6-Day Kenya Family Safari: Nairobi, Lake Naivasha & Maasai Mara

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Maasai Mara → Lake Naivasha → Nairobi

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Lake Naivasha

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Nairobi bound 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. There is the possibility of seeing hippo, waterbuck, colobus and an exceptional range of resident and migratory waterbirds, depending on movement and conditions on the day. 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. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. The evening is spent at your Lake Naivasha accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

2. Day 2

   Nairobi to Lake Naivasha

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Nairobi for the drive to Lake Naivasha, following the Rift Valley escarpment road with its long views over the valley floor. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across 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 is served at your Lake Naivasha camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

3. Day 3

   Maasai Mara to Nairobi

   You leave Maasai Mara after breakfast and head for Nairobi, returning through the highland approaches to the city. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Nairobi.

4. Day 4

   Lake Naivasha to Maasai Mara

   The morning starts in Lake Naivasha, from where you continue overland to Maasai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. Your guide works the area for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, with sightings varying by season and conditions. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Dinner and overnight are at your camp or lodge in Maasai Mara.

5. Day 5

   Full-Day Nairobi Safari

   An unhurried full day in Nairobi gives your guide room to follow whatever the morning turns up. Much of the day is spent 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. Depending on the plan for the day, lunch is served at camp or packed to eat in the field. Dinner and overnight are again at your Nairobi camp or lodge.

6. Day 6

   Maasai Mara to Nairobi

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Maasai Mara bound for Nairobi, returning through the highland approaches to the city. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into 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. The day ends with a drop-off in Nairobi at your hotel or the airport.