The Ongeri Journal · Written in Nairobi
What a safari costs, when to go, where the herds are, and which camps earn their price.
Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zanzibar, the Seychelles and Mauritius, from the people who plan the journeys.
The Ongeri Expeditions blog is where our team in Nairobi answers the questions guests ask before a luxury safari: what a safari costs, when to travel, where the Great Migration is in each month, what gorilla permits cost in Rwanda and Uganda, and which camps are worth the money in the Maasai Mara, the Serengeti, Amboseli, Laikipia, Zanzibar, the Seychelles and Mauritius. We compare the finest camps against one another by name, with the rates on the page, so you can see where the money goes before you commit to it. Every guide is written from our own visits and kept up to date, and every one ends where you can ask us to plan it.
Written and reviewed by Abner Ongeri and the team in Karen, Nairobi.
Field notes, camp openings and planning guides, written by our team in Nairobi and kept up to date.
Ongeri Expeditions is a Kenyan owned luxury safari company based in Karen, Nairobi. Every journey is designed and run from Nairobi. You can plan with us directly. If you...
Read the guide →If you are planning a first safari, these answer the questions we are asked every week: the cost, the timing, the country and the camps.
Choose a subject, or search by name. Every guide is written by the people who plan the journeys.
Ongeri Expeditions is a Kenyan owned luxury safari company based in Karen, Nairobi. Every journey is designed and run from Nairobi. You can plan with us directly. If you...
Read more →The Christmas and New Year weeks are peak season in Kenya. The best camps fill early, so ask for availability now. Christmas 2026 is about 8 weeks away. Short notice...
Read more →Send us your dates, your group size and your budget. We check camp availability and aim to reply the same day. Apply for your Kenya electronic travel authorization as...
Read more →November is the green season in Kenya. Camps are quieter, the landscape is lush and the big cats are still easy to find. Thanksgiving 2026 falls on 26 November. To be on...
Read more →Senior travelers often have the time for the big journeys, the 12 to 16 day trips that cover several countries. The best plans use fewer moves, longer stays and a...
Read more →There are no direct flights from Chicago O'Hare to Nairobi. Most one stop trips connect in Doha, Abu Dhabi or New York, and total travel time is about 20 to 21 hours at...
Read more →There are no direct flights from Denver to Nairobi, so every trip needs at least one stop. The most common connections run through Istanbul, New York and Frankfurt, and...
Read more →There are no direct flights from Miami to Nairobi. Most one stop trips connect in Doha, Dubai, New York or Istanbul, and total travel time is about 21 to 22 hours at...
Read more →Kenya Airways currently flies nonstop from New York JFK to Nairobi. The flight takes about 13.5 to 14 hours. Nairobi is 7 hours ahead of New York in daylight saving time...
Read more →Kenya Airways currently flies nonstop from New York JFK to Nairobi. Every other major US city connects at least once. Most one stop trips take about 19 to 26 hours in...
Read more →There are no direct flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle to Nairobi. Every trip connects at least once, and total travel is often 21 to 26 hours. Nairobi...
Read more →A 7 day luxury journey gives you 6 nights. We offer two: a Maasai Mara and Serengeti safari, and a Mnemba Island beach safari. The Maasai Mara and Serengeti safari...
Read more →A 5 day luxury safari gives you 4 nights in one camp, about 3 full days of game viewing, and a flight in and out. It is one place done well. We have 6 itineraries of 5...
Read more →An ultra luxury safari in East Africa means small camps, a private guide and vehicle, access to private conservancies, and a price that includes flights, fees, meals and...
Read more →The best luxury beach honeymoon stays in Kenya are Alfajiri Villas, The Maji, Msambweni Villas and Almanara Villas in Diani, Cardamom House in Vipingo, Manda Bay, The...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon camps in Amboseli and the Chyulu Hills are Ol Donyo Lodge, Angama Amboseli, Kitirua Plains Lodge, Elewana Tortilis Camp and Campi ya Kanzi...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon camps in Laikipia and Lewa are Segera Retreat, Loisaba Lodo Springs, Loisaba Star Beds, The Sanctuary at Ol Lentille, Ol Malo, andBeyond Suyian...
Read more →The best honeymoon camp in the Maasai Mara depends on what you want most. Choose Angama Mara for the view, Mara Plains Camp or Mara Nyika for privacy, Mahali Mzuri for...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon camps in Samburu are Sasaab, for a private plunge pool in every suite, and Saruni Samburu, for hilltop villas with views to Mount Kenya...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon lodge in Meru National Park is Elsa's Kopje, on a hilltop above George Adamson's original campsite. Choose Elsa's Kopje for the Born Free...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon lodges in Tsavo are Finch Hattons in Tsavo West and The Hildana Lodge in the Taita Hills. Choose Finch Hattons for a plunge pool suite, springs...
Read more →The best regions for a luxury honeymoon in Kenya are the Maasai Mara, Amboseli and the Chyulu Hills, Laikipia and Lewa, Samburu, Tsavo, Meru, Mount Kenya, the coast and...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon stays in Nairobi are Giraffe Manor, The Emakoko, Hemingways Nairobi and Villa Rosa Kempinski. Choose Giraffe Manor to have breakfast with...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon lodges around Mount Kenya are the JW Marriott Mount Kenya Rhino Reserve Safari Camp, the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club and Arijiju. Choose...
Read more →The best luxury honeymoon camps in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy are Mahali Mzuri, Mara Plains Camp, Olare Mara Kempinski, Kicheche Bush Camp and Porini Lion Camp...
Read more →andBeyond, Great Plains, Singita and A&K on rates, guiding, what the nightly rate includes and conservation. From a company that books all four.
Read more →The finest view in East Africa against the ground rules that change a game drive. Rates, access, guiding and who each one suits.
