Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages is a family-run safari property tucked into the southern wilderness area of Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia county ,Kenya. There are only five cottages,and each booking comes with its own chef,waiter,housekeeper, night guard, 4×4 vehicle and professional guide. If you have ever sat in a lodge dining room with eighty strangers, or waited for a shared game-drive vehicle to fill up, you will understand why this setup appeals to families and small groups.
This guide covers where the cottages are, how each one is laid out, what a stay costs, what the price includes and how to get there.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy covers about 360 square kilometres of savannah and acacia woodland between the Aberdare Range and Mount Kenya, and it straddles the equator. It sits a short drive from Nanyuki town, which makes it one of the easier big-game areas to reach from Nairobi.
The cottages are in the quieter south of the conservancy, along a river line shaded by yellow-bark acacias. This part of Ol Pejeta sees fewer vehicles than the central plains, so on a morning drive you can often spend time at a sighting before anyone else turns up.
The Story Behind the Cottages
Andy and Sonja Webb built Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages in 2017. Between them they had spent about forty years building and running safari lodges and tented camps in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and the property is also their home.
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The site was once a derelict cattle ranch. Instead of bulldozing the old rancher’s house, they stripped it down and turned roughly 80 percent of its wood and windows into furniture, much of which ended up in Cottage Tatu. They also put up a single-strand electric fence and wrapped nearby trees in wire to protect a grove of yellow-bark acacias that cattle and elephants had badly damaged.
The team is Kenyan, apart from one assistant manager, and the Webbs make a point of hiring women as chefs and servers, roles that are often filled by men in safari camps. Staff also move up through the ranks. Dishwashers become servers, and servers train to become head chefs.
Choosing Your Cottage
Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages has two cottage types, and every cottage is booked on an exclusive-use basis.
One-bedroom cottages (Moja Juu and Moja Chini). These suit couples and solo travellers. Each has an en-suite bedroom, a lounge and dining area with a fireplace, and a comfortable veranda facing the bush.
Two-bedroom cottages (Mbili, Tatu and Inya). Built for families and groups of friends, each has two en-suite bedrooms and a veranda that runs the full length of the building. Some safari agents note that extra beds can be added, which helps if you are travelling with children.
All five cottages have fireplaces for chilly Laikipia evenings, solar electricity for charging cameras and phones, and basic Wi-Fi. The owners say plainly that the Wi-Fi handles messages and email but is not suitable for large downloads. There is no swimming pool.
Life at Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages
Days here run on your schedule. With a private chef there is no fixed dinner sitting, so if you want to stay out watching lions until the light goes, nobody at camp is waiting to close the kitchen. Meals can be served at your cottage or on one of the property’s viewing decks, and bush picnics are part of the package.
Each cottage has its own dedicated staff, usually a chef, a waiter, a housekeeper and an askari (night guard) who walks you to your door after dark. For families with young children, seeing the same faces for the whole stay makes settling in much easier.
The property runs on solar power with a backup generator, draws water from its own borehole and does not use single-use plastics.
Game Drives and Activities
A fully inclusive stay at Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages includes a private 4×4 and guide, so you can do day game drives, night drives, bush walks and picnics without paying extra or sharing a vehicle with other guests.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy has all of the Big Five, and it is best known for rhinos. The conservancy is home to more than 165 black rhinos and describes itself as the largest black rhino sanctuary in East and Central Africa. It also protects Najin and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos on Earth. Night drives are worth booking into your plan because they give you a chance of seeing hyenas, jackals and other animals that stay hidden during the day.
Some activities are run by the conservancy and cost extra:
- A visit to the northern white rhinos
- A demonstration by Ol Pejeta’s K9 anti-poaching dog unit
- Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only place in Kenya where you can see chimpanzees
You can also arrange day trips to Aberdare National Park, Ngare Ndare Forest or Mount Kenya National Park. These are charged separately and depend on the weather.
Family Safaris at Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages
Children of all ages are welcome. The two-bedroom cottages give parents and children separate en-suite rooms under one roof, and with a private vehicle you can cut a drive short when the kids get restless without upsetting anyone else. Under the cottages’ published policy, children under 12 pay half price and children under 3 stay free.
Rates and What Is Included
Rates at Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages are fully inclusive. The package covers:
- Transfers to and from Nanyuki or Kamok Airstrip
- A private game-viewing vehicle and guide for day and night drives
- Bush walks
- All meals
- Soft drinks, juices, local beers, spirits, wines, tea and coffee
- Laundry
- Your private chef, waiter and housekeeping staff
The package does not cover the Ol Pejeta conservation fee of US$110 per person per night, the bed-night levy of US$55 per person per night (rising to US$60 from 1 January 2027), tips, the paid conservancy activities or the day trips listed above.
As a guide, safari agent Chalo Africa lists 2026 rates at US$505 per person per night in low season (mid-April to June), US$596 in mid season (1 November to 15 December and 7 January to 31 March) and US$690 in high season (15 June to 31 October and 16 December to 6 January), based on two people sharing. Many lodges charge extra for a private vehicle, which is already built into this rate. Direct rates and seasonal offers are on the cottages’ own booking page, and Kenyan residents can contact the team for resident packages.
How to Get to Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages
By air: Scheduled flights from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to Nanyuki take about 30 minutes. The team collects you on arrival, and the drive to the cottages takes around 90 minutes.
By road: The drive from Nairobi to Ol Pejeta takes four to five hours, depending on traffic, plus about 40 minutes inside the conservancy to reach the cottages. The last stretch is on conservancy tracks, so keep your camera within reach.
Best Time to Visit
Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages is open all year. The long dry season from June to October is the most popular time, when the grass is shorter and animals gather near water. January to March is also dry and tends to be quieter. April, May and November are the rainy months, when the landscape turns green and low-season pricing applies from mid-April.
Is It the Right Fit?
Ol Pejeta Safari Cottages works best for travellers who want privacy and a flexible pace. That includes families with children, friends travelling together, honeymooners and photographers who want to stay with a sighting as long as the light allows. If a pool, a spa or a lively bar is high on your list, one of the larger lodges in the conservancy will suit you better.
Are you lookiking forward to staying at the safaricottages? Get your Safari Proposal right away. With just five cottages on the property, anyone planning to travel during the July and August school holidays should book early.
