About This Package
For the traveller who wants luxury without predictability, this 5-day reverse-route safari starts at the spectacular Lake Naivasha — Kenya's highest Rift Valley lake — before moving north to the rhino stronghold of Lake Nakuru, and finishing with a grand finale at the world-famous Masai Mara. Day 1 brings you directly to Naivasha, where an evening boat trip reveals hippos, African fish eagles and hundreds of waterbirds at close quarters. Day 2 is spent at Lake Nakuru National Park, a UNESCO-listed Biosphere Reserve, with a rare opportunity to see both white and black rhinos in one morning. The Mara welcomes you on Day 3 for two full days of Big Five game drives in the greatest wildlife reserve in Africa. Expert guides take you off the beaten track to find lion kills, cheetah hunts and leopard sightings in the acacia thickets. Throughout, you stay in premium tented camps and lodges, and all meals are included from first lunch to departure. This itinerary builds in pace — each destination wilder and more dramatic than the last.
Destinations Covered
What Is Included
Your Day-by-Day Itinerary
5 days of carefully planned experiences.
Nairobi to Lake Naivasha — Boat Safari & Evening Hippos
Collected from your Nairobi hotel or airport, you drive west through the lush highlands before descending into the Rift Valley to reach Lake Naivasha by mid-morning. After checking into your luxury resort on the lake's edge, a full afternoon boat safari explores the lake's diverse birdlife and resident hippo pods. The freshwater lake, at 1,884 metres, hosts over 400 bird species and is one of Kenya's most important IBAs (Important Bird Areas). As the sun sets, hippos emerge from the water to graze the shoreline, accompanied by the calls of African fish eagles and the vivid flash of malachite kingfishers. A private sundowner on your lodge's jetty watching hippos in the amber water is a memory that stays forever.
Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru — Rhinos & Flamingos
After a leisurely breakfast, you drive north to Lake Nakuru National Park. En route, Crater Lake Sanctuary offers a brief stop to view the brilliantly coloured colobus monkeys leaping through the yellow fever trees. Nakuru's entrance reveals a park of compact, navigable dimensions where wildlife is reliably concentrated. The western lake shore flamingo colonies can number over a million birds, and the park's white rhino population (Kenya's largest) means sightings are almost guaranteed. Afternoon drives focus on the eastern woodland where black rhino and leopard favour dense cover. The park's famous Makalia waterfall is visited en route back to camp for a scenic and cooling stop.
Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara — Afternoon Game Drive
After a morning game drive in Nakuru and breakfast, the long drive south to the Masai Mara begins — a journey of approximately 4 hours that traverses the Rift Valley, passes through Narok town and delivers you to the golden savannah of the Mara in time for a late lunch. The afternoon game drive begins immediately after lunch as resident guide and your driver combine to locate the best wildlife. The timing of your arrival in the Mara is deliberate — the late afternoon is prime time for cheetah activity as they use the long golden light to scan the plains for prey, and lion prides emerge from shade to begin their evening patrols.
Full Day Masai Mara — Dawn to Dusk Game Drives
The full day in the Mara begins before dawn with coffee and rusks by the campfire before your 4x4 eases out of camp into the dark savannah. The sounds of Africa at night — hyenas whooping, lions coughing, nightjars calling — give way to the golden light of an African sunrise revealing a landscape simply teeming with life. Morning drives in the Mara Triangle (the often-overlooked western section of the ecosystem) access areas of outstanding wildlife concentration that receive a fraction of the visitor traffic of the main reserve. Lion kills from the night before are located by watching vulture circles in the sky. Afternoon drives follow the Mara River for the potential spectacle of wildebeest crossings. A bush sundowner is served on a kopje with long views across the darkening plains.
Final Masai Mara Morning & Return to Nairobi
One final early morning drive ventures out to find the Mara's most elusive resident — the leopard — in the pre-dawn quiet when these solitary hunters are most active. Cheetah families with sub-adult cubs are a regular morning highlight, as are the enormous elephant bulls that move through the acacia thickets at this hour. After a final breakfast, the drive returns northeast to Nairobi, arriving late afternoon.
Inclusions and Exclusions
Where You Will Stay
Accommodation is tailored to your budget and preferences. We work with a curated selection of lodges and camps across all categories.
Comfortable tented camps and mid-range lodges. Great value with all the essentials for an unforgettable safari.
Well-appointed lodges and permanent camps with excellent food, experienced guides and genuine bush atmosphere.
Award-winning camps and lodges with private guides, gourmet dining, plunge pools and world-class service.
Tell us your budget and preferences in the enquiry form and we will match you with the best available properties along the route. All our partner lodges are personally vetted by our team.
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