We went to Kenya on our honeymoon. It really was the holiday of a lifetime and the best holiday we've ever been on.
We stayed in Diani Sea resort, right on the beach, beautiful hotel and they made a real fuss of us which was lovely. We booked through Kuoni in their January sale. Booked 14 nights in the hotel, with a 3 night safari as an addition through Kuoni.
So we had 3 days hotel to chill, then 4 days Safari, then back to the hotel for the final week of the stay. Lovely because we kept our room and our belongings were kept there while we were away.
Safari wise we went to Tsavo East and Tsavo West, 6 hour drive from our hotel. Stayed at Voi lodge the first night, which was so stunning. All of the rooms are perched on a cliff, overlooking a waterhole and facing east, so the most magnificent sunrise, which the lodge staff wake you up to see.
Second night we stayed at Ngulia lodge, which had a terrace that overlooked the waterhole. We saw a baby elephant playing with a football that had been blown over the wall. Sat on the terrace at night wrapped in blankets, bats flying overhead, watching a porcupine chase of a leopard was a highlight.
Final night we stayed at Kilaguni lodge. Rooms were small but really luxurious and the windows in the room were long, thin horizontal ones on the level of the bed. The waterhole was lit overnight so you could lie in bed and watch the animals all night long if you wanted to.
We also did a walking safari through the grasses to a lake with hippos.
The only animal that we didn't see was a rhino, but the driver tried to get us to where one had been spotted but it had moved on when we got there. Saw plenty of elephants, giraffe, zebra, warthogs, wildebeests, impala, wild dogs, leopards, alligators and the like.
We shared a safari van with two other couples and we got on really well, taking it in turns to sit in the larger back seat and everyone was conscious of making the experience pleasant for each other. The driver was brilliant and we really got to know him too. We were well looked after. The only down side was that I got a bad belly on the final day, so the drive home with the trots was tricky, so do take Imodium as they were a lifesaver.
It truly was an amazing experience.
The only spider we saw was in the hotel grounds. We couldn't understand why people never used two particular sun loungers by the pool. Figured it out halfway through the day when DH looked up into the pale tree behind us and saw the enormous web stretched across two trees with a bloody massive bastard in the middle. The passing groundsman said it was a bird eating spider and wouldn't harm us. So we stayed there and Billy the spider became our sun lounger guard.
What was worse then the bugs were the monkeys! Every morning the vervet monkeys skittered across the complex and every evening they skittered back, jumping over you if you were still on your sun lounger. Climbing onto balconies etc. One tried to grab a piece of fruit out of my hand, evil little shits!!