Kenya (Nairobi, Maasai Mara, Amboseli)

The Maasai Mara National Reserve — 1,510 square kilometers of undulating savanna in Narok County on the Tanzanian border, continuous with Tanzania's Serengeti National Park — is the most famous wildlife reserve in Africa and the stage for the Great Migration's most dramatic act. Between July and October, the wildebeest herds move north from Tanzania into the Mara, crossing the Mara River in unpredictable, terrifying mass crossings that can involve thousands of animals plunging into crocodile-populated water simultaneously. The crossings are not scheduled — they happen when the herd decides — and finding one in progress requires positioning with an experienced guide in the right sector at the right time.

The Maasai Mara private conservancies bordering the main reserve have transformed the Kenya safari experience. Properties in the Olare Motorogi, Mara North, Naboisho, and Ol Kinyei conservancies operate on private land adjacent to but outside the national reserve — allowing unlimited off-road driving, night drives, walking safaris with Maasai guides, and dramatically lower vehicle density than the public reserve. The conservancy camps are typically smaller (6 to 12 tents) and more expensive than standard reserve lodges, but the quality of wildlife experience in the conservancies consistently exceeds what is available in the more crowded main reserve.

Amboseli National Park — 390 kilometers south of Nairobi beneath the perpetually snow-capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro — provides the most photographically iconic safari in Africa: elephants crossing dusty swamp against the backdrop of Africa's highest peak (5,895 meters) rising into a clear blue sky. Amboseli's elephant population is among the most studied in the world — researchers have documented individual elephants' life histories going back decades. The combination of large elephant herds, excellent lion and cheetah sightings, and the extraordinary Kilimanjaro backdrop makes Amboseli unique in the global safari landscape.

Nairobi National Park — the only national park in the world with a city skyline backdrop — is a 117-square-kilometer reserve on the southern edge of Nairobi where lions, leopards, black rhino, buffalo, giraffe, and over 400 bird species roam within sight of downtown skyscrapers. The park is accessible as a half-day trip from central Nairobi hotels and is the most convenient way to see African wildlife before or after a longer safari. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage, adjacent to the park, hosts a daily public visiting hour (11am) where orphaned baby elephants are fed and played with by their keepers.