Tanzania
Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara. Flown in and built around the migration, usually as an add-on to a Kenya safari.
Why trust us
Every safari is planned and road-tested by our own team — not resold from a catalogue.
That sentence is the whole difference between a Kenya Safari Centre journey and a package bought off a shelf. Here is what it means in practice.
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Written by the people who drive it
Our itineraries are put together in the Nairobi office by staff who have driven the routes. Nothing is copied from a wholesaler's catalogue, and nothing is sold that we have not driven ourselves.
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Road-tested before it is offered
When a road washes out in the long rains, a gate time changes or a lodge changes hands, we find out on the ground and adjust the programme — before your departure, not during it.
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Named lodges, named vehicles
Every property we book is named and linked on the programme page, at three clear comfort levels. You see exactly what you are paying for before you pay a deposit.
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One team from landing to farewell
Met at Jomo Kenyatta International, transferred, briefed and guided by the same people throughout. Included on every programme, whatever hour your flight lands.
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English and German service, in-house
We run a German-language office as well as our Nairobi office. Neither is a translation service bolted onto the other — both are staffed by people who take the enquiries themselves.
Destinations
Kenya first — then East Africa, if you have the days.
We design safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. Kenya is the country we have driven for three decades; the extensions are built onto a Kenya journey where they fit the season and your time.
Rift Valley · Kenya
Maasai Mara
The reserve the world pictures when it says safari. Best between July and October, but the resident cats stay all year.
Southern Kenya
Amboseli
Big elephant families under Kilimanjaro. The clearest mountain views are at first light, so we sleep inside the park.
Southeast Kenya
Tsavo East & West
Red-earth country the size of a small nation, with the Galana River, Lugard Falls and space to lose the other vehicles.
Northern Kenya
Samburu
Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and gerenuk — species you will not see further south, along the Ewaso Nyiro river.
Laikipia
Ol Pejeta
A working conservancy on the Laikipia plateau: black and white rhino, chimpanzee sanctuary, and Mount Kenya on the skyline.
Great Rift Valley
Lake Nakuru
A fenced park with both rhino species and waterbirds along the shoreline. Easily combined with Naivasha on a two-day run.
Great Rift Valley
Lake Naivasha
Freshwater, boat trips, Crescent Island walks on foot and Hell's Gate next door — the gentlest first safari from Nairobi.
Indian Ocean
Kenya Coast
Mombasa, Diani, Watamu and the Lamu archipelago. Most guests add three to seven nights after the dust; we handle the flights and transfers.
East African extensions
Zanzibar
Stone Town, spice farms and the reefs of the Indian Ocean — the natural close to a Tanzania circuit. See our Zanzibar travel guide.
Uganda
Gorilla tracking in Bwindi, chimpanzees in Kibale and the Nile at Murchison Falls. This is where our own safari story began in 1994.
Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park, a couple of hours from Kigali, plus Nyungwe forest and Akagera for a shorter add-on week.
Who we are
After Cairo to Cape Town, we stayed in Nairobi.
Our journey began in 1994 with gorilla tracking in the Mgahinga hills of south-west Uganda. From there we worked our way through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini, Namibia and Botswana — before settling in Kenya to build Kenya Safari Centre.
We have spent years inside every top safari region in Kenya, learning the roads, the parks, the animals and the people. Safari is not a product we sell. It is a life we live.
Fixed programmes
Featured Kenya safari programmes
Twenty pre-designed itineraries, road-tested by our own team. Book one exactly as written, or use it as the starting point for a tailor-made journey.
NAIROBI BUGA SAFARI
Half Day Nairobi National Park Safari
Lions and rhino with a skyline behind them. The only park of its kind on earth.
GORGE SAFARI TOUR 1
One Day Hell's Gate and Lake Naivasha Safari
Cycle past zebra, then walk a red gorge with no fence between you and the animals.
ZIWA SAFARI 2
2 Days Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha Safari
Two Rift Valley lakes, two rhino species, and a boat ride to finish.
KILIMANJARO SAFARI 2
2 Days Amboseli National Park Safari
The clearest view of Kilimanjaro anywhere, and elephants walking in front of it.
KILIMANJARO SAFARI 3
3 Days Amboseli National Park Safari
Two nights under the mountain, and time to watch a herd rather than pass it.
KILIMANJARO SAFARI 4
4 Days Amboseli and Lake Naivasha Safari
Dust and elephants first, then water, papyrus and a walk on foot.
KILIMANJARO SAFARI 5
5 Days Amboseli, Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru Safari
Elephants under a mountain, then two lakes and the birds that live on them.
Ways to travel
Nine ways to do an East Africa safari with us.
Every style below can be run as a fixed programme or as a tailor-made itinerary. Price depends on season, lodge level and vehicle — ask us for an itemised quote.
