5-Day Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru & Lake Naivasha Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Masai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Lake Naivasha → Nairobi

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Masai Mara

   After breakfast you leave Nairobi and travel on toward Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. The evening is spent at your Masai Mara accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   Today is spent entirely in Masai Mara, beginning with a game drive shortly after first light. You travel through open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, working the areas your guide judges most productive on the day. Keep watch for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game as you move between the different habitats. A full day allows morning and late-afternoon drives when animals are most active, with the option of a picnic lunch out in the reserve. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Masai Mara.

3. Day 3

   Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru, travelling through the Rift Valley floor and the farming towns of the Nakuru region. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through a Rift Valley soda lake ringed by yellow-barked acacia woodland and steep escarpment viewpoints. This is good country in which to look for black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife. The park operates as a sanctuary and is one of Kenya's more reliable places to look for rhino; flamingo numbers on the lake rise and fall with water levels. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Lake Nakuru.

4. Day 4

   Lake Nakuru to Lake Naivasha

   You leave Lake Nakuru after breakfast and head for Lake Naivasha, following the Rift Valley escarpment road with its long views over the valley floor. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through a freshwater Rift Valley lake fringed by papyrus, fever trees and flower-farming country. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes hippo, waterbuck, colobus and an exceptional range of resident and migratory waterbirds. Naivasha is one of the few freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley, which is why boat trips and walking safaris are possible here rather than vehicle drives alone. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Lake Naivasha.

5. Day 5

   Lake Naivasha to Nairobi

   The morning starts in Lake Naivasha, from where you continue overland to Nairobi, returning through the highland approaches to the city. Once you reach Nairobi there is time to check in before heading out among Kenya's highland capital and the usual start and end point for road safaris. Nairobi is the arrival and departure hub for most Kenyan safari itineraries. Arrival back is normally in the afternoon, with a drop-off at your hotel or the airport.