Quick Reference

Detail	Info
Duration	7 days
Best months	July–October (Great Migration, dry season); Jan–Feb (short dry season, fewer tourists)
Currency	Kenyan Shilling (KES). USD widely accepted in tourist areas. Cards work in Nairobi.
Visa	East Africa Tourist Visa ($50 USD) covers Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda — apply online at ecitizen.go.ke
Getting around	Domestic flights or road (Nairobi–Mara is 5–6 hours rough road; many fly)
Budget (mid-range)	$150–350/day. Safari camps dominate the budget; the Mara is not cheap.

Day 1: Nairobi — A City That Surprises

Nairobi has a reputation built entirely on transit horror stories — the traffic, the crime statistics, the “world’s most dangerous city” headlines of the 1990s. In reality, the Nairobi of 2026 has a functional metro rail line, a growing middle class that has produced one of Africa’s strongest tech sectors, some excellent food, and the only national park in the world inside a capital city’s boundaries. The Nairobi National Park — 117 square kilometres of savannah 7 kilometres from the CBD — contains lions, rhinos, buffalo, and leopards. You can see them with the city skyline behind them. This is genuinely one of the more surreal things travel offers.

The Giraffe Centre in the suburb of Karen allows direct interaction with Rothschild giraffes — an endangered subspecies being bred here for reintroduction to protected areas. You feed them from a raised platform at giraffe head height. The Karen Blixen Museum nearby occupies the farmhouse where the author of Out of Africa lived from 1917 to 1931 (the farm has been preserved as she left it). For food, the Carnivore Restaurant near Wilson Airport — open since 1980 — serves a fixed-price all-you-can-eat feast of game meat (crocodile, ostrich, eland) that remains one of Nairobi’s more committed culinary experiences.

Sleep: Hemingways Nairobi (Karen suburb, elegant) or Fairmont The Norfolk (historic city centre)

Days 2–4: Masai Mara — The Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth

The Masai Mara National Reserve shares an unfenced border with Tanzania’s Serengeti, together forming a protected ecosystem of 30,000 square kilometres — the largest in Africa. The Great Migration, in which 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra, and 350,000 Thomson’s gazelle move in a circular pattern following the rains, crosses the Mara River between July and October. The river crossings — where the herds swim the crocodile-infested water in massed, panicking surges — are one of the most intensely watched wildlife events on the planet.

Outside migration season, the Mara’s resident wildlife is exceptional: the park has one of the highest densities of lions in Africa, significant leopard and cheetah populations, all five of Africa’s most-sought species (the Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino — black rhinos in small numbers), and birdlife of extraordinary variety. Two game drives daily cover different sections of the reserve. The dawn drive is mandatory: at 5:30am the savannah runs orange and the predators are still active from their night hunts.

On day 3, visit an authentic Maasai village near the reserve boundary (not the tourist-oriented one at the gate — ask your camp to arrange access to a genuine community). The Maasai are semi-nomadic cattle herders who have lived across the Kenya–Tanzania border for 400 years. Their traditional diet — meat, milk, and blood from cattle — has been well-studied by nutritionists with complicated results. Their beadwork is communication: specific colour and pattern combinations denote age group, marital status, and social standing. A Maasai elder speaking through a translator with no performance quality, explaining the cattle grazing system and the warrior age-set progression, is one of the most valuable hours you’ll spend in Kenya.

Sleep: Angama Mara (cliffside, extraordinary views) or Mahali Mzuri (Sir Richard Branson’s camp, reliable quality)

Day 5: Lake Nakuru — Flamingos and Rhinos

Lake Nakuru National Park, three hours from Nairobi, is built around a soda lake that periodically turns pink when millions of lesser flamingos gather on its shores — the phenomenon that made it famous. Flamingo numbers have fluctuated significantly since the 1990s (the lake’s water level and salinity changes affect the algae they feed on), but the lake still attracts tens of thousands. More reliably, Nakuru has the highest concentration of both black and white rhinos in Kenya — the park is a sanctuary and numbers have recovered considerably since the 1980s poaching crises.

Sleep: Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge or return to Nairobi

Days 6–7: The Swahili Coast — Lamu Old Town

Fly from Nairobi to Lamu (1 hour; domestic flight). Lamu is a UNESCO-listed island town on Kenya’s northern coast that has been a centre of Swahili culture and Indian Ocean trade since the 8th century CE. There are no cars on the island — the streets are too narrow and the donkeys have right of way. The architecture is a specific coral-stone-and-plaster Swahili vernacular, with carved wooden doors (the door is the most important architectural element; a wealthy family’s door is highly decorated) and interior courtyards open to the sky.

Lamu’s culture sits at the intersection of Bantu African, Arab, and South Asian influences accumulated over twelve centuries of maritime trade. The Lamu Cultural Festival in November (if your timing allows) involves donkey racing, dhow sailing competitions, and Swahili poetry recitation. Outside festival season, the pace of the island is its own argument: hire a dhow for a half-day, watch the sun set over the channel from the rooftop of a guest house, eat grilled fish on the waterfront. Kenya’s coast operates at a completely different tempo to its interior.

Sleep: Lamu House Hotel or Petley’s Inn (on the waterfront since 1955)

Cultural Etiquette in Kenya

Always ask before photographing Maasai people — and understand that a fee of 200–500 KES is a standard and reasonable request from community members who make part of their income from tourism. Photography of the Maasai as subjects without payment or permission is extraction; paying and photographing is a transaction everyone understands. On the Swahili coast, Lamu is predominantly Muslim: dress modestly when not at the beach (cover shoulders and knees in town), avoid public displays of affection, and be respectful of prayer times (five daily; the town quiets noticeably during the midday and sunset prayers).

Plastic bags are illegal in Kenya since 2017, with fines of up to $38,000 or imprisonment. This is not a theoretical rule. Do not bring plastic bags from the airport or from supermarkets in Nairobi. Use reusable bags, which are sold everywhere. For more on African cultural traditions and East African festivals, these guides give broader context for the region.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Great Migration in the Masai Mara?

The main migration crosses into the Mara from Tanzania between July and October, peaking in August–September. The dramatic river crossings happen most frequently in August. Outside these months, the Mara has excellent resident wildlife — but the million-animal spectacle is a July–October phenomenon.

Is a yellow fever vaccination required for Kenya?

A yellow fever certificate is required if you are arriving from a yellow fever endemic country (most of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South America). If arriving directly from Europe, North America, Australia, or the Middle East, it’s not required — but recommended if you plan to travel across East Africa. Also ensure hepatitis A, typhoid, and malaria prophylaxis are up to date; consult a travel health clinic 6–8 weeks before departure.

How much does a Kenya safari cost?

Budget campsites inside the Mara start at $50/night plus $80/person/day park fees. Mid-range permanent tented camps run $200–400/night all-inclusive. Luxury camps (Angama, Mahali Mzuri, &Beyond) run $600–1,200+/night. The park fee alone is $200 per person per day for non-residents in the Mara conservancies. Kenya is not a budget safari destination; the wildlife and experience quality are commensurate with the price.