Grand Wildlife Tour (14 Days)
Most of the parks and game reserves can be visited on short 3-day/2-night safaris from Nairobi. There is a choice of either flying or driving and varied options of accommodations from basic camping to luxury safari lodges and intimate tented camps. To see them all, you'll need about 2 weeks; stay at least a couple of nights at each to get the most out of early-morning and late-afternoon game drives, which is when the animals are at their most active.
From Nairobi head south to the Amboseli National Park, where the brooding presence of Kilimanjaro provides a scenic backdrop to game viewing, then east to Tsavo West National Park, where there are superb opportunities to spot large herds of elephants. Backtrack through Nairobi and head for the Central Highlands for a night in a country hotel on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya or in the Aberdares National Park. If you want to climb Mount Kenya, add another 4 days to your itinerary. From here, head north and spend a couple of days in the Samburu National Reserve, where the newest activity on offer is tracking elephants on foot and there's the opportunity to meet the strikingly dressed Samburu people. Splash out and spend at least 1 night in a lodge in the Laikipia Plateau region, such as Sweetwaters Game Reserve, which has a wide variety of animals including a sanctuary for chimpanzees. Then head to the Lake Nakuru National Park, where you'll literally trip over rhino, for a night before heading south to the Masai Mara for at least 2 nights, more if the wildebeest migration is there. Finish back in Nairobi with at least 1 spare day to visit the wildlife sanctuaries such as the Giraffe Centre and have a final night out at the Carnivore restaurant.
Beach & Bush (10 Days)
If the beach is more your scene but you'd like to combine relaxation on the coast with a short safari, there are a number of options. From Nairobi you can choose a 3-day safari to the Masai Mara, or one or more of the other parks, before flying down to the coast for a week. Alternatively, Tsavo is easily accessible from Mombasa and a couple nights here will change the scenery from a typical beach holiday.
On the coast, the beaches are dazzling white, most of the hotels have a full range of facilities, and there's the opportunity to explore the coral reefs in the numerous marine parks by scuba diving, snorkeling, or from glass-bottomed boats. Away from the beach there are a number of attractions along the coast. Fort Jesus and the old town in Mombasa is worth a half-day's stroll; from Diani Beach to the south of Mombasa, the Jadini Forest and Shimba Hills National Reserve can be visited on half-day tours, or enjoy a day trip with seafood lunch to Wasini Island in the Kisite Marine National Park. To the north of Mombasa on the road to Malindi are the Gedi Ruins, the remains of an 8th-century Swahili settlement, and numerous attractions to appeal to holiday-makers such as snake and crocodile parks. If you have a couple of extra days, fly from Mombasa or Malindi north to Lamu, where you can spend a day exploring the charming old Arabian town, visit the excellent museum, or walk along the isolated beaches -- but remember, in contrast to the rest of the coast, Lamu is very conservative.
Stopover Tour (3 Days)
Nairobi is not a city-break destination as such but it is one of Africa's air travel hubs, so if you're short of time on the way to somewhere else, you can still fit in some game watching in and around Nairobi. Spend at least a half-day on a game drive in the Nairobi National Park, which with the city as a backdrop is home to all of the Big Five except elephants -- but these can be seen on a morning excursion to the David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage adjoining the park, where you can watch very cute baby elephants tearing around. In the city center, experience Kenya's colonial past with a drink at the Lord Delamere Bar in the Norfolk Hotel or eat at the Lord Erroll restaurant, both of which are decorated with memorabilia from the days when the white settlers socialized over gin and tonics. Lake Naivasha is worth a day's visit, and the lakeshore country clubs are a good spot for lunch. You can take a boat ride on the lake to see hippos; go for a walk among the zebras and giraffes on Crescent Island; or visit Elsamere, the former home of Joy Adamson of Born Free fame for high tea on the manicured lawns. Further afield, Nakuru National Park deservedly warrants a 1-night stay for a late-afternoon and early-morning game drive. Back in Nairobi, head out to the suburb of Langata to visit the Giraffe Centre and the nearby Karen Blixen Museum, and end the evening at the Carnivore restaurant, where meat is roasted on Masai spears.
