Seringet Mara Camp

By scheduled light aircraft from Nairobi's Wilson airport to the Ol Kiombo airstrip, which lies inside the reserve about six kilometres north-east of the camp.

Safarilink and AirKenya both fly from Wilson to the Mara several times a day and both land at Ol Kiombo; the time in the air is about forty-five minutes to an hour, because the aircraft often calls at another Mara strip first.

The pick-up and drop-off at Ol Kiombo are part of the stay, and meeting a flight at a different Mara strip can be arranged for an extra charge. The aircraft take soft bags only, fifteen kilograms a person including hand luggage.

If you would rather set your own timings, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, straight into Ol Kiombo at the hour that suits you, or on from another camp without going back through Nairobi. Driving from Nairobi is possible but long, and we only route the road when there is a reason to.

Yes. The height that matters in Kenya is 2,500 metres, and the whole of the Maasai Mara lies well below it, the camp included, down beside the Mara and Talek rivers.

TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates Kenya as high risk for malaria and recommends antimalarial tablets for it, setting apart only the city of Nairobi and the highlands above 2,500 metres, where it rates the risk as very low.

The American CDC draws the same line, listing every part of Kenya below 2,500 metres, game parks included. Neither makes a seasonal distinction, so the advice is the same in every month.

We are travel planners, not medical professionals, so we do not make medical recommendations. Which tablets suit you, how they sit with anything else you take and what is right for a child are questions for your own doctor or a travel clinic, best asked with your travel dates in front of you.

The practical part we can speak to: the tents stand in riverine forest, so cover arms and legs from late afternoon and keep repellent to hand.

Yes. Two of the nine tents are family tents: two bedrooms side by side, one for the parents and one for the children, each with its own bathroom, so a family of four stays together. Each of the seven standard tents can take an extra bed for a child under twelve, subject to availability.

Children of eight and over are taken as standard and younger children on request, which we ask for on your behalf. There is a swimming pool set among the trees for the middle of the day, and the camp runs traditional Maasai activities for children, rungu throwing and beadwork among them.

The camp is unfenced and animals walk through it, so nobody moves around camp unaccompanied, children included. Game drives are shared, six guests at most to a vehicle; for a family with young children we would book a vehicle of your own for the whole stay, at extra cost, so the day runs at their pace.

Balloon flights and walks carry minimum ages, which we check against your children's. Tell us their ages when you enquire and we will shape the days around them.

The stay is full board with the house drinks included: house wine, local beer, locally made spirits, soft drinks, tea, coffee and bottled water. Game drives with the camp's guides are included in a shared vehicle of six guests at most, as are meals out in the bush by day, sundowners, daily laundry and the transfers to and from Ol Kiombo airstrip.

There are no bush dinners out on the plains inside the reserve. Not included are the reserve's entry fees and levies, charged per night on top of the camp's rate, along with a balloon flight, walks outside the reserve, a village visit, a vehicle of your own, and premium spirits, champagne and cellar wines.

The camp takes a minimum of three nights. We would plan four or more, because the first and last days go partly on flights, and a longer stay gives you whole days out along the two rivers. Told your dates, we will say how Seringet fits alongside a conservancy camp, where you can also walk and drive after dark.

A dawn balloon flight is the one most people add: it drifts over the plains at first light and ends with a champagne breakfast wherever the balloon comes down, costs extra and needs booking well ahead.

A short nature walk around camp with a Maasai guide is part of camp life, while longer walking safaris are arranged in the conservancies outside the reserve, a drive from camp, again at extra cost.

A visit to a Maasai village nearby can be added too, with the fee paid to the village itself. On the drives themselves, the vehicles are fitted for photography with adjustable camera arms and bean bags, and full days out with a picnic lunch can be arranged.

Days in camp are unhurried: a swimming pool in the forest for the heat of the afternoon, a second mess looking straight onto the plains, and dinner at one long table. Night drives and driving off the tracks are not allowed in the national reserve, so if those matter to you we would pair Seringet with a few nights in a conservancy camp.

The camp is open all year, and the lion, leopard, cheetah and elephant that live along the two rivers are there in every month. January and February are the dry, quiet months we rate most highly for big cats, with the grass short and the plains open.

The long rains run from late March into May, April the wettest, usually as heavy afternoon storms, and the short rains fall in November and December and are lighter. The migration herds are usually in the Mara from July to October, the busiest time on the reserve; June, before they arrive, and November and December, after they leave, are far quieter.

The Mara is high country, so days reach the middle or upper twenties and nights drop to around twelve degrees, and an open vehicle at dawn feels colder still.

Pack warm layers for early drives and evenings, a sun hat and sunglasses, closed shoes and a waterproof in the rainy months, all in a soft bag under fifteen kilograms for the flight. Laundry is done daily, so a few changes of clothes are enough, and the beds come with hot water bottles for the cold nights.