Slade and I have been lucky to take a big trip together each year for seven years now, and we’ve tried to have varied experiences in each one. Africa has always been high on our destination list. After seriously considering our alternative for this year’s trip (Nepal), we settled on Africa and, as always, I enthusiastically dove into planning our itinerary.
I have loved the movie Out of Africa ever since first seeing it with my parents as a child, so my heart was set on a Kenyan safari on this trip. Slade also really wanted to go to Zambia to see Victoria Falls, after meeting an elderly lady years ago who was from there and who told him he needed to go see them for her as she wouldn’t be able to make it back herself. Our trip was starting to take shape! This post will cover our time in Kenya, and I’ll do another post about Zambia next time.
I researched what felt like all possible safari options in Kenya before we decided on Angama Mara. We chose it for a variety of reasons, but the best part? The lodge is set in the exact spot where some of the most breathtaking scenes in Out of Africa were filmed.
We booked Angama Mara through their website and their travel staff was absolutely wonderful. They were so easy to communicate with and they arranged everything for us. All we had to do was make our way to Africa and they took care of the rest.
To get to Angama Mara, you have to first make your way to Nairobi, Kenya. There are seemingly countless flight options to Nairobi through multiple carriers. We like to minimize connections wherever possible, so we found a one stop flight through Zurich on our way there, with London being our stopover on our way back.
I will say, this was our first time flying for this long and two 9 hr flights back to back was not fun. Try to time your flights so you can sleep through at least one of them! And make sure you have your own entertainment downloaded on your personal devices because you’ll likely be bored of the in-flight entertainment by the time you come home. We always have movies, TV shows, podcasts, books, etc ready to go and in the month before a big trip I save some things I’m excited to read or watch for the trip itself.
From Nairobi, your trip to Angama Mara is arranged by their staff. First you are driven to Wilson Airport, which takes about 25 min. From there you take a 45 min flight to their private airstrip. There are only a few scheduled flights each day, and they all must arrive before sunset. We pack light so we never have any issues, but keep in mind that there are weight restrictions for your luggage and that you can’t have any hard-shell suitcases with you. If you do, you’ll have to get duffel bags and leave the rest of your luggage in storage. Once at the airstrip, it’s a short 5 min drive to Angama Mara.
We landed in Nairobi in the evening, so we stayed one night at the Four Points near the Nairobi airport. We actually stayed for a total of two nights at the Four Points on this trip, once that first night and once on our way back from Angama Mara to Zambia. We preferred to do it this way because it ensured that we maximized our time at Angama Mara by taking the first flight out on our first day, and the last flight back on our last day.
It’s hard to find the right words to describe how beautiful Angama Mara is. The experience of seeing the deck for the first time, overlooking the savannah below, is something we will never forget. The lodge couldn’t be situated in a more perfect location. We adored its high vantage point, with the ability to just pick up a pair of binoculars or look through the telescope and see SO. MANY. ANIMALS.
Angama Mara is made up of two separate, identical camps. Each camp has 15 tented suites, with its own common area and staff. The common areas have a library and dining area, as well as a deck overlooking the magnificent view below. There is also a pavilion in between the two camps, which has an infinity pool, fitness room and safari gift shop. Across the road from the pavilion is a photography studio. There is WiFi in both the common areas as well as inside your tented suite.
The tents are incredible and impeccable. They are all beautifully designed and have floor-to-ceiling glass overlooking the Mara, so no matter where you are in the tent you have that spectacular view. Each tent has its own deck as well. There is a butler’s lobby at the entrance, so if you request anything to your room it can be delivered there without interrupting your privacy. Small touches like a cookie jar, mixed nuts, fresh milk and your own personal bar just add to the general feeling of luxury.
When you first arrive, you meet your guide, your camp manager and your butler. There are phones in each tent, so if you need anything you can reach out to your camp manager and they will coordinate with the others.
