Ithumba, Amboseli & Mara

The capital of Kenya, Nairobi is a major city and the primary transport hub for East Africa. It's a typically hectic place, but with some pleasant quiet suburbs, a good range of hotels and some interesting activities, notably the famous giraffe and baby elephant sanctuaries.

Set 260 km southeast of Nairobi, Tsavo East is a vast arid reserve, reasonably scenic in parts, but with naturally sparse desert wildlife. The southern part of the reserve is busy with budget traffic along the Nairobi-Mombasa road, but the north is much more remote and home to a fabulous elephant rescue and rehabilitation project.

Set 150 km southeast of Nairobi, Amboseli is an iconic national park which is renowned for huge tusker elephants against a backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro. Guest accommodation is in a wide range of properties, a handful of which are decent quality. There are major traffic and tonality issues in core areas.

Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara North is an excellent private conservancy to the northeast of the main Maasai Mara reserve, with guest accommodation in a good range of camps and offering a wide range of safari and cultural activities.