ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
6-Day Northern Kenya Species Journey

Kenya - Fly-in safari

6-Day Northern Kenya Species Journey

Duration
6 days
Countries
Kenya
Suited to
2-6 guests
Pricing
From USD 10,880

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

This is a trip for people who have already done the Mara. Northern Kenya's drylands hold a set of animals found nowhere in the southern parks, and the conservancies that protect them are among the most interesting conservation experiments anywhere: community-owned land where Samburu and Laikipiak families are paid to keep the range open and the wildlife on it. Saruni Samburu opens the week from the Kalama Conservancy, its villas built onto a rock outcrop with open sides and a view running back toward Mount Kenya. The Samburu Special Five all occur here: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, Beisa oryx and Somali ostrich. Then west to Suyian in Laikipia, a working conservancy on the Laikipia plateau that has been in the same family for generations and now runs cattle and wildlife on the same ground. Wild dog range here, elephant move between Mount Kenya and the Ewaso Nyiro, and the activities open right up: walking, riding, camel treks and night drives. June to October and January to February are driest. The rains green the plateau and bring the migrant birds.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Wilson to Kalama

Ninety minutes north from Wilson, over Mount Kenya's shoulder and out into thorn and red rock. Saruni is built onto an outcrop with open-sided villas and no fences, so the view carries on into the room and the rock hyrax treat the terrace as theirs. The afternoon drive works the conservancy for oryx and giraffe.

Stay 2

The Special Five

A long morning after animals that exist only up here: Grevy's zebra on the open pans, gerenuk balanced upright in the thorn, reticulated giraffe in their sharp-edged panels. The drive can drop into Samburu National Reserve for the Ewaso Nyiro, where elephant cross the brown water. A night drive closes the day.

Stay 3

West to Laikipia

A dawn drive, then the flight southwest onto the Laikipia plateau, about an hour. Suyian is a working conservancy that has run cattle and wildlife on the same ground for generations, and the feel is more ranch than lodge, in the best sense. The afternoon drive goes out for elephant and the first talk of wild dog.

Stay 4

Wild Dog and Open Country

Laikipia's wild dog packs range enormous distances, so the morning is spent working the radio and the tracks until the vehicle is alongside twenty painted wolves moving at a trot. If they are out of reach, the plateau offers elephant, buffalo and a Jackson's hartebeest or two. The evening drive runs on past dark.

Stay 5

On Foot, Horseback and Camel

The last full day uses the freedom private land gives: walk out with an armed guide, ride across the plateau among zebra that ignore horses entirely, or take the camels along a lugga at a pace that makes an afternoon disappear. Sundowners on an escarpment with the Ewaso Nyiro somewhere below in the dusk.

Stay 6

Laikipia to Nairobi

A final morning drive across the plateau, breakfast in the open, then the hour back to Wilson and a transfer across the city for evening international connections. Five nights among animals most safari-goers never see, on land kept open because the families who own it earn more from the wildlife than they would from fences.

Safari highlights

  • Two nights at Saruni Samburu on the Kalama Conservancy
  • The Samburu Special Five, all northern endemics
  • Three nights at Suyian on the Laikipia plateau
  • African wild dog on a working conservancy
  • Walking, riding, camel treks and night drives
  • Community-owned land, lease fees paid to families

What is included

Included

  • 5 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Light-aircraft flights Wilson-Kalama, Samburu-Laikipia and Laikipia-Wilson
  • Road transfers between airstrips and lodges
  • All meals, house wines, local spirits, beers and soft drinks
  • Twice-daily game drives, night drives and guided walks
  • Camel trekking and riding where conditions allow
  • Kalama and Laikipia conservancy fees
  • Laundry and emergency medical evacuation cover

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Kenya electronic travel authorisation and entry permits
  • Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
  • Helicopter excursions and spa treatments
  • Premium spirits, champagne and imported wines
  • Gratuities for guides, drivers and lodge staff
  • Items of a personal nature and telephone calls

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 6-day northern Kenya safari cost?

From USD 10,880 per person sharing, rising to about USD 12,880 in peak season. That covers five nights at Saruni Samburu and Suyian, all meals and house drinks, twice-daily game drives, night drives, walking, riding and camel activities, both conservancy fees, and all three internal light-aircraft flights. International flights to Africa are excluded and quoted separately.

Which species will we see here that we cannot see in the Mara?

The Samburu Special Five are the headline: Grevy's zebra, the largest and rarest zebra with narrow stripes and rounded ears; reticulated giraffe; gerenuk, which browse standing on their hind legs; Beisa oryx; and Somali ostrich, whose legs turn blue-grey. Add African wild dog in Laikipia, plus caracal, striped hyena and aardwolf on the night drives.

How do community conservancies work in northern Kenya?

Land is owned by local families and communities and set aside for wildlife under agreements like the Northern Rangelands Trust model. Tourism lease and bed-night fees flow back as income, funding schools, clinics and ranger salaries, so keeping the range open pays better than fencing or overgrazing it. The practical result for a visitor is very few vehicles and guides who are from the land they are showing you.

How active is this trip?

As active as you want. Conservancy rules permit walking with armed guides, riding for anyone comfortable on a horse, camel treks at a very unhurried pace, and spotlit night drives, none of which is possible inside a Kenyan national park. Days can equally be spent entirely on a vehicle if that suits you better; the guides are used to both.

Are international flights included?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded and booked separately, arriving at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta airport. All internal flying is included and operates from Wilson Airport across the city, so allow about an hour to transfer between them. Light aircraft enforce a 15 kg soft-bag luggage limit per person.

Is northern Kenya a malaria area?

Risk is lower than in the Mara or on the coast, because both areas sit at altitude in dry country, but it is not zero and most travel clinics recommend prophylaxis. Arrange it about six weeks before departure. Both lodges provide nets and repellent. A yellow fever certificate is required only if you arrive from a transmission-risk country.