Kenya is home to classic quintessential image of a safari in Africa, a good choice for road trip African safari. The rolling hills and grassy plains really are stocked full of all the African animals people expect to see, including high concentrations of the crowd pulling Big five. It has everything you can imagine Africa to be, Savannah plains teeming with grazers and predators, views of the snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, palm fringed beaches, sweaty jungles and a vast inhospitable desert.

Amboseli National Park with its big tusked elephants is one of my favorites. The Rift Valley lakes in Kenya are some of the most accessible in East Africa, seeing big flocks of flamingos in Nakuru National Park is another highlight. Samburu National Reserve is home to many deserts adapted species, not easily seen elsewhere.

The best way to make the most of Kenya is to choose your area and operator carefully, avoiding the mass market minibus trip which crowd out the more accessible parks such as Tsavo West, Nakuru and Amboseli and perhaps sampling some of the more imaginative ventures which can be found in quieter spots such as Laikipia, Lewa and Samburu. There are good places to find operators run by or in close association with local communities, a good way to ensure that your trip is meaningful and sustainable as well as enjoyable.

Lewa Conservancy

You can begin the Road trip to Lewa Conservancy to the North of Kenya and you will soon arrive to it. This area is known for hosting a wide variety of wildlife including the rare and endangered black rhinos, Grevy’s zebras and Sitatunga. It also includes the big five lion, leopards, elephants, rhinos and Cape buffaloes. Lewa holds over 12% of Kenya’s eastern black rhinoceros population and the largest single population of Grevy’s zebras in the world. The wildlife viewing in this part of Kenya is so thrilling and exciting.

Masai Mara National Reserve 

Self-drive to visit the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya’s must-see wildlife destination only a few hours’ drive from Nairobi. Masai Mara is a northern extension of Tanzania’s Serengeti is responsible for perhaps more images of African animals than any other. And with good reason: it is chock-full of wildlife, and blessed with open terrain that makes game viewing easy.

From August to November the park plays host to the northern leg of the famous Serengeti wildebeest migration not forgetting the countless zebra and other herbivores that accompany them, which many consider to be the world’s greatest wildlife spectacle.

The Mara borders, the Serengeti in Tanzania play host to a number of animals including lion, cheetah, elephants, zebras, hippos, and wildebeests. Visit this reserve during the Great Migration for nature’s best show. The park is accessible around the year and quieter and more peaceful outside the wildebeest migration, busiest months being July-September. Also, if you don’t like seeing 20 cars chasing a cheetah, try to avoid going there on Kenyan holidays

The Masai Mara is deservedly popular, with its range of accommodation to suit all budgets, its elegant and striking Masai people who sometimes work as guides and its plethora of animals that includes the Big Five and practically every other species, you’re likely to have on your checklist.

Nakuru National Park

Transfer to Nakuru National Park, one of the Rift Valley lakes at an elevation of 1,754 m above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park. The lake’s abundance of algae used to attract a vast quantity of flamingos that famously lined the shore. Other birds also flourish in the area, as do warthogs, baboons and other large mammals.

Eastern black rhinos and southern white rhinos have also been introduced. This is also one of the best places in the country to see leopards and they can attract quite a crowd. Lake Nakuru’s compactness and varied landscapes are instantly likeable, and it’s ideal for first-time safari-goers and families even with small children.

Amboseli National Park

Amboseli is the destination for anyone looking to enjoy nature, its scenery is absolutely beautiful. Amboseli hugs Tanzanian border and makes for one of Kenya’s most dramatic photo opportunities, herds of elephant lumbering past with Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. The park is famous for them and groups of up 100 are not uncommon. There are few images in Africa as iconic as elephants walking in front of Kilimanjaro. There are plentiful buffalo, giraffe and zebra here and predators are also found. The flat open landscape makes animals easy to spot.