Read more →Two of the finest luxury camps in East Africa, 20 minutes apart in the same private conservancy. From about USD 1,800 and USD 2,200 a night, and how we choose.
Read more →Game density against exclusivity, and about USD 2,000 a night between them. Where to sleep for an ultra luxury Serengeti safari.
Read more →An ultra luxury manor on 350,000 private acres against the finest full service lodge in the Serengeti. About USD 4,300 a night against USD 2,250.
Read more →Olare Motorogi, Naboisho and Mara North on size, bed density, the camps in each and the fees. Why a private conservancy beats the Reserve.
Read more →Crater Lodge, Lemala Osonjoi and Crater’s Edge on position, rates and how early you reach the crater floor. Why position beats decoration.
Read more →What the peak months cost at the luxury end, what you are not guaranteed, and the 3 seasons that cost USD 12,150 less a head.
Read more →What the rate actually includes, what 350,000 private acres give you that the national park cannot, and the three alternatives we suggest instead.
Read more →Where you sleep decides where you may drive, at what hours and beside how many other vehicles. The decision that shapes a Mara week most.
Read more →What it costs, what changes when you have one, and the six times we say yes. Also the four times we tell guests to spend the money elsewhere.
Read more →Two camps, the same night, a thousand dollars apart. What the money is really doing, band by band, in the Maasai Mara.
Read more →Park fees, conservancy fees and what camps include, with worked examples for a family in August and the resident rates in shillings.
Read more →Millions know the Maasai Mara without ever having been, through a marsh, a pride of lions and thirteen years of the BBC. Who Notch was, what happened in 2015, and whether you can still see them.
Read more →Kenya sits on the line, so you can see the Southern Cross and the Plough on the same night. What to look for, when to go, and why safari camps make superb observatories.
Read more →From askari to sundowner, kopje to conservancy. Every word you will hear in Kenya, and the difference between a park, a reserve and a conservancy that changes your safari more than the camp does.
Read more →Prayer on the equator, where the halal meat actually comes from, and the one question about alcohol at camp that no brochure answers.
Read more →What is genuinely possible in the bush, what has to be flown in, and why keeping Shabbat on the equator is easier than almost anywhere else on earth.
Read more →Gluten free and coeliac safe are two different standards. Most Kenyan camps meet the first, far fewer meet the second, and this is how to tell them apart.
Read more →Where you stay in the Serengeti matters more than anywhere else in Africa. Eleven of the finest camps and lodges, arranged by region and by season so you wake where the herds are.
Read more →One thing decides where you stay in Zanzibar, and most guides skip it: the tide. A coast by coast guide to the island's finest resorts, and how to pair it with a safari.
Read more →Three and a half hours from Nairobi, and the most natural place to end a safari. Eight resorts across Mahe, Praslin and the private islands, and how to choose between them.
Read more →A barrier reef rings almost the whole island, which is why the water lies so still. Seven resorts coast by coast, when to go, and how Mauritius compares with the Seychelles.
Read more →Elephants beneath Kilimanjaro, and some of the last great tuskers on earth. The camps and lodges we book most, and why the private conservancies beat the park.
Read more →Kenya's quiet luxury heartland, where private conservancies allow walking, riding and night drives. Ten of the finest stays, from exclusive use villas to tented lodges.
Read more →A complete rebuild of Little Governors' Camp at the foot of the Oloololo Escarpment. Twelve tented suites, a photographic studio, and the quietest corner of the Mara.
Read more →Say your vows in the Maasai Mara or on a beach in Zanzibar, the Seychelles or Mauritius. A guide to safari and island weddings, the legal side and the cost.
Read more →Set departures of six to twelve guests, great value, expert hosts and single friendly. What a small group safari is, who it suits, and what it costs.
Read more →From about USD 6,500 per adult, with child rates and a family of four estimate. A clear 2026 and 2027 guide to the cost of a family safari in Kenya.
Read more →A clear 2026 and 2027 guide to honeymoon safari prices, from a safari only escape to a full bush and beach journey in Zanzibar, the Seychelles or Mauritius.
Read more →Compare permit costs, access, scenery and lodges, and choose the right country for your luxury gorilla safari in 2026 and 2027.
Read more →Rwanda permits are USD 1,500 and Uganda USD 800 in 2026 and 2027. A clear guide to permit prices, the four hour habituation option, and what a luxury gorilla safari costs.
Read more →A luxury rhino safari camp opened on 1 July 2026 in Kenya's Solio Game Reserve. The rates, what is included, and how to add it to your Kenya safari.
Read more →The honest reasons travellers choose us: local roots in Nairobi, tailormade journeys, the finest camps, and signature touches like meet and greet, lounge access and complimentary city nights.
Read more →What a luxury safari really costs in 2026 and 2027, what drives the price, and how to get the most from your budget across Kenya and Tanzania.
Read more →Where LGBTQ travellers are most welcome in Africa, how to travel safely and discreetly, and how to plan a private luxury safari.
Read more →Inside Amboseli's newest luxury lodge, a private concession in the Kitirua Conservancy with Kilimanjaro views, walking safaris and night drives.
Read more →Kenya or Tanzania? A luxury guide to where to go and when, comparing the Maasai Mara, the Serengeti, the seasons and the Great Migration.
Read more →A guide to eight of the best luxury Maasai Mara camps, with locations, highlights, and how to pick the right one for your safari.
Read more →Where the herds are through the year, when the Mara River crossings happen, and how to time your luxury safari for the moment you most want to witness.
Read more →Nothing matches that yet. Try another word, or ask us directly and we will answer it.
Tell us roughly when you would like to travel and who is coming, and a safari designer in Nairobi will send a real route and an exact price within 24 hours.
Or browse our signature journeys, the camps and lodges we use, and the best time to go on safari.
