18-Day Budget Kenya Wildlife and Adventure Safari

You will either be picked up from your accommodation in Nairobi or from Jomo Kenya International Airport in the morning or driven to Tsavo East National Park. These vast, semi-arid plains, 200 km north of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, make up this area. One of Kenya’s oldest and biggest national parks, Tsavo East makes up around 40% of the country’s total area of national parks. You will reach a cheap camp or guest home in time for lunch, then go on a game drive after that. Numerous large herds of wild animals, including dust-red elephants, beisa oryx, zebras, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, leopards, gerenuks, and Somali ostriches, may be seen. The various bird species that are frequently seen in Northern Kenya, such as vulturine guinea fowl and golden-breasted starling, among others, also call the thorny shrubs of Tsavo East home. After waiting for dinner, you will return to the cheap camp or guest house where you will spend the night.

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

Following breakfast, you will go on a full-day game drive with a picnic lunch, where you will have the opportunity to watch game while exploring this vast park. In addition, you’ll see the Aruba dam and the Luggard’s Falls, which were both named for Lord Frederick Luggard. Hippos can be seen downriver, and the falls are known for their unusually shaped water-worn rocks. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to climb the Mudanda rock, which provides a great vantage point from which to observe the waters of the natural dam that is located at its base and draws a lot of elephants who are in their wallowing postures. You will then wait for dinner in your cheap camp or guest house before retiring for the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

After breakfast, you will leave Tsavo East National Park for Tsavo West, where you will have a full day to explore Tsavo West, which provides a variety of magnificent vistas, after an early morning game drive and a leisurely breakfast. As you wander the park, you might come across elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, leopards, rhinoceroses, smaller kudus, and other wild animals. After lunch, you will head to a cheap camp or guest house before visiting the Mzima Springs, a freshwater oasis irrigated by water that pours from Mount Kilimanjaro and the Chyulu Hills. It is the main source of water for Mombasa and the surrounding area. From the Perspex windows of the underwater viewing box, you will be able to watch fish, crocodiles, and many bird species. You will wait for dinner there, then return to the inexpensive campground or guest home where you will spend the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

Following breakfast, carry on with your safari while making a stop at the Shetani Lava Flow. After that, travel to Amboseli National Park, where you’ll be there in time for lunch at a cheap camp or guest house. Go on a game drive in the late afternoon to look for the enormous elephants for which the park is known, not to mention the views of Mount Kilimanjaro on a clear day. You will have the opportunity to exit your safari vehicle and stroll to Observation Hill, which offers outstanding views of the marshy areas and adjacent plains, with the possibility of spotting leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, lions, and flamingos, among other exotic animals. You will return to the budget camp or guest house to wait for dinner, followed by your overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

After serving your coffee or tea, you will go on a morning game drive, followed by a late breakfast. After leaving the Amboseli National Park, you will have a picnic lunch. As you travel from Amboseli National Park to Nairobi, an optional excursion to a Maasai cultural hamlet is offered. You will arrive at a low-cost motel or guest home for dinner and your overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

Continue your safari after breakfast to Nanyuki, where you will stop at the equator for a photo opportunity and a demonstration of how water spins differently north of and south of the equator. You will then go to Isiolo and experience the Samburu National Reserve like never before. In a semi-arid region with a mountainous environment and imposing surroundings, it is a sanctuary of beauty and calm. Lunch will be provided at a cheap campground or hotel. After that, you’ll go on a game drive where you may see some of Kenya’s most stunning birds as well as Grevy zebra, Beisa oryx, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, long-necked gerenuk, and delicate dik dik. Elephant herds, plains wildlife, and their predators will also be visible.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

After receiving coffee or tea, you will leave for an early-morning game drive. Before going back to the inexpensive camp or guest home for a late breakfast, you might witness a leopard, Grevy’s zebra, gerenuk, oryx, among other exotic species. You can choose to unwind or go to the Samburu cultural village, which is optional. A camel ride is also an option. Lunch will then be provided. Continue your game drive in the late afternoon before returning to your inexpensive camp or guest house to wait for dinner and spend the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

You will leave Samburu after breakfast and travel to the Mount Kenya region. You can take a guided forest walk, visit a waterfall, and, if the weather is right, go swimming in the Ngare Ndare Forest. After waiting for lunch, you will head to your cheap lodging or guest home, where you will spend the afternoon at your leisure before returning to it for the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

Following breakfast and a picnic lunch, you will travel to Sirimon Gate (2,660m), which is located at the foot of Mount Kenya. You will complete the necessary park paperwork here, start your leisurely 4-hour hike, and end at Old Moses Camp (3,300m). Then, make your way to the park gate to board your safari vehicle, which will drive you back to the inexpensive camp/guest house where you will spend the night and have dinner.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

