Safari and tour operator · Westlands, Nairobi
Planned in Nairobi.
Driven by us.
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, in our own vehicles with our own driver guides. The person who writes your route knows the person driving it.
Our driver guides are employed, not subcontracted
How we work
The vehicles are ours. So are the guides.
A lot of safari companies sell a route and then hire a vehicle and a freelance driver from whoever is free that week. It usually works. When it does not, nobody in the chain is responsible.
We do it the other way round. The 4x4s are ours and maintained in house. The driver guides are on our staff, working the same parks season after season. When we write that a drive takes about five hours, it is because one of them drove it last month. One guide stays with you for the whole route, and there is a Nairobi number that answers while you are travelling.
Featured destination
Kenya
Kenya is where safari as an idea started, and it is still the easiest country in Africa to see a great deal in a short time. Nairobi sits in the middle of everything: Amboseli five hours south under Kilimanjaro, the Maasai Mara five to six west for the big cats and the Great Migration, Lake Nakuru three hours up the Rift Valley escarpment for rhino, and Samburu six hours north for species that live nowhere else. Tsavo runs down towards the coast, so a safari can finish on the Indian Ocean at Diani. Seven published routes, from three to nine days, each priced at three lodge levels.
Maasai Mara, August. A balloon flight is the one add-on almost nobody regrets.
Signature routes
Three of the seven
Each route runs at three accommodation levels, so the same days can suit different budgets. Prices are per person sharing for two travellers. Kenya rates shown are peak season, August and September.
Most requested
Seven days, four Kenyan parks
Nakuru, Mara, Naivasha, Amboseli
Rift Valley lakes, the Mara, then Amboseli under Kilimanjaro, in one loop from Nairobi.
Three days in the Maasai Mara
Kenya
Two nights in the reserve with full days out, rather than a day and a half lost to the road.
Ngorongoro and the Serengeti
Tanzania
Two nights on the crater side, two on the plains. The classic northern circuit without rushing either.
Rates include accommodation, all park and reserve entry fees, and transport in our own 4x4 with an in-house driver guide. International flights, visas, drinks and tips are quoted separately.
Holiday types
Four trips we plan often
Not seeing yours? We build routes around whatever you most want to see, at whatever pace suits you.
Lodge interiors, Kenyan highlands
Where you sleep
Canvas, a building, or a deck above a waterhole
A tented camp and a lodge in the same park produce two different holidays. Canvas is small, close to the ground and often unfenced, and you hear hyena at night. A lodge is easier with children, has a pool for the hot middle of the day, and holds more people. A tree hotel in the Aberdares means you do not drive at all: you sit on a deck and the animals come to the water.
We name every property in the itinerary before you pay, at all three price levels, and we will tell you which one has the better position rather than the better brochure.
Responsible tourism
The parts of this that are actually within our control
We keep to the rules that exist for a reason. No off road driving where it is prohibited, minimum distances at sightings, and no crowding a kill or a crossing even when other vehicles do. Community visits are arranged directly with the villages we work with and the fee goes to them. Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking follows the group size, distance and health protocols exactly, because those rules are the reason the populations are recovering.
How it works
What happens after you get in touch
There is no cost and no obligation, and a month is enough to start.
Tell us your plans
Your dates, interests and budget, by form, email or WhatsApp. Dates or just a month is enough.
We design your trip
A costed itinerary with named lodges at all three levels, and driving times written as they are rather than as they read well. Refined until it is right.
Travel with confidence
Written terms, park fees already paid, one in-house guide for the whole route, and a Nairobi number that answers while you travel.
Good to know
Questions we are asked most
Anything else: WhatsApp or call +254 714 529 919, or email info@uthandotoursandtravel.com.
When is the best time for a Kenya safari?
July to October is the driest stretch and the Great Migration season in the Maasai Mara, which is why our Kenya rates are quoted for August and September. January to March is clear and quieter with excellent cat viewing. April, May and November are the rains: some camps close, rates fall a long way, and the landscape is at its best.
How many days do I need?
Three days covers the Maasai Mara on its own. Five to seven lets you combine two or three ecosystems, which is where Kenya gets interesting. Nine days takes in the north, the Rift Valley and the Mara without long days in the vehicle.
What is included in your prices?
Accommodation, all park and reserve entry fees, transport in our own 4x4 with an in-house driver guide, and meals as stated for each lodge. International flights, visas, drinks and tips are quoted separately. Ngorongoro crater service fees in Tanzania are shown as a separate line.
Can you combine Kenya and Tanzania?
Yes. The natural pairing is the Maasai Mara with the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, either crossing by road at Isebania or flying between them. Tell us your total days and we will split them rather than rushing both.
Do you arrange gorilla permits?
For both Rwanda and Uganda. Permits are dated and capped, so we secure them as soon as your trip is confirmed and build the trekking day around the permit rather than the other way round.
Are your safaris private?
Yes, by default. Your own vehicle and your own driver guide, not a shared seat in a vehicle with a fixed departure time.
Start planning
Tell us the month and how long you have. We will come back with a costed route, the lodge options at each level, and an honest word about the season.
Westlands, Nairobi · Monday to Saturday, 8:00 to 18:00