5-Day Kenya Big Five Safari from Nairobi via Tsavo and Taita Hills

• Upon arrival at JKI Airport (NBO), meet for a tour briefing as your Kenya tour guide finalizes all underlying issues. This is the time to clarify anything that may not have been clearly understood so you can proceed as one team, with everyone fully aware of what to do.
• After settling all outstanding issues, set off on a 3 to 4-hour journey to Voi Town.
• Drive along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway for 320 km, with stopovers for coffee along the busy highway.
• Upon arrival in Voi Town, proceed for a short drive to the Tsavo East Park gate. This is the largest park in Kenya, covering an area of 13,747 km2, and you will have access to the gate at dawn.
• With a requested early check-in, you will catch up on some sleep and wake up for a full breakfast at 0900hrs. Alternatively, depending on how you feel after a long flight and drive, you may advise whether you can embark on a 6 am morning game drive, an ideal moment for introductory game watching when the animals are active and the big game is easier to spot.
• Return to the lodge for a full breakfast and a much-needed sleep and rest after the long drive and flight. You will have time to sleep uninterrupted and wake up for lunch at 13:30hrs.
• After some rest, embark on an extensive exploration of Tsavo East National Park, with its abundant wildlife and natural scenery, including Aruba Dam, a waterhole where animals come to drink. Physical attractions include the Tsavo River, Yatta Plateau, Mdanda Rock, Lugard Falls, the Voi seasonal River, and Aruba Dam. You also have a chance to see animals such as red elephants, rhinos, leopards, cheetahs, and giraffes, among others.
• Continue with the game drive until 6:30 pm, when you return to the lodge for dinner and overnight. There will be an opportunity to watch animals from the comfort of your cosy room, at the restaurant, or over a campfire as you sit back, dine, and unwind while taking stock of the day's moments.

Dinner and overnight at Voi Safari Lodge or Voi Wildlife Lodge.

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Taita Hills Game Lodge includes Big Cats, the Big Five (buffalo, lion, elephant, leopard, and rhino), and almost everything.

• After an early breakfast, drive to Tsavo East National Park. The park covers approximately 40 per cent of Kenya's national parks. Its dramatic views of Mudanda Rock and Yatta Plateau, the world's largest lava flow, make it a popular destination. The Tsavo and Athi rivers unite to form the remarkable Lugard's Falls. The park is home to the Red Elephant and other wildlife and birdlife.
• Enjoy game viewing en route as you head for the exit through Buchuma Gate for a short drive to Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Arrive in time for lunch and check in at Taita Hills Game Lodge, where you will reside for the rest of your stay in this magnificent wildlife haven. This sanctuary forms a vital wildlife corridor between the two major national parks, Tsavo East and Tsavo West, and it is a major migration route for the more than 12,000 elephants in the two national parks. The parks form one of the largest conservation areas on earth and are home to the Big Five: lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and rhino. This sanctuary is privately owned and located in Taita-Taveta in the south-west region of Kenya.
• After lunch and some restful moments in this game lodge, one of Kenya's flagship lodges, embark on an introductory game drive around the conservancy, exploring extensively as you familiarize yourself with the surroundings. The game search continues until sundowner, when you will drive back to dine and unwind after settling into the sanctuary and the lodge and becoming part of it as you enjoy the experience.

Enjoy dinner and a silent night's sleep.

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

• After a hearty breakfast at your lodge, depart for a day-long game search in the heart of Taita Hills Game Sanctuary, with lunch breaks at Taita Hills Game Lodge or its partner, Sarova Salt Lick Game Lodge. Both lodges have spectacular open views as you enjoy your lunchtime meal.
• After lunch, continue exploring the wildlife sanctuary on a game drive. Scenic sights include the landscape, while wildlife includes Cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, cheetah, Masai giraffe, zebra, and more. The sanctuary also has a great diversity of birdlife as it borders Tsavo West National Park. It is mainly savanna, with a few areas covered with bushes and thicket. As the name suggests, the sanctuary offers panoramic views of the neighbouring Taita Hills, making it an ideal location for a photographic tour for nature lovers, including guided walks and a visit to a local and authentic tribal village.
• After lunch, proceed for a game drive in the sanctuary until sunset.
• During the afternoon game drive, you have a high chance of spotting lions, cheetahs, baboons, giraffes, herds of elephants, buffalo, and other game that roam wild and free in this park.

Return at sunset for dinner and overnight at Sarova Taita Hills Game Lodge.

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

• Early in the morning, after being served a cup of tea or coffee, embark on a dawn game drive in search of wildlife, with chances to witness lions, cheetahs, and leopards hunting their prey. It is an excellent game-watching moment that will take up the better part of the early hours, after which you will return to the lodge for a full breakfast.
• Check out from the lodge and, with en-route game watching, exit Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary for neighbouring Tsavo West National Park. Tsavo West lies to the west of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, equidistant from Mombasa and Nairobi. The emerald hills, liquid lava flows, palm-fringed rivers, teeming wildlife, and sparkling oases are set against the unforgettable cloud-shaded African savannah. Cutting across the vast park or accessing it through Voi or Mtito Andei Gates will depend on the nature of the road, with an en-route game drive.
• Arrive at the lodge for lunch and check-in.
• Relax at this magnificent lodge overlooking wildlife watering and salt-lick areas.
• Depart at 14:00hrs and cross dramatic volcanic formations at Shaitani Lava Flow after visiting this picturesque scene of lava formations. Emerald hills, liquid lava flows, palm-fringed rivers, teeming wildlife, and sparkling oases are set against the unforgettable cloud-shaded African savannah.
• In the north of the park, water filtered underground from the Chyulu Hills gushes from below a lava ridge into a series of clear pools. You have an opportunity to view animals underwater through a glasshouse. The scenic volcanic arena from the 'Shetani' Lava Flow, Swahili for 'Devil', and the Chaimu Crater, Lake Jipe, ridges, volcanic ash cones, and rocky outcrops form scenery like no other. Game viewing here is magnificent, with herds of dust-red elephants, fat pods of hippos, giant crocodiles, teeming herds of plains game, a fantasia of birdlife, and some magical flora.
• Proceed for afternoon game viewing until evening.

Dinner and overnight at Kilaguni Lodge or Ngulia Safari Lodge, where you can watch animals coming to the watering point from the comfort of your room and from the restaurant.

• Early morning game drive in search of wildlife until 09:00hrs.
• Return to the lodge for a full breakfast.
• Prepare for check-out from the lodge, then proceed with your last game drive in Tsavo West.
• To the north of the park, visit the Mzima water springs, where water filtered underground from the Chyulu Hills gushes below a lava ridge into a series of clear pools. You have an opportunity to view animals underwater through a glass.
• As you prepare to exit Tsavo West, the tour would not be complete without being taken to an elevated point to see Mount Kilimanjaro from a distance. Chyulu Hills and other scenic valleys can also be seen nearby.
• At midday, begin a 3-hour journey to Nairobi, with lunch served en route or in Nairobi, depending on time.
• Arrive in Nairobi in the mid-afternoon at 15:00hrs. This is an ideal time for some shopping for handicrafts and other items to take back home.
• At 18:30hrs, enjoy your farewell dinner at one of the restaurants in Nairobi of your choice.
• Later, you will be transferred to JKI Airport for your flight home or your next destination after completing your 5-day tour in Kenya.