While the accommodation was out-of-this-world amazing, we aren’t able to rave quite as much about the food. Don’t get us wrong, it was still really good, but the meals were sometimes hit and miss. The ingredients were always extremely fresh and delicious, with most of the fruits and vegetables grown in their shamba (garden). It just sometimes felt like the flavors were a little off. We are not picky eaters, so we think our feedback was valid. With a bit of tweaking the menu could be truly spectacular. In any case, you could enjoy your meals in the dining area, in your tent, or out on the Mara depending on your itinerary for the day.
Breakfast was always amazing — a delicious variety of fruit juices, pastries, jams, yogurt (so good), homemade granola and a menu for omelettes, french toast, etc. I loved the avocado toast and the eggs benedict!
Lunch was great if you had it in the dining area, but we didn’t love the picnics we had and ended up leaving food unfinished in those cases. Our favorite lunch was one we had in the shamba one afternoon — beautifully presented and pretty simple spread of salad that we picked from the garden, amazing tomatoes (I think I ate 5 pretty large tomatoes myself), carrots, a cheese board, bread and wine.
Dinner was where we really weren’t impressed night after night. We tried a variety of things, and some were great but some really missed the mark. We found the bread rolls to be too sweet and the consistency was off (and Slade loves bread so the bar is not that high). We both had pasta one night and it was just too bland to finish. Another night we had soup and it was great, with a delicious BBQ style dinner afterwards that we also enjoyed. Beef and chicken are the prevalent meat options in Kenya, and while we liked all of the chicken options we tried, the beef was sometimes too dry and rubbery. The dessert was generally good, with a rotating menu of ice cream, cakes, etc.
We did love the drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic). The coffee and tea were absolutely delicious. There were a variety of African cocktails (like the dawa) that we really enjoyed. Gin and whiskey are popular in Kenya and we tried a number of gin-based cocktails as well. We often wished we drank more in general so we could try more things!
The way Angama Mara works is you get to decide whatever it is you want to do and structure your days how you like. The flexibility is a bit overwhelming at first, but by the end of our trip we had gotten the hang of it. The only problem is, when you first arrive they don’t really make that part clear. Your guide picks you up from the airstrip and takes you to the lodge. Unless you are part of a large group already, (or planned to have a private safari during your trip, which we didn’t), you are paired up with up to 2 other couples who are there at the same time as you. As a result, we felt hesitant for the first couple of days to deviate from the general plan for our group. But we soon learned that we can decide what we want to do first, and the staff will adjust around our preferences. So if we wanted to do a safari in the morning but the others wanted to go later, we could both do that. And if we all wanted to go at the same time, then we would go together. If some of us wanted to go for two hours and the others for four, someone would come pick up the first group early while the others remained. The camp managers do a fantastic job of handling logistics, so don’t feel bad for asking to do your own thing! It’s your trip and the staff are there to help you make the most of it.
Safari
Angama Mara has its own private entrance onto the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The Reserve covers about 1,510 km2, and borders the Serengeti National Park to the south. It was a wonderful place to do a safari, as we were able to see the Big 5 (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo) as well as witness the Great Wildebeest Migration before they headed back to the Serengeti.
We had never been on safari before, but while we have no frame of reference to compare our experience to, we still think we had the very best safari experience with the best guide in the park, John. He was unrivalled in expertise on the animals themselves, as well as a fantastic driver. He took us off-road at one point to get up close to a pair of leopards, leaving all the other cars behind because the terrain was so tricky.
In general, being on safari for the first time is surreal. What was even more surreal though was that after 5 days, we were actually used to seeing so many different animals on a regular basis! We got to the point where we’d nonchalantly think, “Oh there’s another zebra, we’ve seen so many. Where are the leopards instead?” when just a few short days ago we were completely mesmerized by seeing a zebra in the wild.
We thought 5 days was more than enough time for the safari. We know some people do multiple safaris in different areas on one trip in order to see a wider variety of animals, but we were pretty lucky with everything we got to see and felt like we had a thorough, complete experience that we wouldn’t have wanted to taint by trying to add more to it.
