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Kenya group journeys, 12 to 14 days, built around who you are.

Travel that
leaves a mark.

Safari at its most extraordinary, paired with a community project your group funds, builds and completes alongside Kenyan partners.

Design your group's trip See how it works
  • Kenyan-owned and Kenyan-led
  • Vetted local partners
  • Full fundraising toolkit

Built for your group

  • University departments and clubs
  • Athletic teams
  • High school seniors
  • Churches and faith groups
  • Nursing and medical cohorts

The elephant in the room.
We turned it pink on purpose.

There are things the world sees and quietly looks away from. Children who need more than they are being given. Communities with more talent and resilience than resources. Young people on both sides of the ocean searching for a reason to care.

These are the pink elephants. Impossible to miss. Easy to walk past. In African folklore a pink elephant is not a problem to be managed, it is a wonder: rare, extraordinary, the kind of thing that stops you in your tracks.

Pink Elephants are rare. That is the point.

Most people will think about doing something meaningful and return to their ordinary lives. A Pink Elephant is the person who actually goes: commits to the project, does the fundraising, boards the flight, and comes home with a story and a change in someone else's life they can point to and say, that's mine.

We exist for the people who don't walk past. Come be a Pink Elephant.

Travel to Africa is abundant. Travel that matters is rare.

Plenty of people want to do something meaningful while they are in Kenya. The options on offer rarely let them.

Volunteer-tourism programmes

Transactional and industrial. A traveller arrives, ticks a box and leaves. Community impact is marginal at best, performative at worst.

Standard safari operators

Spectacular wildlife, but social good is an afterthought, if it appears at all. Nothing your group builds together.

Mission trips and one-off brigades

Great intentions, thin travel and project infrastructure. Logistically fragile, hard to repeat, hard to measure.

Pink Elephant fills the gap

  • A trip designed for your group, not pulled off a shelf
  • Project days and safari days woven together
  • A specific, costed project your group funds before it lands
  • Kenyan-owned, with vetted, community-led partners

Five things we do differently

Tailored by group identity

International relations students get a youth leadership project. A girls' soccer team gets a Kenyan girls' team to train with. Nursing groups run a medical camp. Every trip is designed around who is coming.

Interleaved, not segmented

Project work and safari are woven together, not two trips bolted end to end. Your group recovers, reflects and returns to the project with fresh energy. No burn-and-dash volunteering.

Fundraise first, arrive as investors

Your group raises money for a specific, identified project before it arrives. By the time you land you are not tourists doing charity, you are champions delivering something you built.

Vetted, local, lasting partners

We work with properly governed, community-led Kenyan organisations that can show ongoing impact. No drop-in orphanage visits. Real work with real accountability.

Full-service support

From fundraising toolkit to child protection policy to post-trip impact report, we give your group lead everything needed to run this confidently from their end.

Partnership, not "giving back"

No guilt and no saviour framing. Travellers arrive as learners and contributors. Kenyan partners lead the work. Everyone leaves changed.

From first call to impact report

One founder-led process. You bring the group and the commitment. We bring the trip, the partners and the infrastructure.

  1. 1

    Tell us about your group

    A 20-minute call. We learn who you are, what you care about and when you can travel. No booking, no pressure.

  2. 2

    We design your trip

    You receive a tailored concept: itinerary, safari mix, and a costed project matched to your group's identity and values.

  3. 3

    Your group takes ownership

    Your group lead runs fundraising and recruitment with our project brief, toolkit, preparation materials and deposit schedule.

  4. 4

    Land, build, explore

    Interleaved project and safari days, with a Pink Elephant founder on the ground and your Kenyan partner leading the work.

  5. 5

    Impact handover day

    The project is completed and celebrated with the community. Funds and materials are formally handed over and documented.

  6. 6

    Report and what's next

    A formal impact report within 60 days, and a video update from your partner six months on. Then, if you like, the next group.

Four trips. One principle: built for you.

Each starting template is fully customisable. Pick the one closest to your group and we will shape it from there.

Package A: international relations, global affairs and social science students

A field-research experience, not a field trip

Six days embedded with a youth policy and advocacy organisation in Nairobi, then safari and cultural immersion in Amboseli and the Maasai Mara. Students leave with field research experience, a completed community project and perspective a classroom cannot give.

The project
Youth leadership, civic engagement and community development with a Nairobi partner organisation.
The exchange
Cross-learning sessions with Kenyan university students, short lectures and peer conversations.

Ideal for: International relations, global affairs, political science, global health, sociology and women's studies departments and clubs.

Ask about this trip

Sample trip rhythm

13 days on the ground, 12 nights.

See a full sample itinerary The Scholar, day by day. Every real itinerary is customised.
  1. 1

    Arrive in Nairobi

    Airport transfer, orientation, welcome dinner and a briefing on your project partner.

  2. 2

    Nairobi in context

    A community-arranged Kibera walking tour with a local guide, the Nairobi National Museum, evening reflection.

