Luxury Kenya Safari 2026: The 10-Day Private Itinerary Through Ol Pejeta and Two Maasai Mara Conservancies, With the Best Months and Cost

A luxury Kenya safari fits into ten days as one night in Nairobi, two at Ol Pejeta Conservancy for its rhinos, and six in two private conservancies on the borders of the Maasai Mara, Olderkesi and Mara North. This is the route Extraordinary Journeys publishes as its Extraordinary Kenya Safari, from US$12,000 per person, with an exclusive-use vehicle on every game drive. Below it is set out night by night, with the flights, the best months, the fees the from-price may not show and what to ask before booking.

Verified 30 September 2026 · Extraordinary Journeys’ itinerary · Ol Pejeta Conservancy · Mara North Conservancy · Narok County · Safarilink · Airkenya · Kenya eTA · US State Department · camp pages re-read at source

The 10-day Kenya safari itinerary, night by night

The safari spends one night in Nairobi, two at Ol Pejeta in Laikipia, three in Olderkesi and three in Mara North: nine nights, joined by three light-aircraft flights and one long drive between the two Mara camps. The flight home leaves from Jomo Kenyatta International at the end of the tenth day. Every stay below is named in Extraordinary Journeys’ day plan, read on 30 September 2026; the facts about each come from the hotels, camps and conservancies themselves. In its words, “Exclusive-use safari vehicles mean never having to share your game drive”.

See the full day plan on Extraordinary Journeys →

Why start a Kenya safari at Ol Pejeta?

Ol Pejeta is the place to see rhino conservation up close: it guards the last two northern white rhinos on Earth, Najin and Fatu, and counted 183 black rhinos in 2025, the largest population of any sanctuary in East and Central Africa. Those figures are the conservancy’s own (its rhino page and its 2025 count). The last male northern white, Sudan, died there on 19 March 2018. Ol Pejeta covers 360 km² of Laikipia County; established in 2004, it grew out of a working cattle ranch, and it is one of only five conservancies in Africa with IUCN Green List status (Ol Pejeta). It also runs the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, opened in 1993 with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Jane Goodall Institute: 35 rescued chimpanzees, in the only place in Kenya where they can be seen.

The two nights are at Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages (map), built in 2017 by the safari veterans Andy and Sonja Webb along an acacia-lined river in the conservancy’s wilderness area (Ol Pejeta). Extraordinary Journeys counts four cottages, two with one bedroom and two with two, and the lodge says each stay includes a private chef, a house manager and the exclusive use of a vehicle and guide at no extra cost. In Extraordinary Journeys’ words there are “no shared game drives, no communal dining”. Night drives are included, and bush walks go out with an armed ranger (the Safari Cottages).

What to add. Ol Pejeta’s own activities cost US$70 per adult each in its 2026 tariff: following radio-collared lions with a tracker, dog tracking with its bloodhounds, a night game drive, and a visit to Najin and Fatu (its experiences). Entry is US$110 per non-resident adult for each 24 hours, and the Safari Cottages list it, with a bed-night levy, as an extra (their 2026 inclusions), so ask Extraordinary Journeys whether both are in the quote. Its Laikipia page names Ol Pejeta with Lewa and Solio as “some of the most reliable in all of Africa” for rhino.

Getting there. Safarilink and Airkenya both fly from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to Nanyuki in an hour to an hour and a half, with morning departures (Safarilink; Airkenya’s 2026 timetable), and the cottages’ rate includes the transfer from Nanyuki or Kamok airstrip. By road, Ol Pejeta is about 220 km, or four hours, from Nairobi (Ol Pejeta).

What is the Olderkesi Conservancy like?

Olderkesi is a Maasai community conservancy of 7,000 to 7,600 acres on the Maasai Mara’s south-eastern edge, just north of the Serengeti, and part of the wildlife corridor between the reserve and Tanzania. It lies against the southeast corner of the reserve (Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association), and its land is owned by the Olderkesi community and set aside for wildlife (Secluded Africa). The African Wildlife Foundation dates it to 2016, calls it a wildlife corridor between the reserve and the Serengeti, and notes that wildebeest use its Poleleti plains as a calving site. Extraordinary Journeys describes it as “carnivore territory, where lions, cheetahs, and hyenas surveil their next meal”.

