safari

Airport Lounge Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club, JFK Terminal 4

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Read my updated August 2024 post here!

The Chase Sapphire Lounge in JFK’s Terminal 4 opened its doors in January 2024. I was very excited about this, as JFK Terminal 4 is a frequent terminal of ours, plus I had really been wanting to visit a Chase lounge! This timed up nicely with our recent flight from JFK to Nairobi, Kenya for a safari! In brief, the lounge was very, very nice. Tied with the American Express Centurion and Virgin Clubhouse for best lounge in Terminal 4. Good food, fantastic drinks, and nice service. My only complaints are that its small (and I hear often has a wait to enter) and far from many gates in Terminal 4.

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Flying Safarilink Aviation from Nairobi to the Masai Mara

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As you may know from my last post, Dan and I spent a week at the JW Marriott Masai Mara last month on safari. We began our trip in Nairobi and then flew from Nairobi to the Masai Mara on Safarilink Aviation for our safari. This post describes our experience with Safarilink Aviation, as I could not find much information online before our trip.

The Safarilink Aviation Terminal at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.

SAFARILINK AVIATION & BOOKING ON SAFARILINK AVIATION

As an initial matter, to get from Nairobi to the Masai Mara National Park area, you either need to drive several hours or take a 30 minute flight from Nairobi. We opted for the later. In booking our flight, a few airlines fly this route, including Safarilink Aviation and Air Kenya (who we flew from the US). I was going to book on one of these airlines directly, but I emailed the JW Marriott first to confirm the airport, and our hotel offered to book the roundtrip flight for us at a cost of $420 USD per person.  This was generally the price I saw online, so I paid the hotel to book on our behalf.  Our hotel selected Safarilink Aviation over Air Kenya and gave us the option of three times – early morning, mid-morning, and afternoon. Safarilink Aviation emailed us a confirmation like any other airline as soon as the hotel booked our tickets.

Safarilink Aviation.

If your hotel is not booking the flight for you, know that you are flying to the “Mara” destination, but you will also need to know at which “airstrip” to deplane. Yes, that’s right! The Masai Mara is a thirty minute flight from Nairobi, but it does not have one main airport. Instead, it has several air strips, or literal dirt strips in the middle of nowhere where planes drop off and pick up passengers. Our stop was Keekorok, which was the third of three stops our flight made. You must confirm with your safari lodge or tour which stop to book. Don’t worry – it’s not as confusing as it sounds, and the flight attendant will ensure you deplane at the correct stop.

A Safarilink Aviation plane landing on one of the airstrips in the Masai Mara.

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Hotel Review: A Week at the JW Marriott Masai Mara!

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***The JW Marriott Masai Mara was devastated by severe, once in a lifetime flood on April 30, 2024. The lodge is currently closed pending renovations, without a confirmed reopening date.  No one staying or working at the lodge were seriously injured according to first hand accounts. We are thinking about all the staff and hoping they get back on their feet quickly.***

Dan and I went on our third safari last month at the brand new JW Marriott Masai Mara lodge in Kenya! Having opened exactly one year ago, the JW Marriott Masai is modern, shiny, and extremely popular with Americans. This post reviews our stay at the JW Marriott Masai Mara in March 2024. In brief, we had a lovely time with fantastic animal sightings! Keep reading for a super in depth review, starting with how we arrived at the safari lodge!

A lioness sighting on a game drive with the JW Marriott Masai Mara.

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