A sample bush-and-beach outline you can reshape: pick your parks, your beach and your pace.
Mix your own bush and beach. Choose how many nights on safari, which beach (Diani, Watamu, Lamu or Zanzibar) and the level of comfort, and we shape the trip around you. The ten-day outline below pairs the Maasai Mara with the Kenya coast and can be adjusted in every detail.
You are met at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by your Dawn Safaris representative and transferred to your hotel. Your guide gives a short briefing on the days ahead and answers any last-minute questions.
After breakfast, travel from Nairobi to Maasai Mara (about 5 to 6 hours), with a picnic lunch or lunch stop on the way. You arrive at your camp in time for lunch, then head out on your first game drive across the open plains of the Maasai Mara, home to lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo and vast herds of zebra and wildebeest. Dinner and a night of lion calls follow.
Leave at first light with a packed breakfast to find big cats on the open plains. Enjoy a bush picnic lunch near the hippo pools, then spend the afternoon tracking lion, cheetah, elephant and buffalo before returning at dusk.
Drive toward the Mara River, where between July and October wildebeest herds gather to cross. Outside the migration season the banks are excellent for hippo, crocodile and elephant, and the surrounding plains for lion and cheetah.
Fly to the coast via Nairobi or Arusha (about 3 hours in total, connections arranged by us) and transfer to your beach resort. You arrive at your beach resort in time for lunch. Trade the safari vehicle for sand and sea: the afternoon is yours for a swim in the warm Indian Ocean or a stroll along the white beach.
Sail by traditional dhow to a marine park for snorkelling over coral gardens, with dolphins often seen on the way, and enjoy a seafood lunch served on board or on the beach.
Paddle a dugout canoe through quiet mangrove channels with a local guide, learning about the ecosystem and watching for birdlife, followed by a fresh seafood lunch.
Explore Mombasa Old Town's narrow streets and spice stalls and tour UNESCO-listed Fort Jesus, a 16th-century Portuguese fort overlooking the harbour, before returning to the beach.
A free day for the beach and pool, with optional spa treatments, water sports or beachside lunch. Finish with sunset drinks at a beach bar.
Enjoy a final swim and a relaxed breakfast. You are then transferred to the airport for your onward flight, with an easy hand-over to your international connection.
