Tour Highlights
From the Samburu to the Masai Mara. Saruni Samburu’s six luxury, eco-chic villas are open and spacious, heralding spectacular views over Kalama Conservancy and Mount Kenya. As the only lodge in over 200,000 acres of unspoiled wilderness teeming with wildlife to explore exclusively, and guided by Samburu warriors passionate about their land and culture, the safari experience at Saruni Samburu is intimate and truly exceptional.
Saruni Mara is tucked away in a secluded valley in Mara North Conservancy, a 74 000 acre concession bordering the Mara. Here, you can encounter the huge variety of game virtually uninterrupted by other vehicles in the immense quietness and emptiness of this secret corner of the reserve.
Package Includes
✓ Meet and greet services with assistance at the airport or hotel
✓ Round trip flight Nairobi/ Samburu/Maasai Mara/Nairobi
✓ Shared game drives in an open sided 4×4 Safari Landcruiser
✓ Services of a Professional English speaking driver-guide on private basis
✓ All Transfers in Nairobi
✓ Meals and accommodation as specified
✓ All park fees/Entrances and government taxes
✓ Local beverages including teas/coffees, soft drinks, local brand beers, local spirits and house wines
✓ Guided bush walks
✓ Dinner under the stars
✓ Laundry
✓ Flying doctor’s emergency rescue cover while on safari
✓ 2 bottles of ½ litre mineral water per person per day on game drives
Package Excludes
✓ Visas, international flights and Airport taxes (clients pay direct)
✓ Driver-guide gratuities, dining rooms tips, porterage
✓ Champagne, luxury spirits and select wines
✓ Optional activities, spa treatments and all other extras to be settled direct
✓ Personal travel, baggage and medical insurance
Additional remarks
• We may have to re-route the itinerary or accommodate in similar lodges in case of non-availability.
• Prices for domestic flights, airport taxes or park fees may be changed without prior notice. This is beyond our control and any increase levied will be passed to you.
Passenger Information
• Passengers should bring only soft-sided bags on safaris.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival Nairobi Karibu! Your Kenyan safari adventure begins in the capital, Nairobi, where you will be met at the airport by African Adventure Specialists Representative and chauffered to your hotel where you are booked on Bed and Breakfast.
• Main destination: Nairobi
• Accommodation: House of Waine
• Meals & drinks: Breakfast
(Lunch,Dinner &Drinks not included)
Day 2: Fly to Samburu
Breakfast at the House of Waine Nairobi. Check-out and transfer to Wilson Airport Nairobi, gateway to the flying safaris in Kenya. Samburu Game Reserve. After 1 h 25 minutes flight, you will land in the middle of Kalama conservacny, the Saruni Camp Team welcoming you at the airstrip.
You will board your safari vehicles to be transferred to your Camp, with your first game drive en-route.
Arrival at the Camp in time for your lunch.
The family-friendly lodge boasts a spectacular location, seemingly right at the edge of the world. The views are astounding and it will be hard to leave your private verandah.
• Main destination: Samburu Game Reserve
• Accommodation: Saruni Camp
• Meals & drinks: Breakfast, Lunch,Dinner & Selected Drinks (Premium drinks and Champagne not included)
Days 3-4: Explore Samburu
The sun wakes you as it splits the sky. Today is a day for exploring. First up, a game drive into Samburu National Reserve to seek the endemic ‘Special 5’ of Samburu: reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich and the peculiar long-necked gerenuk, all rare species that occur only in this part of the country. Samburu warriors are your guides. They are passionate about their land and their culture, and teach you about their fascinating customs and traditions, and about their ancient knowledge of the animals.
Look for the larger game, too, elephant, lion and leopard, and have a picnic lunch before heading back to the lodge to relax for the afternoon. There are the swimming pools and the spa, or perhaps a nap in the shade of your deck. Go on a walk to the caves, walls adorned with rock paintings, or to Ololokwe, the Samburu’s sacred mountain. Sundowners and dinner round off a day of memory-making. You can take an evening game drive in Kalama Conservancy, ending with a dinner under the stars in the wilderness, and a night drive back to the lodge. The Samburu warriors will dance on your last evening, lit by primal fire and candles.
• Main destination: Samburu Game Reserve
• Accommodation: Saruni Camp
• Meals & drinks: Breakfast, Lunch,Dinner & Selected Drinks (Premium drinks and Champagne not included)
Day 5: Fly to Masai Mara Early morning and time to bid a fond farewell to Samburu before your flight to Saruni Mara, tucked away in a secluded valley in Mara North Conservancy on the Masai Mara. Without skipping a beat you are off the plane and on a game-viewing vehicle, this time guided by a Maasai warrior, who is passionate and knowledgable about his ancestral lands. With his guidance, you will not only see the big names but also the little stories: birds’ mating dances, families of perky warthogs and wily hyenas. Saruni Mara has one family villa, one private villa and five cottages, all featuring rooms en suite and showers with a view. The lodge has a luxurious and classic safari feel and Nyati House is Saruni Mara’s private villa, set in its own private valley. A picnic lunch under a tree or by the river is followed by a restful afternoon before another game drive in Mara North Conservancy, over 30 000 acres brimming with wildlife bordering the Mara. This is a completely different and less-explored corner of the Mara eco-system, giving you total privacy.
• Main destination: Mara North Conservancy
• Accommodation: Saruni Lodge
• Meals & drinks: Breakfast, Lunch,Dinner & Selected Drinks (Premium drinks and Champagne not included)
Days 6-7: Explore the Mara Rise with the sun to get the most out of the day; there is so much to choose from. Go on an early morning game drive to look for the big cats and other predators of the Mara, returning to camp for lunch and some time at the Masai Wellbeing Space. An afternoon game drive may take you to the biggest herds of giraffe… or elephants… or hippos. After dinner at the lodge, go on a night game drive. Sign up for the Warriors Academy, particularly if you have children. Under the tutelage of the moran, or Maasai warriors, learn survival skills, and how to track animals and craft tools. Get a different and unique perspective on the Mara, through the eyes of the people who have called this wilderness their home for centuries. Walk in the forest that surrounds Saruni Mara or take a game drive to the top of Kilileoni, the highest mountain in the Serengeti-Masai Mara ecosystem. Hot-air ballooning is another option, a sublime way to view the plains from the intense silence of your basket in the sky. At night, dine in the middle of the wilderness under the star-spangled velvet dome, with Maasai warriors singing and dancing around the fire.
• Main destination: Mara North Conservancy
• Accommodation: Saruni Lodge
• Meals & drinks: Breakfast, Lunch,Dinner & Selected Drinks (Premium drinks and Champagne not included)
Day 8: Farewell Maasai Mara – Nairobi It is your last day at Saruni Mara and you pack your bags of memories. On the way to the airstrip, stop at the rhino sanctuary in Mara North to say goodbye to the hippos and the crocodiles of the Mara River. A short flight takes you to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport and your transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after an unforgettable week in Africa’s wildest lands.
