Nairobi & the Mara

Here is the single piece of safari knowledge worth paying for: the private conservancies bordering the Masai Mara, names like Naboisho, Olare Motorogi and Mara North, limit vehicle numbers and allow night drives and walking safaris that the national reserve does not. Same ecosystem, same cats, a fraction of the minibuses. It costs more. It is worth it. That is our honest, standing recommendation.

Timing is subtler than the brochures admit. The migration crosses the Mara River roughly July to October, but the herds live in this ecosystem all year; your dates decide where you should be, not whether to go. April and May bring the long rains, when some camps close and others quietly halve their rates for travellers who do not mind dramatic skies.

Nairobi itself deserves a night, not a layover sprint. Giraffe Manor needs booking close to a year out for the breakfast the internet knows it for; the Sheldrick elephant orphanage and Karen Blixen's farmhouse fill the same day gently. Then it is light aircraft into the bush, and here is the unglamorous detail that saves arguments at check-in: fifteen kilos, soft bags only. We will remind you twice.

Migration season

Roughly July to October in the Mara, river crossings and all. Book the conservancy camps early.

Green season

April to May. Rain, drama, low rates, few vehicles. A photographer's honest favourite.

Beyond the Mara

Laikipia and Lewa for rhino and riding safaris; Amboseli for elephants under Kilimanjaro.

Finish on the coast

Lamu's old Swahili town or Diani's sand. Safari then sea is the shape that works.