Upgraded - Highlights of Kenya & Tsavo

Our tour starts in Kenya's fast-growing capital city, Nairobi - the gateway to the country's famous national parks.

A transfer from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) to the Tamarind Tree Hotel is included on all trips in our Upgraded range regardless of your arrival day, provided we receive your flight details no later than 10 days before departure. The journey from the airport to our hotel is around 30 minutes. We also offer a complimentary transfer to those who have made pre-tour accommodation arrangements through Explore, regardless of your arrival day.

For those arriving on time, our tour leader will meet you in the hotel reception at 6.30 pm and, for those that wish, there'll be the chance to go for dinner. Due to a number of flights arriving into Nairobi later in the evening, our welcome meeting will take place on the morning of day two just after breakfast

Our hotel is located just five kilometres from the city centre and a short 30-minute drive from the airport. It's the perfect location to relax and unwind after your flight, featuring a large outdoor swimming pool set in landscaped gardens and a welcoming open-plan reception area with bright murals covering the walls. The hotel has a coffee shop, a lively bar and a restaurant. Alternatively, you can take a taxi to one of the city's malls for a wider choice of eating options.

Heading north out of Nairobi and climbing steadily out of the Great Rift Valley, we head into the Aberdare Mountain range passing through farming communities. With an altitude of over 2,500 metres, the air is noticeably cooler compared to Nairobi and the rolling hills are covered in dense forests and open moorland. After around four hours, we'll reach the Aberdare Country Club where we'll break for lunch. Originally a colonial family home, the country club retains much of its former grandeur and has breathtaking views of the plains below, the Aberdare Mountains to the west and Mount Kenya to the east.

After lunch, it's a short transfer to one of Kenya's more unusual safari properties, The Ark. Modelled after Noah's Ark, The Ark features four viewing decks with balconies and vast viewing windows to provide superb game-watching, all from the comfort of the lodge. Keep an eye out for your first glimpse of elephants on your way in.

After settling into our rooms, there's plenty of time to head to one of the viewing areas or down to the bunker to quietly watch the lodge's floodlit waterhole, which attracts a host of wildlife including elephants, buffalos, monkeys, warthogs, baboons and on occasions hyenas. From here, you can also spot forest birds including hornbills, wagtails and giant kingfishers. Before dinner at our lodge, we'll have an informal talk on the local flora and fauna and the wildlife that inhabits the Aberdare National Park.

Going to bed early doesn't mean missing the action either. During the night, the resident ranger stays on watch and will buzz your room if an interesting animal comes to the waterhole - listen out for one ring for an elephant, two for a rhino, three for leopard and four for other unusual sightings. You're free to turn the buzzer off if you'd rather have a full night's sleep.

We have a longer day of travel ahead of us today and we drive to Nakuru, a journey of around four hours. En route, we'll stop at the Thompson Falls on the Ewaso Ngiro River. The waters originate on the western slopes of Mount Kenya and descend over a 70-meter waterfall just outside the town of Nyahururu.

We'll continue to Nakuru National Park and the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, our base for the next two nights. We'll have lunch at the lodge before heading out on our first game drive along the shores of Lake Nakuru, on the lookout for both white rhino and the endangered black rhino as well as other mammals and birds.

Our lodge for the next two nights is situated just above the lake. Rooms are in cottages set in the landscaped gardens, there is a big swimming pool and terrace, a restaurant offering an extensive selection of dishes and a bar with an outdoor fire pit to unwind by after dinner.

We'll have an early start this morning to maximise our time in Nakuru National Park. Rising before breakfast, we head out in 4x4 Land Cruiser safari vehicles, accompanied by our expert safari driver guides, on the lookout for both the white rhinos and the endangered black rhinos. Sightings, whilst never guaranteed, are very likely at Nakuru National Park. It's not unheard of to see a dozen rhinos in a day.

The park hosts herds of buffalo, zebra and giraffe, as well as flocks of striking pink flamingos on the lake, although the latter do move between lakes in the Great Rift Valley, so may not be seen at Nakuru and numbers have been in decline following flooding in 2012. Other birdlife is prolific on the shores of the lake with pink-backed and white pelicans found wading in the shallow soda lake shore as well as spoonbills, marabou storks and sacred ibis. We'll stop on the shores of the lake for photographs of the spectacular setting.

Returning to our lodge for a late breakfast, we'll spend the hottest part of the day relaxing at our camp - take the chance for a siesta, a dip in the pool, or a spot of birdwatching. We'll depart for our afternoon activity after tea, usually around 4pm, and return in the early evening. Game drives will vary depending on sightings and animal activity.

Bidding Nakuru farewell, it's a five-hour drive to the world-famous Maasai Mara game reserve. Our journey takes us across the floor of the Rift Valley and then up and over the Mau Escarpment, travelling through open bushland interspersed with rural villages and farming communities. The major settlement on our journey is the bustling and colourful market town of Narok, a major trading post full of market stalls selling fresh vegetables and fruit as well as livestock.

We arrive in the Mara (as it's known by locals) early in the afternoon - just in time for a late lunch. Our lodge for the next three nights is located in the heart of the Mara close to the Talek River, at the confluence of the Maasai Mara's four wildlife viewing areas, on the northern boundary of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Afternoon game drives depart around 4pm and return as the sun goes down, after which, there's time to freshen up and meet for a drink at the bar before dinner.

Dinner is usually a buffet menu with fresh seasonal produce sourced from around Kenya, served in the restaurant. After dinner, we can sit around the roaring fire, relive the highlights of the day and admire the stars in the African night sky.

