7-Day Kenya Southern Circuit: Amboseli, Tsavo and Salt Lick

Drive Time: 4-5 hours · Meals: Lunch & Dinner

Morning pickup from your Nairobi hotel or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport around 7:30 AM. Drive southeast toward the Tanzanian border, the scenery becoming drier and more open as you approach Amboseli. On a clear day, Mount Kilimanjaro appears on the horizon well before you reach the park.

Arrive at Kibo Safari Camp in time for lunch. The camp sits just outside the park boundary with open views toward Kilimanjaro. After check-in and lunch, late afternoon game drive into Amboseli.

Amboseli’s permanent swamps, fed by underground springs from Kilimanjaro, concentrate wildlife year-round. Large elephant herds are the main draw, often seen moving across the open plains with the mountain as backdrop. Buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and various antelope are common. Lions are present but harder to locate than in the Mara.

Dinner and overnight at Kibo Safari Camp.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Morning and afternoon game drives with a midday break at camp. Early start around 6:30 AM when Kilimanjaro is usually clearest. Elephants are most active around the swamp areas in the morning, and the research program here has tracked these families since 1972. Guides often recognize individual animals and can explain family dynamics you’re watching.

Observation Hill in the centre of the park offers panoramic views across the basin. Worth the short walk for the perspective it gives over the swamp layout and surrounding plains. Birdlife around the wetlands is excellent with pelicans, herons, egrets, and Egyptian geese common.

The mountain shows best early morning before clouds build around the summit. Your guide will position you for photography when conditions are good. Afternoons are good for finding cheetahs on the dry lake bed and checking the acacia woodlands for leopards.

Dinner and overnight at Kibo Safari Camp.

Drive Time: 2-3 hours · Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Early morning game drive in Amboseli before breakfast. Check out and drive northeast into Tsavo West, entering through the Chyulu Hills sector. The drive is relatively short and the scenery changes noticeably, from Amboseli’s open plains to Tsavo’s volcanic scenery of lava flows, hills, and dense bush.

Arrive at Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge for lunch. Built in 1962, Kilaguni is Kenya’s oldest safari lodge and sits overlooking a busy waterhole that attracts wildlife around the clock. The views extend to Kilimanjaro and the Chyulu Hills. After lunch, afternoon game drive into Tsavo West.

Tsavo West is large and varied. Black rhinos are present and the park has one of Kenya’s stronger populations. Elephants here have the same red dust colouring you’ll see more of in Tsavo East. Mzima Springs is a must-visit, crystal clear pools fed by underground water from Kilimanjaro where hippos and crocodiles coexist in large numbers. An underwater viewing chamber lets you watch hippos moving below the surface.

Dinner and overnight at Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge.

Drive Time: 2 hours · Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Morning game drive in Tsavo West before breakfast. The Chyulu Hills provide a dramatic backdrop to early morning drives, and predator activity is often good around the waterholes near the lodge. Check out after breakfast and drive to Salt Lick Safari Lodge in the Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.

Salt Lick is unlike any other lodge on this circuit. The property is built on stilts above a series of waterholes, with interconnecting walkways between the rooms and viewing platforms directly above where animals come to drink. Buffalo, elephant, zebra, and various antelope visit through the day, and predators often follow after dark.

Afternoon game drive in the sanctuary before returning to the lodge. The real experience at Salt Lick happens in the evening. After dinner, spend time on the viewing platforms watching wildlife come and go at the waterholes below. The lodge has floodlights that illuminate the area after dark without disturbing the animals.

Dinner and overnight at Salt Lick Safari Lodge.

Drive Time: 2-3 hours · Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Early morning at the Salt Lick waterholes before breakfast, often the most productive time as nocturnal animals are still active. Check out after breakfast and drive into Tsavo East through the Voi Gate.

Tsavo East is one of Kenya’s largest parks and feels wild and remote. The scenery is flatter and more open than Tsavo West, dominated by red laterite soil, dry riverbeds, and scattered doum palms. Arrive at Satao Camp in time for lunch. The camp sits near a waterhole and overlooks the Voi River, with good wildlife activity around the camp throughout the day.

Afternoon game drive into Tsavo East. The park’s elephant population is one of Kenya’s largest, and these animals have a distinctive red tint from rolling in the iron-rich soil. Large herds are common. Lions are well represented and the open terrain makes them easier to spot than in busier or more heavily vegetated parks. Tsavo East also has healthy populations of buffalo, zebra, giraffe, and various antelope.

Dinner and overnight at Satao Camp.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Full day in Tsavo East with morning and afternoon game drives. The park is large enough that different areas deliver different experiences. The Galana River runs through the northern section and is worth spending time along. Crocodiles are common, and the river attracts a concentration of wildlife during dry periods.

Mudanda Rock is a long outcrop that acts as a natural water catchment, and during dry season large elephant herds gather in the pools at its base. The views from the top across the surrounding plains are worth the short climb. Buffalo herds in Tsavo East can be impressive, sometimes numbering in the hundreds.

Tsavo East doesn’t get the visitor numbers of the Mara or Amboseli. On a full day here you may go hours without seeing another vehicle, which changes the safari experience considerably. There’s a quieter, more genuine feel to the bush when you have it to yourself.

Dinner and overnight at Satao Camp.

Drive Time: 5-6 hours · Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Final early morning game drive before breakfast. Last chance for Tsavo East’s open plains wildlife at dawn. Return to camp for breakfast and check out, then drive back to Nairobi arriving mid to late afternoon.

Drop off at your Nairobi hotel or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Evening flights to Australia via Dubai, Doha, or Bangkok work well with this timing. If your international flight is very late, there may be time for a quick stop at the Maasai Market or last-minute shopping near the airport.