A 7-day journey through Tsavo West, Amboseli and Maasai Mara, on a practical budget footing, without cutting the days spent in the field. 6 nights on safari, priced on request.
Tsavo West - Amboseli - Maasai Mara
About this safari
The route opens in Tsavo West — volcanic hills, crystal springs and wild, rugged country — and works through 2 further destinations over 7 days. It stays within Kenya; the final proposal will confirm transfer times and the balance between travel and game viewing. Accommodation is at the budget standard: value camps and simple lodges chosen for position rather than polish. This is the practical way to see the route: the same parks, the same guiding and the same game drives, with the savings taken on accommodation rather than on time in the field. 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 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 suggested standard is simple and location-led. The quotation will name the property and specify what the stay includes.
Overnight: Tsavo West
Day 2
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 volcanic landscape shapes the day. Drives take in the Shetani lava flow, the Chaimu crater and long views towards the Chyulu Hills, with wildlife encountered along the way rather than pursued across open plains. The Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary within the park protects black rhino behind a fence, and birding is exceptional — particularly in November and December, when migrants pour through. The catalogue suggests a value stay in this area. The exact property, room basis and meals remain subject to the written quotation.
Overnight: Tsavo West
Day 3
This travel day carries the route onward, 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. 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. A practical camp is suggested for this night, with the confirmed property and services stated in the quotation.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 4
The open, almost treeless terrain gives Amboseli long sightlines and makes it one of the best photographic parks in Kenya. Morning drives work the swamp edges where elephant, buffalo and hippo gather, while the dry lake bed shimmers and distorts in the heat further out. If the cloud lifts off Kilimanjaro — most likely in the first and last hour of daylight — the mountain dominates everything. 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. This planning outline places the night at a value property near the route. Availability and the final choice are confirmed before booking.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 5
The itinerary continues by road, the drive to the Mara is part of the experience rather than a transfer to be endured. You cross the Rift escarpment, pass through market towns where the day's business spills onto the roadside, and then watch the landscape empty out into grassland. By the time the plains open up properly, wildlife is already visible from the vehicle and the pace of the trip has changed. With a whole day in the reserve there is time to go further than the popular circuits. Your guide can push towards quieter sectors where vehicle numbers thin out and sightings are shared with nobody, returning through the afternoon as the light softens. The middle of the day is often spent with a packed lunch under a tree near the river, watching hippo shift and resettle in the shallows. The suggested standard is simple and location-led. The quotation will name the property and specify what the stay includes.
Overnight: Maasai Mara
Day 6
Game drives cover genuinely different country within a short distance. The Musiara marsh draws elephant and buffalo to permanent water, the open grassland of the central plains is where cheetah have the room they need to run, and the broken ground towards the escarpment holds different prides again. Between sightings there is the sheer breadth of the place — grass running to the horizon under an enormous sky. Beyond the big cats, the reserve holds an extraordinary supporting cast. Bat-eared fox and black-backed jackal work the short grass, secretary birds stalk through it hunting snakes, and ground hornbill move in slow procession. Your guide will stop for these as readily as for lion, and they are often what people remember once the trip is over. The catalogue suggests a value stay in this area. The exact property, room basis and meals remain subject to the written quotation.
Overnight: Maasai Mara
Day 7
This outline leaves the final morning available for the confirmed transfer plan. The track to the gate runs through country you will have come to know over the past days, and there is usually one more giraffe or a last group of topi standing on a termite mound before the reserve is behind you. The final road section is planned towards Nairobi. Citrus will confirm the exact end point and time.
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
Ngulia Safari Lodge + Nyati Safari Camp + Miti Mingi
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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