The three nights are at Instinct of the Mara (map), a Secluded Africa camp: seven premium safari tents, a forest suite and a private villa, which it places far from the crowds of the Mara’s north-west. Each booking has its own open vehicle, game drives go into both the conservancy and the national reserve, and night drives stay in the conservancy. Walking and night drives are what the conservancy adds: Narok County’s management plan does not permit walking safaris, night drives or horseback safaris inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Extraordinary Journeys suggests a guided walk for the third day, with a balloon or a Maasai village visit as options and, on a hot afternoon, a chance to “dip into secretive waterfalls”, which Instinct reaches on a hike.

Reserve days and the balloon. Drives into the national reserve cost US$200 per adult for each 6am-to-6pm entry from July to December and US$100 from January to June, under Narok County’s Finance Act; ask which days use the reserve and whether the fee is in the quote. A balloon costs extra at Instinct, and Offbeat lists balloon safaris at its camp too. Governors’ Balloon Safaris, flying over the Mara since 1978, lists US$490 a person from July to October and from 16 to 31 December 2026, plus US$100 in landing and community fees for non-residents and US$5 of evacuation cover for anyone without their own (its 2026 rates), with breakfast and sparkling wine after landing; children must be eight and 1.2 metres tall (its FAQ). Flights launch at dawn from Little Governors’ Camp, so ask Extraordinary Journeys which of the two camps makes the shorter drive before choosing the morning.

Why end in Mara North Conservancy?

Mara North allows no more than five vehicles at a sighting and keeps about 336 acres of land for every guest bed, so the classic Mara plains come with fewer cars; it borders the national reserve and allows the walks and night drives the reserve does not. The rules are the conservancy’s own (game-drive etiquette; bed density). Founded in January 2009, it covers roughly 28,500 to 29,000 hectares of Maasai land, leased for wildlife (Mara North), with ten permanent camps and two mobile ones. Vehicles get ten minutes at a sighting before making way and stay on the tracks unless viewing wildlife, and night drives run only in set areas with red filters, back by 10pm. Extraordinary Journeys’ own advice for the Mara is “staying in one of several private concessions which border the park” (its Maasai Mara page).

The last three nights are at Offbeat Ndoto (map), four tents and a two-bedroom luxury suite run by Offbeat Safaris, which the late Tristan Voorspuy and his wife Lucinda founded in 1989; Tristan was part of the team that co-founded Mara North Conservancy (Offbeat Safaris). Offbeat lists unlimited day and evening game drives, guided bush walks, sundowners, bush breakfasts, running with the Maasai and balloon safaris. Extraordinary Journeys books a private game drive on arrival, then an evening to “swap safari tales with other guests at the firepit or make friends with the bartender”, and days of “returning midday for a gourmet lunch, and off again to catch animals rousing for their evening meal”.

Getting there and back. The move from Olderkesi on the seventh day is by road, a drive Extraordinary Journeys calls “long but scenic”, with wildlife along the way; ask whether the route crosses the national reserve, and so whether that day carries a reserve fee. On the tenth day, Safarilink and Airkenya fly from the Mara to Wilson Airport; Mara North’s travel page lists both, and Airkenya names a Mara North airstrip among its Mara destinations. Both airlines limit bags to 15 kg a person, hand luggage included, in soft bags (Safarilink; Airkenya).

What to do in Nairobi on the first and last day

Nairobi bookends the safari: the first day is a private transfer and a rest at the Tamarind Tree Hotel, and the last leaves an afternoon for the Karen Blixen Museum and a farm-to-table dinner at Cultiva before the flight home. The Tamarind Tree Hotel (map) stands next to the Carnivore restaurant about 5 km south-west of the city, close to Wilson Airport, with a heated pool, a gym and gardens; it puts Jomo Kenyatta International about 20 minutes away by the Nairobi Expressway.

The Karen Blixen Museum (map), 10 km from the city centre, is the farmhouse Karen Blixen and her husband bought in 1917 for a 6,000-acre farm. Built in 1912, it was her home until 1931, and it is the setting of Out of Africa (1937); the film version won Best Picture for 1985. The Danish government bought the house in 1964 and gave it to Kenya as an independence gift, and it opened as a museum in 1986. Adults from outside Africa pay US$17 under the fees in force from 7 May 2026. Extraordinary Journeys pitches the whole trip as “An ‘Out of Africa’ Kenya safari”.

