Questions
About shape
The ones that come up once you start counting moves rather than places.
Why three nights per camp?
Two nights is one full day. The second full day is reliably the better one — you know the ground, the guide knows you, and you have stopped photographing the first zebra.
Almost nobody regrets a third night. A great many people regret a fourth camp.
Can we do the beach first?
You can, and we would advise against it. Bush first means the coast repays the sleep the safari cost you; the other way round you arrive rested and leave wrecked.
The transition is better too. Game drive to hammock is the best afternoon of the trip. Hammock to 6am game drive is a shock.
Is three camps in ten nights too many?
Usually. Three camps is two moves, and each move is most of a day plus a flight — two days of a ten-day honeymoon.
Two safari camps plus a coast is three bases and two moves, which is the practical limit at that length.
Are these routes bookable as published?
No, deliberately. They are shapes, built to be argued with. Availability, your dates and what you actually want will change all of them.
The useful thing to do with one is push back specifically: "can we do this with two bases", "which move would you take out", "is the fifth beach night better than the third safari night".
What if our dates fall on an anniversary?
Tell us and we will build the route so that day has no flight, no transfer and no 5am start in it. It is trivially easy in advance and impossible once the flights are ticketed.
How far ahead should I book?
For July to October — the migration months in the Masai Mara — six to twelve months is normal, and the best small camps sell out first. Christmas and New Year book up just as early.
For the shoulder months, three to four months is usually comfortable. Inside eight weeks we can still put a very good trip together, but you are choosing from what is left rather than from everything.
What is actually included in a safari price?
A East Africa safari is usually quoted fully inclusive: accommodation, all meals, park and conservancy fees, your guide and vehicle, and transport between parks. Most camps include soft drinks, house wine, beer and laundry.
Not included: international flights, visas or travel authorisation, travel insurance, tips, premium drinks, and extras like balloon flights and spa treatments.
Who actually arranges my safari?
This site is a planning guide. When you send an enquiry it goes to Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Kenya, who prepare your itinerary and quote and handle the booking, the payments and you on the ground.
You deal with one team from the first email to the airport transfer home.
Do you charge for planning?
No. Sending your dates, getting an itinerary and getting a costed quote is free and carries no obligation. Money only changes hands when you decide to hold space at a camp.
Ready to turn this into a real itinerary?
Send us your dates, who is travelling and roughly what you want to spend per person per night. Our East Africa specialist comes back within 24 hours with a plan built around them and a costed quote.