kenya
the rift, the reserve & the reef
Ten nights across Kenya, from the Rift Valley lakes to the Maasai Mara, the Lamu coast and Nairobi's rhino country.
- Private Safari
- From $6,930 pp
- 2 guests
- 10 nights
trip highlights
- Singita Kwitonda Lodge shares a 1.2km border with Volcanoes National Park, the closest of any lodge, with gorilla trekking as the signature outing.
- Golden monkey trekking makes a worthwhile second forest outing beyond the gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.
- In Mara North Conservancy, member camps may drive off-road, and resident hippos wallow in the pools below Kimya Kimya Camp.
- Off Pemba, reef visibility runs from 20 to 40 metres, with coral walls and drift dives from the lodge's own dive centre.
Scroll for the full itinerary
From Volcanoes Park to Pemba's Reefs
This route links three countries across eleven nights. It opens in Rwanda on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, where more than a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live, then pauses in Nairobi, a highland capital with savannah on its southern edge. From there it runs to the Maasai Mara and the private conservancies around the reserve, before closing on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, where reefs draw divers to clear water.
You travel by a mix of flights and road transfers, with private guiding in the Mara and gorilla treks led by guides and trackers in Rwanda. The stays range from an art-led residence in Nairobi to a three-room private camp above the Mara River and a boat-only tented lodge on Pemba. Each is chosen for its setting and the access it gives to the country around it.
Daily Itinerary Breakdown
Gorilla Country Beneath the Virungas
You spend these days trekking to the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, the Rwandan reserve where more than a third of the world's remaining mountain gorillas live. Treks vary in length and difficulty depending on where the family groups have moved, with a guide and trackers leading through bamboo and forest; golden monkey trekking makes a worthwhile second outing. The park headquarters, where treks begin, is under ten minutes away by road. Set on a 178-acre estate sharing a 1.2km border with the park, Singita Kwitonda Lodge has eleven suites, each with a private heated plunge pool and volcano views drawn in through timber-framed windows.
- Accommodation at Singita Kwitonda Lodge
A Night on Nairobi's Forested Edge
Coming from Rwanda, you break the journey in Nairobi, a highland capital at around 1,795 metres where black rhino and lion roam savannah on the city's southern edge. The house borders the Giraffe Sanctuary forest, indigenous woodland that shelters more than 200 species of bird, with warthogs, monkeys and peacocks moving through the grounds by day. Built as a painter's family home in 1992, Hemingways Eden keeps its nine art-filled rooms across the Main House, the Studio and a self-contained Cottage, hung with original canvases, bronzes and hand-formed ceramics.
- Accommodation at Hemingways Eden Residence
Private River Frontage in Mara North
From Nairobi you continue to the Maasai Mara, where you base in Mara North Conservancy. As a member camp you can drive off-road for closer approaches, with a private vehicle and a two-person guide-and-tracker team following the day's light and the movement of animals; elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard move across the savannah and riverine forest. Taken whole by up to six guests, Kimya Kimya Camp has three timber-and-canvas rooms above a bend of the Mara River, with resident hippos wallowing in the pools below and a salt lick that draws zebra through the day.
- Accommodation at Kimya Kimya Camp
Reef Diving off Pemba Island
From the Mara you head to Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, reached by boat along the mangrove-fringed southwest coast. Days follow the tide, with swimming from the white-sand beach at high water and the reef exposed at low; offshore, visibility runs from 20 to 40 metres, and the dive centre works coral walls and drift dives, with the Misali Island marine conservation area a short boat ride away. Twelve suites under makuti thatch stand along the beach and up a forested hillside above the Indian Ocean at Fundu Lagoon, cooled by ceiling fans and the channel breeze, with no road in.
- Accommodation at Fundu Lagoon
frequently asked questions
Allow a full day, and expect several short flights in place of one long one.
