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Under the Kenyan Sky

6 Nights from $2140

Highlights

Destinations
Nairobi, Amboseli National Park, Lake Nakuru, Masai
Mara National Park

Your Itinerary Includes

Round trip airport transfers
1 night Nairobi
2 nights Amboseli National Park
Amboseli National Park game viewing
1 night Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru game viewing
2 nights Masai Mara National Park
Masai Mara National Park game viewing
6 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners

Begins in Nairobi on Sundays

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Day-By-Day Itinerary

This itinerary can be fully customized; to tailor this package to your specific requirements please call one of our travel specialists at 1-800-22-SWAIN.

Day 1 Fly USA to Dubai
Overnight on board your Emirates flight to Dubai.

Day 2 Fly Dubai to Nairobi
Connect with your Emirates flight to Nairobi. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Kenya's capital is cosmopolitan, lively, interesting and pleasantly landscaped. Founded by the British about 120 years ago, Nairobi now has a population of more than 2 million people. It’s a modern commercial center with some interesting high-rises and lots of bustle. Visitors can find things not so common in other parts of Africa, such as nice theatres showing the latest films and expensive restaurants serving every type of food.

Day 3 Nairobi to Amboseli National Park
The transfer time from Nairobi to Amboseli National Park is approximately 4.5 hours.

Framed against the glorious backdrop of Africa's highest mountain, Amboseli is surrounded by miles of rolling grasslands that are patrolled by vast herds of elephant.

Amboseli, immediately northwest of Mount Kilimanjaro and 150 miles southeast of Nairobi on the Tanzanian border, is certainly one of the most picturesque places in the whole of Africa to watch game. Where else could you watch a great herd of elephants trudging slowly across a wide empty plain dominated by Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro?

Day 4 Amboseli National Park
Enjoy a full day in Amboseli National Park, which lies below the most famous symbol of Africa - Mount Kilimanjaro - 19,340 feet - the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free standing mountain in the world.

The surrounding area is flat, covered by savannah and acacia scrub and the animals stand in silhouette against this towering majestic giant, its snow-clad peak floating in the stark blue African sky. A large part of the park consists of the alluvial dried-up bed of the seasonal Lake Amboseli, which in the rainy season can transform into a shallow flood whilst the dry season brings strange mirages above the lake's dry shimmering surface. Towards the center of the park are a series of swamps, fed by the underground rivers running off the mountain.

It is here, closer to the water, that the concentration of wildlife intensifies, from the ever present ponderous herds of elephant to abundant birdlife. This includes a wide variety of waterbirds such as grey heron, saddle bill stork, Egyptian goose as well as yellow-throated sand grouse and up to 6 species of vulture. The rare Madagascar Squacco Heron is a frequent visitor. Other game frequently seen include buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, Maasai giraffe, lion and cheetah. You will enjoy a 'picnic' lunch while out on safari.

Day 5 Amboseli National Park to Lake Nakuru
This morning travel back to Nairobi where you enjoy a light lunch, before continuing to Lake Nakuru. Enjoy an afternoon game drive en route to the lodge.

Situated between Lakes Naivasha and Baringo, beneath the high cliffs of the Eastern Rift, lies Lake Nakuru. This is a shallow soda lake surrounded by yellow-barked acacia woodland and grasslands, rocky cliffs and hillsides covered with the unusual giant Euphorbia trees. Lake Nakuru is world famous as the home of myriad flocks of greater and lesser flamingoes, which frequently form a stunning pink ribbon along the edges of the lake. But flamingoes are unpredictable and are not always found here in such vast numbers - they migrate up and down the Rift Valley from Natron to Turkana in search of the best food supply.

An entertaining spectacle is the large flocks of pelicans found fishing and washing at the southern end of the Lake. Over 400 species of birdlife have been recorded at the lake, making this yet another of Kenya's major ornithological sites. In addition to the birdlife, the park is home to herds of buffalo, waterbuck, impala, Rothschild giraffe, and leopard. A defined area of the park has now been designated a rhino sanctuary. Enjoy your afternoon traversing through this park.

Day 6 Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara National Park
This morning, enjoy breakfast at the lodge before you check out and head South toward the Masai Mara. Drive along the floor of the Rift Valley taking you past Suswa and Mt. Longonot. Cross the Loita plains where proud and picturesque Maasai can be seen going about their normal chores in the sheer vicinity of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle. Arrive at the Masai Mara Game Reserve in time for lunch.

This afternoon, head out into the Masai Mara for your afternoon game drive through this wondrous National Reserve.

For many people, timing their Masai Mara Safari to coincide with the migration seems vital - but with a very abundant and healthy resident population of animals, a holiday to the Masai Mara is great at any time of the year.

