Kenya Archives - Cazenove+loyd

Why Kenya is perfect for a luxury honeymoon

From Laikipia in the north to the Maasai Mara in the south, Kenya is a land of exquisite vistas, guaranteed to be the setting for honeymoon memories that will last a lifetime. World famous game reserves in the Maasai Mara and the Great Rift Valley are only a one hour flight from Nairobi, whilst a hop over to the blissful resorts of Diani and Watamu on the coast is typically the same. This means couples can indulge in a diverse itinerary without spending too much of their honeymoon travelling in between. You can be feeding giraffes on the outskirts of Nairobi on one day, then spotting lions and elephants on the Maasai Mara the next, and finishing everything off by sunning yourself on the white sands of the Indian Ocean coast.

Best honeymoon destinations in Kenya

It’s a poorly kept secret that Kenya has some of the best safari in Africa. The Maasai Mara is home to the Big Five – lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalo – as well as a myriad other recognisable species, from cheetahs and hyenas on the plains to crocodiles and hippos lurking in the Mara River. Time your trip right and you might also get to witness the awe inspiring spectacle of the Great Migration, when up to 1.7 million wildebeest brave the treacherous waters of the Mara to cross into the rich grasslands beyond.

The Great Rift Valley further north is also a great option for honeymoons in the green season, when the rains turn the otherwise arid landscape into a carpet of green and freshwater lakes like Naivasha offer the perfect opportunity for boat safaris to see hippos and flamingos.

Out on the coast you will find some of the best beach resorts in the whole of Africa, like Diani and Watamu, featuring pristine sandy beaches and authentic Kenyan hospitality, perfect for unwinding at the end of a week’s safari. Alternatively, if your taste for adventure isn’t quite sated, scuba and snorkelling in the sapphire waters of the Indian Ocean or a romantic horse ride along the shore will provide plenty of excitement in between your rest and relaxation.

Best honeymoon lodges in Kenya

On top of its obvious natural advantage of being home to stunning reserves in the Maasai Mara and the Great Rift Valley, Kenya has also led the way in the luxury safari experience. Properties like Angama Mara and Elewana Sand River Camp on the Maasai Mara offer comfort along with expertly tailored safari with brilliant guides and personalised activities specifically designed for couples, like private dining and hot air balloon flights over the savannah.

The coast offers equally luxurious places to stay, such as Kinondo Kwetu at Diani which boasts its own exclusive stretch of Galu Beach, a fantastic spa, as well as charmingly distinctive rooms. We suggest booking one of the private thatched beach cottages for couples wanting a truly tranquil escape together. Alternatively, for those wanting to immerse themselves in authentic Swahili culture, a trip up to Lamu in the north will take you to Manda Bay, where the traditional palm thatched lodges and car free surroundings make for a slower paced and intimate option to contrast with the busier resorts of the south.

Best time for a honeymoon in Kenya

Another advantage of honeymooning in Kenya is that it is truly a year round destination. Summer and early autumn is well known to be the best time for classic game drive safari, when the lack of rain draws animals into tighter concentrations around water holes and reduces foliage cover. However, visiting in the green season, from November to April, is just as visually impressive, with greenery carpeting the land and young animals taking their first steps on the savannah. Furthermore, with its equatorial climate and high elevation, Kenya’s rains tend to come in short, sharp afternoon showers that do not last long and certainly don’t get in the way of enjoying the incredible landscape.

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For those going on a luxury African safari holiday, seeing the Big Five can be the pinnacle of the entire experience and is often the main focus for a tour. Considered to be Africa’s most iconic animals, they include the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo and were once the prizes most coveted by big game hunters in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, in today’s more enlightened times the prize is to photograph and get up close with these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, as well as to see how their numbers have recovered and flourished with modern conservation efforts. Let our regional experts guide you to the best places to see the Big Five across Africa’s vast and varied landscapes.

Greater Kruger, South Africa

If you are looking to safari in South Africa then there are few better places to see the Big Five than in the Greater Kruger Area in the north east of the country. This is home to the world-renowned Kruger National Park as well as a number of smaller private reserves such as Letaba, Timbavati and Sabi Sands. The fenceless boundaries between these areas mean the animals have complete freedom of movement across nearly two million hectares of protected land, providing the perfect conditions to see high concentrations of animals, including the Big Five. Luxury lodges like Singita Boulders and Singita Ebony in Sabi Sands Reserve combine exquisite comfort with expert guiding, ensuring guests enjoy up-close encounters with wildlife in an exclusive setting.

