Two wonders, nine days. Three nights on the Zambezi with the falls at the end of the lawn, then four above the Mara Triangle.
The Luxury Victoria Falls and Maasai Mara Safari is a 9 day, 8 night journey pairing two of Africa's great wonders. Guests spend three nights at Royal Livingstone by Anantara on the bank of the Zambezi, with private gated access to Victoria Falls, then fly to Kenya for one night at Hemingways Nairobi and four nights at Angama Mara on the Oloololo Escarpment above the Mara Triangle. Every flight is included, along with four Victoria Falls activities and all park fees. Prices start at USD 11,700 per person sharing in the green season, rising to USD 18,900 in July and August.
Most people choose. Victoria Falls or the Maasai Mara, one trip or the other, and the second waits years for its turn.
There is no need. Kenya Airways fly Victoria Falls to Nairobi direct, so the two sit four hours apart. This journey takes both properly, three nights at the falls and four in the Mara, with a night in Nairobi between them so nothing is rushed.
Royal Livingstone is the only hotel with Victoria Falls inside its own grounds. You have private gated access, so you walk down before the day visitors arrive and again at sunset after they have gone. Zebra and giraffe move across the lawns, and the sundowner deck faces west over the Zambezi.
Angama Mara hangs on the Oloololo Escarpment a thousand feet above the Mara Triangle, the quietest and best kept third of the reserve. The suites are glass fronted from end to end, and the plain below is where the picnic scene in Out Of Africa was filmed.
Why we love this journey: of the moment the landscape changes. You spend three days beside a river that drops a hundred metres into a gorge, where the noise never stops and the spray soaks you through. Then you fly four hours and stand on an escarpment above a plain so quiet you can hear the grass. Most journeys build slowly towards one climax. This one gives you two, and the contrast between them is what guests talk about afterwards.
The falls in the grounds · Royal Livingstone is the only hotel inside Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park with private gated access to Victoria Falls.
Devil's Pool · Swim to the very lip of the falls from Livingstone Island, water levels permitting, roughly August to January.
A flight over the gorge · Fifteen minutes above the falls and the zigzag gorges below them, included in the journey.
Suspended above the Mara · Angama's glass fronted suites are cantilevered over a thousand foot drop with the whole Mara Triangle beneath.
The quiet third of the reserve · The Mara Triangle is managed separately, with fewer vehicles and better roads than the rest of the Maasai Mara.
Two offers already applied · Angama Stay 4 Pay 3 and the Anantara advance purchase rate save up to USD 3,350 per person.
Fly into Victoria Falls airport on the Zimbabwean side, where you are met and driven across the bridge into Zambia, about an hour with the border formalities handled for you. Royal Livingstone sits on the bank of the Zambezi a few hundred metres upstream of the lip of the falls, inside Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. Zebra and giraffe graze between the buildings. Settle in, then take sundowners on the deck as the light goes down the river, with the spray of the falls rising behind you.
The falls carry the local name Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders, and both halves are accurate. At full flow more than five hundred million litres a minute drop a hundred metres into the gorge, and the spray is visible from thirty miles away. You have private gated access from the hotel grounds, so walk down early with a guide before the day visitors arrive. In the afternoon, a helicopter flight over the falls and the zigzag gorges below them, then a sunset cruise on the Zambezi among hippo and elephant.
A boat out to Livingstone Island, the outcrop on the very lip of the falls where David Livingstone first saw them in 1855. When the water is low enough, roughly August to January, you can swim in Devil's Pool, held back from a hundred metre drop by nothing more than a rock ledge. Lunch is served on the island. The afternoon is yours for the spa, the pool, a game drive in Mosi-oa-Tunya, or nothing at all beyond the veranda.
A morning at leisure on the Zambezi, then the transfer back across the bridge and the direct Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi, about four hours. You are met on arrival and driven to Hemingways in Karen, on the quiet southern edge of the city, looking out at the Ngong Hills. Every room is a suite with full butler service. Dinner and an early night before the flight into the Mara.
Transfer to Wilson Airport and fly south west across the floor of the Great Rift Valley to the Kichwa Tembo airstrip, then climb the Oloololo Escarpment to Angama Mara. The name means suspended in mid air in Kiswahili, and the tented suites earn it, glass fronted from end to end and cantilevered out over a thousand foot drop. Descend for an afternoon game drive on the valley floor as the light goes long.