The word Mara means 'spotted'. Does this relate to the landscape, which is patched with groves of acacia and thorn bushes? It is more likely that the name originated from the speckled inundation of wildebeest and millions of other herbivores during the migration. With its rolling grasslands and wide-open savannah, the Masai Mara is the kind of African landscape you might see in the movies.

Many predators also prevail in the Mara, including large prides of lions, a fair number of cheetahs and leopards, spotted hyenas and silver- or black-backed jackals.

Day 7 Masai Mara National Park
Enjoy a full day of game viewing in the Mara today. The Masai Mara Game Reserve is widely considered to be Africa's greatest wildlife reserve. The Mara comprises 200 sq miles of open plains, woodlands and riverine forest. Contiguous with the plains of the Serengeti, the Mara is home to a breathtaking array of life. The vast grassland plains are scattered with herds of Zebra, Giraffe, Gazelle, and Topi. The Acacia forests abound with Birdlife and Monkeys. Elephants and Buffalo wallow in the wide Musiara Swamp. The Mara and Talek rivers are brimming with Hippos and Crocodiles.

Each year the Mara plays host to the world's greatest natural spectacle, the Great Wildebeest Migration from the Serengeti. From July to October, the promise of rain and fresh life giving grass in the north brings more than 1.3 million Wildebeest together into a single massive herd. They pour across the border into the Mara, making a spectacular entrance in a surging column of life that stretches from horizon to horizon.

The Mara has been called the Kingdom of Lions and these regal and powerful hunters dominate these grasslands. Cheetah are also a common sight in the Mara, as are Hyena and smaller predators such as Jackals. The Mara is an awesome natural wonder, a place where Maasai warriors share the plains with hunting lions, a place of mighty herds and timeless cycles of life, death and regeneration.

Day 8 Fly Nairobi to USA (Via Dubai)
Leaving Masai Mara, head back to Narok, district headquarters of this part of Maasailand and then travel across the vast plains on the floor of the Rift Valley – keep an eye out for herds of giraffe and gazelle – and head up the Rift Escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners of war during World War II. You are due to arrive back in Nairobi at lunch time.

Transfer to the airport for your departure flights.

Day 9 Arrive USA

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Hotels

For more information about the hotels visited in this itinerary please click the hotel name below.

City	Standard	Superior	Deluxe	Luxury

Nairobi	Sarova Stanley Hotel	-	-	-

Amboseli Nat. Park	Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge	-	-	-

Lake Nakuru	Sarova Lion Hill Lodge	-	-	-

Masai Mara Nat. Park	Sarova Mara Camp	-	-	-

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Pricing

To determine pricing for your tour select the appropriate travel season and desired accommodation level from the table below.

	Twin Share	Single Share
Standard

12/16/09-12/22/09	$2,360	$2,830

12/23/09-1/2/10	$2,620	$3,245

1/3/10-1/31/10	$2,360	$2,830

2/1/10-2/28-10	$2,620	$3,245

3/1/10-3/31-10	$2,360	$2,830

4/1/10-5/31/10	$2,140	$2,240

6/1/10-6/30/10	$2,360	$2,830

7/1/10-10/31/10	$2,620	$3,245

11/1/10/12/15/10	$2,360	$2,830


Add International Airfare Pricing
Routing: JFK-DXB-NBO-DXB-JFK

12/25/09-3/31/10 10/27/10-12/3/10		$1,100

4/1/10-6/11/10 8/31/10-10/26/10		$1,240

12/04/09-12/24/09; 6/12/10-8/31/10		$1,735

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Terms & Conditions

*Prices are per person, twin/double share in USD. Travel may be restricted to certain days of the week and be available from one or multiple US departure points. Add on fares are available from most US cities and surcharges may be applicable for travel on particular days of the week. Seats are limited and may not be available on every flight. Hotels and tours remain subject to availability. US and Foreign Govt. taxes and fees vary depending on the itinerary selected and may range from $90 to $395 per person. Passenger Facility Charges of up to $18 per person and the September 11th Security Fee of up to $10 per person, are not included. After ticketing changes may not be permissible in some circumstances, or a change fee may be applied. Cancellation penalties and other booking or alteration restrictions may exist. Please note that some air segments may be served by an associated carrier. Full payment for special deals may be required within a number of days of the reservation being made as nominated by your consultant at the time of booking (or 60 days prior to departure). Please note blackout dates may apply to Christmas, New Year and local special event periods. Prices indicated remain subject to change without notice. Group inquiries are welcome however specials remain subject to hotel and airline capacity control and therefore may not be applicable for group travel. The best deal available for group travel will always be given in lieu of the offer indicated. CST #2012413-20 See our Complete Terms and Conditions.

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