Untamed Kenya

On arrival at the airport, you’ll be met and escorted to the 5-star Fairmont Norfolk Hotel. In the heart of the capital, our venerable landmark hotel has been the starting point for some of history’s greatest safari expeditions. The rest of this day is yours to relax or explore as you wish.

After breakfast, we’ll take you to the airport for your included safari flight to Kenya’s Laikipia region, a vast and diverse wilderness set between Mount Kenya and the Great Rift Valley. Known for its pioneering conservation model and low-density tourism, Laikipia offers an exclusive safari experience with exceptional wildlife viewing.

Upon arrival, you’ll be warmly greeted and transferred to your luxury safari camp, set within a private conservancy. After lunch, take time to settle into your accommodations and enjoy the sweeping views across the surrounding landscape.

Later this afternoon, set out on your first game drive with an expert guide. Laikipia’s varied terrain—ranging from open plains and acacia woodland to riverine forests—supports an impressive array of wildlife, including elephant, giraffe, lion, leopard, and cheetah, as well as endangered species such as Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe.

As the day draws to a close, pause for sundowner cocktails in a scenic setting, watching the sun sink below the horizon and cast a golden glow across the landscape. Enjoy an intimate dinner overlooking the surrounding landscape, reflecting the camp’s understated elegance and strong sense of place.  Meals: B+L+D

Today is devoted to further exploring the rich ecosystems and pioneering conservation efforts that define Laikipia, where wildlife protection goes hand-in-hand with sustainable land use and close partnerships with local communities.

Set out on morning and afternoon game drives across your private conservancy, where exclusive access and few vehicles allow for a more intimate safari experience. In addition to excellent predator sightings, Laikipia is home to rare and endemic species not easily found elsewhere in East Africa such as Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe.

Beyond traditional game drives, your camp offers a range of immersive experiences. Explore the bush on a guided walking safari, gaining insight into tracks, plants, and smaller wildlife, or experience the landscape from a different perspective on a camel trek or horseback ride alongside plains game. Visits to anti-poaching teams and community initiatives provide deeper understanding of the region’s innovative conservation model. This evening, gather for a starlit dinner overlooking the plains—a memorable close to your time in Kenya’s northern wilderness. Meals: B+L+D

After breakfast, we’ll take you to the airstrip for your included flight deep into the Maasai Mara National Reserve. On arrival, you’ll be met and escorted to our luxury safari camp. After lunch, you’ll have time to relax on your private verandah which overlooks a large watering hole teeming with birds and wildlife. Later this afternoon, you’ll join our expert guide for your first safari in the Masai Mara.  Meals B+L+D

Accompanied by our highly-trained guides, safari expeditions at Il Moran use custom-designed vehicles to give you top-tier game viewing and photographic opportunities. With its undisturbed panoramas of rolling savannah punctuated by the iconic silhouette of acacia trees, the Mara is striking in its wild beauty. Bisected by the twisting Mara River, this acclaimed national reserve is one of the richest wildlife habitats on Earth. Home to abundant bird and animal life, the Masai Mara National Reserve promises an unforgettable safari experience.
 
You can enjoy up to three game drives today, accompanied by engaging guides who have unparalleled knowledge of the reserve combined with their deep understanding and respect for the importance of this wilderness area, its flora, and its fauna. If you would like an extended morning game drive, the camp staff will pack a delicious picnic breakfast to take with you. To complement your game-viewing adventures, you can also spend time at one of the community projects supported by Governor’s Camps. The Mara Rianda Primary School and Mara Rianda Medical Center are two of these projects that offer valuable insights into responsible travel in action. Back at camp, enjoy congenial meals with fellow guests, accompanied by complimentary open bar.  Meals B+L+D

Another day unfolds with thrilling game drives led by our engaging sharp-eyed safari guides. The Mara is home to healthy populations of the Big Five, and this day offers yet another opportunity to track and observe these storied beasts; coined more than a century ago, the term “Big Five” refers to five animals that were especially prized by 19th-century big game hunters. Although both the elephant and rhino are included, the Big Five designation had nothing to do with size or weight. Rather, these were the animals that were the most difficult and the most dangerous to track and hunt. Rounding out this list are lions, highly social, apex predators; Cape buffalo, bovine in appearance but powerful, quick and fierce when provoked; and leopards - master stalkers who are most active at night, and usually spotted at rest under and among the tree branches they use as home base.
 
Along with the Big Five, the vast plains of the Mara are roamed by large numbers of giraffe, zebra, rhino, cheetah and numerous species of horned ungulates like impala, oryx, eland and kudu. In addition, the reserve is a birdwatcher’s paradise with more than 450 species recorded – including spectacular birds of prey from the African Fish Eagle and Secretary Bird to the graceful Bateleur Eagle. Toast your final afternoon game drive with Sundowner cocktails in the bush.  Meals B+L+D
 

Arise to another spectacular morning surrounded by the vast wilderness of the Masai Mara. After breakfast, thrill to a final game drive and return to Il Moran for lunch. In the afternoon, we’ll take you to the airstrip for your included flight to Nairobi, where you’ll be met and escorted to your hotel.  Meals B+L+D

After a leisurely morning, check out and meet your guide to explore Nairobi, beginning with lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens before visiting the museum on her former coffee farm, where the preserved home and gardens recall her life in Kenya and the film Out of Africa. Continue to the Giraffe Center, founded to protect the endangered Rothschild Giraffe and now home to nearly 500 of these gentle giants, learning about the pioneering family behind this conservation success as you observe them up close. Depending on flight times, your tour concludes at Kazuri Beads, where women craft vibrant ceramic jewelry, or Kobe Tough, a social enterprise producing fine leather goods—both offering a meaningful finale to your Nairobi stay.
 Meals B+L