Your safari will continue to Aberdare National Park after breakfast and a picnic lunch. It offers spectacular alpine scenery that combines the Alps with areas of thick jungle, amazing waterfalls, and the breathtaking 300-meter drop. Buffalo, elephants, hyenas, and the rare bongo antelopes may all be present. Later, you’ll drive to Lake Naivasha, where you’ll arrive in time for dinner before spending the night at a modest camp or guest house.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

You will leave for Hell’s Gate National Park, which is located south of Lake Naivasha, after breakfast. Before returning to the cheap camp or guest home for lunch, you will have the possibility to explore the park on foot or by bicycle amid the giraffe, zebra, gazelles, and various bird species. You will afterwards travel to Joy Adamson’s former residence, Elsamere Conservancy. Visit the museum to see a modest collection of Joy’s artwork and memorabilia. Additionally, you will get the opportunity to view artifacts from the movie Born Free and a collection of images showcasing Joy and George’s creative endeavors. You will then return to the budget camp or guest house to wait for dinner, followed by your overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

You will leave Lake Naivasha with a picnic lunch and continue your safari to Lake Bogoria after breakfast. There is a probability that you will spot Greater kudu, baboons, zebras, and gazelles here. You will later take a stroll around Lake Bogoria’s shoreline and get the opportunity to watch flamingos among other bird species. You will eventually get to Lake Baringo, a freshwater lake. It is a birding hotspot since it is off the usual path and has over 470 different species of birds. Additionally, Lake Baringo is home to three significant settlements: Tugen, Ilchamus, and Pokot. These communities engage in farming, fishing, and cattle rearing. You will arrive in time for dinner and your overnight stay at a budget camp or guest house.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

You will go to Lake Baringo in the morning for a two-hour boat ride, allowing you the chance to explore the lake and its inhabitants, which include hippos, crocodiles, and several bird species. After returning to your guest house or low-cost camp, you will have breakfast before going on a guided nature walk where you might observe carpet vipers, brown scorpions, black scorpions, and other venomous snakes in addition to observing other bird species. After lunch, you will get the option to explore the Pokot community before heading back to your inexpensive camp or guest house to wait for supper and retire for the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

You will leave Lake Baringo for Lake Nakuru National Park after breakfast. As you go to the guest house, where lunch will be served before a game drive, you will have time to explore the park before arriving at this location. On the Lake Nakuru shoreline, you might be able to spot flamingos and other bird species. Along with these animals, you may also observe rhinos, giraffes, buffaloes, and zebras, not to mention the opportunity to visit the baboon cliff for a beautiful perspective of the park. You will have dinner and spend the night at a guest house or inexpensive hotel.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

You will leave Lake Nakuru National Park after breakfast and go to Kenya’s top wildlife reserve, the renowned Masai Mara National Reserve. The Serengeti environment, which is located in neighboring Tanzania and is known as the Great Plains, is what is properly known as the Mara. The “Big Five”—lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino, and elephant—live there, along with cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, huge herds of plains antelope, and a variety of other animals. You will reach there in time for a cheap camp or guest house meal before a late-afternoon game drive. After waiting for dinner, you will head back to the modest camp or guest home where you will spend the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

An optional hot air balloon ride is available. After breakfast, you will have two full days to explore the vast Masai Mara National Reserve in search of plains game such as buffalo, elephant, leopard, cheetah, and black-maned lions. Not to mention the possibility of seeing the wildebeest migration with a trip to the Mara River (assuming you go in July through early September). You will wait for dinner there later before returning to the inexpensive campground or guest home where you will spend the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget Camping

Take a game drive in the early morning, eat breakfast, and then leave the Masai Mara National Reserve. A visit to the Maasai traditional village is optional. Continue your safari through Narok town and make a stop at the Great Rift Valley on your way to Nairobi to take in the breathtaking vistas of the escarpment. You will be there in plenty of time to be dropped off at the airport for your next flight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch

Includes:   

• All activities mentioned in the itinerary unless labeled as optional
• English experienced and professional driver or guide
• Camping equipment
• All park entrance fees
• All meals as specified in the itinerary
• Drinks as specified in the itinerary
• Sleeping bag
• All accommodation unless labeled as optional
• All taxes / VAT

Price Excludes

• Visa ticket
• Travel ticket
• Travel Insurance
• Government-Imposed Taxes/Park Fees
• International flights
• Personal items like souvenirs, tips, phone charges, presents, etc.