Travel Agent for Wellness and Immersion in Kenya
Cultures and Wildlife
Days 1-2: Arrive Nairobi, Kenya
Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya, meet your travel guide/agent, and transfer to your boutique safari retreat, ideally posed on the edge of Nairobi National Park. The next day, enjoy a leisurely morning and a restorative yoga class before departing for an afternoon of inspiring encounters. Begin with a visit to the 15-acre Giraffe Center, also a conservation education center for local schoolchildren, where you hand-feed endangered Rothschild’s giraffes. Next, spend time at the innovative Ocean Sole workshop to see how recycled flip-flops are transformed into incredible works of art. Pay a special late afternoon visit to the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage to observe these intelligent creatures, and learn about the program’s success in raising and reintegrating over 150 elephant calves into the herds of Tsavo. Tonight, gather for a welcome dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Day 2)
Day 3: Masai Mara Game Reserve
Transfer by air to the Masai Mara Game Reserve and check in to your modern luxury lodge perched on the Mara River in the heart of Kenya’s big game country. The Mara’s sweeping grasslands hold the highest concentration of species in Kenya and are home to Africa’s Big Five — elephants, leopards, Cape buffalo, rhinos and lions. A front-row seat to the action awaits on an adventurous game drive through this unparalleled reserve, one during which you stop to sip cocktails during a Scenic Sundowner experience.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: Masai Mara Game Reserve
Rise this morning for a game drive in the spellbinding Masai Mara, or choose instead to float far above the bustle of the plains on an optional hot air balloon flight (for an additional cost and weather permitting), experiencing the Mara at its most peaceful before touching down for a Champagne breakfast in the bush. Back at your lodge, enjoy time at leisure or indulge in your included spa treatment, choosing from three rejuvenating treatment options. Later, visit with a member of the local Masai, who discusses the tribe’s culture and the importance of jewelry before leading a beading demonstration. An afternoon game drive across open savanna and woodlands is followed by a freshly prepared dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Masai Mara Game Reserve
Rise early for an exciting morning game drive, when resident wildlife in the bush is most active; you may be rewarded with views of leopards retrieving kills from acacia branches, elephants warding off opportunistic lions or hippos returning to the water. After breakfast, choose one of three included and enriching Design Your Day experiences: Tour your lodge’s sustainable wetlands project and organic gardens before joining a cooking demonstration; visit a local school and assist in serving lunch to the students; or test your stamina on a guided run with members of the Maasai, long-famed for their distance running prowess. An afternoon at leisure offers another opportunity to relax. Embark on a late afternoon game drive, when the savanna reveals a whole new view of its wildlife. This evening before dinner, learn the sacred importance of water in Maasai village life, and the extraordinarily positive impact a clean water source has on these communities, during a presentation on LifeStraw, a project providing villages with clean water.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: Tsavo National Park
Fly via Nairobi to 3,500-square-mile Tsavo National Park, where you transfer to your elegant tented camp situated on 35 acres of riverine forest set within the vastness of one of Kenya’s wildest destinations. Settle in with a sunset yoga class offered under the guidance of an Africa Yoga Project instructor, and delivered on an elevated deck overlooking the splendidly green Chyulu Hills. Later, gather for a locally inspired dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7: Tsavo National Park
Greet the day with another early morning game drive, this time with breakfast served amid the dense foliage and dramatic wilds of Tsavo West National Park. Return to camp for time to relax at leisure. Lunch is served during a Chef’s Table experience, complete with a cooking class inspired by healthy recipes. Afterward, immerse yourself in the tribal traditions of the Maasai warrior, perhaps learning to throw a spear or rungu (dense wooden stick), or to defend yourself using a traditional cow-hide shield. Cap an inspiring day with a Scenic Sundowner backed by magical views of Mount Kilimanjaro and a specially arranged dinner under the stars.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8: Tsavo National Park – Hiking in the Chyulu Hills
Begin your day with an energizing sunrise yoga and meditation session. The gentle mountain range that rises under the verdant Chyulu Hills boasts volcanic tubes and dense cloud forests. After breakfast, set off on a game drive through this landscape, and then explore the forests on a guided hike that crisscrosses animal trails. Return to camp for an afternoon at leisure, during which you may enjoy your tented camp’s luxurious wellness facilities, including a relaxing hammam, modern fitness center and outdoor infinity pool. As the late afternoon sun begins to set, depart for a final game drive in Tsavo West National Park, taking in deep breaths of its greenery, rocky peaks, natural springs and rolling hills. Tonight, gather with fellow guests to celebrate your Kenyan safari with a special farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9: Depart Nairobi
Opt to rise early for morning yoga and meditation, then depart for your flight to Nairobi. Spend the afternoon at leisure in a reserved dayroom before your international flight home. (Or ask our experienced Kenya travel agent about options to extend your visit to beautiful East Africa.)
Meals: Breakfast
