Kenya/Masai Mara with young children?

[Shimmer]

HI all,
Just wondering whether anyone's done a safari with young children? My brother's getting married in Kenya in the summer and wants to do a trip to the Mara for a couple of days after the wedding. I would LOVE to go, but I have a 4 year old and 18 month old, and looking in to it it seems this might not be a great idea with DCs this little!?!

Apart from all the travelling, which I do not think either would particularly enjoy, I'm confused about the malaria risk for them as well.

Can anyone help?

Malaria is a real risk. Check with MASTA but I think it's Malerone for Kenya and I'm not sure if they can take it.
Also, having been on safari a number of times, I should warn you that you have to be out by 6 every morning to see much and that a drive of four hours might only produce half an hour of viewing broken into five minute segments. What would the DCs do for the rest of the time and would they care about looking at the animals anyway?

The kids might enjoy the coast more.

We are going this summer, but my kids will be 15 & 20! The brochures we had all state no safari trips for under 7s though. You may have to book into one of the Mara Lodges and just watch the local wildlife?

We will be taking Malarone. They do do a Paediatric version.

The MAra is malarial.

Malerone is advised, and there is a paediatric one. I haven't ever had to give it to my children, htough, and probably owuld choose not to (ie not go)

thereis no way children that oyung would be interested in safari game drives.

I did go on a drive once, and htere was another couple with a young child (probably aged abot 5), and he was bored rigid. as other posters have said, you are out early, in a none-too-luxurious vehicle, for hours at a time.

whereabouts is your brother getting married?

there would be possibilities for other places - eg the Serena Lodge at Tsavo has a very good waterhole, so you could stay thereand see the wildlife with oyur children (nb, I have stayed htere with children, but they were 10/11 ish. check with the lodge to see if they accept guests that young)

likewise Lewa tented camp and sweetwaters are also great - lots of opportunities to see wildlife at the lodge.

The Mara is definitely malarial. There is no way I would take a child under 7 on safari. You are up at 5am for a 4 hour drive in a 4x4 across bumpy ground. I really doubt you would even get a child seat to fit most of the trucks. It is dusty and hot. They will get sand in all their cracks and crevices!

I think your only option is the coast or as others have suggested, a lodge with a waterhole.

We are going to Kenya in August, it will be the first time we have been on safari, in fact the first time we have travelled anywhere where jabs are needed. Our dd's will be 11 & 9, we have booked a 2 night masai mara safari with first choice and the minimum age for the safari we have booked is 7, we looked at longer safaris but the travel agent recommended a short safari as it can be very tiring. We are staying in Mombasa for most of the time.

No. Not child friendly. I have stayed in the Masai Mara and will go back but only when children are old enough to appreciate the experience and have fully developed immune systems and bodies better able to cope with potential illness/ vaccines/treatment.

I would never ever recommend that someone who does not know the area really well and can prepare thoroughly, take small children. Never.

I have been on a kenyan safari and beach holiday and would not recommend the safari for children this age.
I think there is little chance even the older one will remember the holiday experience.
The roads in kenya are quite hairy with odd places where the drivers have to swerve off due to pot holes etc. you could fly into the mara but even then I doubt they would have car seats etc for the game drives. there would be no nappy changing facilities etc. As well as having to take tablets for malaria there is the risk of getting a bad stomach bug. My husband and I were both very unwell for a short period when we were on our holiday.
I think safaris are a wonderful experience for older children (probably teenagers) but would not risk taking children so young on this type of holiday.
Where is your brother getting married? Having travelled all that way maybe you could treat yourselves to a nice stay in one of the beach resorts. We went to turtle bay beach club near malindi which was nice or maybe with children you would be better off nearer mombassa where there would probably be more in the way of medical services. I think there may be one game reserve (tsavo maybe) that is nearer the coast and maybe it would be possible to do a short trip there from a beach resort.

tsavo is a good 3 hours or so from mombasa, and I would not recommned the drive, tbh.

neither owuld I recommend staying in Mombasa. horrible, horrible place, and none too safe.

the resorts are ok, I guess.

the likelihood of stomach bugs etc is very real, althoguh again you should be ok in the reputable resorts/hotels.

