Rates: From $1,500 per person, per night, including accommodation, meals, two safari drives per day, and transfers to and from the airstrip
The Afar take
The Masai Mara, Kenya’s most-visited safari destination, is famous for its open savannas and high concentrations of big game, including wildebeest, lions, and elephants. Laikipia, by contrast, offers a more intimate safari experience defined by its ecological diversity, lower vehicle density, and a conservation model built largely outside the national park system—a key reason we included the region on our Where to Go in 2026 list.
In July 2025, the conservation-minded safari operator andBeyond opened Suyian Lodge on the 44,000-acre Suyian Conservancy, marking its first foray into Laikipia after years of operating in the Masai Mara at Bateleur Camp and Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp. The 14-room lodge, backed by a parent company with a long track record in conservation-led tourism, is a notable arrival in a region where private and community conservancies play an outsize role in wildlife protection, often with fewer visitors and less infrastructure than Kenya’s better-known reserves.
Laikipia’s ecological variety offers habitat for several rare and endangered species, among them melanistic (black) leopards; however, sightings of them are not the main reason to visit, nor something to expect. Some researchers estimate the population of melanistic leopards to be about 10 individuals across all of the roughly New Jersey–sized Laikipia County.
The region’s real appeal is its varied landscapes, including rivers, acacia woodlands, rocky kopjes, and open plains, which support Grevy’s zebras, African wild dogs, and reticulated giraffes. As a wildlife lover, I valued how off the beaten path Laikipia still seems; it’s a place where you can linger with your guide to watch a cinnamon-chested bee-eater or broad-billed roller rather than compete with other vehicles for Big Five sighting.
Suyian Lodge rewards patient travelers with epic wildlife experiences.
Courtesy of andBeyond Suyian Lodge
Who Suyian Lodge is for
Suyian Lodge is best for safarigoers who value creature comforts (locally inspired design, cuisine that reflects regional influences) as much as they value the creatures themselves. Because tourism is still relatively low on the Suyian Conservancy, animals here are less habituated than in other parts of East Africa, rewarding patient wildlife lovers who rely on the tracking skills of expert guides for intimate encounters, often with no other vehicles in sight.
The experience particularly suits wildlife connoisseurs—the nerdy kind who get as excited about spotting rare subspecies and endemic birds as they do the more charismatic attention-grabbers, like lions and elephants. Standouts here include endangered Grevy’s zebras, which are stockier and more mule-like than their plains cousins, with denser striping, and gerenuks, a species of antelope with remarkably long and slender necks.
Who it isn’t for
Suyian Lodge is not ideal for first-time (or perhaps even second-time) safarigoers. Wildlife sightings here are less predictable, and you may not see the Big Five. If your goal is to spot massive herds of wildebeest and zebras crossing rivers and dodging crocodiles, this is unlikely to be the right fit. That same unpredictability, however, is what gives the experience its sense of exclusivity.
Travelers seeking andBeyond’s signature high-touch luxury on their first African safari (say, for a honeymoon or a major milestone trip) may find more reliable game viewing at the company’s camps in the Masai Mara or across the border in Tanzania’s Serengeti.
The Suyian Conservancy is one of Kenya’s less-visited wildlife areas.
Courtesy of andBeyond Suyian Lodge
The location: Laikipia, Kenya
About 140 miles north of Nairobi, Laikipia County encompasses a plateau that straddles the equator and sits along the eastern escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. Long dominated by ranching rather than tourism, it’s emerging as an important destination for responsible ecotourism. Suyian is the first lodge to open within the 44,000-acre Suyian Conservancy, privately managed land that was formerly a sheep farm and then a family-owned cattle ranch.
Guests typically arrive via scheduled light aircraft flights from Nairobi to Loisaba Airstrip (flight times vary depending on other stops), followed by a one-hour vehicle transfer. It’s also possible to arrive by road in a 4x4 vehicle from Nairobi, a trip of about five hours.
The region’s real appeal is its varied landscapes, including rivers, acacia woodlands, rocky kopjes, and open plains, which support Grevy’s zebras, African wild dogs, and reticulated giraffes.
Suyian Lodge’s 14 standalone suites are set on a cliffside.
Courtesy of andBeyond Suyian Lodge
The rooms at Suyian Lodge
Suyian Lodge’s 14 standalone suites are built along a cliffside, offering panoramic views across the conservancy. Villa-like in scale, accommodations include 13 standard suites (about 1,900 square feet) and one larger family suite (2,200 square feet). They have an organic design that seems closely tied to the local vernacular architecture. Each suite comprises a series of domed, round rooms, finished with lime plaster walls, warm timber accents, and arched doorways; decor leans toward natural materials, from hair-on cowhide rugs to earth-tone baskets and pottery.
