Day 1: Arrive Nairobi
You will be met on arrival at Nairobi’s international airport and transferred to the domestic airport (Wilson) for your flight to the Masai Mara (10:00/11:00). Your Saruni guide will be waiting to collect you at the Mara airstrip.
Check in for 4 nights at Saruni Mara in a cottage, inc. full board, activities and park fees (excludes imported spirits/champagne).
Saruni Mara
Intimate and exclusive, Saruni Mara is one of only a few boutique lodges in the Mara. It offers just five elegant cottages, one family villa and one private villa.This remote camp is tucked away in a secluded valley in the Mara North Conservancy, a private game-viewing area bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve – Africa’s most renowned game park. The tented rooms are huge and beautifully-appointed, managing to be luxurious while still retaining that classic bush safari feel, thanks to some carefully chosen décor.
Activities available at Saruni Mara include day and night game drives, bush meals, guided walks, spa treatments, and balloon safaris (at additional cost). Enjoy exploring a completely different and less-visited corner of the Mara eco-system, brimming with wildlife, in total privacy. The lodge has a small spa and serves marvellous Italian-inspired cuisine.
This afternoon, enjoy a game drive with a picnic lunch served under an acacia tree on the savannah plains, or by the Mara River next to a pod of hippos!
NB. If arriving into Nairobi in the evening, it will be necessary to include a night in the city at the start of your tour.
Day 2: Masai Mara
Start the day with an early morning game drive in the Mara North Conservancy in search of the region’s famous big cats, before returning to camp for lunch, rest and a complimentary spa treatment.
In the afternoon, a game drive will take you to a special area of the conservancy where huge giraffe herds are often seen, followed by dinner at the lodge and an optional night game drive.
The wildlife encounters in this region are incredible all-year round. Lion sightings are a special highlight—there are several large prides in the Mara North Conservancy—while plains game abounds and elephant occur in huge herds.
Seasonally, during the Great Migration, one can witness vast herds of wildebeest crossing the rivers between the Mara and the Serengeti. This is a natural phenomenon and the timing is never precise. The herds usually cross into the Mara in July and August, before migrating back into the Serengeti between September and October. These are the best months to view the famous Mara crossings, and for general game-viewing. During October and November the area is heaving with wildlife, which continues through to March.
Day 3: Masai Mara
In the morning, enjoy a guided walking safari in the forest surrounding Saruni Mara, accompanied by experienced and knowledgeable Masai guides; or alternatively a game drive to the top of Kilileoni, the highest mountain in the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.
In the afternoon, further explore the Mara North Conservancy on foot or by 4x4, experiencing first-hand what makes this remote corner of the Mara one of the most exciting wilderness areas in the world.
Weather permitting, this evening you will be treated to an elaborate bush dinner served in the middle of the wilderness under the African night sky.
Day 4: Masai Mara
Your final day in the Masai Mara can be spent at leisure or on morning and afternoon game drives.
Full-day game drives, with a picnic lunch, are also a possibility.
Day 5: Masai Mara – Coast
Spend the morning as you please – enjoy a game drive, balloon safari (at additional cost) or a relaxing spa treatment, or just relax with a book on your private verandah.
Mid-morning, depart for the airstrip. En route, there will be time to visit the rhino sanctuary in Mara North, and also for a final stop at the Mara River. In the afternoon, board the flight to Ukunda on the coast (14:00/16:25), where you will be met on arrival and transferred to Ocean Spa.
Check into a villa for 4 nights, inc. full board from gourmet menus, spa/thalassotherapy treatments, and return transfers to/from Diani airport.
Ocean Spa Lodge
The Ocean Spa Lodge (formerly Saruni Ocean) is situated on a deserted beachfront far removed from the crowded coast around Mombasa. It has just eighteen thatched and air-conditioned suites, all of which overlook the Indian Ocean.Ocean Spa is an intimate property situated on six kilometres of pristine beachfront in magical Msambweni, Kenya's southern coast – the perfect escape for honeymooners, and a fantastic way to end a safari!
Offering a unique health and wellness experience, guests at Ocean Spa can enjoy rejuvenating therapies at the Thermae and Spa, the first thalassotherapy centre of its kind and calibre in East Africa.
Day 6-8: At leisure at Ocean Spa
Experience an exciting array of activities during your stay at Ocean Spa, from deep sea fishing to snorkelling and sky-diving. In addition, you can enjoy a range of wellbeing treatments, thalassotherapy, yoga and much else at the Sarunity Thermae and Spa.
Other activities include cultural visits to the local coastal and still very traditional villages; snorkelling and diving in the famous coral reef of Wasini Island; safaris and game drives into the Shimba Hills National Reserve; and fishing in the ocean. Also of note are the visits to nearby Funzi Island. With its four mangrove covered islands, it is Kenya's primary nesting site for a variety of sea turtles, including the green turtle.
Day 9: Departure
Transfer to Diani Airport, where you board the flight to Wilson Airport (15:15/17:45). On arrival, connect with your international flight home/onward transfer.
Kenya in Style
9-day luxury safari and beach holiday, visiting the Masai Mara Game Reserve and the southern Kenyan coast
Kenya in Style
Escape the crowds and experience Kenya at its most wild and remote on this 9-day luxury safari and beach holiday visiting the private Mara North Conservancy in the Masai Mara and the upmarket luxury beach lodge, Ocean Spa, on the southern Kenyan coast.
Outline Itinerary
Price guide
Price based on two travellers in shared double/twin accommodation and subject to availability at the time of booking.
Pricing
9 days from £3100pp
Southern India Highlights
We absolutely loved India! ...in normal G&M style everything ran very smoothly over there.