Luxury, Wildlife and Beaches
A fantastic trip of luxury, incredible wildlife and exotic beach time
Personalised journeys from start to finish
Every trip helps support Conservation
Every detail taken care of
What's included
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All internal flights
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All accommodation
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Meals where stated
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Game drives at the lodges
At a glance
From epic wildlife to idyllic beaches, in this fantastic seven day trip to some of the most moving scenery in all of Africa.
Enjoy viewing herds of elephants and prides of Lion, among other spectacular species that reside in the Mara Conservancies, staying in an atmospheric camp or lodge to suit your style and with expert wildlife guiding and tracking. Then for the ultimate African beach experience, we have included time to relax on some of Zanzibar’s Indian Ocean shorelines.
Example trip itinerary
Nairobi
Transfer
Arrive in Nairobi
Accommodation in Nairobi
- Outdoor pool
- Health club & steam room
- Restaurant
- Bar & lounge
Set between the Ngong Hills and Jamhuri Park, the Hemingways Nairobi is a boutique hotel far removed from the bustle of the capital. Expect excellent service and delicious food in this all-inclusive establishment.
Choose from one of 45 lofty rooms furnished in a classic style; vaulted ceilings and balconies are complemented by exposed timber, cotton drapes and neutral tones. The two, 240 square metre themed-suites improve upon this with well-appointed living rooms, study and dining areas, opening to large terraces. All rooms have views either of the rolling hotel lawns or the Ngong hills in the distance.
Dining at The Brasserie, you can enjoy a contemporary European menu boasting some of the best steak in Kenya and a relaxed ambiance. Head to The Dining Room for a more formal atmosphere and modern cuisine of local providence.
- 10 open plan cottages (doubles or twins)
- Swimming pool
- Open plan dining, bar and lounge
The Emakoko occupies an enviable position on the edge of Nairobi National Park on the Kitengela plains, being a 30-minute drive from both of Nairobi’s airports yet in a wild environment.
There are 10 open plan cottages all with elevated views over the national park, and all with their own private outside deck, fireplace and ensuite bathrooms. A communal lounge, bar and dining area is where guests come together to eat, relax and talk about the days game drives or excursions into the city.
Along with the lodge’s good service and high standard, the added allure is the lodge’s convenience to both airports which you get to and from by driving through the national park, and is a game drive in itself.
Transfer
Private transfer from Nairobi international airport to Wilson airport
Mara Conservancies
Flight
Flight from Nairobi to the Mara
Transfer
Transfer to your lodge in the Mara Conservancies
Lodges and Camps in Mara Conservancies
- 12 luxury tented suites including a family suite
- 24-hour power supply
- Wine cellar
- Spa and fitness facility
- Individual hot tubs
This lovely camp has just twelve luxury tents and one family suite set amid the private Bushtops Conservancy, which border the Maasai Mara.
The camp itself is perched on the side of a hill with a scenic valley falling away to one side. It is just 4.5km away from the main gate to access the National Park and within striking distance of the beautiful Mara River, where the famous crossing of the wildebeest and zebra takes please each year during the migration season.
Each tent has been located to maximise privacy. They are nestled on the side of the hill with an expansive wooden deck, overlooking the Siana Hills. Each tent is 100 square metres of luxury, equipped with all the necessary comforts. Each deck also boasts a sunken hot tub made from local timber to complete your truly amazing experience here.
- Four tents
- Private guiding and vehicle
One of our favourite camps in Africa. Alex Walker’s Serian in the North Mara Conservancy is beautifully perched on the Mara River. Ngare Camp is made up of just four traditional style but luxurious tents set on wooden decks.
What makes Serian stand out is that you will have a private guide and vehicle for the duration of your stay, this coupled with the quality of the local Masaai guides means that you are set for a truly exclusive experience in the Mara North Conservancy.
Guests are able to take bush walks and night drives in the private area near the camp, allowing for a more ‘involved’ and exciting trip to the Mara.
Alex has been guiding and organising expert safaris throughout East Africa for over 25 years and his keen enthusiasm for this wonderful land is reflected in his camps. Serian Mara’s tents have a comforting colonial feel to them, with furniture that depict that historical time. Spacious and airy with verandas to enjoy the passing wildlife drawn to the river, you have a really lovely area to simply relax in a stunning setting.
