Luxury Honeymoon Safaris
The most romantic luxury safari camps and lodges in Kenya and Tanzania, a private guide and Land Cruiser every day, and a beach or private island to finish in Zanzibar, the Seychelles or Mauritius. Private bush dinners, sleepouts under the stars and balloon flights at dawn, arranged quietly before you arrive.
From USD 9,750 per person, fully inclusive.
The Short Answer
A luxury honeymoon safari package with Ongeri Expeditions starts from USD 9,750 per person for 5 days at Mahali Mzuri in the Maasai Mara, and from USD 12,125 per person for 7 days with a private island finish at Mnemba. Most honeymoons we plan run between USD 12,000 and USD 20,000 per person for 10 to 12 days across a safari and an island, fully inclusive of accommodation, all meals and beverages, a private guide and Land Cruiser, internal flights, transfers and park fees. Safari first and beach second, almost always, because a safari starts at six in the morning and the island is the rest that follows it.
Planned in Karen, Nairobi, and told to every camp before you arrive
Honeymoon Journeys
Each of these is private, with your own guide and Land Cruiser throughout, and each can be reshaped around your dates, your budget and how long you have. Every camp is told it is a honeymoon before you arrive.
A private islandTwelve bandas on a private island, 24 guests at most, and nothing to do but swim, dive and be left alone. The most private beach finish in East Africa.
Ultra luxuryTwelve tented suites on a ridge in a private conservancy, where vehicles are capped, night drives are allowed and a sundowner can be set up for two.
Bush and beachThe Maasai Mara first, then granite, reef and empty sand in the Seychelles. Malaria free on the beach half, which suits couples who would rather not take tablets on honeymoon.
Bush and beachSafari, then the most resort led of the islands, with a spa, a private villa option and direct flights home. The easiest honeymoon to arrange at short notice.
ExclusiveAn Edwardian manor above 350,000 private acres, with a pool, horses and a cellar. Honeymooners who want the single most impressive address in the Serengeti take this one.
The MigrationTwo countries and the river crossings, for couples who want the safari itself to be the event rather than the beach that follows it.
See every route in our signature journeys, or read what a luxury safari costs before you decide.
Where To Stay
The most romantic safari lodges in the Maasai Mara, the Serengeti and the Chyulu Hills, plus the island addresses we pair them with. Private decks, plunge pools, star beds and dinners for two, and every one of these we have stayed in ourselves.
Angama MaraOloololo Escarpment, Maasai MaraGlass fronted tented suites suspended above the Mara Triangle, and the best private picnic in Kenya, set up for two on the escarpment.
Mahali MzuriOlare Motorogi ConservancyTwelve suites on a ridge, a heated pool and a spa, in a conservancy where a vehicle can stop wherever the two of you want it to.
Ol Donyo LodgeChyulu Hills, KenyaRooftop star beds with Kilimanjaro filling the horizon. Riding, walking and the most romantic night in the Ongeri collection.
Singita SaboraGrumeti, SerengetiTented suites on the open plains with their own pools, on a private reserve of 350,000 acres where the Migration passes through from June.
&Beyond Mnemba IslandMnemba Atoll, ZanzibarA whole island for 24 guests, with your own banda, your own butler and a reef a few metres off the sand.
One&Only Le Saint GeranBelle Mare, MauritiusA peninsula of its own on the east coast, with a spa on an island in the lagoon, for couples who want the beach half to feel like a hotel rather than a camp.
Singita Kwitonda LodgeVolcanoes, RwandaVolcano views, private plunge pools and heated floors on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, for honeymoons built around gorilla trekking.
Zuri ZanzibarKendwa, ZanzibarBarefoot and unfussy on the north west coast, where the sunsets are the best on the island and the flight from the Serengeti is under two hours.
Browse every one of our luxury safari camps and lodges in Kenya and Tanzania, take a whole house from the private villa collection, or read our guide to the best luxury camps in the Maasai Mara.
Arranged Quietly
None of these appear on an itinerary until we have arranged them. Tell us what you have in mind, including a proposal, and we will set it up with the camp without you having to ask twice.
A table, lanterns and a fire laid somewhere with nothing else in it, and your guide and chef disappearing once the food is served.
An hour over the Maasai Mara or the Serengeti, ending in a champagne breakfast on the plains. From USD 500 per person.
A star bed on a platform or a rooftop, with a bedroom below if the night turns. Ol Donyo and Loisaba do this best.
Lake Turkana, Suguta Valley or a ridge in the Chyulus, landing for lunch where no vehicle can reach.
One hour with a family of mountain gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda, which most couples describe afterwards as the day they remember most.
