Tsavo & Shimba Hills

Tsavo East and West together form one of the largest protected areas on earth — red earth, baobabs, and elephant herds dusted the colour of the soil. Closer to the coast, the Shimba Hills hold coastal rainforest and Kenya's only sable antelope.

You do not need to choose between beach and safari on the Kenyan coast. Tsavo East's Bachuma gate is about three hours from Malindi — leave at dawn, game drive by breakfast, home for dinner. Stay a night or two inside the park and the safaris deepen: Mzima Springs, the rhino sanctuary, dawns when the cats are still out. Shimba Hills offers the same contrast in miniature, less than an hour from Mombasa.