Kenya

• The wildebeest migation in the Masai Mara is one of the most awesome African safari experiences.
• The Migration is in Kenyan part of the Serengeti from June to September. So Kenya is a great place for a family safari in the July and August school breaks.
• Kenya is arguably the easiest destination if you want to combine first-class game-viewing with white sandy beaches and warm tropical sea. The proven infratructure makes this quicker and more affordable than elsewhere.
• Being on the Equator, the Kenyan climate is warm and pleasant in winter, when game-viewing is at its best. By contrast, you need to wrap up warmly for game-drives in Southern Africa at this time.
• There is a huge variety of topography and scenery in Kenya so your senses are constantly being stimulated.
• As one of Africa's leading safari destinations, Kenya has wildlife tours, safari lodges and beach hotels to cater for all budgets; from deal-seekers to those looking for boutique luxury options. 

Reasons to visit Kenya

Diving in Kenya

Swim with dolphins and whale sharks in warm tropical waters. The Kenyan coast is protected by a fringing reef which runs close to the shore up the whole length of the coastline, virtually unbroken. Dive with turtles at Watamu, Kenya’s richest marine habitat, explore the coral gardens or wreck dive at Diani..

• Hemingways

African Savanna

Anyone who has ever seen a natural history film will instinctively associate a wildlife safari with classic East African savanna. Enormous blue skies and golden grassland punctuated with flat-topped umbrella acacias. There is nothing quite so stirring as gazing out over an uncultivated range, filled with giraffe, zebra and antelope. Their predators, lion and cheetah, are crouching opportunistically nearby and hippo snort and wallow in the lakes and rivers.

Win-Win Ecotourism

Some of the countries we visit are struggling to recover from bouts of civil unrest; violence and bloodshed that have shocked and appalled us all. Now that peace has been restored, local people face the double whammy that tourism is always hit hard and fast. Thousands of tourism jobs have disappeared. As tourism is such a large sector of the economy, many more people are affected indirectly. There is a huge enthusiasm to re-group and re-build at grass-roots level as well as a stable political administration. But, in the developed world there is still a stigma; is it safe (or right) to visit? Throughout Africa, tourism plays a vital role in sustainable development and the conservation of wildlife and the environment. (Relatively) wealthy visitors contribute directly to local economies in the creation of jobs and infrastructure. With huge pressure on scarce resources and habitats it is often only the value that western visitors place on the natural environment and its wildlife that makes it viable for governments to conserve some of the world’s most special places. When there is a fall in tourist dollars, a cheery tracker might return to poaching for the pot to feed his family or the last vestiges of primeval forest are cleared overnight to grow a few mealies. You’ll weigh up risks and benefits whenever you travel. We simply want to remind you that you won’t hear on the evening news that folk have slept peacefully in their beds and woken to a magnificent sunrise. If this all sounds too preachy, then simply bear in mind that a visitor slowdown can be an unprecedented opportunity, rather than a reason why you too should steer clear. If you ever wanted to see the Masai Mara with fewer tourists, this could be your time!

Wildebeest Migration

The Serengeti – Mara ecosystem is the region trampled by the annual migration of the big grazers of the African plains, especially wildebeest and zebra. The animals move according to the dictates of the seasonal rains, untroubled by land-ownership or boundaries. Their territory centres on the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Masai Mara in Kenya and extends into buffer zones outside the parks where wild animals co-exist alongside cattle farmers, the local Masai and their livestock. The cycle of life begins in the sweet grass plains in the southern part of the Serengeti, where animals give birth between December and March and the plains teem with game and well-fed predators. But as the dry season approaches, the herds must move north in search of water and better grazing. Between July and August many of them make the dangerous river crossings over the Grumeti and Mara rivers into the fresh green grasses of the Masai Mara. From August to October the greatest concentrations of animals are in the Masai Mara before starting to return southwards back into the Serengeti of Tanzania. See our article on Best Time for the Migration for much more detail on their likely movements...