A massage on your own deck, or in a tent above the river, arranged for the afternoon while the wildlife is asleep.
Timing
There is no closed season, only a different honeymoon. What changes is where the wildlife is, what the islands are doing, and what you pay.
| When | What you gain | What you trade |
|---|---|---|
| July to October | The Great Migration in the Maasai Mara and the northern Serengeti, dry days, and the best all round game viewing of the year. | The busiest and most expensive season. Reserve 9 to 12 months ahead. |
| December to March | Hot, clear and quiet, with calving in the southern Serengeti from January. Excellent for the islands, which are at their calmest. | Festive supplements between Christmas and New Year. |
| April and May | The green season and our value window. Dramatic skies, newborn animals and hardly a vehicle in sight, at the lowest rates of the year. | Rain in short afternoon bursts, and a few camps close. |
| June and November | The shoulder months. Fewer guests, softer prices and a strong chance of the Migration at either end of the season. | Gorilla permits still sell out, so book those first. |
Month by month, our year wheel sets out what each month brings, and the Maasai Mara guide covers the Migration in detail.
Investment
One price with everything in it, and every camp told in advance that you are on honeymoon.
This was a special honeymoon trip and Ongeri helped us enjoy it by making sure all the logistics were taken care of. Our guide Patrick was on time every day, dedicated and very knowledgeable.
Dylan J · honeymoon in Kenya · Tripadvisor
Honeymoon Questions
A luxury honeymoon safari with Ongeri Expeditions starts from USD 9,750 per person for 5 days at Mahali Mzuri in the Maasai Mara, and from USD 12,125 per person for 7 days including a private island finish at Mnemba. Most honeymoons we plan run between USD 12,000 and USD 20,000 per person for 9 to 12 days across a safari and an island, fully inclusive of accommodation, all meals and beverages, a private guide and Land Cruiser, internal flights, transfers and park fees. International flights, visas and travel insurance sit outside the price.
Ten to 12 days is the ideal length: four or five nights on safari, then four or five on the coast or an island. Fewer than 7 days and the long flights are hard to justify. Couples who want two safari regions before the beach should allow 12 to 14 days.
July to October for the Great Migration and the driest days, December to March for hot clear weather and the calmest seas on the islands, and April and May for the green season, which is the same camps at the lowest rates of the year. There is no closed season, only a different honeymoon.
Safari first, beach second, almost always. A safari starts at six in the morning and ends after dinner, and it is far easier to do that in the first week than after five days of lying still. The beach then becomes the rest rather than the warm up.
A conservancy, for most couples. Vehicle numbers are capped, off road driving, walking and night drives are allowed, and a guide can set up a private sundowner or breakfast wherever you like. The reserve has the river crossings, so many honeymoons take both: a few nights in a conservancy, a few in the Mara Triangle.
Yes, and we do both regularly. A private dinner laid somewhere with nothing else in it, a sleepout under the stars, a balloon at dawn with a champagne breakfast, or a helicopter to a ridge nobody else can reach. Tell us what you have in mind and we will arrange it quietly with the camp.
Most do, when they know. We tell every camp before you arrive, and couples are usually met with champagne, flowers, a turned down room and a private dinner at some point in the stay. Some camps offer an honeymoon discount or a free night, and we apply those automatically where they exist.
Yes. Rwanda is the easiest pairing, because Volcanoes National Park is two hours from Kigali and the treks are the shortest of the gorilla countries. A permit costs USD 1,500 per person in Rwanda and USD 800 in Uganda. Allow two nights minimum, and book the permits as soon as you confirm.
Every Ongeri honeymoon includes a private guide and a private Land Cruiser. You leave when you want, stay with a sighting as long as you like, and never share a vehicle with another couple.
Zanzibar is the shortest hop, under two hours from the Serengeti, and Mnemba is the most private address on it. The Seychelles is malaria free and the most dramatic coastline of the three. Mauritius is the most resort led, which suits couples who want a spa, a golf course and direct flights home.
Nine to 12 months for travel between July and October, and for gorilla permits at any time of year. The best honeymoon suites are few, and they go first. For the green season, four to six months is usually enough.
Most safari regions in Kenya and Tanzania, including the Maasai Mara, Amboseli and the Serengeti, carry a malaria risk, so prophylaxis is usually recommended. The Seychelles and Mauritius are malaria free, which is one reason couples choose them for the beach half. Speak to a travel doctor at least six weeks before you fly.
Begin
Tell us your dates, roughly what you want to spend, and whether the safari or the island matters more. A designer sends a considered first route within 24 hours, and nothing is fixed until you say so.