If you are behind
Late is a narrower choice, not a worse trip
What changes is who is doing the choosing — you, or availability.
Itinerary and quote within 24 hoursPlanned on the ground in KenyaNo deposit, no obligation
| Time left | Still comfortable | Now difficult |
|---|---|---|
| 6 months | Nearly everything, including peak season | Only the very best-known camps in the Christmas fortnight |
| 3 months | Shoulder and green season entirely; peak with flexibility | Specific famous camps; a fixed peak date with gorillas |
| 6 weeks | Green season, and peak if you will take what is free | Gorilla permits on fixed dates; the smallest camps |
| 2 weeks | A genuinely good trip, from what remains | Choosing. Availability decides the route. |
What actually runs out, in order
- Gorilla permits on a specific date. First to go and the hardest to work around, because the cap is absolute.
- Small owner-run camps in peak season. Eight tents. They go early because there are eight of them.
- Private vehicles at busy camps, which are a finite resource at each property.
- Sensible flight routings, which is a money problem before it is an availability one.
- Almost nothing else. Shoulder and green season have space at short notice, and they are frequently the better trip anyway.
How to plan late well
- Be flexible on dates before you are flexible on quality. A fortnight either way opens more than dropping a level does.
- Be flexible on region rather than country. If the Mara conservancies are full, Laikipia or Samburu probably are not.
- Take a green-season trip deliberately rather than a compromised peak one — it is cheaper, emptier and genuinely good.
- Send the brief today. The single biggest cost of being late is spending another week deciding to ask.
- Consider delaying the honeymoon itself, which more couples do than admit to it, and which turns a compromised trip into a good one.
What you will get from us if you are late
A straight answer in the first reply about what is actually open on your dates, including if the honest recommendation is to move them or to go somewhere other than the country you had in mind.
That is more useful than an itinerary built from what is left and presented as though it were designed.
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Ready to turn this into a real itinerary?
Send us your dates, who is travelling and roughly what you want to spend per person per night. Our Africa specialist comes back within 24 hours with a plan built around them and a costed quote.