Covering an area of 1,500 square kilometres, the Maasai Mara hosts one of the largest concentrations of animals anywhere in the world. The wildlife is prolific at any time of year, but between the end of July and the beginning of October, huge herds of wildebeest and zebra migrate into the Mara from the adjacent Serengeti National Park, in search of fresh grasses that flourish after the rains, often pursued by predators such as hyenas, lions and cheetahs.

We'll embark on two game drives today, one in the early morning and one mid-afternoon, with time in between to enjoy our comfortable lodge - taking a dip in the swimming pool or reading a book.

We have our third day in the Maasai today and will drive further into the reserve. Depending on sightings, our expert safari driver guides will generally spend the maximum time on game drives, trying to cover as large an area as possible, including the river tributaries of the reserve.

The Mara hosts an abundance of mammals including lions, elephants and wildebeest as well as numerous antelope species from elands, hartebeests, bushbucks, gazelles to impalas and waterbucks to name but a few. For keen birdwatchers, there is an astonishing variety of birds to spot. Be sure to keep an eye on soaring vultures and eagles on the lookout for a recent kill.

Tonight, we'll enjoy a traditional Mara Salt Lick Deck dinner overlooking one of the watering holes and the salt lick area that provides essential minerals to the wild game at the Mara Reserve.

Please note, this dinner is weather dependant, should it not be possible we will eat at the hotel and instead offer sundowner drinks on the shores of Lake Nakuru on day four.

After an early breakfast, we drive back to Nairobi (a five-hour journey), making a brief stop at a viewpoint across the Rift Valley outside Naivasha. We aim to arrive back at the Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi around 1pm, the rest of the day is free.

We have an early start today as we head to Nairobi's new termini train station to board a train to Voi, the gateway to Tsavo National Park region. Travelling at speeds of up to 120 kph the journey takes four hours. The modern train is air-conditioned and offers a buffet service on board and charging points for phones. There's also always the chance you'll spot wildlife from the comfort of your seat along the way. Please note that this Tsavo Extension does not have a an Explore tour leader assigned however, you will be looked after by the incredible staff from Kipalo.

On arrival in Voi, we'll transfer the short distance directly to Kipalo Hills, our home for the next three nights, in the Mbulia private conservancy bordering Tsavo West.

Kipalo Hills is a highly personalised lodge experience with six spacious and well-appointed traditional safari tents offering complete seclusion and privacy, pitched against a rock hillside with the most amazing views of the Tsavo conservation area. The heart of the lodge is an expansive bar, lounge and dining area with an open deck and swimming pool. There's a complimentary bar and meals can be taken at a time of your choosing.

After being shown around, we'll head down to the waterhole right next to the camp which attracts elephants, buffalos and occasionally even leopards, we'll then head out for a game drive within the conservancy.

You're welcome to dip in and out of the scheduled drives as you wish. Early morning game drives generally leave the lodge around 6.30am, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures to maximize game viewing and return approximately three hours later - just in time for breakfast.

Afternoon game drives depart around 4pm and return at sunset, after which you can freshen up and gather for pre-dinner drinks. All meals are included at the lodge.

Over the next two days, we'll head out to explore the surrounding area. Individual games drives are made in custom-built 4x4 safari Land Cruisers with an open roof hatch, exclusive for our use. All seats have direct window access and the vehicle sides are fully retractable, providing the best game-viewing opportunities possible. Fridges, winches, camera stands, inverters and electric charging sockets, and upgraded suspensions are just some of the features in our open-game viewing vehicles.

The exact itinerary is flexible and will be discussed on our first day. Options include a full day in Tsavo East or safari drives in the Mbulia Conservancy including a visit to one of the waterholes in the conservancy where we'll get one of the closest encounters to the resident elephants anywhere in Kenya, guided bush walks with one of the expert rangers. When we opt for a full-day safari, we'll take a picnic breakfast and lunch to enjoy in the bush to maximize our game viewing time.

Upon returning to the lodge, there is time to freshen up before observing a great safari tradition, enjoying a sundowner as part of our daily ritual. Whether out of the back of a safari jeep on your way back to camp or on a spectacular hill with a roaring fire a cold beer or a gin and tonic, it's the perfect way to sit back and take in the spectacular Kenyan wilderness.

Today, we have another full day in search of game. The park hosts over 500 species of birdlife and a rich ecosystem with areas of savanna grassland, semi-arid acacia woodland and the highlands of the Chyulu hills. All the 'big 5' can be found within the park, around 40% of Kenya's elephant population live within the wider Tsavo Conservation Area. With our own vehicle, we can take our time away from the crowds.

A huge part of the Tsavo experience is the home-cooked meals, all freshly prepared by the resident chef using fresh local ingredients. You can choose from various dining spots, whether on the private terrace of your accommodation, in the main tent, by the pool overlooking the well-frequented waterhole in Kipalo, or in the middle of the bush - a truly memorable experience.

After an early breakfast, we'll drive to Voi station and board the 9.55am train back to Nairobi, arriving just after 2pm. The earliest recommended flight departure time is 4pm.

A transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) from the train station or Tamarind Tree Hotel is included on all trips in our Upgraded range regardless of your departure day, provided we receive your flight details no later than 10 days before your tour departing. For those departing Kenya on an evening flight, we'll transfer you to the Tamarind Tree Hotel. You might wish to book a day-use room, please contact us for details. Alternatively, you're free to relax by the pool or explore Nairobi for some last-minute souvenir shopping.