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7 Days Bush & Beach — the Signature Kenya Week
The 7 Days Bush & Beach is Sun & Safari’s flagship package: four nights of Big Five game drives in the Masai Mara followed by three nights on the white sand of Diani Beach, connected by a single bush-flight transition of under three hours. From $1,850 per person, with internal flights, park fees, and full-board safari accommodation included.
*Day 1 arrival night in the Mara through Day 7 departure from the coast; night counts adjust to your flight times.
The Concept
Why Is This the Definitive Kenya Week?
This package answers the most common brief we receive: “We have one week — show us the best of Kenya.” The answer has two halves. The Masai Mara delivers Africa’s most reliable Big Five viewing and, from July to October, the Great Migration itself. Diani Beach delivers the recovery: reef-calm turquoise water, white coral sand, and nothing on the schedule unless you put it there.
The sequencing is deliberate. Safari comes first because game drives start before dawn — you bank the early mornings while you’re fresh, then spend the beach half sleeping in. The transition day is engineered to feel like part of the holiday rather than a travel day: a final morning game drive, a 45-minute bush flight over the Rift Valley, a connection at Nairobi Wilson, and touchdown at Ukunda airstrip five minutes from your resort — savannah to sea in under three hours.
Everything runs on one booking, one consultant, and one WhatsApp thread. Compare that with self-assembling the same week — two operators, three separate flight bookings, and a transfer gap in the middle that belongs to nobody — and the package price starts to explain itself.
Day by Day
The Full 7-Day Itinerary
The proven rhythm across hundreds of departures — adjustable at every point, from lodge tier to activity mix.
Arrival & First Game Drive
We meet you at Jomo Kenyatta International and transfer you to Wilson Airport for the 45-minute bush flight to the Mara. Your guide meets you on the airstrip, and the drive to camp doubles as your first game drive. Sundowners on the ridge, dinner under canvas, and the sound of the Mara at night.
Full Day on the Plains
Dawn game drive while the predators are still working, back to camp for late breakfast, then out again for the golden evening session. Your guide tracks lion prides, cheetah on the open grass, and elephant along the river lines — with a picnic option to stay out all day if a sighting demands it.
Migration or Balloon Morning
In season (July–October), today positions you at the Mara River for the migration crossings. Year-round, it’s the morning to take the optional hot-air balloon safari — lifting off before dawn and landing to a champagne bush breakfast. The afternoon adds a guided visit to a Maasai manyatta with a community elder.
Deep Safari Day
Your final full bush day goes wherever the wildlife dictates — a leopard staked out along the Talek, a coalition of cheetah brothers hunting the open plains, or a bush walk with an armed ranger to read the small print of the savannah. Farewell fire-lit dinner and a naturalist’s recap of everything you’ve seen.
The Transition — Savannah to Sea
One last dawn game drive en route to the airstrip, then the bush flight to Nairobi Wilson and a connecting flight south to Ukunda. By mid-afternoon you’re checked into your beachfront resort with your feet in the Indian Ocean — total travel time under three hours, every leg pre-booked and escorted.
Reef, Sand & Absolutely Nothing
The day is yours. Popular choices: a morning snorkelling trip on the fringing reef at low tide, a first kite-surfing lesson at Galu, or the colobus monkey conservation centre. Equally popular: the hammock. A sunset dhow cruise makes the classic evening.
Slow Morning & Homeward
A last swim and a long breakfast before your private transfer to Mombasa’s Moi International Airport (or Ukunda for a Nairobi connection). Guests extending their stay simply keep the room — many do, and your consultant will quote extra nights upfront so you can decide before you travel.
Pricing Detail
What Does the $1,850 Include?
The same transparent standard as every Sun & Safari package — compare it line by line with any other quote.
Included
- All three internal flights: Wilson–Mara, Mara–Wilson, Wilson–Ukunda
- Masai Mara reserve entry fees for all four days
- Full-board tented camp in the Mara — all meals and game drives
- Professional driver-guide and 4×4 with pop-up roof throughout the safari
- Diani beachfront resort, bed & breakfast basis
- All airport meet-and-greet services and private road transfers
- Maasai community visit on Day 3
- Dedicated consultant plus 24/7 in-country support line
Not Included
- International flights and Kenya eTA (~USD 30)
- Hot-air balloon safari (optional, quoted on request)
- Lunches and dinners at Diani — the resort strip’s restaurants are half the fun
- Watersports, diving courses, and dhow cruises at the coast
- Travel insurance (required), drinks, tips, and personal expenses
Rates vary by season: migration months (July–October) and festive weeks price above the from-rate; green season (March–May) prices below it. Your consultant confirms the exact figure for your dates before any payment.
Make It Yours
Popular Ways to Upgrade This Package
Each of these is a one-line request to your consultant — the quote updates transparently.
Add the Balloon Safari
Sunrise over the herds from a hot-air balloon, landing to a champagne bush breakfast — the Mara’s most requested add-on, slotted into Day 3.
Upgrade to a Conservancy Camp
Stay in a private conservancy bordering the reserve: fewer vehicles at sightings, night drives, and bush walks — with fees flowing to Maasai landowners.
Stretch the Beach to 5 Nights
Two extra Diani nights turn the finale into a genuine second holiday — the most common change guests make, and the one nobody regrets.
The Honeymoon Cut
Private plunge-pool tent in the Mara, candlelit cave dinner at Diani, and a private sunset dhow — see our honeymoon safaris.
The Family Cut
Family tents, a junior-ranger programme in the Mara, and a kids’-club resort at Diani — details on our family safaris page.
Common Questions
7-Day Bush & Beach FAQ
The specifics guests confirm before booking this itinerary.
For July–October departures — when the Great Migration is in the Mara and the Kusi trade winds are on the coast — book 12 or more months ahead, because the best-located camps sell out first. For January–February, three to six months is comfortable. For green-season value (March–May), you can often book within weeks and save 20–40% on the same itinerary.
Deliberate design. In the Mara your camp is the only restaurant for miles, so full board is essential. At Diani, half the pleasure is eating out — beach grills, Swahili seafood, and the famous coral-cave restaurant — so we leave lunches and dinners open rather than lock you into a buffet you’d skip. Prefer all-inclusive at the coast? Your consultant can quote it.
Fifteen kilograms per person in soft-sided bags, including hand luggage — the standard on all Kenyan bush flights. It sounds tight but works: safari camps run same-day laundry, and the beach half of your wardrobe weighs almost nothing. Our pre-departure briefing includes a packing list refined over hundreds of trips; see also the what to pack guide.
Yes, and occasionally it makes sense — for example, when international flights land in Mombasa. But we recommend bush-first for most travellers: game drives demand 5:30 am starts, and stacking those mornings at the beginning means the beach half genuinely feels like a reward rather than a warm-up. Around nine in ten guests who ask end up choosing bush-first.
Yes, with the family cut. We swap in a camp with family tents and flexible drive times, and a Diani resort with a kids’ club and reef-calm shallows. Most camps welcome children from age six on game drives; the balloon safari has minimum-age and height rules your consultant will confirm. Children sharing with parents receive reduced rates.
A deposit confirms your camps and flights at booking; the balance is payable before travel, and most guests split it into monthly instalments at no surcharge. Full payment terms, and what happens if you need to change dates, are set out in our booking conditions before you commit to anything.
Ready for the Signature Week?
Send us your dates — we’ll confirm availability, the exact rate for your season, and a full day-by-day proposal within one business day.
7 Days Bush & Beach · from $1,850 pp sharing · flights & park fees included
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