The Mara Triangle is the western third of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, managed separately by a not for profit conservancy. Fewer vehicles, better roads and stricter enforcement make it consistently the best kept part of the reserve. A full day out with a picnic lunch, working the Mara River for hippo, crocodile and the leopards that hunt the riverine forest, and the open ground beyond for lion and cheetah.
Walk the top of the escarpment in the cool of the morning with a guide, following game paths along the rim with the valley laid out below and raptors turning at eye level. In the afternoon drop back down to the river. Between July and October the wildebeest gather on the banks and mass before committing to the water. Dinner on the deck, with the lights of camps thirty miles away visible across the valley.
Lift off from the valley floor at first light in a hot air balloon, drifting low over the Triangle as the plains come awake, then set down for a champagne breakfast on the grass. The rest of the day is unstructured. The photographic studio at camp is worth an hour with a specialist, the Maasai beading atelier is one of the more genuine community projects in the Mara, and the Out Of Africa picnic site sits on the plain directly below.
A last dawn drive if your flight allows, then the flight back to Wilson Airport. We transfer you across the city to Jomo Kenyatta International in good time for your departing flight, with a dayroom held if the connection is a late one. Guests continuing to the Kenyan coast or on to Zanzibar connect directly from Wilson.
The only hotel with the Victoria Falls inside its own grounds. The spray rises at the end of the lawn, zebra graze between the buildings, and you walk to one of the seven natural wonders of the world without leaving the property.
Royal Livingstone sits directly on the bank of the Zambezi, a few hundred metres upstream of the lip of the falls, inside the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. The building is Edwardian colonial in style, low and white with wide verandas, and the lawns run unbroken to the water.
The setting is the point. Guests have private gated access to the falls, so you can walk down before the day visitors arrive and again at sunset after they have gone. Giraffe, zebra and impala move freely through the grounds, and the sundowner deck faces west over the river.
Deluxe river facing rooms with high ceilings, ceiling fans, four poster beds and a private veranda looking over the Zambezi. Butler service comes as standard, and the Presidential suites at the far end of the property have their own plunge pools.
The Old Drift restaurant looks out over the river, and breakfast is taken on the terrace with the spray of the falls visible in the distance. Sundowners on the deck as the light goes is the ritual everyone remembers, and a private dinner can be laid on the lawn.
Private gated access to Victoria Falls, sunset cruises on the Zambezi, Livingstone Island and Devil's Pool when water levels allow, helicopter flights over the gorge, white water rafting below the falls, and game drives in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.
With sweeping views of the Ngong Hills and interiors that reflect the grace of Kenya's heritage, Hemingways Nairobi blends timeless hospitality with thoughtful design.
Set between Nairobi National Park and the foot of the Ngong Hills, Hemingways Nairobi is an exclusive boutique hotel far from the bustle of central Nairobi. An all suite property providing full butler service, a brasserie and a bar, it is perfectly placed for trips to Nairobi National Park and the capital.
Hemingways Nairobi has a sophisticated and tranquil ambiance. Each of the 45 suites is a generous size, all with walk in dressing rooms and a terrace with magnificent views of the Ngong Hills.
Hemingways' 45 loftily ceilinged rooms are bright, open and fresh, decorated with soothing, muted colours and canopied beds, with touches of brass and mahogany. Large Italian marbled bathrooms, a personalised bar, in room dining and the attentive service of your butler are testimony to Hemingways' dedication to surpassing the very highest expectations.
The Dining Room serves delectable cuisine from the hotel's Michelin starred chef. Top notch culinary creations have placed Hemingways on Africa's gourmet food map, with contemporary European styled dishes and a variety of international flavours to suit every palate.
The utterly unique Nairobi National Park, offering authentic big game viewing with a city skyline, lies just a few minutes away, while the Karen Blixen Museum, Giraffe Centre and Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage are also nearby.
Suspended a thousand feet above the floor of the Great Rift Valley on the Oloololo Escarpment, Angama Mara looks out across the whole of the Mara Triangle, on the ground where Out Of Africa was filmed.
The name means suspended in mid air in Kiswahili, and the camp earns it. Two separate camps of fifteen tented suites each are set along the lip of the escarpment, glass fronted from end to end, with the valley falling away beneath and the Mara Triangle laid out to the horizon.
