Kenya Family Safari: Nairobi, Amboseli, the Lakes & the Mara

This morning the family enjoys two of the most heart-warming wildlife experiences in Africa. At the celebrated elephant orphanage on the edge of Nairobi National Park, you watch orphaned baby elephants being bottle-fed and playing in the mud, and learn the moving stories of their rescue. At the Giraffe Centre nearby, you come face to face with endangered Rothschild's giraffes and hand-feed them from a raised platform, looking into their long-lashed eyes, a delight for children. Then you journey south towards Amboseli National Park, on the Tanzanian border, as the vast, snow-capped bulk of Mount Kilimanjaro rises ahead. You arrive at your lodge in time for an afternoon game drive among Amboseli's famous elephant herds beneath the mountain. As the sun sets behind Kilimanjaro, the scene thrills everyone. Rest well as a family at your Amboseli lodge.

Today the family enjoys a full day in Amboseli, one of the most iconic wildlife settings in Africa. You set out on a morning game drive in the cool early light, when Kilimanjaro is often at its clearest, its snows glowing above the plains. Amboseli's elephants are famous, and the family watches great herds at close range as they cross the plains, bathe and splash in the swamps, and care for their playful calves, always a delight for children. You also seek out lion, cheetah, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and countless birds around the wetlands. After a relaxed midday break at your lodge, where children can rest or swim, you head out again for an afternoon game drive, perhaps climbing Observation Hill for a sweeping view. As the sun sets behind Kilimanjaro, the family savours the beauty. Rest well together at Amboseli.

This morning, after a final look at Amboseli and Kilimanjaro, the family begins the scenic journey north, crossing the floor of the Great Rift Valley, one of the great geological wonders of the world, with dramatic escarpments and viewpoints along the way (a fun geography lesson for children). You arrive at Lake Nakuru National Park, set in the Rift Valley floor and ringed by acacia forest and escarpments, in time for an afternoon game drive. Nakuru is a rhino sanctuary, one of the best places in Kenya to see both black and white rhino, and a stronghold of the rare Rothschild's giraffe, and its soda lake is at times fringed with pink flamingos and pelicans, exciting for children to spot. You also look for lion, leopard, buffalo and waterbuck. As the sun sets over the Rift Valley, rest well as a family beside beautiful Lake Nakuru.

This morning the family enjoys a final game drive at Lake Nakuru, looking for rhino, flamingos and giraffe, before travelling a short way through the Rift Valley to freshwater Lake Naivasha, ringed by hills and fringed with papyrus and fever trees. After settling into your lakeshore lodge, you enjoy a boat safari on the lake, an exciting on-the-water adventure for children, gliding among pods of hippos and a spectacular wealth of waterbirds, from fish eagles swooping for fish to pelicans and kingfishers. You then visit Crescent Island, a walking sanctuary with no predators, where the family can stroll safely on foot among giraffes, zebras and antelope, a thrilling experience for children who can get close to wildlife. As the sun sets over Lake Naivasha, the family savours the fun and variety. Rest well together on the beautiful lakeshore.

This morning the family journeys from Lake Naivasha to the legendary Masai Mara, Kenya's most famous wildlife area and the northern extension of the great Serengeti ecosystem, travelling across the highlands and down into the vast rolling grasslands of the Mara. You arrive at your family-friendly camp in time for lunch, then set out on your first game drive across the golden plains, dotted with acacias and alive with wildlife. Together the family seeks out the Mara's powerful lion prides, cheetahs, elephants, buffalo, giraffe and immense herds of plains game, and in migration season the vast herds of wildebeest and zebra. Spotting a lioness with cubs is thrilling for everyone, and the sense of wild space is unforgettable. As the sun sets over the plains, you return to camp. Rest well as a family in the heart of the legendary Masai Mara.

Today the family enjoys a full day exploring the legendary Masai Mara, which offers some of the finest big-cat viewing on earth. You set out at dawn (or after a relaxed breakfast, to suit young children), when the plains are cool and the predators active, seeking out lion prides resting after the hunt, cheetahs scanning the grasslands, and elusive leopard, along with elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippo and abundant plains game. In season, the plains fill with the vast herds of the Great Migration, and the family may witness the drama at the rivers. Your patient, expert guide finds wonderful sightings and brings the wildlife to life for children. You might enjoy a picnic in the bush and drive until the golden evening light. As the sun sets over the plains, the family savours the wildness. Rest well together in the beautiful Masai Mara.

The family has another full day in the Masai Mara, with time to explore its varied landscapes and, this morning, an optional dawn balloon safari for older members (optional). On your game drives you continue to seek out big cats, elephants and, in season, the migrating herds and their river crossings. Today the family also visits a Maasai village (manyatta), warmly and respectfully arranged, a fun, hands-on experience where children and parents meet Maasai families, learn about their timeless pastoral way of life, watch and even join the famous jumping dance, try making fire, and see intricate beadwork, bringing culture vividly to life. Many of your guides and camp staff are themselves Maasai. As the sun sets over the golden plains, the family savours a final magical evening on safari. Rest well together in the beautiful Masai Mara, Kenya.

After a final early morning game drive in the Masai Mara, savouring a last look at the golden plains and their wildlife, the family returns to camp for breakfast and then journeys back to Nairobi, arriving in the capital in time for your onward international departure (a light-aircraft flight can be arranged to save time and delight children). You leave having shared a spectacular, enriching family safari, baby elephants and giraffes in Nairobi, elephants beneath Kilimanjaro in Amboseli, boat safaris and walks among wildlife on the Rift Valley lakes, and big cats and, in season, the Great Migration in the legendary Masai Mara, along with a fun Maasai village visit. The memories stay vivid long after you land, the baby elephants, the giraffes eye to eye, and the lions on the golden plains. Kenya offers spectacular family adventure in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return as a family.