I would not recommend too much driving about - the roads are awful, and the driving worse.

Gosh. That's a pretty resounding 'NO' to the Mara then. I'm very torn as my family are desperate for us to come and, as some live in Kenya, can't understand what all the fuss is about!

Many thanks for your opinions!!

We have just returned from Kenya - we in fact left our boys behind as wanted abit of a break but after being there would have been quite happy for children to have been with us. We did the tsavo safari and there were loads of small children on it. They had car seats in the jeeps. We have done lots of travelling with our boys and taken them away to far away places from 3 months of age. Malarone is perfectly safe fo children. I would recommend aswell some of the lovely beach resorts near Mombasa. I would not be too put off - many people travel with young children and it is a matter of opinion rather than straight yes or no.

DC have both asked to go on a safari. DD(9) loves animals and big cats are her favourite and DS(6) wants to do the hot air balloon ride over the plains at sunrise. I've been before but DH hasn't. Do you think they'd be too young still at that age? It would be next year so they'd be 10 & 7 then. Both capable of sitting still and understand the need to be quiet. Though I wouldn't want to risk their health.

We did a three day Mara safari last year, when our youngest was 9.

I agree with what's been said about the unsuitability for young children - two days would have been plenty, in our case.

You'd probably be okay with a 7yo, but it is very tiring and you can't stop for loo/snack breaks, so you're in a very rickety van with dodgy seatbelts (standing up a lot of the time) for a good three or four hour stretch.

Just check with the safari provider - many will not take children under a certain age - but they may have childcare for you whilst you go on safari yourselves.

Having been on safari, its an amazing experience but I wouldn't take a 4 year old and 18 month old- I don't think they would appreciate it , its hours sitting in a vehicle and you cannot get out and run around in an area with wild animals on the loose. we were in open topped jeeps and it was brilliant but not for an 18 month old!

I wouldn't take an 18 month old on safari. We did, in Swaziland, & basically had to take turns to stay in the camp with her, pacing around a dusty campsite... It was not thrilling. Children under 12 were not allowed out of the camp except on self-drives.

My DH is Kenyan and used to be a safari guide at Cottars in the Mara.

Malerone is ok for children over 11kg (or something like that) so provided your 18 month old is heavy enough that should be ok. You'll all need Yellow Fever certs as well and I think typhoid, hep A one other I forget....

DH is saying the road into the Mara is not the best with small DC so you would need to fly in/out (charter flight probably from Wilson or there are 2 scheduled services/day depending on which lodge/camp you are looking at).

He also says it depends on if you are going in a family group ie. only you and your family on your game drives or if you will be with other people. Becuase you will need some flexibility with the times of the game drives and also your DC might have had enough after 1hr of sitting in a vehicle which is usually very open sided and not being able to get out etc!

Normal game drive times would be 6.30am-9am and then again in the afternoon 4-6.30pm roughly. If there are other people going on the game drives they will set the times - if you are in a high end camp / big enough group for 1 vehicle you may have some flexibility with this.

DH says it's rare to see children under 5 in the luxury camps - it's a v expensive trip and children under school age will not appreciate it hence not a lot of people bother. He does say local families with their own vehicles would be more common though than people bringing young DC from overseas so it must be do-able!

BUT seeing as you are already in the country it's not like you are making a special trip and a couple of days isn't too long... Perhaps you and DH could alternate who goes on the game drive and the other one stays in the camp with the kids?

Please bear in mind I really don't think any of the camps will be geared up for young children so you will have to bring some entertainment - if you are flying in/out you will be very limited with luggage.

If you can tell me which lodge/camp your brother is thinking of I can ask DH more. I would really suggest a lodge rather than a "camp" and would not recommend actual camping with such young DC in Africa.

Someone will now come along and say they do it all the time and it's fine