The best time to see the Big Five in South Africa is arguably over its dry, winter months, from May to September. This is when the vegetation is thinner, making animals easier to spot, and rain is rarer, bringing wildlife into higher concentrations around water sources. Early spring in September and October also heralds the birth of new young, which in turn means more predators, like lions and leopards, gathering to capitalise on the easy prey.

Maasai Mara, Kenya

The Maasai Mara in Kenya represents the quintessential African safari setting, made famous by classic stories like Born Free and Out of Africa, and offers some of the best opportunities to see the Big Five. The northern Mara in particular tends to have fewer visitors, meaning a better chance of seeing the shier animals such as rhinos, and offers some fantastic lodges. House in the Wild is like a home away from home with friendly staff and an authentically welcoming atmosphere. Great Plains Conservation also has a number of stunning luxury safari camps, including Mara Plains and Mara Nyika, both great for those looking for safari in varied terrain.

Kenya has two dry seasons, from July to October and from January to March, which are the best periods to see the Big Five on the Maasai Mara. There is still safari in the green season; however, denser vegetation makes animals harder to spot and they tend to disperse over wider areas.

Serengeti, Tanzania

When one thinks of an African safari, often the image that appears is that of the Serengeti; a seemingly endless plain of flowing grassland positively teeming with life. Playing host to dramatic natural events like the Great Wildebeest Migration, it is also one of the best places in Africa for a Big Five safari. We recommend choosing a mobile camp, like Serengeti Safari Camp, to cover more ground across the park and maximise your chances of seeing the rarer big game, particularly rhinos.

Since Tanzania shares much of its geography and climate with the neighbouring Maasai Mara, the best time to visit the Serengeti is similarly during the dry months, from late June to October. The latter part of this period also coincides with the famous river crossings of the Great Migration in the north, a spectacular event to see alongside a classic Big Five safari.

Madikwe, South Africa

For a smaller but wilder Big Five safari experience, travellers should head to Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province of South Africa. This relatively new reserve might not have the variety of biomes that Kruger has, but it is less busy and many of the lodges offer more competitive rates. Madikwe also boasts a very large elephant population relative to its area; some 1,600 individuals across just 750 square kilometres. Impodimo Game Lodge is beautifully situated and offers good value bookings, whilst Etali Lodge can scarcely be beaten as a luxurious base for safari.

Phinda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

One of our favourite lesser-known safari destinations, Phinda Private Game Reserve has a wonderfully diverse spread of ecosystems, from rare sand forests to grasslands and wetlands. On top of being a prime Big Five safari location, it is also a great place to spot cheetah, whilst its specialised conservation programmes have made it one of the best areas to see the rare black rhino.

Phinda Vlei, Phinda Rock, and Phinda Forest Lodge are all delightful places to stay, offering stunning views and opulent suites to relax in between game drives. They also boast a short journey to the coast, allowing guests to mix up their wildlife adventure with a night-time turtle watching tour.

Hwange, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s largest reserve, Hwange National Park is a fantastic destination for Big Five safari, not least due to its massive population of elephants, the biggest in Africa, at over 40,000 individuals. Although rhinos were only recently reintroduced into the park, they can still be spotted with a little bit of luck and an expert guide, along with many other rare species, including the endangered African wild dog. Somalisa Camp, nestled in a picturesque acacia grove in the eastern quarter of the park, is perfectly situated for seeing all of these animals and more, as well as being only a 45-minute bush flight to Victoria Falls, ideal for a one-or-two day excursion to this magnificent wonder of the natural world.

Akagera, Rwanda

For an example of the power of well-coordinated conservation efforts, look no further than Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s only Big Five safari reserve and its biggest success story. After nearly a century of rampant poaching, the park has been through an extensive revitalisation programme since 2010, with the reintroduction of lions and white and black rhino triggering a bounce back of numerous other species including elephants, giraffes and zebras. It is now a safari destination to rival those of its much larger and more established neighbours in Kenya and Tanzania. Magashi Camp to the north of the park is a small but fantastically run safari stay, and its proximity to the north-western highlands of Rwanda makes it easy to combine a classic Big Five safari with gorilla trekking in the same tour.