Amboseli · With kids

Observation Hill is the only place in Amboseli where you may get out, so a game drive is a couple of hours strapped in with nowhere to run around. A private vehicle rather than a shared one is worth it with small children, because you can turn back when it stops being fun.

Children aged 5 to 17, and students up to 23 with valid ID, pay USD 45 per 24 hours against USD 90 for adults. Have passports or student ID to hand, and note the fee is bought through eCitizen before you arrive.

Ol Tukai has a swimming pool and the middle of the day is useless for game viewing anyway, so the pattern that works with children is drive at dawn, swim and sleep through the heat, then drive again from four.

The Amboseli Trust for Elephants does not take drop-in visitors to its research camp, but its Nairobi office will arrange an hour-long talk for a donation if you book at least a week ahead. Suits older children who already care about elephants; too long for small ones.

Amboseli Serena has three dedicated family rooms with two separate bedrooms and nine sets of interconnecting rooms, plus a children's menu served from 6.30pm — which matters when the next drive starts before six in the morning.