Barefoot Luxury Kenya Safari

Fly to Lewa Wilderness, set on the edge of one of Kenya’s most respected conservation areas. Generationally owned by the Craig family, this isn’t just a luxury safari lodge, it’s a home in the bush. Staying in one of only nine thatched cottages, relax into an atmosphere that encourages you to dine family-style. As the afternoon heat relents, set off on your first game drive with Mount Kenya looming on the horizon.

Set off on morning and evening game drives that ramble across open plains and rolling hills. For a slower, immersed experience, you might choose a walking safari, a horseback safari, or sit princely upon a camel while led by a Maasai warrior. Sundowners served in a secret spot in the bush is just one of many ways Lewa Wilderness loves to surprise guests.

In Lewa, you have a rare and special opportunity to spot black and white rhino, an achievement born of decades of visionary conservation. Pay a special visit to conservancy headquarters to meet the rangers and anti-poaching canine unit, and to learn how ecotourism engages and lifts local communities. Depart reassured that your safari is contributing to Lewa’s enduring conservation promise.  

After a farewell morning game drive in Lewa, fly to Sarara Camp—an Extraordinary Journeys favorite for its soul and scenery. Stewarded by indigenous Samburu, Namunyak has become one of the most profound community conservation movements in the world. Rooted in Samburu tradition and knowledge, Sarara is a place of rare beauty and deep connection to the people who protect it. Survey the arid surrounds on an afternoon game drive. 

Let your days unfold in rhythm with the land: game drives across the spellbinding Northern Frontier, horseback safaris that follow game trails, or a guided hike to the sacred summit of Mt. Ololokwe. Don’t miss the haunting beauty of the Singing Wells, where warriors serenade their cattle with ancestral songs, or the kinship felt while beading with local women. 

With a guide, visit Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, the world’s first community-owned and female-run elephant orphanage. Hearts melt like butter as precious calves bathe in mud and are bottle-fed by dedicated keepers. Afterward, learn how this compassionate conservation project readies the orphans for life in the wild. Return to Sarara for a sumptuous send-off dinner. 

Your Kenya safari winds down in the iconic Maasai Mara, except we hide you away in the private wilderness of the Mara North Conservancy. Driving off-road and without crowds, there are no vehicles jockeying for a better view; no reason to move on until you’ve fully absorbed the moment. You’ll stay at Hemingways River Camp, a boutique retreat combining warmth, seclusion, exceptional game viewing, and conservation-minded hospitality.

On the savannah, experience Kenya’s safari spirit in its truest form: parades of grazers, amber-eyed lions, sky-swallowing sunsets, and wild dining. The Mara is big cat territory. Watch on as wildlife dramas of life and death unfold, navigated by guides who know every road and riverbend. Between big moments, relish subtler joys like crepe-thin wildflowers, whimsical weaver nests, and mustachioed warthogs. Timed right, you might see Great Migration masses.  

Watch the sunrise over an iconic savannah horizon while sipping coffee. Perhaps your guide surprises you with a bush breakfast in a secretive spot. This afternoon, pay a special visit to the Mara Elephant Project, where you’ll peek behind the curtain for an empathetic examination of human-wildlife conflict. Leave heartened by the team’s dedication to conservation and harmonized co-existence for all.  

Take in one last glorious sunrise on a morning game drive. Linger over breakfast, then depart camp to staff singing you a farewell song. Fly back to Nairobi to board your international flight home, or to continue the next leg of your Africa safari.