7 days across Tsavo West, Amboseli and Maasai Mara, with the region's finest camps, private guiding and unhurried days. 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 luxury standard: premium camps and lodges where the accommodation is part of the experience. At this level the camps are as much a reason to travel as the wildlife: limited suites, exceptional food, private decks and guiding of a standard that changes what you see. 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
This planning outline starts in Nairobi and continues towards the first destination; the collection point, time and transport are confirmed in the final proposal. Today's drive brings you into the western half of the vast Tsavo ecosystem, one of the largest protected areas on the continent. The landscape here is volcanic and hilly, scattered with black lava fields and rising towards the Chyulus, and it feels genuinely wild in a way the more visited parks sometimes do not. 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. A luxury stay is proposed for this night, with the final property and arrangements confirmed in writing.
Overnight: Tsavo West
Day 2
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. 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. This outline assumes the catalogue's premium standard. No named camp is guaranteed until the quotation confirms it.
Overnight: Tsavo West
Day 3
The itinerary continues by road, the road south from Nairobi runs towards the Tanzanian border through increasingly dry country, and the last stretch across the Amboseli plains is dust-coloured and almost treeless. Then the landscape does something unexpected: out of that parched ground rise permanent green swamps, fed by meltwater filtering underground from Kilimanjaro, and elephants are standing in them. 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. The suggested standard is luxury. Citrus will identify the available property and contracted services before confirmation.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 4
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. 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 catalogue suggests a premium camp or lodge here. The exact property, suite and services remain subject to availability and quotation.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 5
The next section of the circuit moves on, the road west out of Nairobi climbs the shoulder of the Rift Valley before dropping through Narok and onto the open country beyond, where cultivation gives way to grassland and the horizon widens. The last stretch is rougher going, but it is also where the safari properly begins — giraffe browsing beside the track, zebra scattering ahead of the vehicle, and the first raptors riding the thermals above the escarpment. Today is given over to the reserve, and how it unfolds depends on what your guide finds. Radio traffic between vehicles helps, but the best mornings often come from reading tracks and working a hunch. Lion are the most reliably seen of the big cats here; cheetah favour the open ground where they can use speed; and leopard, though present in good numbers along the watercourses, still ask for patience and a bit of luck. A luxury stay is proposed for this night, with the final property and arrangements confirmed in writing.
Overnight: Maasai Mara
Day 6
The Mara rewards early starts. Leaving camp while the grass is still wet puts you out when lion are finishing the night's work and cheetah are looking for the high ground that lets them scan for gazelle. Your guide will work the riverine forest along the Mara and Talek rivers, where leopard rest through the day in the fig branches, then move out onto the open plains where topi stand sentinel on termite mounds and elephant families cross in single file. The Mara's density is what makes it remarkable — sightings come quickly, and the day tends to build rather than drag. Expect long stretches of plains game: zebra, topi, Thomson's gazelle, eland and Maasai giraffe, with buffalo herds grazing in the bottomlands. Overhead, vultures circling low is always worth following, and the sudden stillness of a grazing herd usually means a predator is somewhere in the grass. This outline assumes the catalogue's premium standard. No named camp is guaranteed until the quotation confirms it.
Overnight: Maasai Mara
Day 7
The final day's exact pace depends on the confirmed transfer and onward travel arrangements. A final crossing of the plains takes you out past the herds one more time before the ground begins to rise. The grassland thins into grazing land, the Maasai cattle reappear along the verges, and the Mara ecosystem is gradually left behind as the road climbs back towards the Rift Valley escarpment. The planning route returns to Nairobi; the final drop-off and timing will be agreed around the confirmed onward arrangements.
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
Finch Hattons + Tortilis Camp + Bateleur/Cottar's
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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