The Mara Triangle is the western third of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, managed separately by a not for profit conservancy. Vehicle numbers are lower, the roads are better kept and enforcement is stricter, which makes it consistently the quietest and best run part of the reserve.
Thirty tented suites across two camps, each with a floor to ceiling glass front, a wide private deck cantilevered over the drop, a fireplace, a writing desk and a bath positioned to face the view. Every suite is oriented so that the valley is visible from the bed.
Dining moves around the property through the day, from the pavilion at the edge of the escarpment to the shamba, the working kitchen garden below camp, where lunch is picked and served on the same afternoon. Guests may also take a private dinner on their own deck.
Game drives on the floor of the Mara Triangle, guided walks along the top of the escarpment, hot air ballooning at dawn from the valley below, and visits to the Out Of Africa picnic site. The photographic studio keeps professional camera bodies and lenses for guests to borrow.
This journey runs on request rather than on fixed departure dates. You choose the dates, we hold the camps. What changes is the season you travel in, and each band below is priced from our contracted rates for that window.
| Travel Window | Season & Availability | From | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|
5 January – 28 February 2027 Shoulder |
Good availability | USD 13,300per person sharing | Get a Quote |
1 – 31 March 2027 Green |
Wide open Best Value | USD 11,700per person sharing | Get a Quote |
1 April – 31 May 2027 Green |
Wide open | USD 11,850per person sharing | Get a Quote |
1 – 30 June 2027 Shoulder |
Good availability | USD 13,600per person sharing | Get a Quote |
1 July – 31 August 2027 Peak, Migration |
Limited, book early | USD 18,900per person sharing | Get a Quote |
1 – 30 September 2027 Peak |
Limited | USD 15,650per person sharing | Get a Quote |
1 – 31 October 2027 Shoulder |
Good availability | USD 14,150per person sharing | Get a Quote |
1 November – 17 December 2027 Green |
Good availability | USD 12,350per person sharing | Get a Quote |
20 December 2027 – 4 January 2028 Festive |
Very limited | USD 18,900per person sharing | Get a Quote |
Rates are per person sharing in United States dollars, based on two adults travelling together. Two offers are already applied. Angama Stay 4 Pay 3 runs 5 January to 30 June and 1 September to 22 December, so seven of these nine windows charge three nights on four. The Anantara advance purchase rate takes 20% off the Royal Livingstone room and adds breakfast for two, and applies all year. Together they save between USD 450 and USD 3,350 per person depending on season. The advance purchase rate usually needs booking well ahead and is non refundable, so we will confirm the terms with you before holding anything. A single supplement applies in Peak and Festive seasons. Prices are held for 14 days from the date of quotation and confirmed on receipt of a 30 percent deposit, with the balance due 60 days before departure.
Yes, and more easily than most people assume. Kenya Airways fly Victoria Falls to Nairobi direct in about four hours, so the two sit one flight apart. This nine day journey gives three nights at the falls and four in the Mara, with a night in Nairobi between them.
This journey starts at USD 11,700 per person sharing in March and runs to USD 18,900 through July and August. That covers every flight, all four Victoria Falls activities, all park fees and all meals and drinks at Angama Mara. Two offers are already applied, which is why the green season figure is as low as it is.
Roughly August to January, when the Zambezi is low enough for the rock ledge to hold. Outside that window Livingstone Island still runs for lunch but the pool is closed, and we substitute another activity. We will tell you honestly which applies to your dates.
Zambia gives you the closer, more dramatic view and access to Livingstone Island and Devil's Pool. Zimbabwe gives the wider panorama across the full face. Royal Livingstone sits on the Zambian side with its own gate, and a day trip across the bridge to the Zimbabwean side can be added if you want both.
Zambia and Kenya both require entry documents, and you will also touch Zimbabwe briefly on the airport transfer. The KAZA UniVisa covers Zambia and Zimbabwe together for most nationalities, and Kenya requires an electronic travel authorisation. We send the full checklist when you confirm.
It is one of our most booked. Two landmarks rather than one, a genuine change of scene halfway through, and both properties handle a honeymoon well without making a performance of it. Tell us and the private dinners are arranged without you having to ask.
Share a few details and your Safari Advisor will reply within 24 hours with dates, availability and a costing built around you.
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