predators like lion and cheetah to abundant grazers and dramatic river crossings, the Mara offers excellent year-round wildlife viewing. 

Your camp guide now returns you to the airstrip for your day’s journey to the equatorial forests of East Africa—home to the mountain gorilla. You first fly to the Ugandan hub of Entebbe for immigration into Uganda. From there, you fly onwards to Kihihi and transfer by 4×4 to Buhoma, the village overlooking the “gorilla forest.”

Bwindi is one of Africa’s oldest and most biologically diverse forests, home to more than half the world’s population of mountain gorillas. It also shelters a number of other primate species along with forest elephants and many endemic bird species. The village of Buhoma offers meaningful cultural engagement and the opportunity to support community-led initiatives.

One of your days here will include a gorilla trek while the other can include another trek (to a different family), or a guided nature/birding walk focusing on the forest’s incredible biodiversity. We can also include an afternoon of cultural immersion – visiting community projects in the village or planting a tree at your lodge. There’s also time to simply enjoy the ambience of being in the unique environment of Equatorial East Africa.

We now say Kwaheri (“Goodbye” in the local Kiswahili language) as you are returned to Kihihi airstrip for your flight to Entebbe and onward travels home. For late evening/early morning flight departures, we can include an afternoon and evening at a boutique guesthouse in Entebbe as well as a sunset cruise on nearby Lake Victoria.