Hot air balloon
One of the additional things you could do at Angama was a hot air balloon safari. There are two operators nearby, both well-regarded: Governors Balloon Safaris and SkyShip. Early in the morning, you are taken to one of the launch sites where you check in and enjoy a cup of coffee and some cookies before a quick safety briefing. As the sun rises, the balloons take off and you get to see a new perspective of the Mara.
We went with Governors Balloon Safaris and our pilot, Mike, was quite the character. He was super charming and experienced and made the whole trip memorable. Each balloon can take up to 16 people in it, which surprised us because they look quite small! There are 4 compartments, each with 4 people. You sit on the bench side by side to begin with, and once you’re in the air you can stand and look around. Mike did a great job of turning our balloon around fairly regularly so everyone could get a “front row seat”. Whenever you were in the back, you could also stand on the bench for a better view. The balloon rides are about an hour long.
After landing, you meet your guide again (they follow the balloon), and they drive you over to a champagne breakfast prepared in the savannah. The breakfast was delicious…every breakfast food you can think of! They even had crepes. While each item was wonderful, we had some chicken sausages that were so good I will never forget them.
The hot air balloon ride was an additional cost, but we are glad we did it as it was truly a unique experience.
Out of Africa picnic
If you’re an Out of Africa fan like I am (and even if you’re not!), this was a great experience. Who wouldn’t enjoy an old-fashioned picnic overlooking the gorgeous Mara? We chose to do this for lunch, but you could do it at any time of day. The entire setup, with its checkered blanket, wicker picnic basket and sparkling wine, is really nice and romantic.
Photography studio
We couldn’t have been more pleased with our experience at the photography studio. First of all, the fact that there is a photography studio onsite is amazing. Secondly, they have gear to rent! We have a great camera and a variety of lenses, but we had never used a telephoto lens before. Not only are they expensive, but they are also really heavy and bulky! Instead of investing in one for this trip alone and lugging it along with us, we were so happy to be able to rent one for our camera for the duration of our stay. Lastly, they offer complimentary classes to help you with both photo taking and editing! Adam, the resident photographer, was so great to talk to and we really learned a lot from him in just a couple hours.
Maasai culture
The Maasai people inhabit both Kenya and Tanzania and are known for their distinctive culture and colorful dress. There are a number of ways to immerse yourself in the Maasai culture while staying at Angama Mara. Don’t miss seeing the traditional beading done by Maasai ladies at the Safari Shop, or the performance of song and dance by Maasai warriors at the lodge’s boma at sunset. Guests can also take part in walking safaris with Maasai naturalists or visit a nearby village for a glimpse into how the Maasai people live day-to-day.
As always, we keep sustainability in mind when choosing our next adventure. We choose places to stay that give back to the environment and to their communities. Angama Mara believes in the saying ‘Doing Well, by Doing Good / Doing Good, by Doing Well’. Each guest contributes $10/night to the Angama Foundation, which funds projects in Education, Healthcare and Conservation. You can read more about the work they are doing here.
We’ve heard people say “if you can only go to one place in Africa, make it Angama Mara” and we can see why. We would absolutely recommend staying at Angama Mara to anyone who asks. It is a once-in-a-lifetime type of place, with views that rival the very best in the world. The few shortcomings we experienced were partly due to our extremely high expectations, and we didn’t let them affect our stay in any way. We loved the location, the architecture, our safari experience and the incredible feeling of waking up to the sounds of animals that we had never heard before. It was like a step back in time and also a glimpse into more modern African culture. Watching the sunrise over the deck each morning felt like a true fresh start to each day. This kind of experience is why we travel in the first place!
Lastly, here is a video summarizing our trip:
If you have any questions about our stay at Angama Mara, don’t hesitate to ask them in the comments below.
Happy travels,
Maria