Ideally situated in a high density game area, this camp is a luxurious way to spend your time in the Mara. With over 450 bird species that flock here year round, it will be difficult for you to ever be without some sort of wildlife in your immediate sights. Lion, leopard and cheetah are resident even when the migration have moved on, and provide some awesome photographic opportunities. Guests at Serian will receive exclusive use of a private safari vehicle and guide at no extra cost.
- Six luxury safari tents, all en-suite
- One honeymoon tent, very spacious and with a large private verandah
- Four family safari tents, each with two ensuite bedrooms and a shared living area
- Swimming pool and spa
Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp is located within a beautiful community-owned concession close to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and the Kenyan border, a timeless setting with incredible views over the game covered plains that surround it. Adding an extra layer to this camp is the fact that is closely involved with local community and conservation efforts, meaning that your stay is benefitting many.
The camp itself, colonial in style with dark woods, swathes of canvas and antique pieces, is made up of ten tents, spaced out to ensure privacy. Of the ten, four are family suites with their own living rooms and fireplaces and there also a unique honeymoon suite. All have en-suite showers and safari baths and showers can be set up in the savannah for unforgettable ablutions.
Two main mess tents sit at the heart of Cottar’s with areas for fine dining, drinking, reading and relaxing. There’s also a swimming pool and spa.
The Cottar family have decades of experience here and they count the highest number of Gold (the highest professional level) Safari Guides within one camp in Kenya, each chosen for their unique skillset and personalities, meaning a safari here, whether on foot or game drives, is always a fantastic.
Cultural interaction with the local Maasai community, with whom the Cottars have worked in partnership with for years, is authentic and not at all touristy. The award-winning camp also has some of the highest ecotourism ratings going.
- Seven luxurious tented suites
- Relais & Châteaux member
- Swarovski binoculars and Canon camera equipment in each tent
- Day and night access to the Olare Motorogi Conservancy
- Hot air balloon rides
- Cultural excursions
Just north of the Maasai Mara Reserve, in the 30,000 acre private Olare Motorogi Conservancy, this Relais & Châteaux camp offers you outstanding game experiences without the restrictions that the reserve itself imposes on other lodges. Each guest’s stay helps to contribute to various conservation and community projects. This conservancy adds a huge plus factor due to the privacy and minimal vehicle traffic within it. You can easily access the Maasai Mara Reserve, but the game in the conservation area is just as excellent. Leopard are regularly spotted passing through the camp and lions can often be heard in the distance.
Stroll along walkways that wind their way through the forest between the tented suites that are built on high stilts offering you stunning views onto the Ntiakitiak Riverr or across the Mara plains. Each suite has deep canvas canopied ceilings, rough-hewn wood floors and accents of East Africa’s rich safari history. Expect thick Lamu wood doors, deep purples, and brass accents. The raised library looks down onto hippos wallowing in the river, while the wine cellar is the perfect place to unwind and sample a selection of excellent South African and French wines. You can also choose to enjoy a private dining experience here.
A highlight of the camp is the family suite, the Mara Plains Jahazi Suite, which is an exclusive-use, two-bedroom tented villa with its own team of dedicated staff.
The game drive vehicles are all completely open which helps you get some phenomenal photographs. In addition to the game, you mustn’t forget that you also have a community nearby that you can visit and witness a genuine working village. A truly marvellous experience.
- 14 canvas pavilions
- Swimming pool
- Organic gardens
- Library
- Mini spa
- Kids club
Olonana is located on a private section of the Mara River, offering you spectacular views of the animals as they wander down the banks each day. What makes this camp extra special is its relationship with local communities and its efforts to be as environmentally responsible as possible.
Fourteen canvas pavilions are dotted along the river, each one extremely spacious with parquet flooring and four poster beds. With a modern spin this lodge has a library that you can enjoy and it even has a pool for an afternoon dip. And, if you feel like you need some extra pampering, you could wander down to the mini spa for some traditional African treatments with the bush as your soundtrack.
Besides the usual fantastic game drives where you can see the big five and more than 300 bird species, you will also have the chance to enjoy a nature work outside the reserve. These are hugely educational and your guides will point out the most remarkable things, from animal tracks and spoor to sights where lions have marked their territory. As the lands are not only home to game, you can also visit a Maasai village for some cultural insight into the traditional lives that these remarkable people lead.
