5-Day Private Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha Safari from Nairobi

Overview

A private 5-day safari through the Great Rift Valley that combines Kenya’s most famous reserve with its best-known lakes. You travel in your own 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof and your own driver-guide, so you set the pace and stop for photos whenever you like.You spend two nights near the Maasai Mara, home to lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants and, from about July to October, the great wildebeest migration. You then move to Lake Naivasha for two nights. From there, you take a boat ride among hippos and fish eagles, spend a day looking for black and white rhinos in Lake Nakuru National Park, and cycle among zebras and giraffes in Hell’s Gate before returning to Nairobi.Driving days are kept short by staying two nights in each place, so you spend more of your time watching wildlife. The safari can start on any day, subject to availability, and is ideal for first-time visitors, couples and families. Children aged 5 and over are welcome.

Infants are children up to 4. Children are up to 11. Minimum age is 5 years. Children aged 5 to 11 sharing with adults receive a reduced rate, quoted on request, as it depends on room arrangements and lodge child policies. Children aged 12 and over pay the adult rate.

Day by Day

1. 1
   

   Day 1

   Day 1: Nairobi to the Maasai Mara

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   Your driver-guide collects you from your Nairobi hotel or the airport at around 07:30. You drive west to the edge of the Great Rift Valley, stopping at a viewpoint over the valley floor, then continue through Narok, the last town before the reserve. You arrive at camp for lunch and settle in. In the afternoon, you head out on your first game drive in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, looking for lions, elephants, giraffes and large herds of zebra and topi as the light softens.

   Accommodation: Enkorok Mara Camp or similar

   Meals: Lunch and dinner

   Photos from this day

   

   • Game drives

   Main destination

   Maasai Mara National Reserve

   Overnight

   Enkorok Mara Camp or similar

   Meals included

   Dinner, Lunch

   Drinks

   Drinking water included, other drinks not

2. 2
   

   Day 2

   Day 2: Full day in the Maasai Mara

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   You spend the whole day in the reserve with a picnic lunch, so you can travel further than on a half-day drive. The Mara has one of the highest densities of lions in Africa, and cheetahs often hunt on the open plains. Your guide will also search for leopards, buffalo, hyenas and elephants. At midday, you stop at the Mara River, where hippos and crocodiles gather. From about July to October, this is also where the migration herds cross. An optional visit to a Maasai village can be added in the late afternoon.

   Accommodation: Enkorok Mara Camp or similar

   Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

   • Game drives

   Wildlife in Maasai Mara National Reserve

   • LeopardCommon
   • BuffaloCommon
   • HyenasCommon
   • ElephantsCommon

   Main destination

   Maasai Mara National Reserve

   Overnight

   Enkorok Mara Camp or similar

   Meals included

   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Drinks

   Drinking water included, other drinks not

3. 3
   

   Day 3

   Day 3: Maasai Mara to Lake Naivasha

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   After breakfast, you drive back into the Rift Valley to Lake Naivasha, a freshwater lake surrounded by acacia woodland. The drive takes about 4 hours, and you arrive for lunch. In the afternoon, you take a boat ride on the lake to see hippos up close, African fish eagles diving for fish, and pelicans, kingfishers and other water birds.

   Accommodation: Sawela Lodge or similar

   Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

   • Boat trip

   Main destination

   Lake Naivasha

   Overnight

   Sawela Lodge or similar

   Meals included

   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Drinks

   Drinking water included, other drinks not

4. 4
   

   Day 4

   Day 4: Lake Nakuru National Park

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   After an early breakfast, you drive about 1.5 hours to Lake Nakuru National Park. The park is fenced and is one of the best places in Kenya to see both white rhinos and the rarer black rhinos. You’ll also look for Rothschild’s giraffes, buffalo, waterbuck, lions and the pelicans and other birds along the lakeshore, and stop at Baboon Cliff for views over the lake. You have a picnic lunch in the park and return to Naivasha in the late afternoon.

   Accommodation: Sawela Lodge or similar

   Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

   • Game drives

   Main destination

   Lake Nakuru National Park

   Overnight

   Sawela Lodge or similar

   Meals included

   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Drinks

   Drinking water included, other drinks not

5. 5
   

   Day 5

   Day 5: Hell’s Gate National Park and back to Nairobi

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   After breakfast, you drive a short distance to Hell’s Gate National Park, one of the few Kenyan parks where you can explore by bicycle. You cycle about 7 km along the valley floor among zebras, giraffes, buffalo and gazelles, with tall red cliffs on either side. At the ranger post, a local guide leads you on a hike into Hell’s Gate Gorge, past hot springs and narrow rock walls. The guide decides whether the gorge is safe to enter on the day, depending on recent rain. After lunch, you drive back to Nairobi, about 2 hours, and are dropped at your hotel or the airport in the late afternoon.

   Accommodation: None (end of tour)

   Meals: Breakfast and lunch

   • Game drives
   • cycling

   Main destination

   Hell’s Gate National Park / Nairobi

   Overnight

   None

   Meals included

   Breakfast, Lunch

   Drinks

   Drinking water included, other drinks not

What’s Included

Getting There

• Starts and ends in Nairobi.
• Fly to and from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO).
• You book your own international flights.
• A transfer from and back to the airport is included.
• Extra nights before or after the trip can be arranged for an extra cost.

1. 1Day 1: Nairobi to the Maasai Mara, Maasai Mara National Reserve
2. 2Day 2: Full day in the Maasai Mara, Maasai Mara National Reserve
3. 3Day 3: Maasai Mara to Lake Naivasha, Lake Naivasha
4. 4Day 4: Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park
5. 5Day 5: Hell’s Gate National Park and back to Nairobi, Hell’s Gate National Park / Nairobi

Traveller Reviews

Offered By

Silent Plains Africa Safaris

Local operator based in Kenya

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