There is no direct flight from the Mara to Pemba, so the usual way is:
- Back to Nairobi by light aircraft
- On to Zanzibar, which has flights from both of Nairobi's airports
- A short hop to Pemba's airport at Chake Chake
- About 35 to 40 minutes by road to the port at Mkoani
- The lodge's private boat for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the tide
The lodge accepts no arrivals after 5pm, and that cut-off shapes the whole day. If the timetables for your dates cannot make it comfortably, we add a night in Nairobi or Zanzibar sooner than cut it fine.
Luggage on the light aircraft is limited to 15 kilograms in soft bags, hand luggage included. We confirm each flight when we plan the trip.
A private charter flies the same sector on your own timing, usually a Cessna Caravan, and we price it beside the scheduled seats so you can see the difference.
Plan on more than one.
The East Africa Tourist Visa is a joint visa for Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda only, so it can help with the first two countries on this route but not the third: Tanzania, which includes Pemba, is outside it and has its own visa.
The UK Foreign Office tells British travellers to apply for a Tanzanian e-visa before they travel, though a single-entry visa can also be issued on arrival at the main points of entry.
There is one more requirement that people miss. Since October 2024 every foreign visitor to the Zanzibar islands must hold the inbound travel insurance sold by the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, and the Foreign Office warns that no other policy is accepted in its place and that you may be refused entry without it.
Kenya, for its part, runs an electronic travel authorisation that must be applied for in advance. Rules vary by passport, so we send you the current ones when you book.
No, but Pemba rewards experience more than most places.
The lodge's dive centre is a PADI five-star resort, and its diving is mostly wall and drift dives, along coral walls that fall from turquoise shallows to more than 100 metres. Pemba is an island for adventurous divers, and some sites are prone to strong currents.
For a qualified diver in practice, that is the draw of the island. If you are new to diving, the centre teaches beginners and supplies all the equipment.
For anyone who prefers a mask and snorkel, Misali Island is 15 to 20 minutes away by speedboat, and its reef slopes from the beach in calm, clear water.
Tell us your certification level and when you last dived, and we will pass it on so the right sites are planned. Nothing in the sea can be promised, but barracuda, giant trevally, Napoleon wrasse and turtles are regularly seen.
With three nights on the edge of the park you have time for two outings, and either choice is sound.
Seeing gorillas on any one trek is very likely. No official figure exists, but we put success at better than 95 per cent, because trackers find each family from its night nests before visitors set out.
Nothing is promised, which is one argument for a second trek. The better one is that no two hours with gorillas are alike. Each trek needs its own permit, and only eight are issued for each family each day, so tell us early.
Golden monkeys are the gentler alternative. We rate Volcanoes National Park the best place to be sure of seeing them without too much effort, and the habituated troops are relaxed and easy to photograph.
Staying under ten minutes from the park headquarters keeps both mornings simple.
July, August and September are the months we rate highest in all three countries: dry trails on the volcanoes, the migration in the Mara, and on Pemba the calm seas and clear water of the cool season, when we rate the island's walls at their best.
February is the standout of the hot season on Pemba and a good month for the gorillas and the Mara. January and October are nearly as good, with a chance of showers at one end of the trip or the other.
April and May are out: the long rains fall in all three countries and Fundu Lagoon itself shuts for them. Its published yearly closure has run to the end of June, with the doors opening again on 1 July, so June is not a month to plan on without asking us first.
March and November are rated challenging on the volcanoes, though both bring quiet trails and easier permits, and November greens the Mara and thins out the vehicles. December is mixed throughout.
Yes. It is a sample route and we expect to alter it.
The road from Kigali to the lodge can take up to four hours. A helicopter covers it in about thirty minutes, and we can arrange one.
Extra nights fit most naturally in the Mara. If diving is not your priority, Zanzibar or the Kenyan coast can replace Pemba, and the Kenyan coast removes the need for a Tanzanian visa.
The fixed points are these:
- Gorilla permits are limited to eight for each family each day, so they are secured first and set your dates in Rwanda
- Kimya Kimya is taken whole by one party of up to six
- Fundu Lagoon shuts for the long rains, accepts no arrivals after 5pm and is not suitable for children under twelve
- Gorilla tracking has a minimum age of 15
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
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rated five stars by our clients
our approach
remote, exclusive
& personal
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.