East Africa Without the Filter
Posted on February 19, 2026, featured in Experiences
Leonie Taylor-Cook is one of our senior travel experts at Sikeleli Travel and a true East Africa specialist. Having grown up in Uganda and explored every corner of the region by road since childhood, her knowledge runs far deeper than guidebooks. Now based on the Kenyan coast, Leonie brings decades of firsthand experience, local insight, and genuine passion to every itinerary she designs.
“East Africa is always going to be home. Uganda for sure — but all of it. It’s just such a special place to be.”
My story with East Africa starts before I was born. My parents met at university in the UK, finished their degrees, and immediately applied for jobs abroad. They did not particularly care where. They ended up in northern Uganda, on the border of South Sudan, and that is where my brother and I came into the world. By the time I was four we had moved to Kampala for school, and every holiday meant packing the car and driving somewhere fun— be that into Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda or even the Democratic Republic of Congo. That was just life growing up. A really fun place to be, still quite rural, a place where everyone knew each other.
After university, I went to Malaysia for a year to try somewhere new. After twelve months I was missing Africa too much to stay. That told me everything I needed to know. I came home, built a career around Africa, and right now the Kenyan coast is home. There is still so much world out there, but this is where I keep coming back to. These are the things I have learned along the way that I wish more people knew before they started planning.
Masai Mara vs Serengeti: What Nobody Tells You
The Masai Mara and the Serengeti are the same ecosystem with a man-made border through the middle. The ecosystems are the same on either side, offering similar scenery and wildlife! If you are ignoring the migration question, the meaningful difference comes down entirely to how the land is managed.
The Serengeti is a national park, run by the government, with strict rules. In Kenya, surrounding the main Mara reserve, you have private community conservancies. Each conservancy leases its land to a small group of lodges, maybe six properties in one conservancy, and nobody from outside is allowed to drive within it. This gives you things a national park simply cannot: off-road driving, night drives, bush walks, bush dining. If you are travelling with a family, or you want more than just game drives, the Mara conservancies almost always win.
On the migration itself, I will be honest: it is probably the most overrated thing in East Africa. The river crossings happen late July through August and they are genuinely spectacular, but you will share that experience with a lot of other vehicles. That is just the reality. There are camps positioned so you can arrive before the crowds, or even watch the wildebeest cross right from your tent if you get lucky, and those are worth knowing about when you book. But if you simply want incredible wildlife, the Mara or the Serengeti delivers at any time of year.
I spent a week there in November, green season, raining every day, did not see another vehicle, and had extraordinary wildlife encounters every single day. The animals have nowhere else to go when it rain, this is their home!. For anyone visiting for the second time who wants to feel a bit more wild and free, the green season is genuinely worth considering. You might get stuck in the mud or caught in a thunderstorm, yet the adventure and hopefully some amazing photographs make it worth the journey. It might not be right for a first-time visitor with a tick list, but if you want to feel like East Africa really is, it can be one of the best times to visit.
Choosing Your Beach
Zanzibar is still the obvious choice, and it has earnt its reputation. Great beaches, good diving and snorkelling, kite surfing, dhow trips, and Stone Town, which is a genuinely fascinating place to spend a few days. The honest downside is that it has become very busy, a victim of its own success, with new hotels popping up every year. If you want something less crowded, there are some very good hidden options now appearing such as the stunning Fanjove Island or think blue on Pemba Island and of course there is always Mafia Island where I lived for 5 months doing marine conservation work.
On the Kenyan coast I think of three main destinations. Lamu in the far north is for people who really want to switch off. No cars on the island, you move around by boat, golden sand dunes, remarkable sunsets. There is not much to do – pool, book, yoga, sunset dhow trip, fishing, kite surfing – and that is entirely the point. The beaches are fantastic and you can easily stay away from other people.
Watamu is my favourite spot on the Kenyan coast for activities. It is a marine park with good diving and snorkelling, the ancient Gedi ruins nearby, great water sports, and a much less touristed feel. The downside is there is currently only a couple of really good hotels there, but more are coming. The third is Diani, a classic for the Kenyan coast. Still with some fantastic hotels and villas, great restaurants and who can say no to that seven-mile stretch of white sandy beach. Some might say it’s a bit tired but new life is coming and it’s still worth a trip.
My personal favourite for a beach finish in East Africa, if people are open to it, is the Seychelles. I am seriously into diving and the diving there is world-class. There are direct flights from Nairobi, making it a natural pairing with any Kenya itinerary. It has some top luxury offerings and something for everyone, from adventure to private islands, boutique hotels or luxury resorts.
The Place I Wish Everyone Knew About
Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania is one of my favourite parks in all of Africa and almost nobody goes there. Including the national park and game management area, it is almost double the size of the Serengeti and the largest park in Tanzania, but it has only about ten camps in the whole park. On top of this, it is home to around ten percent of all of Africa’s lions making a last strong hold for these amazing animals. You have Miombo woodlands that you simply do not find anywhere else in East Africa, baobabs everywhere, and almost no other tourists, as it’s far from the beaten track.
My favourite lodge there is Ikuka, independently and family owned. Incredible views, brilliant staff and fantastic food wrap is up to be a great offering. Asilia and Nomad both also have great camps in the area such as the uber luxury Jabali Ridge or the brilliant conservation camp Usangu Expedition. If you have done the Mara or Serengeti before and you want something genuinely wild and off the beaten track, Ruaha should be at the top of your list. Chimp trekking in western Tanzania at Mahale or Gombe is the other one I wish more people knew about, following in Jane Goodall’s footsteps, habituated groups, and almost no one else there. It is the most underrated thing in East Africa, full stop.
Genuine Cultural Connection
Unsurprisingly, I am quite fussy about this part of tourism. A lot of organised cultural visits feel performative and I find them uncomfortable. What I usually advise if you’re looking for geunie cultural connection, is to talk to the staff at the properties you stay in. Ninety-nine percent of the time they are all hired from the local area. Chat to your cleaner, the waitstaff, the chefs. They are from that community, they have the best stories, and sometimes it leads to a real connection that no packaged tour can replicate.
For authentic Maasai encounters, I would actually steer people away from the Mara. The communities in Amboseli or Laikipia are much less touched by overtourism. Or go to the Samburu in the north of Kenya, who are still living a very traditional way of life and genuinely love welcoming visitors and have a beautiful culture. That is where you find the real thing.
Leonie’s Signature East Africa Journey
If I could design one trip for any client right now, it would be Uganda and Kenya combined, with a beach finish. Start in western Uganda for the gorillas in Bwindi, and the chimps too if there is time. Then fly into Kenya and head straight to northern Kenya, the Samburu region. Do a helicopter trip up to Lake Turkana or go quad biking with Koros Camp. Come down to the Masai Mara for the big hit wildlife, open plains and the big skies. Then finish on the coast at Watamu or Lamu.
That two-week journey takes you from the green rainforest of Uganda through the desert of northern Kenya to the open plains of the Mara and down to the Indian Ocean. It shows you what East Africa really is, not just the famous postcard version of it. If you only have seven days: focus on gorillas and the Mara. Or chimps, gorillas, and the Mara if you can fit it. The condensed version still changes people completely, more typical tourist route but there is a reason everyone wants to do it.
Ready to experience East Africa at this level?
To start planning your East Africa journey with Leonie: leonie@sikelelitravel.com
