Eastern Africa offers a wonderful diversity of flora, fauna, people, and cultures, making it perfect for one’s first or fifteenth trip to Africa. We can arrange a tour of one or a combination of countries. And nothing caps off a safari better than spending a few days relaxing on the perfect white sands of Zanzibar, Lamu, or the Seychelles.
Kenya
What We Love
- This is our home base in Africa, so we're rather partial to it. It offers everything one could ever want from an African safari: plenty of animals, ancient tribes, a diverse countryside, and a range of accommodations to meet different budgets.
- We have 50 years of history with our ground operators, which means we (AKT and our operators) can offer unparalleled insider access.
- Everyone is excited to see the “Big 5,” but we take a more holistic approach, get out of the car and search for the “Little 5” as well: the elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, buffalo weaver, rhino beetle, and ant lion.
- Kenya is a place of profound beauty and abundant wildlife both large and small—birders, welcome to paradise—but the people always steal our hearts.
Things To See & Do
- Head out on a game drive, where the odds are good for spotting lions, elephants, giraffes, cape buffalo, leopards, cheetahs, and rhinos.
- Visit the baby elephants and rhinos at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orphanage.
- Enjoy a traditional sundowner on “Pride Rock.”
- Ride in a hot-air balloon over the Masai Mara.
- Fish and play on Lake Victoria.
- Take a helicopter to Lake Turkana.
- Learn about the ancient Samburu and Maasai cultures.
- Visit a conservation, education, or development project (schedule permitting). Read more about Anne K. Taylor Fund here.
Types of Safaris
Boutique Camps on Private Conservancies: These elegant camps have the look and feel of private homes, and guests are personally hosted by the owner or manager. People especially love their locations on private conservancies. Visitors can sometimes take tours on foot or horseback as opposed to a national park where guests must remain in their vehicles. These camps are also on or near tribal lands, making visits to local villages special excursions.
The camps offer the finest in service and accommodations featuring authentic decor built with local eco-friendly materials
Walking, Horseback, and Camel Safaris: Our specialists can arrange walking, horseback, or camel treks that give visitors a more immersive experience in the bush. Guests don't cover as much ground or see as much game as they would on a normal game drive, but when they do, they’ll remember the experience for a lifetime.
Mobile Tented Camp: Travel in a classic mobile-tented camp, like the explorers of old, to a variety of Kenya’s nature reserves and private ranches.
Combine With
Add one or several of the nearby countries: Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, or Egypt.
Add some beach time on the coast of Lamu or visit the stunning islands of Zanzibar or the Seychelles.
Tanzania
What We Love
- Tanzania is a wilderness lover's paradise with some of the world's last great intact ecosystems.
- Tanzania provides front-row seats to the wildebeest migration and incredible views over and inside the Ngorongoro Crater, a veritable Garden of Eden.
- It's hard to comprehend the sheer scale of the preserves here. The Serengeti alone is 5600 square miles. Once guests have visited the northern circuit, they can head to the more remote and even more vast southern parks such as Ruaha and the Selous, which are famous for their elephant herds and numerous other animals and bird species.
Things To See & Do
- Marvel at the scale of the parks and the abundant wildlife.
- Climb Mount Kilimanjaro. While it is not a technically challenging climb, the weather and altitude can pose dangerous conditions at 19,430 feet (5,896 meters). We only use the most reputable company with the best safety record. We also prefer taking the less-traveled routes up the mountain.
- Charter out to Mahale and stay in a lovely tented camp on Lake Tanganyika to observe chimps habituated by Japanese scientists.
- Visit the Hadza Bushmen. The Hadza are probably the most traditional tribe in all of Africa. Join them on their daily activities, which may include following the honeyguide bird to fresh honey.
Combine With
Wrap up a Tanzanian or East African tour with a few days lounging on white sand beaches, exploring the ancient streets of Zanzibar, and enjoying fresh seafood.
Uganda
What We Love
- Tracking wild gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
- The forests of Uganda are one of the few places in Africa where one can track up to eight species of primates, making this one of the most diverse primate destinations in the world.
Things To See & Do
- Identify hundreds of species of rare birds and other special small forest creatures.
- We will ensure that a topnotch guide is provided. This is of utmost importance for safely seeing wildlife.
- In addition to lush tropical-forested vegetation, there are also beautiful open grasslands, such as Queen Elizabeth National Park.
- Enjoy the majestic Murchison Falls at the foot of the Nile River.
Rwanda
What We Love
- The lush, mountainous landscape is spectacular.
- Over the years, we have visited the gorillas multiple times, which is one of our absolute favorite trips.
- Being in the presence of wild gorillas, who accept and observe visitors with peace and curiosity, forges a connection that is hard to put into words.
Things To See & Do
- Enjoy the scenic drive into the Parc des Volcans, where visitors will first glimpse the mighty Virungas, a chain of nine impossibly steep volcanoes that top 15,000 feet.
- Relax at a comfy lodge before and after trekking along the steep jungle slopes with an expert guide.
- Gorillas are a must, but visitors may also be interested in searching for golden monkeys. They live primarily in the bamboo thickets, and are harder to track, but their fat furry cheeks and playful demeanor are completely worth it.
- Visit an ex-poachers’ village, an award-winning conservation initiative where former poachers now dedicate their lives to eco-tourism and protecting endangered species.
Combine With
Visitors might want to extend their travels up into Uganda or add a safari in Kenya and/or the islands Zanzibar, Lamu or the Seychelles.
Ethiopia
What We Love
- From the Rift Valley up to the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site in the Ethiopian highlands, there are numerous historical sites to visit as well as some incredibly diverse cultures along the Blue Nile and Omo Rivers.
- Numerous endemic species of mammals, such as the Simien wolf, Walia ibex, and 29 species of endemic birds, are found nowhere else in Africa.
- The people of Ethiopia are incredibly diverse, from the devout Orthodox Christians, who still read ancient manuscripts in 12th-century churches, to the Mursi, who adorn themselves with enormous clay lip plates, and the nomadic, Karo who paint their bodies with clay.
Things To See & Do
- Visit the peoples of the Omo River Valley, the Dorze, Konso, Tsemaye, Mursi, Bure, and Karo and other tribes, all have different languages and customs.
- Trekking into the highlands to visit some of the earliest Christian sites, like such as the 12th-c Century Orthodox churches hewn from rock at Lalibela.
- Visit the obelisks of the Axumite Kingdom and the forested island monasteries of Gondar.
Combine With:
Visitors usually add on Ethiopia to a safari in Kenya or vice versa.