Length
An even split is the wrong answer
Five and five sounds balanced. It gives you three real safari days.
Why five and five fails
Five safari nights sounds generous until you spend them across two parks. Arrival day is half a day. The move between parks is half a day at best. Departure day is half a day. You are left with three full days of game viewing out of five nights paid for.
Four nights in one park gives you three full days and two half days — the same game viewing, one fewer night, no travel day, and a lower bill.
| Safari nights | Parks | Full days of game viewing |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | 3 | 4 — do not do this |
How much beach
More than you think. The beach half costs far less per night than the safari half, so extra nights there are cheap, and it is the part that sends you home rested.
Three nights is the minimum for it to feel like anything. Five is where people stop checking their email. Nobody has ever come back and said the beach was too long.
If you only have eight nights
One in Nairobi, four on safari in a single park, three on the coast. Do not try to fit two parks in; you will spend a day moving and arrive at the beach needing it more than you can use it.
If you have fourteen
One Nairobi, seven safari across two contrasting parks, six on the coast. Resist the third park. Two done well, plus a proper rest, beats three done at a jog.
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