5-Day Aberdare, Lake Nakuru & Masai Mara Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

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

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Aberdare

   After breakfast you leave Nairobi and travel on toward Aberdare, climbing into the central highlands through Nyeri and the tea and coffee country. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into high montane forest, bamboo belt and moorland cut by streams and waterfalls. There is the possibility of seeing elephant, buffalo, giant forest hog, bushbuck and, with patience, rarely seen forest species, depending on movement and conditions on the day. The Aberdare lodges are built overlooking floodlit waterholes, so wildlife is watched from the building itself rather than from a vehicle. This is a joining departure, so the safari vehicle is shared with other guests. The evening is spent at your Aberdare accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

2. Day 2

   Aberdare to Lake Nakuru

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Aberdare bound for Lake Nakuru, travelling through the Rift Valley floor and the farming towns of the Nakuru region. Once you reach Lake Nakuru there is time to check in before heading out among a Rift Valley soda lake ringed by yellow-barked acacia woodland and steep escarpment viewpoints. There is the possibility of seeing black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife, depending on movement and conditions on the day. 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 is served at your Lake Nakuru camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

3. Day 3

   Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara

   The morning starts in Lake Nakuru, from where you continue overland to Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out 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. The evening is spent at your Masai Mara accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

4. Day 4

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   The whole day is given to Masai Mara, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. 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. The evening returns you to your Masai Mara accommodation for dinner and overnight.

5. Day 5

   Masai Mara to Nairobi

   Breakfast is taken before you set out from Masai Mara for the drive to Nairobi, returning through the highland approaches to the city. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through 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 are dropped at your Nairobi hotel or the airport in the late afternoon.