Two nights among the rhinos of Solio beneath Mount Kenya, then four nights in your own villa at Ishara Mara, with your own guide, your own Land Cruiser and your own infinity pool. Bookended by the icons of Nairobi.
A luxury family safari in Kenya that puts your children close to the rarest of the giants. Rhinos at Solio, elephants under Mount Kilimanjaro's northern cousin, and the Masai Mara from a villa that belongs to nobody else while you are there.
You start in Karen, at Hemingways Nairobi, with the elephant orphanage, the Giraffe Centre and a coffee farm in the Limuru hills. Then you fly north to Solio.
At the JW Marriott Mount Kenya Rhino Reserve Safari Camp, the days are full and unhurried at once. Bicycle safaris and guided walks in the safe zones of the ranch, a lunch in the JW Garden steps from where it was grown, and a night game drive for bushbabies, owls and the chance of a leopard.
Then you fly to the Mara, and into the Villa Suite at Ishara. 379 square metres of private ground on the Talek River, with two river facing suites, a private dining area, a fireplace and your own infinity pool. Your own guide and your own Land Cruiser, every single day.
Why we love this journey — Rhinos are the hardest of the giants to see well, and Solio puts your children close to them in the open, not as a distant speck. Then the Mara becomes your own. Your family has the whole villa, your own guide and your own Land Cruiser, so no drive is ever shared and the pace is set by your children, not a stranger's schedule.
Prices are for a family of four, two adults and two children under sixteen. Low Season is the value window. Peak Season covers the Great Migration months and the festive period, and it prices accordingly. Extra adults are from USD 18,750 in Low Season and USD 25,600 in Peak, and extra children from USD 14,050 and USD 19,200. Talk to us for the exact shape of your family.
Rhinos at Solio — One of the densest rhino sanctuaries in Africa. Herds of up to forty black and white rhinos, grazing side by side beneath Mount Kenya.
The whole villa at Ishara, yours alone — 379 square metres on the Talek River. Two river facing suites, a private dining area, a fireplace and your own infinity pool.
Bicycles, walks and a night drive — At Solio the children can cycle, walk and track on foot in the safe zones, then head out after dark for bushbabies and owls.
Your own guide and Land Cruiser in the Mara — Every single day. You leave when your children are ready, and you come back when they have had enough.
The Taswira Photo Studio — The first Canon studio in the Mara, with professional cameras, lenses, binoculars and a resident professional on hand.
Fly throughout — Scheduled flights between Nairobi, Nanyuki and the Mara. No long road transfers, which is the fastest way to ruin a family safari.
You are met and assisted on arrival and transferred to Hemingways Nairobi in Karen, with its own view of the Ngong Hills. The next day is yours with a private vehicle and guide. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust first, for the orphaned elephants at their morning mud bath. Then the Giraffe Centre, where a giraffe will take a pellet from your child's hand. In the afternoon, a drive up into the tea and coffee country of Limuru for a private farm tour and a tasting.
After breakfast you fly to Nanyuki and transfer to the JW Marriott Mount Kenya Rhino Reserve Safari Camp, inside Solio. Your first drive is straight into the rhinos, herds of up to forty grazing in the open, then a sundowner as the light goes off the mountain.
The next day is Solio at its fullest. A bicycle safari or a guided walk in the safe zones, tracking on foot with a resident guide. A family lunch in the JW Garden, grown steps from the table. An afternoon by the pool or a yoga session in the bush, then a night game drive from 8pm for bushbabies, owls and the chance of a leopard.
You fly from Nanyuki to the Masai Mara and are collected from the airstrip in your own panoramic Land Cruiser. The drive to Ishara Mara is your first game drive. You check into the Villa Suite, 379 square metres of private ground on the Talek River, with your own infinity pool. In the afternoon, out with your resident guide and a professional Canon camera each, from the Taswira Photo Studio.
Because your Land Cruiser is yours alone, the days run on your children's energy, not a fixed schedule. Out at first light for the Big Five and the big cats, back to the villa and the pool through the hot middle of the day, out again in the afternoon for sundowners with a view and nothing else in it.
In between, a private bush breakfast on the plains, a 60 minute massage each at the Aya Spa, and a family portrait session with Ishara's resident professional photographer. Childminding runs from 6pm to 10pm, so dinner can be yours.