Cultiva (map), on Pofu Road in Karen, grows heirloom organic crops on its own farm for its kitchen; it opens from noon on Tuesdays and from 8am Wednesday to Sunday, and lists no Monday hours. Extraordinary Journeys’ Nairobi page adds the Sheldrick elephant orphanage, the Giraffe Centre and Kazuri Beads, which it says are easy to reach from Karen. The Giraffe Centre (map) opens from 9am to 5pm daily, at KSh 1,500 for non-resident adults. The Sheldrick nursery opens to the public for one hour, 11am to noon, by advance booking only, at US$20 an adult in cash plus Nairobi National Park’s entry fee, so it needs a morning in the city: ask Extraordinary Journeys to add a Nairobi night at the start if you want it.

When is the best time for a Kenya safari?

July to October is the best time for this route: the Great Migration is in the Maasai Mara, the herds cross the Mara River, and July and August are the Mara’s driest months, at 60 to 80 mm of rain. Magical Kenya puts the crossings from July to October, and Mara North says the herds reach the river around July and stay until about October, while the Loita wildebeest drift in from the east in May and often stay in the conservancy all year. The trade-off is price and company: the reserve fee doubles to US$200 from July, and Extraordinary Journeys’ Kenya page notes that “July through September, during the dry season, are conventionally recommended” while making the case for the “secret season”. Rainfall figures are the Mara’s monthly averages (Climates to Travel).

Laikipia follows the same two rainy seasons, which the Kenya Meteorological Department dates to March to May and October to December; June to August is mostly dry in Laikipia, though the Rift Valley, which includes Narok, still gets some rain. For late 2026, its forecast of 31 August expects above-average October-to-December rain in Laikipia, Nairobi and Narok, with a strong El Niño. The migration usually starts in June or July (Mara Triangle). For more, see the best time for a Kenya safari, the Great Migration month by month, and our month pages for July, August and September.

How much does a luxury Kenya safari cost?

Extraordinary Journeys publishes this 10-day safari from US$12,000 per person, about US$1,200 a day, and its cost guide calls US$1,000 per person per day a good starting point for Kenya, adding that season and the Great Migration play a major role. Its safari cost guide gives prices excluding international airfare and says time on safari is “typically fully inclusive of meals, snacks, drinks, laundry, and activities”. It also notes “daily park fees and concession fees for every area you visit”, and on this route those are the lines to check:

• Ol Pejeta: US$110 per non-resident adult for each 24 hours (Ol Pejeta), plus a bed-night levy, both listed as extras by the Safari Cottages (their 2026 exclusions).
• Mara conservancies: about US$80 to US$150 per person per night where camps charge them separately (our Kenya safari cost guide).
• The national reserve: US$200 per adult per day from July to December and US$100 from January to June, for any day that enters it (Narok County).
• A balloon: US$490 a person in peak season, plus US$100 in landing and community fees (Governors’).
• Entry: the Kenyan eTA, from US$30 a person (eTA Kenya).

International flights come on top. Kenya Airways flies the only nonstop from the US, New York JFK to Nairobi, in about 14 to 15 hours (FlightConnections; KQ3); its codeshare with JetBlue, signed in March 2026, connects other US cities. The camp rate itself does not rise because a specialist books it: lodges pay the planner’s commission out of their published rack rate (book direct or through a specialist). For the wider picture, see what a Kenya safari costs.

Ask Extraordinary Journeys to price your dates →

Who plans this private Kenya safari?

Extraordinary Journeys plans it: a tailor-made travel company based in Washington, D.C., founded in 2008 by Marcia and Elizabeth Gordon, whose roots are in Kenya, and which says Travel + Leisure has named it one of the World’s Best Safari Outfitters ten times. Marcia Gordon has spent “more than 30 years in the safari and travel industry, including over a decade living in Kenya”, and Elizabeth Gordon, the chief executive, “grew up between Kenya and Paris”. Its trips are designed by destination specialists: Pearl Jurist-Schoen, its “Head of Sales, Africa” and with the company since 2014, is one of Condé Nast Traveler’s Top Travel Specialists for 2026 (our Condé Nast list), and a Kenya family named her in their evaluation. Esther Ndirangu, its itinerary designer, works from Nairobi.