This is a fabulous camp for families as there is a kids club and a range of special activities. Expert guides will take children out on game drives and accompany them to the nearby Maasai village where they will learn how to make and shoot a traditional bow and arrow, make a fire, build a hut, herding cattle to name a few. Kids will also be able to interact with the local children while playing football together, learn Maasai songs and traditional dances. Other activities include going out on a nature trail where they will learn about animal footprint identification or enjoy a bush treasure hunt followed by planting their own tree.
Days exploring the Mara Conservancies
The Mara Conservancies surrounding the Masai Mara National Reserve offer visitors the ultimate safari: the lowest tourist densities; incredible day and night game viewing; walking safaris; and authentic cultural interactions. But above all, these Conservancies are managed according to a model that protects the delicate eco-system and benefits the landowners themselves – the Maasai people.
Transfer
Transfer from your lodge to the airstrip in the Mara Conservancies
Flight
Light aircraft flight from Mara to Nairobi
Zanzibar Island
Flight
Flight from Nairobi to Zanzibar
Transfer
Private transfer from Zanzibar airport to your Zanzibar lodge or hotel
Accommodation in Zanzibar Island
- 10 Zanzabari Bandas
Mnemba, a small island 4.5 kilometres off the north-eastern coast of Zanzibar, is heaven incarnate. Which makes Mnemba Lodge this nirvana’s only resident hotel and a true desert island escape. The lodge is actively involved in various conservation efforts in the region, including monitoring and protecting the small population of very rare Ader’s duikers found here, and carefully taking care of the coastline and ocean.
Ten luxury Zanzabari banda houses are hidden into the island’s Casuarina pine forest whose cooing wild doves and adorable Suni deer make it a very romantic Swiss Robinson world. Each of the bandas are designed to let as much of the outside in with an open plan set out, walls made of coconut matting rolled up to reveal Indian Ocean views, big beds and sofas dressed in plumped-up white linens, handmade furniture, a dressing room, private verandas and an en-suite bathroom. What’s more, apart from the deer and doves the only other people you share the island with are the other guests and staff.
The lodge has enchanted a string of impressive guests from royalty to Silicone Valley tycoons, and it isn’t hard to see why. Dinner is always served on the beach (weather permitting) and both the food and staff are magnificent. Also if you’re afraid you’ll get bored on Mnemba, there’s always the lodge’s good list of activities to sway you: choose from learning how to dive with the lodge’s instructors, to watching turtles nest, fly fishing or kayaking.
- 30 villas
- Spa
- 2 bars
- Lounges
- 2 restaurants
- Tennis courts
- Swimming pools
- Fitness centre
- Library
- Kids Club
Conjuring up Zanzibar’s heady fusion of heritage, Baraza is a sumptuous boutique resort and spa on the shores of one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
Located on the island’s south-eastern coastline are Baraza’s thirty ultra-luxe villas designed as simple Swahili-style cement structures and dressed in all the Arabian elegance of intricately carved furniture, giant pillows and handmade antiques all under the warm romantic glow of hanging brass lanterns. The villas come in three sizes with differing views yet all have their own living rooms, music systems and large private terraces with plunge pools.
Baraza’s list of services are similarly spoiling; there’s a full spa complete with a large menu of treatments and therapies, a kids club for entertaining smaller members of the family and a watersports club for all sorts of nautical adventures from kitesurfing to paddle boarding and scuba diving courses. There are some good local activities to choose from too and the staff and hospitality at the hotel is really superb.
What’s more all this borders Bwejuu beach – voted one of the World’s Top 30 Beaches by Conde Nast Traveller.
- 6 villas
- Spa
- Swimming Pool
- Bar
- Dining Room
- Internet
- Pool Bar
- Private beach front Banda (thatched terrace)
The intimate Palms beachfront resort also lies on Zanzibar’s pristine Bwejuu sands and with only six standalone villas this is certainly a hotel suited for those after romance, shoreline seclusion and good service.
Not far from Baraza and sharing some of the same facilities such as the Water Club and some Spa services, the Palms has more of a local African flavour having opted for traditional steep thatched structures designed with elegant hardwood furniture, colourings and fabrics in a neutral palette, antique colonial pieces positioned alongside local art and inviting soft furnishings that all mirror the typical safari lodge style.
