Tours in Kenya

Start with the light. In Kenya it comes up fast and flat over the savanna, and by the time you have found your coffee the whole sky is open. This is a country you cross in layers: the coast, the highlands, the Rift Valley, the plains. Each one feels like a different trip, and most visitors only ever get a taste of one or two.

Nairobi is where most people land, and it is stranger than its reputation. Giraffes graze within sight of office towers. Lions are a short drive from the airport. Nairobi National Park sits right against the edge of the city, and on a clear morning you can watch rhinos with the skyline behind them. Close by, the Giraffe Centre lets you hold out a pellet and feel a long, rough tongue take it from your palm. The elephant orphanage is a gentler hour, watching keepers and young elephants who clearly know each other well. Karura Forest is the city's green exhale, with shaded trails and waterfalls, and the markets and craft centres are where you haggle over beadwork, baskets and bright textiles. If you only have a layover, a good local guide can fit a surprising amount of this around your flight times.

Beyond the capital, the country opens out. The Maasai Mara is the name everyone knows, grassland that rolls on until it meets the horizon, with game drives at dawn and dusk. Amboseli looks across to Kilimanjaro on a good day. Lake Nakuru and the Rift Valley lakes bring flamingos and hills that drop away under you. Mount Kenya rises over the highlands to the north. Down on the coast, Mombasa and Lamu are another world of salt air, spice, dhows and Swahili food, slow in the afternoon heat.

We currently sell one tour here, the Nairobi stopover, but Kenya is much bigger than that. If you want a safari, a coastal walk, or a day somewhere we do not list yet, ask. A local guide can take the request.