A fireplace anchors the main seating area, while the bathroom has a window-front soaking tub and indoor and outdoor showers, the former set beneath a sun-warmed skylight. Outside, stone cladding and turf roofs help the buildings blend into the escarpment. I spent lazy afternoons in the private infinity plunge pool, watching elephants graze on the plains below and Mount Kenya on the horizon, listening to rare songbirds in the trees overhead.
The food and drink
The culinary program at andBeyond kicks off well before sunrise with predawn snacks, coffee, and tea so guests can fuel up in advance of morning game drives. Upon our return to camp each day, we’d have a proper breakfast: an elaborate buffet of carved ham and baked goods served in the shared kitchen alongside à la carte dishes ranging from Western staples (omelettes, waffles) to East African–influenced specialties such as Ethiopian-spiced butter beans.
At lunch, platters of shared small plates arrived, drawing on international flavors: sweet corn fritters with tomato relish, sticky pork belly lollipops, mini beef and Guinness pies, cauliflower bao buns—with each day bringing a different assortment. Dinner is a multicourse affair that is more formal but still unfussy. Look for beef dishes made with cattle raised on the conservancy, and don’t skip the Kenyan cheese course, which works well as an unexpected dessert.
Throughout my stay, the team filled my days with unique and interactive culinary experiences: a seated breakfast out in the bush; sundowners under a towering acacia tree dotted with basketlike social weaver nests; and even a “Swahili night,” during which cooks taught us how to roll out our own chapati and make other recipes from the Indian-influenced food traditions of Kenya’s coast.
Outdoor dining at Suyian Lodge comes with candlelight and a live wildlife soundtrack.
Courtesy of andBeyond Suyian Lodge
Staff and service
Safaris live or die by the quality of the guides, and the one leading my game drives, Tele, was exceptional. Methodical and patient, he broke down the mechanics of tracking, including what to watch for, listen to, and even smell in the air (leopard urine, he noted, has an uncanny resemblance to buttered popcorn). In a conservancy where wildlife is less abundant or immediately visible, that level of engagement made sightings, including a black leopard, more rewarding and hard-earned.
Tele also led a walking safari, during which we moved silently on foot, spotting plants and birds we might have missed from a vehicle. He periodically shook an ash bag into the air to ensure we weren’t downwind of dangerous animals, and we listened for the grumble of an elephant’s stomach or the snort of a buffalo’s nostrils to keep us out of harm’s way.
The lodge also offers opportunities to engage with local communities on the conservancy, though these experiences felt uneven during my visit. A stop in a Samburu village included a warm welcome and traditional song and dance but lacked sufficient structure and context, resulting in long stretches of waiting, though I suspect that the guided experience will sharpen as time goes on. On another experience with cattle herders who were tagging calves, Tele did a great job explaining the environmental benefits of regenerative land management. But the hands-on nature of the activity unsettled some guests. I found it informative, if chaotic, but it may not appeal to more sensitive travelers.
On-site amenities
Beyond the guest rooms, public spaces include a lodge pool with sunken daybeds; a library and map room where you can sit with a book by the fireplace; a well-equipped gym that also hosts sunrise or sunset yoga sessions; a wellness center offering massages and other spa treatments; a shop selling ethically sourced fashion, jewelry, and decor items; and a mini museum stocked with skulls, shells, pottery, and ancient stone tools.
Accessibility
The cliffside suites at Suyian Lodge are reached via uneven staircases, and none of the rooms is wheelchair accessible. Most travelers reach the property on tiny light aircraft, which are also not conducive to people with mobility issues, and the safari vehicles here will not accommodate wheelchairs.
Make a trip of it
The “Fly Me Around East Africa” package from andBeyond starts at $9,520 for seven nights. Participating lodges include Bateleur Camp in the Masai Mara, Lake Manyara Tree Lodge in Lake Manyara National Park (known for its tree-climbing lions), and, across the border in Tanzania, Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge, Klein’s Camp, and Serengeti Under Canvas. Be sure to spend a couple of extra nights in the vibrant capital of Nairobi, where a thriving dining scene includes South American–inspired cuisine at Cultiva in the Karen neighborhood, founded by Ecuador-born chef Ariel Moscardi, and Ankole Grill in Kitisuru, which serves classic East African dishes, including West African chicken jollof rice with fried plantains.