Luxury safari
Top-tier tented camps and lodges inside the parks, private guide throughout, flights between regions where the drive is long.
Mid-luxury safari
The level most of our guests choose: comfortable mid-range lodges and good tented camps, private vehicle, no shared seats.
Camping safari
Public or private campsites with a full camp crew. The closest you get to the bush for the money, and often the most memorable.
Family safari
Short driving days, lodges with pools and family rooms, and guiding pitched at children as well as adults. Interconnecting rooms where they exist.
Photography safari
Vehicles positioned for light, not for queueing. Early departures, late returns, beanbags and space for long lenses — tell us your kit list.
Adventure safari
Walking and cycling in Hell's Gate, boat safaris on Naivasha, hiking in the Aberdares and longer road legs across the Rift.
Corporate & groups
Incentive trips, conference add-ons and group departures with multiple vehicles running in convoy, one office contact and one invoice.
Drive your own safari
Self-drive 4×4 with a pre-planned route, park bookings confirmed and permits arranged. We brief you before you collect the vehicle.
Professional driver-guide
Silver and gold-rated Kenyan driver-guides, fluent in English, some in German, all with years of park hours behind them and a radio network on the ground.
The practical part
The vehicle and the lodges decide the trip.
The vehicle matters
We tried expedition trucks, minivans and Land Rovers. Then we stopped trying things. Pop-top 4×4 Land Cruisers, maintained in Nairobi, with a window seat and a charging point for every passenger.
Lodges and tented camps
Every property we book, named and linked. No mystery categories. Three price levels in every park, so you can see exactly what the difference in budget buys you.
Kenya in depth
Park by park, with the seasons, driving times, gate notes and the routes that work — written from three decades of running these roads ourselves.
Before you book
The questions travellers ask us first.
Written for guests coming from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. If your question is not here, ask it — we answer enquiries ourselves.
Who are you, and where are you based?
Kenya Safari Centre is a safari operator with its own office in Nairobi, Kenya, on the road since 1994. We are not a marketplace and not a reseller: the people who answer your enquiry are the people who plan your itinerary, brief your driver-guide and follow your trip while you are travelling.
Why should I trust you with my booking?
Three things you can check yourself. One, our programmes are written and road-tested by our own team rather than bought from a catalogue. Two, every lodge we book is named and linked on the programme page, so nothing is hidden behind a category. Three, we are listed on TripAdvisor, where you can read reviews written by guests who travelled with us.
We also publish our postal address, our office hours and both a Nairobi and a German-language telephone number and WhatsApp line, so you can reach a named business rather than an anonymous inbox.
Which destinations do you cover?
Kenya first: the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo East and West, Samburu, Ol Pejeta, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha and the Indian Ocean coast at Mombasa, Diani and Watamu. Then East African extensions in Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda and Rwanda, usually added to a Kenya itinerary rather than sold as a standalone trip.
What safari styles can I choose from?
Luxury, mid-luxury, camping, family, photography, adventure, corporate and group travel, self-drive and private guided safaris. The safari styles section above explains each one. Most guests land on mid-luxury or luxury, but camping and self-drive are genuine options we run ourselves.
Can the safari be customised?
Yes, and it is most of what we do. Our twenty fixed programmes exist to give you a realistic starting point — dates, park order, driving distances and lodge levels. From there we change the length, the route, the accommodation standard and the pace to fit you. Nothing is locked.
How do I plan and book a safari with you?
Send us an enquiry through the Plan a Safari form, by email to info@kenyasafaricentre.com or on WhatsApp. Tell us your travel dates, how many people are travelling, your budget range and what you want to see. We reply with a drafted itinerary and an itemised quotation showing park fees, accommodation, vehicle and guiding separately.
Once you are happy, we confirm the lodges and parks, issue an invoice for the deposit, and send a written pre-travel brief covering visas, health requirements, packing and what happens on arrival. German-language guests can write to anfrage@kenyasafaricentre.com instead.
What makes the experience authentic rather than packaged?
Kenya is the country our team lives and works in. Our driver-guides are Kenyan, they grew up around these parks, and the routes we drive are the ones we drive for our own families. That shows in small things: knowing which gate to use before the queues form, which camps actually face the waterhole, and when to stay out an extra half hour because the light is about to change.
Next step
Plan a safari
Tell us when you can travel, who is coming and how you like to sleep. We will come back with a drafted itinerary, an itemised quotation and an honest answer about the season.
Travelling from North America
We work in East Africa Time but answer enquiries outside Kenyan office hours during your booking period. Park fees, vehicle, guiding and accommodation are itemised separately so you can see where the money goes.
Deutschsprachige Gäste
Wir betreuen deutschsprachige Gäste aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz in ihrer Sprache. Sie erreichen uns unter anfrage@kenyasafaricentre.com — oder direkt auf der deutschen Seite.