East Africa Safaris: Insider’s Guide to Kenya and Tanzania

The insider advice on this page is from one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for East Africa: Dan Saperstein of Hippo Creek Safaris.

Trusted Travel Expert

Dan Saperstein

Dan draws on his vast network of connections to ensure that each safari really is the trip of a lifetime and that each traveler gets the most rewarding safari experience possible for their travel dollar. Based in the New York City area, he is always on call and always making sure that his clients are treated like royalty at every lodge and camp. Parents and grandparents wanting to take young children on safari, do yourself a favor and have an honest conversation with Dan, who is a father of young kids himself, about which countries and parks are truly the most child-friendly.

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Expect trips orchestrated by Dan to start at $1,400 per day for two travelers.

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What to See and Do

Elephants find water in Kenya. Photo: Hippo Creek Safaris

Don’t miss
Retiti Elephant Sanctuary, located in Kenya’s Northern Frontier near the equator, is the first community-owned elephant orphanage in Africa, designed to rescue—and eventually release—orphaned and abandoned elephant calves. Visits subsidize their efforts to increase habitat for these animals, while also supporting the local communities living alongside them.

Don’t bother
With few exceptions (see “Hidden gem,” below) East Africa’s national parks are simply overrated. You’ll have a far superior and more enjoyable experience visiting the neighboring private conservancies and reserves. Some of the best are those bordering Kenya’s Masai Mara, such as Mara North, Olare Motorogi, and Naboisho. There is also the famous Lewa Conservancy, home to the largest population of Grevy’s zebra in East Africa, as well as many black and white rhino. In Tanzania, there are excellent private reserves, such as Singita Grumeti, on nearly 330,000 acres bordering the Serengeti. There are also some excellent ones between Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara National Park that are home to a number of upscale camps and lodges, in addition to a wonderful array of game.

Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park has a high concentration of elephants from July through October. Photo: Carole Henderson from Pixabay

Hidden gem
Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park. The river that runs through the park does not run dry when the rains stop, so it draws huge herds in search of fresh water from July through October. This is where you’ll typically see the highest concentration of elephants in Tanzania during those months, as well as very impressive herds of buffalo, kudu, and even oryx. With ancient baobab trees dotting the landscape, it is a small but stunning park.

Best for thrill-seekers
Spend the night (you might sleep or you might not, depending on how you feel about the lions roaming nearby) in a pup tent on a remote corner of a private wildlife reserve, followed by a multi-day walking safari led by an expert Maasai guide and tracker, who will also prepare your meals. As authentic a bush experience as you can have!

Cheap thrill
Feed the endangered Rothschild’s giraffes at the Giraffe Centre in the Karen suburb of Nairobi. Their 17-inch tongue is not easily forgotten! The modest entry fee supports initiatives throughout Kenya to educate children about the country’s amazing natural resources.

Guests at Angama Mara can have a picnic on a secluded kopje. Photo: Angama Mara

Best spot for a sundowner
What better spot than the famous picnic location from Out of Africa, seen on the movie poster itself? If you’re staying at Angama Mara—spectacularly set on a dramatic escarpment overlooking the Masai Mara—a Maasai naturalist will bring you to this secluded kopje (rock outcropping), where you can enjoy some bubbly and snacks while watching the sun disappear over the magical scene.

Camps, Lodges, Meals

Best-value splurge hotel
Hemingways, in Nairobi’s affluent Karen suburb, continues to set the gold standard for East African hotels. Less than an hour from the airport, the plantation-style property has only 45 rooms, each of them spacious, light-flooded, and tended to by a butler. Set in the lush Ngong Hills, Hemingways is a welcome refuge from Nairobi’s noise and bustle.

A local Samburu warrior leads a game drive in Lewa Conservancy, Kenya. Photo: Hippo Creek Safaris

Best bang-for-your-buck lodge
Tangulia Mara, situated on private land on the western boundary of the Mara Reserve. Tangulia Mara provides Mara River views and easy access to game drives around the Musiara Marsh—one of the Mara’s prime viewing locations during the great migration. Unfenced, intimate, and locally owned and operated, Tangulia Mara is an authentic tented bush camp that accommodates 18 guests at full capacity, offers guided walks to a nearby Maasai village and excellent food, and doesn’t break the bank.

Safari camps worth the splurge
Mara Plains Camp. With just seven luxury tented rooms, guests here receive the utmost attention from the superb guides and staff. The camp is on a 30,000-acre private conservancy, with access to an additional 100,000 acres of low-density public lands and the neighboring 375,000-acre Masai Mara reserve. The location and the camp’s serious commitment to conservation make it well worth every penny; this place is perhaps the purest embodiment of the “romance of Africa.”

Mara Plains has two equally wonderful sister camps: Mara Toto Treecamp opened in 2024 with four airy tented suites tucked into an ebony tree canopy within the Masai Mara Reserve, and Mara Nyika opened in 2019 with four luxury canvas tents and two two-bedroom suites with unforgettable views across a private 50,000-acre conservancy.

Singita Grumeti reserve in the Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo: Nina Wennersten

Best lodge for families
Forest Chem Chem is a tented camp that is available only for private stays. Your group can enjoy 16,000 acres of private wilderness located in the wildlife corridor between Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Park, dedicated guides and staff, and four luxury tents (including a 2-bedroom, 2-bath family suite). A bonus: Your kids can learn bush skills from their expert guides, visit local schools, and maybe even join in a pickup soccer game.

Dish to try
Ugali, an East African staple, is white cornmeal cooked as a porridge and used to soak up traditional tasty stews.

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