Where to stay in Kenya: the best safari areas and beaches

The Masai Mara is the Kenya of every wildlife documentary: rolling golden grassland, flat-topped acacias, lions, leopards and cheetahs, and, from roughly July to October, the vast herds of the Great Migration plunging across the crocodile-filled Mara River. It's spectacular in any month.

The lodges are as memorable as the game. Mara Serena sits high on a hill at the centre of the Mara Triangle, gazing down to the hippo-filled river. Fairmont Mara Safari Club is wrapped on three sides by the Mara River in a conservation area at the foot of the Aitong Hills, Neptune Mara Rianta has tents on the riverbank above a hippo pool, and Olare Mara Kempinski has just 12 tents for a quiet, exclusive stay.

Most safaris start in Nairobi, and it deserves more than a night. Nairobi National Park, with lions and rhinos against a backdrop of skyscrapers, is just outside the city, and the leafy suburb of Karen has the Karen Blixen Museum and the giraffe centre. Westlands, the commercial hub, has the restaurants and nightlife.

The Fairmont Norfolk is an early 20th-century colonial landmark set among tropical gardens in the city centre. Gem Forest, an MGallery hotel, sits on the edge of Karura Forest with an infinity pool, and the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden has cottages a short walk from the museum and ten minutes' drive from the national park. In Westlands, the Hyatt Regency has rooms and apartments.

Lake Naivasha is the Rift Valley at its most relaxed: a freshwater lake fringed with yellow fever trees and papyrus, full of hippos and birdlife, with Hell's Gate National Park nearby for cycling and walking among zebras and giraffes. It's a short drive from Nairobi, which makes it ideal for a first taste of the bush or a break on the way to the Mara.

The Lake Naivasha Country Club opened in the 1930s as a stop for Imperial Airways' flying boats, and its colonial cottages still sit on lawns shaded by acacias. Enashipai is a stylish resort with a spa, and the Karen Blixen Camp offers front-row views of elephants, giraffes and zebras coming to drink, with hippos in the river.

North of Naivasha, the Rift Valley floor is studded with soda lakes. Lake Nakuru National Park, famous for flamingos and a stronghold for rhinos, is about two hours from Nairobi; nearby Lake Elmenteita draws birds in their hundreds of thousands.

Sarova Lion Hill sits on a hillside inside the park with views over the flamingo-fringed lake. On the shore of Lake Elmenteita, the small Serena Camp offers an intimate five-star tented safari, and Sentrim Elementaita Lodge is a minute's drive from the lake with a pool and spa tub. Panari Resort, near Nakuru town, has an indoor pool and spa.

Africa's second-highest mountain rises above a patchwork of forest, farmland and private conservancies, where wildlife numbers can rival the national parks without the minibus crowds. Ol Pejeta, on the Laikipia plateau, is renowned for its rhinos.

The Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, set in its own wildlife conservancy, is one of the country's most storied retreats, all lawns, mountain views and old-world style. Sweetwaters Serena Camp sits around a waterhole inside Ol Pejeta, so the animals come to you.

The north is a different Kenya: arid, red-earthed and dramatic, with the Ewaso Nyiro River drawing wildlife to its banks. Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba reserves are home to the so-called Special Five, the gerenuk, beisa oryx, reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra and Somali ostrich, alongside elephants and big cats.

Ashnil Samburu Camp lines its 30 tents along the shady riverbank beneath Ol Olokwe mountain, with a pool for the hot afternoons. Surana Buffalo Springs overlooks the meeting of two rivers, and Sarova Shaba Game Lodge sits deep in the reserve beneath the dormant volcano that gives it its name.

Kenya's coast is the perfect place to recover from early game drives. Diani, south of Mombasa, is the star: a long white beach lined with palms, with reefs offshore and a relaxed strip of restaurants. North of the city, the beaches around Mombasa are busier, with big family resorts and easy trips into the historic Old Town.

Diani Reef sprawls over 34 acres right on the beach, and Pinewood is a romantic boutique resort on the shore with fine food. Sarova Whitesands, on a long sandy beach just outside Mombasa, suits families with its excursions and pools, and Diamonds Leisure adds golf to its private beach.

North of Mombasa, Malindi and Watamu have a slower, more intimate feel, with a long Italian connection that shows up in the cafés and restaurants. Watamu, especially, is lovely: powder-white coves, a marine park for snorkelling and Mida Creek's mangroves for sunset dhow trips.

Visiwa Beach Resort faces the Island of Love on one of Watamu's best-known beaches, and Hemingways Watamu is a beachfront favourite with two pools. In Malindi, Lion in the Sun is a 16-suite spa retreat for guests aged 12 and over, while Diamonds Dream of Africa offers all-inclusive stays and three pools.