Samburu & Masai Mara Safari – 8 Day

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where a Saruni vehicle will transfer you to Wilson Airport for your flight to Samburu.

Depart Nairobi in the morning*, arriving at Samburu an hour later, where your Saruni Samburu guide will meet you and transfer you to the lodge, or take you on a game drive. Afternoon game drive on Kalama Conservancy exploring over 200,000 acres of pristine wilderness in total privacy and sundowners with a breathtaking view.

Accommodation: Saruni Samburu

Meal plan: Dinner

Early morning game drives into Samburu National Reserve to seek out the ‘Samburu Special Five’: the reticulated giraffe, the Grevy zebra, the beisa oryx, the Somali ostrich, and the gerenuk, all rare species that occur only in this part of the country, and look for its well-known larger wildlife including elephants, lion, and leopard.

Enjoy a picnic lunch before heading back to the lodge to relax for the afternoon. Enjoy a complimentary half-hour Back & Neck massage upon arriving back at the lodge at the Samburu Wellbeing Space.

The evening game drive in Kalama Conservancy ends with a bush dinner under the stars in the middle of the wilderness, and a night drive back to the lodge. The Samburu warriors dancing, candles, and fire under the vast African skies, make this a truly magical experience, and one of the highlights of your stay.

Accommodation: Saruni Samburu

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Following a lie-in and a hearty breakfast, depart Saruni Samburu accompanied by our Samburu guides, driving two hours northwest to visit the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in nearby Namunyak Conservancy (visit payable extra & bookable in advance).

Arrive in time for the noontime feeding session for the elephants and other animals in residence. Learn all about their special milk formulas, ask the elephant keepers your questions, and watch with joy as the hungry elephants come racing out for their bottles!

After some further observation time as the elephants play, bathe, and go about their day, head towards Saruni Rhino, a 2-hour drive away in Sera Conservancy, stopping in a picturesque spot for a picnic lunch on the way. Arrive in camp, or, head straight to the Rhino Sanctuary to start your exhilarating on-foot tracking adventure taking place late afternoon as the temperature lowers.

Drive to within a short distance of the endangered black rhino, leaving the vehicle on foot to track the rhino in the safety of a guide and a ranger.

Communication between rangers allows you to track as many rhinos as possible in the allotted time. After an exhilarating, up close, and personal experience, game drives back to camp where a lantern-lit bush dinner awaits you in the idyllic setting of the dry river bed, as the night sounds reverberate around you.

Accommodation: Saruni Rhino

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Leave early morning with a picnic breakfast on a game drive to the nearby Fifty Wells (Kisima Hamsini) or the Singing Wells, where you will witness Samburu pastoralists watering and singing their uniquely recognized songs to their livestock at a series of natural wells, bringing water up from the depths as they have done for centuries. (Wells are seasonal).

Birders and non-birders alike will delight in the incredible spectacle that is thousands upon thousands of sand grouse dipping to take water in the natural wells and waterholes throughout Sera Conservancy, a truly astounding sight, and sound show.

Return to camp and enjoy a refreshing dip in the cooling waters of the natural rock infinity pool overlooking the dry river bed surrounded by swaying doum palms as monkeys chirp and play along.

Enjoy lunch in the shade of Swara House, with breathtaking views of a waterhole frequently visited by herds of elephants and other wildlife and birdlife. Relax after lunch in the cool of your stone cottage (‘banda)’ reclining on your very own beach club-style, sandy verandah watching the waterhole.

For the adventurous thrill-seekers embark on the 2nd round of rhino tracking by returning to the Sanctuary to re-live the experience. Bush ‘lugga’ dinner under the starlit African skies before heading to bed for your last night in the remote wilderness of Kenya’s northern frontier.

Accommodation: Saruni Rhino

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Following breakfast in camp, or equipped with a picnic breakfast, leave early morning from Saruni Rhino for your departing onward flight to the Mara, arriving in the Masai Mara an hour and a half after take-off.

Game drive with a picnic lunch to enjoy under an acacia tree or by the river next to a pod of hippos.

Alternatively, head to Saruni Mara or Saruni Wild for some rest and an exclusive game drive later in the afternoon in Mara North Conservancy – over 30,000 acres of plentiful, protected land bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve.

Enjoy a completely different and less-explored corner of the Mara ecosystem in total privacy, brimming with wildlife.

Accommodation: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Early morning game drive to look for the big cats and other predators of the Mara, returning to the camp or lodge for lunch and treatments at the Maasai Wellbeing Space.

In the afternoon, a game drive will take you to a special area where the largest tower of giraffes can be seen, followed by dinner at the lodge or camp and an optional night game drive.

Accommodation: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Walk in the valleys and plains surrounding Saruni Mara, accompanied by a vehicle, or a game drive up to the top of Kilileoni, the highest mountain in the Serengeti- Masai Mara ecosystem – led by your skillful and knowledgeable Maasai guides.

In the afternoon you will discover more of Mara North and its neighboring conservancies and experience first-hand what makes the Mara one of the most exciting wildernesses in the world.

Weather permitting, experience a bush dinner in the middle of nature under the vast African sky, with Maasai warriors singing and dancing around the fire.

Accommodation: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Visit the rhino sanctuary on the way to the airstrip and once again admire the hippos and the crocodiles of the Mara River. The flight back to Nairobi leaves the Mara at 11:00 AM and arrives in Nairobi at 12:20 PM.

Transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with Saruni driver and vehicle. Depending on the time of your international flight, stop at the Talisman or Carnivore restaurant for dinner.

This will mark the end of your 8 Days Samburu & Masai Mara safari holiday.

Accommodation: None

Meal plan: Breakfast