6 Days Tsavo and Diani

Your driver guide collects you from your Nairobi hotel or the airport after breakfast. You head south east on the Mombasa road through Machakos and Makueni county, passing baobab trees and the Chyulu Hills on the horizon, and enter Tsavo East National Park at Voi or Manyani gate, about five to six hours from Nairobi.

After lunch at your lodge, an afternoon game drive follows the Voi River circuit, where elephant and buffalo come down to drink as the heat fades. Watch for lion resting in the shade, lesser kudu in the thickets and the red dusted elephant herds the park is famous for.

Activities: Drive to Tsavo East, afternoon game drive on the Voi River circuit
Meals: Lunch and dinner  ·  Overnight: Lodge, Tsavo East

A full day in Tsavo East with a picnic lunch. You visit Mudanda Rock, a long granite outcrop with a natural pool at its base that draws elephants through the dry months, and drive along the Galana River, home to hippo and crocodile. To the north stretches the Yatta Plateau, one of the longest lava flows in the world.

The open plains here suit cheetah, and herds of buffalo, zebra and Coke’s hartebeest graze the grassland. You return to your lodge for an evening by the waterhole, where elephants often come to drink after dark.

Activities: Full day game drive with picnic lunch, Mudanda Rock, Galana River
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner  ·  Overnight: Lodge, Tsavo East

After a morning drive you cross to Tsavo West National Park, a greener landscape of volcanic hills and lava flows. At Mzima Springs, water filtered through the Chyulu Hills rises into clear pools, and an underwater viewing chamber lets you watch hippo and fish from below the surface. A short walk along the springs is guided by a ranger.

In the afternoon you drive past the black lava of the Shetani flow and look for elephant, giraffe, zebra and the klipspringer that live on the rocky hills. The views stretch to Kilimanjaro on a clear evening.

Activities: Morning game drive, transfer to Tsavo West, Mzima Springs, Shetani lava flow
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner  ·  Overnight: Lodge, Tsavo West

A final morning game drive on the way out of the park, then the drive down to the coast, about five hours. You skirt Mombasa on the Dongo Kundu southern bypass, which avoids the Likoni ferry on most days, and continue to Diani.

You check in at your beach hotel in the afternoon with time for a swim in the Indian Ocean. Diani Beach is a long stretch of white coral sand lined with palms, with calm water inside the reef for most of the year.

Activities: Morning game drive, drive to the coast, free afternoon at Diani Beach
Meals: Breakfast and lunch  ·  Overnight: Beach hotel, Diani

A free day on the coast. You can rest on the beach or add a trip to Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park for snorkelling, often with dolphins, and a seafood lunch on Wasini Island.

Other options include a sunset dhow cruise, kitesurfing, or a visit to Colobus Conservation, which protects the rare Angolan colobus monkeys of the Diani forest. Activities and meals other than breakfast are paid locally.

Activities: Free day at Diani Beach, optional snorkelling at Kisite, dhow cruise or Colobus Conservation
Meals: Breakfast  ·  Overnight: Beach hotel, Diani

A relaxed breakfast and a last walk on the beach before you check out.

You are transferred to Moi International Airport in Mombasa, about 45 minutes via the bypass, or to the Ukunda airstrip for a flight to Nairobi. You can also return to Nairobi on the Madaraka Express train from Mombasa.

Activities: Beach morning, transfer to Mombasa or Ukunda for your onward journey
Meals: Breakfast  ·  Overnight: Departure day