  3. 3

    Project begins

    Embedded with your partner organisation on youth leadership, civic engagement and community development.

  4. 4

    Project and a Maasai cultural evening

    Continued project work, then an evening with a local Maasai community.

  5. 5

    Fieldwork and skills exchange

    Documentation, fieldwork and a skills exchange with Kenyan peers.

  6. 6

    To Amboseli

    Train or road to Amboseli, then an afternoon game drive with Kilimanjaro behind you.

  7. 7

    Amboseli

    Full-day game drives among elephant herds, a Maasai village visit, and reflection on the project so far.

  8. 8

    To the Maasai Mara

    Drive or fly to camp, with an evening game drive.

  9. 9

    Maasai Mara

    A full day in the Mara with the Big Five in mind. Hot-air balloon available as an optional extra.

  10. 10

    Back to Nairobi

    Re-engage with your partner to finalise the project and prepare the handover.

  11. 11

    Impact day

    Project completion, a community celebration, documentation and handover of materials and funds.

  12. 12

    Reflection and farewell

    Group debrief, the Maasai Market, an optional Giraffe Centre visit and a farewell dinner.

  13. 13

    Departure

    Transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Kenya, all of it

We have no destination restrictions. We choose where your group goes based on who you are, the season, and where your project is.

Maasai Mara

Iconic. The best place in Kenya for lions, leopards and the Big Five, with the wildebeest migration from July to October.

Amboseli

Some of Africa's best elephant sightings, under Kilimanjaro. Year-round.

Samburu

Grevy's zebra and reticulated giraffe. Remote, authentic, and home to strong community partners.

Laikipia

Rhino sanctuaries and community-run conservancies. Conservation and community, side by side.

Tsavo

Kenya's largest park. Red elephants, huge skies and far fewer vehicles.

Nakuru and Naivasha

Flamingos, rhinos, hippos and Hell's Gate by bike. Easy from Nairobi.

The coast

Diani, Watamu, Mombasa Old Town and Lamu. Recovery days and Swahili culture.

Nairobi

Lions against a city skyline in Nairobi National Park. The David Sheldrick elephant orphanage, the Giraffe Centre, the Karen Blixen Museum, the Maasai Market and cross-learning sessions with Kenyan university students.

Also on the table

The Aberdares, Mount Kenya, Lamu and beyond. Tell us what your group wants to experience and we will build around it.

When to go: winter break (December to January) or summer (May to August). High school groups travel after graduation, June to August.

Impact you can point to

Travellers arrive as investors, not spectators. Before your group lands, it has funded a specific project, connected with the partner behind it, and committed to the result.

Before you fly

3 to 6 months out

  • A specific, costed project matched to your group
  • Transparent budget: what it costs, what it delivers, who benefits, what happens after you leave
  • Fundraising toolkit: ask amounts, sample messaging, donation page guidance, social content
  • Monthly updates from your partner to keep momentum

On the ground

Your project days

  • You work directly alongside the local partner, not through Pink Elephant as an intermediary
  • The partner's project coordinator leads. We provide logistics, translation and facilitation
  • Impact handover day: a formal ceremony, documentation and a community celebration

After you return

30 to 60 days, and six months on

  • A formal impact report: photos, testimonials, completion evidence and how every dollar was used
  • A video update from your partner six months later showing ongoing outcomes
  • Group leads who introduce another group receive a $500 donation towards their next project

What your group raises

Project funding is separate from, and additional to, your trip fee. The trip fee covers the adventure and the logistics. The fundraising covers the impact. Project funds are held separately and disbursed to your partner on arrival or within 30 days of completion.

$3,000 to $5,000

Small project. Sports kit, classroom materials, medical supplies, training support.

$5,000 to $12,000

Medium project. A room renovation, a safe house extension, a community facility.

$12,000 to $30,000+

Large project. A new structure, water access, or the full supplies for a medical camp.

Our starting partners

Samburu Girls Foundation

Samburu County

Girls' education, FGM prevention and safe houses for rescued girls. A powerful story with verified impact.

Partner soccer teams

Nairobi and surrounds

Girls' and boys' teams for sports development, team exchanges and pitch and equipment projects.

USIU-Africa

Nairobi

Cross-learning sessions and cultural exchange for college groups, alongside Kenyan peers.

Growing every quarter

Nairobi, Kisumu, Samburu, Laikipia, coast

Women's economic cooperatives and medical camp partners are being vetted now, in consultation with our first groups.

Every partner meets our standard first

We do not place a group with an organisation until it clears every point below.

  • Legally registered in Kenya as an NGO, CBO or company, with a valid certificate.
  • Child protection policy in writing wherever children are involved. Non-negotiable.
  • Financial transparency: simple accounts or budgets showing how funds are used.
  • Community ownership: led by and primarily employing community members.
  • No orphanage tourism. Only structured project roles, never transient visits.
  • Measurable outcomes and a plan for what happens after your group leaves.

Safe, supervised, accountable

Group leads trust us with their students, congregants and patients. We take that seriously.

