Our Top Kenya Tips: Where to Go on Safari

Kenya is where the safari was born, and it still does it as well as anywhere: vast plains rich with wildlife, dramatic backdrops, and a deep culture among the Maasai and Samburu peoples. Its variety, from equatorial forest to snow-capped peaks to coral coast, makes it a destination travelers return to.

Where to go

• The Maasai Mara — Kenya's flagship reserve, famous for big cats on open plains and, from July to October, the Great Migration river crossings.
• Amboseli National Park — large elephant herds with Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop, one of Africa's iconic views.
• Laikipia and the conservancies — community-run reserves such as Loisaba, with sleep-outs under the stars, walking, riding and biking alongside Maasai and Samburu hosts.
• Nairobi — the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's orphaned elephants and the Giraffe Centre make a worthwhile day before flying to the bush.

How to plan it

Camps assign a guide and tracker for your stay, and the conservancies bordering the major parks offer fewer vehicles and more flexibility than the reserves themselves. Kenya pairs well with Tanzania for the full migration story, or with a beach finish on the Indian Ocean coast. Time the Mara to the migration if that is your priority, but the resident game is superb year-round.