Kenya’s Family Safari – Best for Teens

There is no mistaking the theme of this holiday: after being collected at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport you are transferred the short distance not to a city hotel but to Ololo Lodge, set in lush gardens on the edge of the Nairobi National Park. The drive is less than an hour but you already get a chance to tick off some of Africa’s famous animals on the way to Ololo: the park is home to buffalo, giraffe, zebra and even lion and rhino as well as an astonishing bird count of around 500 species. Your Stable Room suite comes with a queen-sized bed, Wi-Fi access and a private bathroom.

After breakfast it is back to Nairobi and Wilson Airport for a domestic flight to the Chyulu Hills where you are met at an airstrip and driven to Ol Donyo. Set on Maasai land and leased from the community, this lodge is at the forefront of local conservation and invests equally in community projects. You have two full days of game drives to look forward to, your guide on the lookout for the area’s famed ‘big tuskers’ – enormous bull elephants – as well as big cats and some more unusual species that you will not see in the Masai Mara such as the endearingly long-necked gerenuk antelope. Decorated with art pieces, each suite at Ol Donyo features a lounge, veranda, en suite bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers and a unique star-bed that gives you the chance to enjoy a magical night outdoors with the overarching East African cosmos as your bedroom ceiling.

Flying from Chyulu Hills to the Mara North airstrip takes you via Nairobi’s Wilson Airport but you arrive at Mara Bush House in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive. Your accommodation here is a fully staffed, exclusive-use safari house; your own home-from-home complete with chef, housekeeping staff and a manager to make sure it all runs like clockwork. A private guide and vehicle are on hand, enabling you to set your own game-viewing schedule, and you sit down to great meals served where you like. A swimming pool and Wi-Fi round things off nicely. The setting is the Mara North Conservancy, an exclusive game-viewing reserve through which the massed wildebeest herds pass through each year. This part of the Masai Mara is famous for its year-round wildlife and you have spot-lit night drives and guided walks to look forward to as well as morning and afternoon drives with expert guides.

After breakfast at Mara Bush House you are driven back to the airstrip for a late morning flight back to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport and a subsequent transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, end of the tour and your onward travel arrangements, whether home or to an African beach destination. The lodge supplies a packed lunch, a welcome touch on this final day.