Amboseli Elephants Safari
Photo Safari in Amboseli National Park
Join us in February 2027 and September 2027 on a seven-day tour to photograph the elephants and tuskers at Amboseli.
This Amboseli elephants safari has been designed so that we can view and photograph the crossings of elephant families over a dry lake bed, as well as photograph Amboseli’s famous big tuskers. Over seven days, we will maximise our opportunities to gather a large and varied portfolio of elephant images.
We’ve chosen the best times of the year too. February and September are when the lake beds are driest and when the long lines of elephant families venture daily from the forests to the swamps and back.
During our seven days on the Amboseli elephants safari, we spend our time on the dry lake bed where we can disembark our vehicles to await the elephant families to pass by.
Our central location also allows access to the Kitirua and Elephant Garden conservancies. There, we will seek out any of Amboseli’s famous tuskers, including Michael and Tee-Jay, two of Amboseli’s impressive tuskers. All in all, we are gifted with ten drives in total.
We stay in luxury accommodation and we work with proven driver guides who possess what seems to be unlimited experience of Amboseli. Our vehicles are specially adapted to accommodate photographers, with each photographer being allocated one full row of seats.
To reserve your spot on our Amboseli Elephants Safari email me at email@davidlloyd.net
Combine two wildlife tours
You can combine this tour with the Great Migration Photo Safari
The Big Cat safari in February and the Great Migration Safari in September immediately proceed or follow our Amboseli Elephants Safari. You can combine both for an unforgettable 14-day wildlife experience, which includes a total of 13 days in the parks and 22 drives. Please see below for a special cost which incorporates both tours.
Amboseli Elephants Safari Highlights
Elephant Photography
Photographers of all levels are welcome. We are professional photographers with great experience in the field as well as in guiding and photographic instruction. Each photography safari tour offers a small client-leader ratio that allows for personal attention and customised guidance on how to capture the best wildlife photography.
Other Animals in Amboseli
While elephants are absolutely our prime objective in Amboseli, other wildlife awaits us too. Expect to see gerenuk, cheetah, lions, as well as antelope, zebra and giraffe.
Safari Guides and Drivers
Our safari guides and drivers are renowned and well-known in both the Maasai Mara and Amboseli National Park and have more than fifteen years of guiding and driving experience. They have particular experience driving photographers so they know just what to expect from us.
Safari Vehicles
We use vehicles adapted for photography. Each photographer has a whole row of seats in the vehicle, to maximise opportunity and space.
Hotel Accommodation
We stay in luxury accommodations throughout our safari, including our initial stay in Nairobi and for each of our stays in the parks. Good dining accompanies the accommodation and the rooms are large with separate bedrooms, bathrooms and balconies.
Image Reviews and Tuition
After our morning drives, we offer tuition on photographic techniques and post-processing. We also host image review sessions in a more formal setting during the week. Our goal is for you to make the most out of your experience and to take home pictures of elephants you’ve long desired.
Where we go during the Amboseli Elephants Safari
Amboseli National Park
Amboseli National Park is located in Loitoktok District, Rift Valley Province of Kenya.
In the early 1990’s ceaseless rain changed Amboseli into a swamp. A few years later the rains failed and the grass-covered plains turned to dust.
Amboseli is 39,206 hectares in size at the core of an 8,000 square kilometres ecosystem that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border and is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants among other wildlife species.
Other attractions of the park include spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
Kitirua and Elephant Gardens Conservancies
In addition to exploring Amboseli National Park, we have access to Kitirua Conservancy on its western edge. Kitirua includes part of the vast dry lake bed that forms one of the most distinctive landscapes in the Amboseli ecosystem. This is our principal photographic area, offering opportunities to photograph elephant herds and big tuskers crossing the open, pale lake bed against an immense and uncluttered backdrop.
We also have access to Elephant Garden Conservancy on the eastern side of the Amboseli ecosystem, close to Kimana Gate. The area is regularly used by some of Amboseli’s famous large-tusked bulls and provides a contrasting environment in which to photograph elephants away from the open lake bed, among acacia woodland and more varied habitat.
Where we stay
Nairobi Serena Hotel
Our first night is spent at the Nairobi Serena Hotel, ideally located in the heart of the city beside Central Park. Set within landscaped gardens, the hotel offers comfortable rooms, restaurants, a swimming pool and spa, providing a relaxed and convenient base for our first night in Kenya before we travel to Amboseli the following morning.
Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge
Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge is ideally located in the heart of Amboseli National Park, surrounded by wildlife-rich plains and with views towards Mount Kilimanjaro. Its central location gives us excellent access to Amboseli’s swamps and elephant herds, while the dry lake bed in Kitirua Conservancy, our principal photographic location, is around a 30-minute drive away. We also remain within easy reach of the eastern areas of the Amboseli ecosystem frequented by some of its famous big tuskers.
The lodge offers comfortable Maasai-inspired rooms with private balconies, together with extensive gardens, providing an ideal base for our seven days of photography in Amboseli.
How Do I Book?
Our Amboseli Elephants Safari tour group is small (6-8 participants) so space will be limited. To reserve your spot on this tour please contact me.
Dates and Costs 2027
February 2027 – 7 Day Itinerary
1st – 7th February – (open)
The cost of this all-inclusive Safari is $8200 per person
Bookings are secured with a 20% deposit per person,
with the balance being required 90 days before.
An optional single supplement is available at $1800 extra.
The Amboseli Elephants can be linked to our 7-day Big Cat Photo Safari
September 2027 – 7 Day Itinerary
19th – 25th September – (open)
The cost of this all-inclusive Safari is $9200 per person
Bookings are secured with a 20% deposit per person,
with the balance being required 90 days before.
An optional single supplement is available at $1800 extra.
The Amboseli Elephants can be linked to our 7-day Great Migration Photo Safari
Financial Protection
Your deposit is used to secure your accommodations, internal flights, hotel transfers and park permits, many of which require early payment.
Payments for all safaris are made through Shona Travel which means you have the financial protection of booking through a registered tour operator. Your money is 100% safe and if one of our suppliers goes bust, your money is fully protected. Shona Travel can also book your flights for full financial protection. Please download our terms and conditions here.
Amboseli Elephants Photo Safari
What’s Included
All accommodation in hotels and lodges
All internal flights
All airport transfers
All meals at lodges
All park fees
Exclusive vehicles and qualified driver guides
Some alcoholic and all non-local alcoholic beverages
What’s not Included
International flights
Kenya e-visa
Tips and gratuities for camp staff and guides
Amboseli Elephants Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Nairobi
Transfer from JKIA airport to Nairobi Serena Hotel, rest of the day at leisure with overnight stay.
Day 2: Amboseli National Park and conservancies
9:00am charter flight to Amboseli, lunch and afternoon drive with overnight at Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge.
Day 3 : Amboseli National Park and conservancies
Morning and afternoon drives to the dry lake bed and optional conservancies with overnight at Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge.
Day 4 : Amboseli National Park and conservancies
As Day 3.
Day 5 : Amboseli National Park and conservancies
As Day 3.
Day 6 : Amboseli National Park and conservancies
As Day 3.
Day 7: Amboseli National Park and Nairobi
Morning drive then 2:00pm transfer to Nairobi Serena Hotel.
Your Guides
We are a small team of award-winning wildlife photographers and experienced photography tutors in the field of natural history. We have won wildlife photography awards in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature’s Best and GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and our work is published regularly. Our photographic experience extends back to the days of film, paper and manual focus cameras.
David Lloyd
David Lloyd is an exhibiting wildlife photographer, having won awards for his work which favours a fine art style in both colour and black & white. David has been awarded six times in Wildlife Photographer of the Year. In 2011, his image A Flick of the Tail was chosen as the cover of that year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year portfolio.
His images have been published widely in the press and several photographic monthlies, in both the UK and abroad. David also holds exhibitions of his work, most recently at the Royal Geographic Society in London. He is the author of two wildlife photography books: As Long As There Are Animals and All Eyes Speak One Language. Visit David’s wildlife photography gallery for other wildlife photography and more.
Sammy Kaleku
Sammy Kaleku is a proud Maasai that grew up herding his family’s cattle. But Sammy wanted to do more, to be more, without losing his proud Maasai culture and tradition. He began working as a driver guide at camps in the Maasai Mara. In the past nine years he honed these skills and became one of the most sought after driver guides in the Maasai Mara working with some of the best international photographers.
In 2017 Sammy became an independent guide and started his own company Kazuri Photo Safaris. Sammy’s expertise now extends beyond the Maasai Mara to northern Kenya and of course to Amboseli. He found an innate photographic aptitude but Sammy’s best skill is how to get a good photograph. He knows how to position a vehicle that will be the optimum for photographers to make the best of prevailing conditions to get that photo you always wanted.
I am proud to say that I was Sammy’s first client in the Maasai Mara all those years ago, and he was my first driver there too. I’ve seen Sammy grow from a keen Maasai beginning his journey to one of the most popular driver guides in Kenya today. You will no doubt enjoy his knowledge and infectious company.