Over 5 days this safari works through Amboseli, Tsavo West and Tsavo East, staying in comfortable tented camps and established safari lodges throughout. 4 nights on safari, priced on request.
Amboseli - Tsavo West - Tsavo East
About this safari
The route opens in Amboseli — great elephant families beneath Mount Kilimanjaro — and works through 2 further destinations over 5 days. It stays within Kenya; the final proposal will confirm transfer times and the balance between travel and game viewing. Accommodation is at the mid-range standard: comfortable tented camps and established safari lodges. The balance most travellers settle on — proper beds, en-suite bathrooms and well-run lodges in good positions, without the premium that the top end of the market commands. Like every safari in this catalogue, it is priced on request rather than sold at a published rate, because park fees, permits, group size and contracted accommodation all change the figure.
Day by day
Written out in full before you book, so you can see exactly how the days are paced and where each night is spent.
Day 1
Nairobi is the working gateway for this itinerary, with the first day's timing to be agreed around the confirmed travel arrangements. The route runs south towards the border, and the country grows steadily drier as you go. Amboseli sits in the rain shadow of Kilimanjaro, which is why the plains outside the park look so bare — and why the swamps at its heart, fed from the mountain itself, concentrate wildlife so reliably. The first elephants usually appear before you reach the gate. Time in Amboseli is best spent at the edges of the day. The middle hours bring heat, glare and fine volcanic dust; the first and last hours bring low gold light, active animals and the best chance of a clear mountain. Your guide will plan around that, heading out early, returning to rest through the worst of the heat, and going out again as the light softens. This outline assumes a comfortable safari stay near the route. The named property remains a suggestion until quoted.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 2
A full day here divides between the permanent swamps, which hold water all year and concentrate game reliably, and the open plains where zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and gazelle spread out. Lion, cheetah and spotted hyena are present, though at lower densities than the Mara and requiring more patience. A short climb up Observation Hill gives the only elevated view in the park and makes sense of how the swamps sit in the landscape. The birdlife around the swamps is easy to underestimate — pelican, crowned crane, African spoonbill, sacred ibis and large numbers of waders work the shallows, and raptors hunt the open ground. Between elephant sightings there is always something on the water, and the contrast of a green marsh set into grey dust is part of what makes the park photograph so well. The suggested standard is mid-range. Citrus will confirm the property and contracted services in writing before booking.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 3
Leaving the previous stop behind, the road towards Tsavo West leaves the Nairobi–Mombasa corridor and climbs into broken volcanic country, where cinder cones and old lava flows break up the bush and the Chyulu Hills rise green to the north. It is more dramatic terrain than the open savannah parks, and the bush is noticeably thicker — this is country where sightings are worked for rather than handed over. Game drives here work the waterholes and hill circuits, where elephant coloured red by the local soil come to drink and buffalo gather in the late afternoon. The thicker bush makes predators harder to find than in open country, but it also means a lion or leopard sighting feels properly earned. Lesser kudu and klipspringer are among the dry-country specials worth watching for. The catalogue suggests a comfortable mid-range stay here. The exact lodge, room basis and meals are confirmed in the quotation.
Overnight: Tsavo West
Day 4
The next section of the circuit moves on, the drive into Tsavo East trades hills for open plains. Red earth stretches out in every direction, doum palms mark the line of the river, and the first red-dusted elephants usually appear soon after the gate. It is hot country, and the wildlife organises itself around water in a way that makes game viewing straightforward once you know where to look. The elephants here are the park's signature, coated in red dust they throw over themselves after bathing, and they gather in large herds along the Galana River and around Aruba Dam through the dry months. The open terrain makes them visible at real distance, and a herd crossing the plains in red light is among the more memorable sights on any Kenyan circuit. A mid-range camp or lodge is proposed for this night, subject to availability and written confirmation.
Overnight: Tsavo East
Day 5
Citrus will time the last day around the agreed end point and onward arrangements. The elephants here are the park's signature, coated in red dust they throw over themselves after bathing, and they gather in large herds along the Galana River and around Aruba Dam through the dry months. The open terrain makes them visible at real distance, and a herd crossing the plains in red light is among the more memorable sights on any Kenyan circuit. Nairobi is the working end point, with the final transfer stated in the written proposal.
Safari ends
Where you stay
Accommodation below is the suggested standard for this package, taken from the Citrus catalogue. Where an entry describes a standard rather than a named property, we confirm the exact camp or lodge with your quotation. Named properties are suggestions and are substituted with comparable alternatives if they are unavailable for your dates.
Source catalogue listing
Kibo Safari Camp + Kilaguni Serena + Ashnil Aruba Lodge
This is reproduced exactly from the catalogue. The written quotation will allocate nights and confirm each available property before booking.
These are planning examples, not confirmed inclusions for this package. Your written quotation will confirm exactly what is included.
The quotation will identify every separate cost before you confirm.
Before you ask
The catalogue sets the route and travel standard, but it does not publish a fixed price or a contracted inclusion list. Citrus will prepare a written quotation for your dates, party and rooming, showing the exact transfers, activities, accommodation, meals, fees and permits before you confirm.
No. It is suggested accommodation from the source catalogue. Availability and any proposed alternative are confirmed in the written quotation before a booking is made.
No. Cloud and weather can obscure the mountain even when a route is timed well.
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Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we will come back with availability, honest advice on timing and a written quotation for this route.