Each of the villas are well-appointed giving you a real and unassuming retreat experience; 140 sqm with their own living room, plunge pool, extra en-suite bedroom and terrace with views of the Indian Ocean.
The main ‘Plantation House’ has some lovely sitting areas, an evening bar and a restaurant serving some great local fare. The overall atmosphere is relaxed and low key with Bwejuu beach but a few moments away offering white sands, shaded coconut palms and coral lagoons.
Days in Zanzibar
Zanzibar is the place to relax on palm fringed beaches and white sifted sands and switch off from the world. However if you want to have activities organised from historic tours of Stone Town to fishing trips, your travel designer will be more than happy to arrange some for you.
Transfer
Private transfer from Zanzibar lodge or hotel to Zanzibar airport
Flight
Flight from Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam or Nairobi
We design private journeys for people who wish to go beyond the typical and experiencing something truly special. Our amazing team of travel designers, concierges and local guides work together to create unique journeys that get deep under the skin of where you’re visiting.
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Luxury, Wildlife and Beaches
How we work
From epic wildlife to idyllic beaches, in this fantastic seven day trip to some of the most moving scenery in all of Africa. Enjoy viewing herds of elephants and prides of Lion, among other spectacular species that reside in the Mara Conservancies, staying in an atmospheric camp or lodge to suit your style and with expert wildlife guiding and tracking. Then for the ultimate African beach experience, we have included time to relax on some of Zanzibar’s Indian Ocean shorelines. | Whats included?
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Days 1-2 |
Nairobi |
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Flights & transfers
Arrive in Nairobi |
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Accommodation in Nairobi
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Hemingways Nairobi - $$$$$
Set between the Ngong Hills and Jamhuri Park, the Hemingways Nairobi is a boutique hotel far...
•
The Emakoko - $$$$$
The Emakoko occupies an enviable position on the edge of Nairobi National Park on the...
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Flights & transfers
Private transfer from Nairobi international airport to Wilson airport |
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Days 2-5 |
Mara Conservancies |
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Flights & transfers
Flight from Nairobi to the Mara |
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| Transfer to your lodge in the Mara Conservancies | |
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Lodges and Camps in Mara Conservancies
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Mara Bushtops - $$$$$
This lovely camp has just twelve luxury tents and one family suite set amid the private...
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Serian Ngare - $$$$$
One of our favourite camps in Africa. Alex Walker’s Serian in the North Mara Conservancy is...
•
Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp - $$$$$
Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp is located within a beautiful community-owned concession close to...
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Mara Plains Camp - $$$$$
Just north of the Maasai Mara Reserve, in the 30,000 acre private Olare Motorogi Conservancy,...
•
Sanctuary Olonana Camp - $$$$$
Olonana is located on a private section of the Mara River, offering you spectacular views of...
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| Days exploring the Mara Conservancies The Mara Conservancies surrounding the Masai Mara National Reserve offer visitors the ultimate safari: the lowest tourist densities; incredible day and night game viewing; walking safaris; and authentic cultural interactions. But above all, these Conservancies are managed according to a model that protects the delicate eco-system and benefits the landowners themselves – the Maasai people. |
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Flights & transfers
Transfer from your lodge to the airstrip in the Mara Conservancies |
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| Light aircraft flight from Mara to Nairobi | |
Days 5-8 |
Zanzibar Island |
|
Flights & transfers
Flight from Nairobi to Zanzibar |
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| Private transfer from Zanzibar airport to your Zanzibar lodge or hotel | |
|
Accommodation in Zanzibar Island
•
Mnemba Island Lodge - $$$$$
Mnemba, a small island 4.5 kilometres off the north-eastern coast of Zanzibar, is heaven...
•
Baraza Zanzibar - $$$$$
Conjuring up Zanzibar’s heady fusion of heritage, Baraza is a sumptuous boutique resort and...
•
The Palms - $$$$$
The intimate Palms beachfront resort also lies on Zanzibar’s pristine Bwejuu sands and with...
|
|
| Days in Zanzibar Zanzibar is the place to relax on palm fringed beaches and white sifted sands and switch off from the world. However if you want to have activities organised from historic tours of Stone Town to fishing trips, your travel designer will be more than happy to arrange some for you. |
|
|
Flights & transfers
Private transfer from Zanzibar lodge or hotel to Zanzibar airport |
|
| Flight from Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam or Nairobi |
