Grand Safari Kenya

Day 1 London, Nairobi
We begin with Titan’s VIP Home Departure Service® to London Heathrow Airport and your direct scheduled Kenya Airways flight to Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi.

Day 2 Nairobi, Aberdare National Park
Upon arrival, we are transferred towards Aberdare National Park, encompassing the beautiful, forested Aberdare Mountains and the heart of Kenya’s coffee-growing highlands. We arrive at the Outspan Hotel in time for lunch. Built in 1926, Outspan is a perfect example of a colonial hotel – a grand building with period furnishings set in colourful gardens. This was once the home of Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Scout movement. From Outspan, we make the short journey to the world famous Treetops Lodge, built beside a watering hole and salt lick that comprised an important stop on an ancient elephant migratory route. Completely renovated in 2012, Treetops is one of the most memorable and atmospheric game-viewing locations in the world, not least for its royal association – it was in this remote location, following a state dinner to mark her 1952 visit to colonial Kenya, that Princess Elizabeth learned of the death of her father, King George VI, and acceded to the throne. Thus was a chapter of British history written in a fairytale setting. Hippo, rhino and families of elephant are relatively common visitors, slaking their thirst as we settle back after a fi ne dinner, and an innovative optional in-room buzzer alerts us during the hours of darkness whenever a spectacle is unfolding outside.

Day 3 Lake Nakuru National Park
We depart Treetops this morning and head west to Lake Nakuru National Park, by way of the Thomson Falls, regarded as Kenya’s most beautiful waterfall. Lake Nakuru is an ornithologist’s paradise, for the thousands of pink flamingo that seasonally feed on the lake’s algae and for hundreds of other exotic species that call its shores home. At ground level, sightings of Rothschild giraffe, black and white rhino, lion and leopard are not unusual. We stay at Lake Nakuru Lodge, presenting commanding views over the lake and the most convenient base for wetland game drives, which we enjoy late afternoon and early the following morning.

Day 4 Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Naivasha National Park
Following an early morning game drive and breakfast, we make our way to Lake Naivasha, another of the lakes of Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Animal life also abounds in this natural oasis, from hippo and buffalo wallowing among the papyrus reeds to giraffes nibbling the acacia, Colobus monkeys leaping from tree to tree and innumerate species of birds adding flashes of colour and exotic calls. Today we will make a stop at Elsamere, where we enjoy afternoon tea. This small museum is the former home of Joy Adamson, author of ‘Born Free’, which was later turned into a hit fi lm. Home for two nights is Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort, a collection of stone-walled and bougainvillea-clad cottages set enchantingly amid acacia trees, proteas and aloes on the lake’s southern shores. A dinner of international specialities is served to views of the gardens and, later, by the soft light of an ornate chandelier.

Day 5 Lake Naivasha National Park
This morning we explore the Crescent Island Game Conservancy, a reserve located on the eastern side of the lake and a haven for viewing birds and game. The afternoon is free for you to relax and enjoy the resort facilities.

Day 6 Lake Naivasha National Park, Masai Mara Game Reserve
No Kenya highlights tour would be complete without a stay in the Masai Mara, renowned not only for its year-round concentration of animals, which we will view on an afternoon game drive, but also for its location directly in the path of the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra.
One of the first lodges to be built within the Masai Mara Game Reserve and set on the slopes of the Oloongams Hills, the Mara Sopa Lodge is noted for the richness of the landscape it inhabits, its ethnic design, its thatched roundel rooms and its amenities, including jasmine-scented gardens, a swimming pool and a viewing platform. We spend three nights here, in contemplation of the wildlife wonders of the Mara and the unforgettable Kenyan hospitality that we have enjoyed on this outstanding journey.

Day 7 -8 Masai Mara Game Reserve
During our two full days in the Masai Mara it would be no surprise to see prides of lion on one of our game drives, or the fastest land mammal, the cheetah, hunting gazelle on the open plains. Keep an eye out too for a host of other large mammals, numerous pods of hippo that patrol the nearby river and a selection of the Mara’s hundreds of species of bird. In addition to several game drives we will also visit a typical Masai Village to experience the aspects of Masai daily life, which has been organised in conjunction with The Travel Foundation.

Day 9 Masai Mara, Nairobi
After an early breakfast, we journey back to the Kenyan capital, with time at leisure in the Somak Lounge before our direct, scheduled, overnight Kenya Airways flight to London Heathrow.

Day 10 London
On arrival at London Heathrow our staff will greet you and transfer you to Titan Transport for your journey home to your own front door.

IMPORTANT TOUR INFORMATION
Safari routing and/or lodges may vary from those stated for operational reasons.
The Great Migration can take place any time August-October, and it is not possible to guarantee that your great journey will coincide with that of the wildebeest.

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Titan Travel strive to ensure that aspect of their holidays whispers quality, before you fly, you get to appreciate a comfortable, chauffeur-driven transfer from your front door to the airport with our peerless VIP Home Departure Service, check-in assistance and complimentary porterage. All international flights are with world-renowned scheduled airlines and cruises with acclaimed operators. Touring holidays are expertly designed by the product team to present a comprehensive, imaginative introduction to the destination of choice yet still offer plenty of time for relaxation. The services of a tour manager or cruise manager are included throughout. When you return to the UK, you are met in the arrivals hall of the airport and shown to your VIP Home Departure Service vehicle, waiting to return you to your front door.

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