There are two types of people who visit East Africa: people who cannot get enough of the continent, who are enthralled by the culture and lifestyle, and people who want to go on safari. Regardless of what group you identify with, a good safari can be a life-changing experience, and though there are magnificent options across Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa and even Malawi, the Lion King, well, he’s Kenyan.

With over 25 national parks and dozens of public and private natural reserves, Kenya is home to all the big five — elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, and rhino — species, as well as the most famous true and imagined fauna tales of African animals. Remember that 1990s Val Kilmer movie of the two man-eating lions (The Ghost and the Darkness)? Yep, that was based on a true story that happened during the construction of the railroad that separate Tsavo East from Tsavo West National Parks. In fact, the actual lion was taxidermized for museum display, though like much of Kenya’s treasures and history, it sits in a museum in entirely the wrong continent (Chicago, USA, of all places). You can visit a rather large hall at the Nairobi National Museum where, instead of artifacts, a huge collection of bar codes is on display, representing all the Kenyan artifacts that are currently held, against the will of the Kenyan people, on display in museums around the world. I’m trailing off: back to safari talk!

From big prides of lions at Tsavo West, to impressive parades of elephants at Amboseli, to deafening herds of wildebeest leading the Great Migration across national borders in the Masai Mara, the question is where to go for the finest safari Kenya has to offer?

A life-changing safari experience starts with the basic premise of traveling to a place where you have good chances of encountering abundance and variation of animal life. That’s most of Kenya right there. Whether to go to Masai Mara versus Samburu, or Lake Nakuru versus Hell’s Gate, or any other number of top destinations in Kenya depends on a variety of factors that are partly about personal preferences and partly about luck. I have not been to all of the major national parks, but have been lucky to have visited a handful of the best in Kenya, and another handful between other countries in South-East Africa. For my personal taste and particular experience, Samburu National Park, in October, with a few friends and a good amount of luck was the best experience I had in Kenya. I rate this experience above the Great Migration in Mara, Amboseli, and Hell’s Gate, though each one of these was in its own way an amazing and unforgettable experience. The point being, once you are picking from the Kenya’s top, odds will be on your side.

The second requirement is being taken by someone who knows the area you are visiting and has a developed level of skill at tracking wildlife. Never underestimate the importance of having a good guide: what the guide can see will go on to become the bounty of your safari. The third requirement, in order of importance, is to have a good driver. The Swahili word safari comes from the Arabic word that means to travel. As such, a safari is an expedition, one that is made on a vehicle that can withstand an adventurous road, and if the safari is any good, you will certainly encounter adventurous roads. Being at the mercy of a poor driver can single-handedly ruin a safari experience. A poor driver here means someone who drives carelessly through natural areas, someone who drives too fast through unique sceneries, someone who wants to blast the radio when you want to hear nature, or someone who is not willing to get up extra early and stay extra late to catch unique wildlife moments. For some safaris, your guide is also your driver. In this case you want to be extra careful at picking the right person.

Finally, the last piece of the perfect safari puzzle is the outfit or hotel you are booking for your life-changing expedition. Across East, South-East, and South Africa you will find there are two ways of booking a safari: you can either get in touch with a travel agent that specializes in these trips, and they will offer you packages of a wide range of prices which can be all inclusive or can have various components not included, or you can get in touch with a hotel, which again is likely to offer you a package of the whole trip or might let you worry about booking the drives on your own. Either way, this is the bit where the logistical and practical-to-luxury options get hashed. More luxury accommodation and food does not always end in a better safari, however better logistics — to and from airports, pick-up spots, location of hotels, etc — always pay off. Keep this in mind when you make compromises.

Once booked, proceed with caution. There will be a variety of opportunities in which you can get the proverbial shake to see how much money falls from your pockets along the way. From buying souvenirs, to paying for food and drink that was not — or maybe it actually was — included in your package, to tipping for a variety of services, to paying for park fees, to watching a small nomad village of people perform a dance and song. Kenyans are, as a general rule, happy and positive people, but they do not suffer fools, and if you show up with a big camera hanging from your neck and the knowing grin of someone who is very much in awe, but also slightly terrified, you are fair game to a great many people who are ready to pick at your wallet, and no one is likely going to stop them.

Kenya has one last trick up its sleeve: the urban safari. If traveling for days across vast rural areas is not your thing, or if you don’t want the company of a guide and driver, you can always rent a 4×4 vehicle in Nairobi and take yourself through the Nairobi National Park, which happens to be dead-smack in the middle of the busy capital city. But Lorena, you might say, surely I’m not going to encounter a lion here, I mean, that would be crazy. Crazy, but true. From lions, to rhinos, to all the other amazing African animals you were hoping to see, the NNP is proof of the possible co-existence between humans and other species… so long as they don’t escape the park too often.