  • Written Child Protection Policy, signed by every traveller, guide and project coordinator before the trip and aligned with UNICEF and Tourism Concern guidance.
  • Clear rules on the ground: no individual adult-child time, and no photography of children without consent protocols.
  • A founder travels with your group as group lead and emergency contact.
  • Insurance required for every traveller, with an emergency protocol in every trip document.
  • Live monitoring of US State Department and FCDO advisories, with protocols to adjust itineraries quickly.

Clear pricing. No surprises.

Mid-range, and built so funded college groups and church mission teams can afford it, not only wealthy families. Prices are per person in US dollars, land only.

Group sizePer person

6 to 8

Minimum viable

$4,200 to $4,800

9 to 12

Ideal group size

$3,500 to $4,200

13 to 20

Best value

$3,000 to $3,600

Bespoke project design, a custom itinerary and a dedicated coordinator add $200 to $500 per person.

Included

  • Private 4x4 transport
  • Mid-range lodge and camp accommodation
  • Most meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner on project and safari days
  • National park entry fees and a professional safari guide
  • Project coordination, plus pre-trip and post-trip impact support

Not included

  • International flights
  • Visa or eTA (we guide you through the current requirements)
  • Travel insurance, which is required
  • Optional activities such as ballooning or diving, and personal spending

A payment schedule that respects your calendar

Firm enough to protect planning, flexible enough not to lose good-faith groups over technicalities. Full terms sit in your group agreement.

  1. $600

    Commitment deposit

    Per person, within 14 days of trip acceptance. Confirms your spot and starts planning.

  2. 25%

    Of the balance

    Due 120 days before departure.

  3. 50%

    Of the balance

    Due 90 days before departure.

  4. Final

    Remaining balance

    Due 45 days before departure.

Request a tailored quote

Kenyan-owned. Kenyan-led.

We are not a Western company parachuting in. We know this country, we have relationships here, and our partners are community-led. Two founders, one clear division of work, and one of us with your group from your first email to your post-trip report.

Samuel Gachagua

Co-founder: strategy, sales and impact

Leads everything client-facing: outreach, relationships, partner vetting, project design and company strategy. Your point of contact from the first conversation to the impact report.

Charles Kariuki

Co-founder: logistics and safari operations

Runs everything on the ground: accommodation, transport, guides, itineraries, supplier relationships and emergency protocols, through an established company with existing operator relationships.

Our first groups travel in 2027. Be one of them.

We are working with just two to four groups in our first year, so every one gets both founders' full attention. Founding groups shape the model, meet the partners first, and set the standard for those who follow.

Start a conversation

Questions we hear most

Something missing? Ask on a call. We would rather answer honestly than sell you a trip that does not fit.

Is this voluntourism?

No. Projects are led by vetted, community-owned Kenyan organisations. Your group funds the project before it arrives and works in structured roles alongside the partner. We do not place groups in transient orphanage settings, and we do not do drop-in visits.

How much does our group need to raise?

Project funding is separate from the trip fee. Depending on scope it typically ranges from $3,000 to $15,000, and we agree a minimum target with you before the trip is confirmed. We provide the fundraising toolkit, sample messaging and donation page guidance.

How big should our group be?

We run trips for 6 to 20 travellers. Nine to twelve is the sweet spot for depth and value, and larger groups unlock better per-person pricing.

When can we travel?

Our first departures are in 2027. College groups usually travel over winter break (December and January) or in summer (May to August). High school seniors travel after graduation, June to August. We plan around your calendar.

Who is with us on the ground?

A Pink Elephant founder travels with your group as group lead and emergency contact. Your partner organisation's coordinator leads the project work, and a professional safari guide leads the wildlife days.

How do you keep children safe?

Every trip involving children follows our written Child Protection Policy, signed by every traveller, guide and coordinator before departure. There is no individual adult-child time, photography of children requires consent protocols, and we never run transient orphanage visits.

Is Kenya safe for our group?

Kenya welcomes millions of visitors each year. We monitor US State Department and FCDO advisories, keep protocols ready to adjust an itinerary quickly, require comprehensive travel and medical insurance, and include an emergency protocol in every trip document.

What if we need to cancel?

Payments are staggered and the terms are set out in your group agreement. In a documented serious medical emergency we offer a transfer to the next available date. If a group cancels, project donations are returned to donors or, with their consent, passed to the partner for immediate use.

What is the first step?

A 20-minute call, with no obligation. Tell us about your group below and we will reply personally, and send a one-page concept if that is easier.

Let's build your trip

Tell us about your group. A founder will reply personally to set up a 20-minute call.

  1. 1

    We reply personally

    No auto-responders, no sales team.

  2. 2

    We talk for 20 minutes

    About your group, your goals and your calendar.

  3. 3

    You get a concept built for you

    A one-page trip idea and project match, before you commit to anything.

samuel@pink-elephant.org.uk

Nairobi, Kenya

pink-elephant.org.uk

Tell us about your group