Loisaba Tented Camp

By scheduled light aircraft from Nairobi's Wilson airport to the Loisaba airstrip, about an hour in the air. AirKenya flies the route every day, leaving Wilson at ten in the morning and landing at eleven, and Safarilink has a daily service too. Both aircraft can call at other northern strips on the way, so arrival times can move by up to three quarters of an hour.

From the airstrip it is about a quarter of an hour by road to the camp, and that transfer is part of the stay. If you would rather keep your own hours, or fly straight in from the Mara or Samburu, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, landing at the Loisaba airstrip. Scheduled aircraft take soft bags only, fifteen kilograms a person including hand luggage, so a duffel travels better than a case. Arriving by road from Nanyuki or another northern camp is possible too, and we set it up as a private transfer.

Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates Kenya as high risk for malaria and recommends antimalarial tablets, setting apart only the city of Nairobi and the highlands above 2,500 metres. The American CDC draws the same line, listing every part of Kenya below 2,500 metres, game parks and conservancies included. Loisaba lies between about 1,400 and 2,000 metres on the Laikipia plateau, well under that line, so the guidance applies here in every month.

We are travel planners, not medical professionals, so we do not make recommendations about tablets. Which ones suit you, and what is right for a child, are questions for your own doctor or a travel clinic, asked with your travel dates in hand. The practical part is simple: the evenings turn cool, so long sleeves after dark come naturally, and repellent on any skin left showing does the rest.

It belongs to a community trust rather than a private owner. Loisaba was a cattle ranch from the early 1970s, and in 2014 The Nature Conservancy and its donors moved the land into the Loisaba Community Trust, so it is held for wildlife and its neighbours in perpetuity. Every dollar the conservancy earns from tourism goes back into conservation and into its Samburu and Laikipiak Maasai neighbours: scholarships and school support, outreach clinics, and a women's group making a living from tailoring, beekeeping and soap.

It is also black rhino country again. In January 2024 twenty-one eastern black rhino were moved in from Nairobi National Park, Ol Pejeta and Lewa, the first on Loisaba since 1976, making it Kenya's seventeenth rhino sanctuary. The conservancy sits on the western edge of one of Kenya's great elephant routes and holds reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, wild dog and leopard, with more than 350 kinds of bird.

On a game package, a great deal. Alongside the twice-daily shared drives in open Land Rovers, the rate takes in a night drive, a two-hour guided walk with Samburu guides, a two-hour ride on horseback or by camel, a visit to the conservancy's anti-poaching tracker dogs, escorted mountain biking and e-bikes, bush breakfasts and lunches, sundowners, and the airstrip transfers. You never walk alone: every walk goes out with a guide.

A longer four-hour walk and a visit to a Samburu village are arranged on request at extra cost, and fishing in the rivers and dams depends on the rains. Riding is for people with a reasonable degree of skill, on horses raised in the bush and used to the wildlife around them, and every activity depends on the weather and on booking ahead, so tell us what matters most and we reserve it before you travel.

Yes. Three of the twelve tents are family combinations: a double tent and a convertible twin or double tent joined by a short walkway, each with its own sitting area, veranda and bathroom, so parents and children have a room each and are never more than a few steps apart. A standard tent can also be set up for three.

The activities carry their own age and ability rules, chiefly for riding and cycling, and they are confirmed at booking rather than on arrival. Tell us your children's ages when you make an enquiry and we will match the days to what they can actually do, and to how long they will happily sit in a vehicle.

January and February, and July to September, are the strongest months: dry, with the game drawn to the rivers and dams and clear skies for night drives. March, June, October and December sit in between, and April, May and November bring the rains, with April and May the long rains. The green months have a real case: the plateau turns green, the birding is at its best, the conservancy is quieter still, and the camp stays open through them.

The days are warm and the nights cool at this height, so pack light, neutral clothes for the day and a fleece or down layer for the early drives, the night drives and dinner outside. Add a wide-brimmed hat and strong sun cream, closed shoes for the walks and a light waterproof in the wet months.