Amazing Kenya Cheetah Safari for Photographers

Mother Cheetah and her cub in the Savannah in Africa

What to expect on this itinerary

Handcrafted for wildlife photographers, this adventurous, 10-day Kenyan safari will give you the ultimate angles of cheetahs and other big cats. You will explore with specialist guides and on private game drives that venture off the trail to achieve the ultimate shots. Ease into Big Five photography in Laikipia, capture iconic scenes in the Masai Mara, and then explore beneath the surface with a big cat safari in Mara North Conservancy. Expect to return home with eternal and ineffable photos of Africa’s icons.

Countries Visited

Kenya

Places Visited

Nairobi, Laikipia Plateau, Masai Mara National Reserve, Mara North Conservancy

Suggested Duration

10 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

Nairobi – Introduction

Kenya is usually a long way from home. Having a leisurely first day will help you to overcome the travel fatigue and get ready for eight days in the bush. An overnight layover is often unavoidable due to flight times because local flights to safari destinations leave in the mornings. After landing at Nairobi’s international airport, you will be greeted by a guide for a private transfer to Karen, which is a bucolic suburb on Nairobi’s outskirts. Giraffe and elephant encounters are possible in this area, so you can jump straight into the wildlife should you wish. If you are tired, you can rest at your boutique lodge and save your energy for the next few days.

What's Included:

Transfer
Accommodation
Dinner
Day 2

Laikipia Plateau – Easing into the Safari

Day 3 - 4

Laikipia Plateau – Big Five Photography

Day 5

Masai Mara National Reserve – Searching for Cheetah

Day 6

Masai Mara National Reserve – Aerial Shots

Day 7 - 9

Mara North Conservancy – Intimate Big Cat Photography

Day 10

Mara North – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • Enjoy the ultimate big cat angles during a three-day, off-the-trail safari in Mara North Conservancy
  • Capture the Big Five on camera with three days of private safari in Laikipia Plateau
  • Track cheetahs in the grasslands to capture unreal photographs of their moods and behaviors
  • Photograph the Mara patchwork during an incredible hot air balloon ride
  • Immerse yourself with many endangered animals, including rhinos and other species like gerenuk, which are almost exclusive to Kenya
  • Snap photos as a specialist photographer guide joins you for game drives in Laikipia and the Masai Mara
  • Take photos of the Mara River, where wildebeest and zebra herds meet hippos and predators
  • Venture closer and improve your skills as every game drive is privately tailored to the shots you want to capture

Starting Price

$7,800 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

5.0

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 33 reviews

Kenya Safari Review: 9 Nights

The trip was amazing. We were met at the Nairobi airport and were looked after from that point. Everything went smoothly and we were able to have amazing game drives where we saw a multitude of animals in their natural habitat.

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Kenya, Rwanda Safari Review: Guide, Walking Safari, Tracking, Sundowner Locations, Culture, Wildlife, 11 Nights

Zicasso’s travel company created an amazing trip! Travel was fortunately seamless, and our travel company’s meet-and-greet partners were very helpful, especially in Rwanda when getting the visa and handling the luggage. Their travel advice prior to travel was invaluable, and they provided an app, which was extremely handy throughout the trip, even though we had a hard copy on hand if needed.

Kudos for arranging incredible accommodations. Our hotel in Nairobi was lovely, and the staff friendly and very helpful. We had a cold, cloudy day during our one day in Nairobi, so we were not able to fully enjoy the hotel’s outdoor space. One regret was not allowing one more day to enjoy the hotel.

Our first camp, although a bit of a drive, was worth every minute of time it took to get there. The tents were well appointed and comfortable. We had an amazing guide. The walking safari was such an amazing experience from the typical safari drive, as we were a part of the tracking experience. The walk was also invigorating from a physical and visual perspective. And the nighttime safari drive enabled us to see very different animal life and enjoy stunning sundowner locations. The camp also did an amazing job with dining, from breakfast along the river watching the baboons to lunch poolside and dinner gazing out at the watering hole. I will never forget waking from a nap the afternoon of arriving, sitting up in bed, and watching a family of elephants play at the watering hole.

Our next camp was another amazing camp. Again, the location along the river was an opportunity to continuously watch wildlife in and along the river. And such fun to hear the hippos outside the tent at night. The camp manager was welcoming and fun. We had fun dinners shared with him and his right-hand gals. Again, we had a great guide and an amazing tracker. We were able to enjoy many animal engagements without the crowd. We did do the hot-air balloon ride. Although the ride was fun, the best part is it got us to the farther side of the Maasai Mara. Therefore, we were able to see the mass migration on the return trek, which was a long drive. But once again, the animal viewing was amazing and worth every minute.

And finally, the gorillas in Rwanda! The experience was magical. We had a two-and-a-half-hour hike (not too arduous) to see the Titus family. We were told we were very fortunate, as they are related to Dian Fossey’s original family. Although we got some amazing pictures, just to stand and be in the moment with these creatures is a memory I will never forget. We were impressed with how clean a country Rwanda is. Our stay at our hotel enabled us to be close to the park, and the rooms were comfortable.

My family and I are grateful for the memorable experience our travel company assembled for us. They were very patient with our questions and resolving the Rwanda flight reschedule. I can be a little over the top, “dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s,” trying to get things correct. We also brought home some amazing mementos of our travels. In both Nairobi and Rwanda, the driver/guide introduced us to “women’s villages,” where women (and others) engaged in handcrafts (beading, art, woodworking, etc.). It felt good to support these artists. And shopping at the airstrip in the Maasai Mara was quite the experience!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to our travel company.

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Kenya Trip Review: Maasai Mara, Wildlife, Nature, 7-Day Tour

Excellent!

My wife and I, our son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons took a safari in Kenya in June 2026 that was arranged by a Zicasso travel agent. The trip was wonderful! The travel specialist found a great lodge for us in the Maasai Mara North Conservancy and the guide he arranged for us was great. He was very prompt in answering my questions, and he helped me customize our family safari beautifully. I selected him from three travel agents to whom Zicasso introduced me and I highly recommend him!

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Kenya, Tanzania Tour Review: Nairobi, Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Hot-Air Balloon Ride, Safari, Great Wildebeest Migration, Mara River Crossing, 10 Nights

Zicasso's travel agents planned every small and big detail of our trip to Nairobi, Maasai Mara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. They suggested a perfect time. Because of this, we were able to witness the Great Wildebeest Migration, including the Mara River crossing. The guides were very knowledgeable. The pick-up and drop-off service from airports at each place was excellent. Our overall trip was great!

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Kenya Trip Review: Nairobi, Lewa, Maasai Mara Reserve, Naboisho Conservancy, Wildlife, Guides, 9 Days

All aspects of our trip were outstanding. Having grown up in Africa, along with his experience as a former game warden, made Zicasso's travel specialist the perfect choice to plan our safari. His knowledge is extensive, his wife handled all financial matters, and the fact that his daughter resides in Kenya and has firsthand knowledge and insight into all of our camps was an added bonus. The travel company is a wonderful family business and they were delightful to work with.

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Kenya, Uganda Luxury Vacation Review: Maasai Mara, Wildlife, Gorilla Trekking, 20-Day Trip
"This was a trip of a lifetime! The details large and small were flawless, leaving us to enjoy the trip with no worries."

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

37,000+ Verified Traveler Reviews