Hi everyone

I am planning a safari for september 2007 in Kenya for my partner and myself. We are between 25-30 years old and this is our first time for safari. After our safari we are planning some days at the beach either at Mombasa or Zanzibar. We have two options for safari and would love to hear what other African travellers, you, think of our itinerary.

OPTIONS 1 (1550 $)

Day 1 -1 night Mount Kenya - Serena Mountain Lodge

Day 2 - 1 night Lake Nakuru - Sarova Lion Hill

Day 3-4 - 2 nights Masai Mara - Mara Serena Lodge

One additional night in Masai Mara - Mara Serena Lodge would cost 395 $ extra.

OPTIONS 2 ( 1800 $)

Day 1 - 1 night Nairobi - Panafric Hotel

Day 2-3 - 2 night Masai Mara - Mara Sarova Camp

Day 4 - 1 night Lake Nakuru - Sarova lion Hill

Day 5 - 1 night Amboseli - Amboseli Serena Lodge

Day 6 - 1 night Tsavo West- Kilaguni Serena Lodge

Day 7 - 1 night Tsavo East- Satao Camp

Day 8 - Mombasa

These are two options from two diffirent travel agency from Sweden and both are with our own car and our own guide. All travel will be done by road.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Option 1. Amboselli and Tsavo not as good game viewing.

Would add the night in the Mara. If have time and money would add two nights in the Samburu.

Appears you are booking through Serena which is very wise if you want to pay the least amount and get the best value.

However I would shop around a bit. Would recommend you also contact Southern Cross, African Serendipity and Eastern and Southern.

Kevin from California

P.S. link to my trip report from last August:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34868269

I don't have much time right now so this will be brief.

1) Option 1 seems very high priced for what you're getting. You can check with the operators that Kevin posted above for comparison. Of course, I understand if you feel more comfortable dealing with an agency in your home country, but it's really easy to deal directly with Kenya based operators as well.

2) Option 2 has an enormous amount of driving with very short stays. Do you really want that? Could you add nights to your trip?

One more comment, when you decide on an itinerary and have your agent/operator check availability, you may find that some of these lodges are already full. Sep is high season, particularly in the Mara, so I'd be open to back up options as far as accomodation. If you're on a private safari, you should be able to customize the itinerary any way you want (subject to availability) rather than choosing only from the options you're given.

Option #1 is very expensive for 4/days and the level of accommodations. And the Masai Mara, deserves more than 2/nights (what you actually get is only 1/full day. In Sept, especially, you should allow 3/days, 4 if possible. Option #2, has way too many 1/nighters.

How many days do you have for the safari portion only? And how many for R&R on the beach?

Hi Ika, Patty is right re amount of driving in Option 2. Be aware that though the driving distances are not great the condition of the roads is very bad, mostly very rough gravel tracks which makes for much slower driving. Even the bitumen roads have huge potholes and it is also very tiring due to heat and dust. It is far better to stay at least 2 nights in a couple of locations such as Samburu and Nakuru and 3 or more days in Masai Mara where the game viewing is unreal! Samburu Serena is very nice situated right on a river where elephants come down to drink. The game was plentiful there too. Lake Nakuru is spectacular with all the flamingos plus quite good game viewing (we saw our only leopard there)and good accommodation at Sarova Lion Hill. Mara Serena is set high on a hill overlooking the Mara River which is an excellent location.
We booked with Eastern & Southern Safaris in Nairobi over the internet from Australia and found them very helpful and easy to deal with. We had a vehicle/driver to ourselves and their prices were very reasonable. Hope this helps.

Hi

Thanks for your helpful replys, we have now been in contact with another travel agency from Sweden and got the following price for our selected safari:

OPTION 1 with extra night in Masai Mara( 1696 $ )

Day 1 - 1 night Mount Kenya - Serena Mountain Lodge

Day 2 - 1 night Lake Nakuru - Sarova Lion Hill

Day 3 - 3 nights Masai Mara - Serena Mountain Lodge or Mara Sarova tented camps. This depends on the availability on the accommodation for september. What do you think of these accommodation in Masai Mara. If you have som others suggestions for accommodation please let us know.

We have also been in contact with Eastern and Southern and this safari would cost approximately the same.

After the safari we are planning a beach holiday for 6 - 7 nights and are now choosing between Pinewood Village on southern diani beach and Pongwe on Zanizibar.

What do you think of this itinerary?
Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Hey,
I'm going to throw a twist into this,
I actually like the look of option 2,
If I had the choice of Mt Lodge to Kilaguni, Kilaguni wins hands down,
I don't know if you have the time but 3 nights Mara, 1 night Nakuru, 1 night Amboseli, 1 night Tsavo is a great safari option.
I spent my honeymoon at Kilaguni and we sawa hyenas killing a zebra while we were having dinner.
Regards
Im

A friend and I are also planning a safari trip for July 1-10. We booked with Eastern & Southern Safaris. We have been e-mailing back and forth and have come up with a great itinerary. 7 day safari w/lodge (no tent-camping) and a 3 day stay in Mombasa. We will also have a private car/tour guide which allows us some freedom. The trip for 10 days with flight from Niarobi to Mombasa and return to Niarobi is $2300 (US) per person. I checked all the lodges through varies websites to see what they were like and am pleased. Tripadvisor.com is another resource to look at when checking to see about the lodges. We told E&S Safaris the price range we were willing to spend and they came within budget. Not bad for high season. Hope this helps.

if given a choice i would take options one why? cos a visit wid no Maasai Mara is not considered a complete safari,and in anyway depending on your budget you don't ave to use the serena properties,My itinerary would be like this.
Option 1
Day 1-Aberdares-the ark Lodge
Day 2-Lake Nakuru-both lion hill sarova and Lake Nakuru Lodge are ok
Day3-4-Two nights at Keekorok Lodge which is less expensive but very well located to game unlike Mara Serena Lodge

NB:It's better to use a company based in Kenya as even the swedish one use have to use a ground handler who happens to be one of the local company-main idea is their price is a bit up as they have to make profit for themselves and also for their local ground handler.

Personally we used a local one and they were very cheap and efficient with no hidden prices.dats their address www.diwakasafaris.com or [email protected] who also booked us in Mombasa if need be contact them