9 days

From: USD 6600 pps

Itinerary

DAY 1: Arrive in Nairobi

Welcome to Nairobi, our first stop in an exciting tour of Kenya’s scenic golf courses and wildlife reserves. Until the late 19th century, Nairobi was just a swampy waterhole, which developed from a tented encampment into a substantial town as a result of being halfway along the ‘Lunatic Line’ railway from the Kenyan coast to Uganda. In 1904 the famous Norfolk Hotel opened its doors and continues to be a Nairobi landmark to this day, and is our choice of sumptuous hotel in Nairobi.

Accommodation: 5* Hotel
Meals: None

DAY 2: NAIROBI – Muthaiga Golf Course

Golfers are in for a treat with a round at Muthaiga Golf Club, the embodiment of Kenya’s unique marriage of ancient golf tradition and a modern 18-Hole Championship Golf Course. Celebrating its centenary, Muthaiga Golf Club has been reborn through an extensive reconstruction by South African course designer Peter Matkovich. It is now one of the most prestigious and challenging courses in the region, with the fastest greens in East Africa.

Non golfers will head for the Giraffe Centre, to hand-feed tame Rothschild’s giraffe, who are an endangered sub-species. As they lean in for more pellets, you’ll see their beautiful eye-liner and long lashes close up. You may also be surprised at how long a giraffe’s tongue is – 45 centimetres! The Giraffe Centre is very close to the Karen Blixen Museum, so we’ll stop there and see what inspired the Out of Africa book and film. 

In the afternoon is the most heart-warming encounter with orphan elephants at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage beside Nairobi National Park. They operate the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world and respond to all manner of wildlife emergencies. You may feel inclined to adopt an elephant to help their efforts.

Accommodation: 5* Hotel
Meals: Breakfast

DAY 3: Nairobi to Naivasha descending the Great Rift Valley 

Today, we drive down into the floor of the Great Rift Valley to Lake Naivasha (approx. 2.5hrs), with a stop on the escarpment to take in the incredible sight of this fault-line cleaved by subterranean forces some twenty million years ago. It’s at its narrowest in this part of Kenya, making the landscape very dramatic. This became the ‘Happy Valley’ of Kenya in the 1930’s, where colonial ex-pats and minor aristocracy behaved scandalously. The film ‘White Mischief’ epitomizes those frivolous times. 

Lakes of every size were formed, including the freshwater Lake Naivasha, and it’s here that we stop for the night. But before settling into our golf resort, we’ll take a boat trip to Crescent Island, where a knowledgeable guide takes us for a walk, getting incredibly close to animals like zebra, waterbuck, impala and giraffe.  

Accommodation: 3* Golf Resort  
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAY 4: NAIVASHA

For golfers, this morning is dedicated to a round at the Great Rift Valley Golf Course. Set on the slopes of a small dormant volcano, you are privilege to stunning views of mountains, plains, lakes and both escarpments of the Rift Valley. At 7,000 feet, the 18-hole course is challenging and exciting and famous for one the longest holes in Kenya – the par 5 – 17th ‘signature’ at 598 metres (654 yards).  Golfers give right of way to wild animals like zebras, who wander the fairways.

Non-golfers get to see more of Lake Naivasha and its resident hippos and birds and everyone has an afternoon at leisure.

Accommodation: 3* Golf Resort  
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAY 5 Masai Mara Safari

We’ll start early to drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve (approx. 5.5hrs), arriving in time for lunch at our luxury safari camp. The Mara’ is a land of ‘big skies – African savannah as you have always imagined it. It’s famous for well-filmed lions and the wildebeest migration between July and September, when thousands of animals cross the Mara River from Tanzania into Kenya in search of good grazing.  Our afternoon game drive culminates in a private sundowner on a scenic viewpoint.

A feature of our camp is a large hippo pool in the river below the viewing deck, with over 40 hippos at any given time. It’s important to us that this camp is Gold-Eco rated, using sustainable building materials and running on solar power, all designed to have minimal impact on the environment.

Accommodation: 4* Safari Bush Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAY 6: Masai Mara Safari

Today you will experience the glory of the Masai Mara on morning and afternoon game drives, seeing whatever game shows itself.  Should your visit coincide with the wildebeest migration, the gnu grunt is everywhere. Did you know, that when the wildebeest and zebra gather at the Mara River and look down at the torrent and waiting crocodiles, it’s usually a zebra that takes the first plunge? At all times of the year the drives will seek out all the big game that lives here, like lion, cheetah, elephants and occasionally leopard and rhino.

Accommodation: 4* Safari Bush Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAY 7: Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort on Kenya’s Coast

After a leisurely breakfast at camp, it’s time to head to the nearest airstrip for a scheduled flight of 1hr 20 mins to Nairobi. Here, you will connect with another short flight under an hour to Vipingo Ridge on the Kenyan coast. Golfers will be thrilled with a par 72, 18-hole championship course, set high on the ridge with dramatic coastal views. Non-golfers have an incredible range of activities to choose from including, walking and cycling trails, tennis courts, swimming pool, yoga classes and pony trekking. At the Vipingo Beach Club, there’s fantastic snorkelling in a marine protected area, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and beach volleyball.

Accommodation: 4* resort
Meals: Breakfast

DAY 8: Golf Day at Vipingo Ridge

Thousands of trees lend beauty to the design of this PGA Baobab Course, named for the native coastal trees the area is famous for. But it’s the wandering animals that makes it unique. Just as you are about to tee off, or sink a winning putt, a giraffe may wander by. Or an eland, waterbuck, impala, oryx, or zebra for that matter. In 2020, Vipingo Ridge partnered with Kenya Wildlife Services in an animal rescue and breeding programme and these animals roam at will across the golf course.

Non golfers have a day of leisure choosing from an extensive array of activities, or nothing at all. The choice is yours. 

Accommodation: 4* resort
Meals: Breakfast

DAY 9: Nairobi

It’s a goodbye to the beauty of Vipingo with a flight back to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport, then a short transfer across town to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in time to check in for your departure flight. You’ve had a wonderful experience seeing Kenya’s wildlife in some unexpected places, like the putting green, but also on the plains of the Masai Mara.  Why not travel with us on your next golf tour? Look here for the choice of destinations.