The trip
Overview
Kenya is the easiest proper safari to run from the UAE: a direct daytime or overnight flight from Dubai to Nairobi, English widely spoken, and a well-oiled circuit of parks within a short flight or drive of the capital. This version of the route is engineered for families — camps chosen because they genuinely welcome children rather than merely tolerate them, and game drives kept short enough that nobody melts down before the leopard shows up.
The shape is simple: a gentle start at Lake Naivasha with boat rides and a walk among giraffe and zebra where there are no predators, then three full days in the Masai Mara at a family-run camp with guides who are good with kids, junior-ranger style activities and family tents. A final night in Nairobi covers the giraffe centre and the elephant orphanage before the flight home.
Highlights
- ✦Three nights in the Masai Mara at a camp with dedicated family guides
- ✦Boat ride among hippos and a predator-free walking safari at Lake Naivasha
- ✦Junior-ranger activities — tracking, spoor casting and Maasai storytelling
- ✦Visit to the Nairobi elephant orphanage and giraffe centre
- ✦Direct flights between Dubai and Nairobi with no awkward connections
Who it suits
- ●Families with children roughly six and up on a first safari
- ●Multi-generational groups wanting one week that suits everyone
- ●Parents who want real wildlife without long drives between parks
Why this journey works
- ✓Direct Dubai–Nairobi flights make a seven-night safari genuinely doable in one school-holiday week
- ✓The Naivasha warm-up lets younger children get close to wildlife safely before the Mara
- ✓Camps are picked for family guides and flexible mealtimes, not just the tent count
Day by day
Day 1
Dubai to Nairobi
Daytime flight from Dubai, arriving Nairobi in the evening. A driver meets you for the short transfer to a garden hotel near the airport — early night, because the good stuff starts tomorrow.
Days 2–3
Lake Naivasha — the gentle introduction
Drive down into the Rift Valley to Lake Naivasha. Two nights at a lakeside lodge with lawns running down to the water: boat trips past yawning hippos, a cycling or walking safari among giraffe and zebra at Crescent Island where there are no big cats, and colobus monkeys in the acacias. It is the ideal warm-up for younger children before the main event.
Days 4–6
Masai Mara — the main event
A short flight from Naivasha or Nairobi Wilson lands you on a Mara airstrip by mid-morning. Three nights at a family-focused tented camp: morning and late-afternoon game drives timed around children, bush breakfasts, and junior-ranger sessions with Maasai guides between drives. The Mara delivers big cats more reliably than almost anywhere in Africa, and the guides know how to keep young spotters engaged.
Day 7
Nairobi — elephants and giraffes
Fly back to Nairobi for a final night. Afternoon visits to the elephant orphanage and the giraffe centre — short, walkable and reliably the bit younger children talk about for weeks.
Day 8
Home to the UAE
Morning at leisure, then the direct flight back to Dubai, landing in time for a late dinner at home.
When to go
July to October is the classic season, when the migration herds are usually in the Mara — it aligns neatly with the UAE summer break, and the Kenyan highlands are pleasantly cool while Dubai bakes. January and February are dry, warm and quieter. The long rains around April and May make some camp roads hard going.
Planning around seasons, regions and style? Read the full Kenya destination guide →
What’s included
- ✓Return flights from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Nairobi
- ✓Internal flight between the Masai Mara and Nairobi
- ✓Full board at safari properties with shared game drives
- ✓Family rooms or adjoining tents as available
- ✓Park and conservancy fees as itinerated
- ✓PCT travel consultant support before and during travel
Not included
- —Visas where required
- —Travel insurance
- —Tips for guides and camp staff
- —Personal spending
Ways to extend it
- +Add three nights on the Kenyan coast at Diani Beach
- +Finish with a Zanzibar beach week instead
- +Add a night at a giraffe-visited manor house in Nairobi
- +Upgrade to a private vehicle and guide in the Mara
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