“Pearl spent a significant amount of time getting to know our family, what was important to us, likes, dislikes, and matching our itinerary to that. It truly felt like it was customized for our family vs a packaged trip.”

A family safari in Kenya, planned by Pearl and Amber; from Extraordinary Journeys’ client evaluations

Who it suits. Extraordinary Journeys pitches the trip as “the best possible value for a luxury Kenya safari without compromising our high standards”: “Not too much, not too little, but just right”. It suits couples and small groups who want small camps and a vehicle of their own. Families have their own version: Extraordinary Journeys publishes a Family Trip to Kenya, 11 days from US$10,000 per person, and Instinct of the Mara welcomes children of all ages. For a beach after the bush, its Bush to Beach Active Safari runs 18 days from US$22,000, and its Barefoot Luxury Kenya Safari costs more per day, at 9 days from US$16,000. For this route it offers “a morning run with a Maasai guide or sundowners with a fresh-roasted leg of lamb at Instinct of the Mara”.

Our review of Extraordinary Journeys covers its prices, specialists and ownership, and its row in the Luxury Tour Operator Power Rankings sets it beside the other tailor-made operators we assess.

Start planning with Extraordinary Journeys →

Four planning rules for a Kenya safari

1 · Hold the small camps before the flights. Offbeat Ndoto has four tents and a suite, and Extraordinary Journeys counts four cottages at Ol Pejeta, so ask it to hold them before anything else. Lodges hold rooms for a few days to three weeks, take deposits of 20 to 30% and want the balance 45 to 90 days before arrival (how safari booking works).

2 · Pack to 15 kg, in soft bags. Safarilink and Airkenya both limit luggage to 15 kg a person, hand luggage included, in soft-sided bags; Airkenya caps a handbag at 5 kg within that (Airkenya). Leave plastic carrier bags at home: Kenya has banned them since 28 August 2017, and duty-free bags are left at the point of entry (NEMA); plastic water bottles, cups, plates, cutlery and straws have been banned in national parks, beaches, forests and conservation areas since 5 June 2020 (UNEP).

3 · Apply for the eTA two weeks ahead. US citizens need a Kenyan Electronic Travel Authorisation before boarding, one for each traveller, infants included (Embassy of Kenya). Standard applications start at US$30 and can take up to 72 hours (eTA Kenya), and the government recommends applying at least two weeks ahead (its guidance). The US State Department asks for a passport valid six months beyond arrival with two blank pages, and US banknotes issued after 2014.

4 · See a travel clinic early. The UK’s travel health service rates malaria risk in Kenya as high outside Nairobi city and the highlands above 2,500 metres, and recommends tablets (TravelHealthPro); the CDC lists the drug options. It recommends a yellow fever vaccine for travellers aged nine months and over, including for the Masai Mara; a certificate is only required if you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk (Kenya Port Health), which a nonstop from New York does not trigger.

What changed for Kenya safaris in 2026

Six changes in 2026 touch this route: a visitor health-insurance rule that a court suspended in August, a new US advisory, new Ol Pejeta and museum tariffs, a wetter forecast for the short rains, and a new airline codeshare from the US.

• 30 July 2026: Gazette Notice 11492 required visitors to hold travel health insurance with at least US$50,000 of cover (Tourism Update); travellers insured at home were to upload their policy with the eTA, and others could buy cover on arrival (Kenyans.co.ke). The EastAfrican reported on 25 August that the High Court had suspended it pending a hearing on 16 September (The EastAfrican); we found no report of the outcome, and on 30 September the eTA site’s FAQ did not mention it. Check before applying, and travel insured either way.
• 28 July 2026: the US State Department reissued its Kenya advisory at Level 2, exercise increased caution; Laikipia and Narok counties are not among its Level 4 areas (the advisory).
• January 2026: Ol Pejeta’s 2026 tariff set entry at US$110 per non-resident adult and its activities, including the visit to the northern white rhinos, at US$70 (the tariff).
• 7 May 2026: National Museums of Kenya revised its fees; the Karen Blixen Museum is US$17 for adults from outside Africa (the notice).
• 31 August 2026: the Kenya Meteorological Department forecast above-average October-to-December rain for Laikipia, Nairobi and Narok (the forecast).
• 11 March 2026: Kenya Airways signed a codeshare with JetBlue, putting its code on JetBlue flights from other US cities to connect with its New York nonstop (Kenya Airways).