Bush, then ocean, then nothing at all.
Five nights while you still have the energy for six o’clock starts, four with no alarm clock whatsoever. Two evenings arranged precisely; the rest left alone.
Nine nights, front-loaded — five while you still want six o’clock starts, four on Lamu with no alarm. Two evenings arranged, and the rest deliberately empty.
- From
- $14,200 pp
- Duration
- 9 nights
- Best months
- Dec–Mar, Jul–Sep
- Party size
- 2 guests
The hardest part of a honeymoon is knowing when to leave people be
Most honeymoon safaris fail in one of two directions: they are too full, so you spend a fortnight being organised, or they are too empty and you have paid a great deal for a beach you could have found nearer home. The shape that works is a front-loaded one — the inland half first, while the adrenaline of the wedding is still carrying you, then the ocean once it has worn off.
So: five nights on a Mara conservancy with your own guide and vehicle, where the days can be as long or as short as you feel, and four in a private house on the Lamu archipelago with a cook, a dhow and no cars on the island at all. The flying between them is ninety minutes.
We will arrange precisely two evenings — a dinner laid somewhere your guide chooses and does not tell you about, and a dhow at sunset off Shela — and then we will leave you entirely alone, which after nine years of doing this we have come to understand is the actual service.
- A private guide and vehicle for five days, at whatever pace you set
- One dinner arranged without telling you where
- A dhow off Shela at sunset, with nobody else aboard
- A private house on Lamu: cook, housekeeper, roof terrace, no cars on the island
- An optional dawn balloon over the Mara plains
- Late breakfasts written into the itinerary rather than apologised for
Ideal traveller
Couples with nine to twelve nights who want a real safari rather than a resort with animals nearby. Not for anyone who wants scheduled activities — the second half is deliberately empty.
The itinerary
Nairobi — a soft landing
Met on the airbridge and driven to a garden house in the Karen hills. Nothing arranged. Most couples sleep for eleven hours, and we build the day on that assumption.
To the Mara conservancy
A 45-minute flight west, landing on the camp strip before lunch. An unhurried afternoon drive, and dinner wherever the camp has laid it.
The conservancy
Out at first light, back for a long breakfast, the middle of the day yours. A night drive after dinner if you want one, or the fire if you do not.
A day with no plan
Kept deliberately open. Your guide now knows how you like to travel and will suggest something — a long drive, a walk, a hide, or a picnic under a tree and nothing else.
Into the reserve
A full day south into the national reserve: the river, the plains, the crossing points in season. Breakfast in the vehicle, back to camp after dark.
On foot, and the dinner
Walking at dawn with an armed Maasai guide. The afternoon free. In the evening your guide drives you somewhere he has chosen and has not mentioned, where a table is already laid.
To Lamu
A mid-morning flight east to the coast, and a boat rather than a car from the airstrip. The house is yours, the cook introduces herself, and that is the last thing scheduled for four days.
Lamu
Nothing. Swimming, the roof terrace, a walk through the old town if you feel like it, and the dhow at sunset — the one evening we have arranged here.
Lamu
Still nothing, on purpose. Guests who ask us to fill this day are politely refused.
Homeward
A late-morning flight to Nairobi, day rooms at a private club, and our concierge with you until you are through security.
A six-tent camp, then a house with nobody else in it
Nights 2–6. A six-tent conservancy camp on a lugga, twelve guests at most, with a plunge pool and a bath outdoors. We ask for the tent at the far end, which costs nothing and makes a difference.
Nights 7–10. A private Swahili house on Shela beach — three bedrooms though you will use one, a cook, a housekeeper, a roof terrace and a dhow captain on call. There are no cars on the island; luggage arrives by donkey, which is not a gimmick.
If Lamu does not appeal, the alternatives are a four-suite lodge in Watamu with better snorkelling, or Zanzibar with an extra flight. Your specialist will be honest about which suits the month you are marrying in.
What the price covers
- Nine nights as described, all meals and house drinks
- A private guide and vehicle for the whole inland leg
- All internal flights, including Mara–Lamu direct
- Reserve, conservancy and marine park fees, and the conservancy levy
- The arranged dinner and the private dhow evening
- House staff on Lamu — cook, housekeeper and boat captain
- Airport meet-and-greet, fast-track and day rooms
- 24-hour Nairobi concierge, answered by a person
What it does not
- International flights and visas
- Travel insurance — required; we will help you compare
- Balloon flight ($540 pp), spa treatments, premium wines
- Diving and deep-sea fishing on the coast
- Gratuities, at your discretion
December to March is the coast at its best and the Mara green and quiet — our recommendation for most couples. July to September gives you the crossings but a busier, cooler Mara and a rougher sea. Avoid April, May and early June on the Indian Ocean entirely.
Shall we hold the dates while you think?
Tell us the month and we will send a costed draft of this journey, with the camps held provisionally at no charge. A written reply within one working day, from the specialist who will run it.
On honeymoons
How soon after the wedding should we fly?
Not the next morning. Everyone who has done it has told us they wished they had left two or three days, and the first Nairobi night in this itinerary exists precisely because of that feedback. If you can give it four days, do.
Will everyone know it is our honeymoon?
Only if you want them to. Tell us and the camps will do something quiet on the first night; tell us you would rather not and we will make sure nobody mentions it. Both requests are equally common.
Can we make the beach half longer?
Easily, and it is the most-made change. Five inland and six on the coast is the version we sell nearly as often, and it costs slightly less. Twelve nights total is the sweet spot if you have the leave.
Is Lamu the right choice for us?
If you want a Swahili town with no cars, extraordinary architecture and near-total privacy, yes. If you want a resort with a spa menu and water sports, no — go to Diani, and we will say so on the telephone rather than let you find out.