Many travellers plan to spend two weeks in Kenya – one week for safari and one week on the coast. As the coast is easy, this article gives suggestions for your safari week.
If you want to travel overland to the coast, then Amboseli National Park followed by Tsavo East, Tsavo West or Lumo Sanctuary make two nice stops between Nairobi and Mombasa. From Amboseli you can get stunning views of Mt Kilimanjaro – this is where you get that quintessential photo of elephants crossing the plain in front of the majestic mountain.
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If you prefer to fly to the coast, then Maasai Mara with Lakes Naivasha and Nakuru are the typical trio for a week-long safari. To experience Kenya’s top three parks a circuit visiting Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara fills a week nicely.
For something a bit different you could head north to Samburu, passing Mt Kenya on the way and stopping at Ol Pejeta where Kenya’s only chimpanzee sanctuary is located. From Samburu, travel west to Thomson’s Falls and Lake Baringo, before heading south to Lake Nakuru National Park and then finish in Nairobi
There are plenty of other places in Kenya and a week is a very short time to experience all of Kenya’s highlights. But hopefully this has given you some ideas for your first Kenyan safari which will then whet your appetite for coming back again and again to the world’s premier safari destination.