Kenya holidays

Kenya is East Africa's safari heartland and the destination that pioneered the modern wildlife-tourism model — the Masai Mara National Reserve in the south-west borders Tanzania's Serengeti and hosts the climactic dramatic-river-crossings of the Great Migration each August-September (1.5 million wildebeest and zebra crossing the crocodile-filled Mara River), Amboseli National Park sits at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro (technically in Tanzania, but the iconic elephant-with-Kilimanjaro photo is best taken from Amboseli), Lake Nakuru's pink-flamingo lakeshore is a classic East Africa image, Tsavo East and West are the country's largest parks (best for off-the-tourist-circuit safari with red elephants and big cats), and the Laikipia conservancies in the central highlands offer some of Africa's most-luxurious conservation-driven safari (Ol Pejeta with the last two northern white rhinos, Lewa, Loisaba). Add the cosmopolitan capital Nairobi (the Giraffe Centre, the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, Karen Blixen's Out of Africa farmhouse), and the white-sand Indian Ocean beach coast at Diani and Watamu.

A 10-14 day Kenya trip: Nairobi arrival (1-2 nights — Giraffe Centre, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Karen Blixen Museum, the Carnivore restaurant for the legendary game-meat dinner) → fly to Masai Mara (3-4 nights — twice-daily game drives, balloon safari at dawn, Maasai village visit, the Mara is the climactic safari park) → fly to Lake Nakuru or Lake Naivasha (1-2 nights for flamingo lake and boat trips) → fly to Amboseli for Kilimanjaro-elephant photo opportunity (2 nights) → optional Laikipia at Lewa, Ol Pejeta or Loisaba (3-4 nights for the conservancy-luxury tier) → optional beach finish at Diani or Watamu on the Indian Ocean coast (3-4 nights).