A final morning drive and breakfast overlooking the Talek River, then your scheduled flight back to Wilson Airport, where a private transfer takes you to Jomo Kenyatta International for your flight home. Your children will fall asleep before the plane levels off, and they will still be talking about the rhinos at Christmas.
A gracious, colonial style landmark in leafy Karen, with the Ngong Hills beyond. The elegant start and the calm return of the journey.
A tented safari camp inside the Solio rhino reserve, beneath the mountain. Bicycles, bush walks, a night drive and a garden you can eat from.
The Villa Suite. 379 square metres on the Talek River, with two river facing suites, a fireplace and your own infinity pool. Yours alone.
From USD 65,550 per family of four in the Low Season, and USD 89,450 in the Peak Season, from June to September and over the festive period. The price covers two adults and two children under sixteen, and includes all domestic flights, private transfers, the exclusive use villa at Ishara Mara and the game viewing at Solio.
At Solio Game Reserve, beneath Mount Kenya, where you stay at the JW Marriott Mount Kenya Rhino Reserve Safari Camp. Solio holds one of the densest populations of black and white rhino in Africa, and on a single drive your family can see herds of up to forty grazing side by side.
Yes. It is built around families with children under sixteen. Solio offers bicycle safaris, guided walks and a night game drive, and Ishara Mara provides childminding from 6pm to 10pm, a private infinity pool and the Taswira Photo Studio, the first Canon studio in the Mara.
At Ishara Mara you have your own exclusive use panoramic Land Cruiser and your own private guide for the whole of your stay. At Solio your game drives are led by an expert resident guide inside the reserve.
Solio Game Reserve, in Laikipia beneath Mount Kenya, is one of the best places to see rhinos in Kenya. It holds one of the densest populations of black and white rhino in Africa, and on this safari you stay two nights inside it at the JW Marriott Mount Kenya Rhino Reserve Safari Camp.
June to October is the strongest window, since it brings the Great Migration to the Masai Mara and lands in the northern summer holidays. It is the Peak Season at USD 89,450 per family. January to May and October to mid December are the Low Season at USD 65,550 per family, with green plains and far fewer vehicles.
Share a few considered details, and your Safari Advisor will be in touch within 24 hours.
Set against the Ngong Hills in the suburb of Karen, Hemingways Nairobi is an all suite boutique hotel known for its understated elegance and effortless service. It is a short transfer from the Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick elephant orphanage, both of which are included in this journey.
Spacious rooms that blend classic furnishings with modern comfort, each with a private balcony, a marble bathroom and a butler on call. Garden and pool views look toward the Ngong Hills.
The brasserie serves refined international cuisine, with afternoon tea on the terrace and a heated outdoor pool for the children.
Solio is a private reserve renowned for the recovery of the black and white rhino. Herds of up to forty graze in the open, and the game viewing here is unhurried and close. The camp pairs the wildness of the reserve with the polish of a JW Marriott.
Bicycle safaris and guided walks in the safe zones of the ranch, a night game drive for bushbabies, owls and the chance of a leopard, and a lunch in the JW Garden, grown steps from the table.
A camp pool, a bush yoga and meditation session, sundowners in the wild, and a map room and library for the quiet part of the afternoon.
Elevated bridges connect the camp and give astonishing views over the surrounding plains and the river. For a night under the stars, Ishara holds the first star bed in the Masai Mara.
379 square metres of private ground. Two river facing suites open onto a shared lounge, a private dining area, a deck, a fireplace and your own infinity pool. It sleeps up to four guests, and while you are there it belongs to nobody else. Because it is sold on exclusive use, there is no per person supplement for your children.
Your own exclusive use panoramic Land Cruiser and your own guide, every single day. All meals, all beverages including premium wines and spirits, all guiding and all game drives are included in the villa rate.
Childminding runs from 6pm to 10pm, so parents can have an unhurried dinner. The Taswira Photo Studio, the first Canon studio in the Mara, holds professional cameras, lenses, binoculars and a resident professional, which tends to change everything for a child who has taken up photography.
Every one held for your family alone, with your own guide and your own Land Cruiser. Nothing shared, and nothing rushed.
