Luxury Safari Holidays in Kenya

Picture the quintessential African safari, and the mind invariably conjures scenes of Kenya: boundless golden savannahs studded with spindly acacias; elephants descending on watering holes; cheetahs and leopards hunting; guttural lion roars the soundtrack to dawn and dusk. The land that inspired Out of Africa, Born Free and The Lion King, the widescreen stage for the Great Migration, which sees two million wildebeest and zebra racing for their lives across plains inhabited by big cats and crocodiles.

Kenya is where our story began. In the 1960s, Nairobi resident and Abercrombie & Kent founder Geoffrey Kent pioneered the world’s first modern luxury safari, masterminding his bespoke mobile tented camp in the wilds of the Great Rift Valley – a camp unprecedented in its sophistication. Six decades on, Kenya’s safari camps and lodges grow ever more sophisticated, but Abercrombie & Kent continues to set the gold standard for safaris here, with stylish camps and lodges and the best guides in the business. Olonana Lodge, an A&K Sanctuary, is set in the Maasai Mara, its rooms overlooking hippos bathing in the Mara River, while Tambarare Camp, an A&K Sanctuary​ is the most exclusive place to stay in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, home to a black rhino sanctuary and the last two remaining northern white rhinos on earth. Then there’s our eco-conscious A&K Exclusive Tented Camp, which, in the spirit of Geoffrey Kent’s original, can be set up anywhere in the wildlife-rich plains of the Maasai Mara, with front-row seats at nature’s greatest shows.

Mighty conservation efforts have also been made in the intervening years. Former ranches in the central Laikipia Plains are strongholds for endangered rhinos. A baby boom has made sightings near-guaranteed in Lewa and neighboring Borana. The communities in these wilderness locations – the custodians of the land – benefit directly from tourism through A&K Philanthropy’s series of initiatives – a community-first approach to conservation that was begun by Geoffrey Kent. Beyond the plains, Kenya has a snow-capped mountain (Mount Kenya), verdant rainforests and great lakes pink with flamingos. On its sparkling Indian Ocean coast of white-sand beaches and coral reefs, days ebb and flow at a slower pace. Whale sharks cruise through Watamu Marine Park, warm waves lap the blinding white sands of Diani, and chic beach boltholes overlook pale turquoise waters on the lovely bohemian island of Lamu, where wooden dhows are propelled by the trade winds. A&K hosts adventures all over the world now, but Kenya was our first love – and, like all first loves, remains always unforgettable.