7-Day Luxury Kenya Safari: Maasai Mara, Nakuru, Naivasha & Amboseli

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Amboseli → Lake Naivasha → Lake Nakuru → Maasai Mara → Nairobi

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Amboseli

   You leave Nairobi after breakfast and head for Amboseli, travelling south past Kajiado and through Maasai rangeland toward the Tanzanian border country. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. Look for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps as the light softens through the afternoon. Amboseli is known for its free-ranging elephant families, and on clear mornings Mount Kilimanjaro often rises above the plains, though cloud can hide it. The vehicle and driver-guide are private to your party throughout. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Amboseli.

2. Day 2

   Amboseli to Lake Naivasha

   After breakfast you leave Amboseli and travel on toward Lake Naivasha, following the Rift Valley escarpment road with its long views over the valley floor. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into a freshwater Rift Valley lake fringed by papyrus, fever trees and flower-farming country. Your guide works the area for hippo, waterbuck, colobus and an exceptional range of resident and migratory waterbirds, with sightings varying by season and conditions. 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Naivasha.

3. Day 3

   Amboseli to Lake Naivasha

   The morning starts in Amboseli, from where you continue overland 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. Your guide works the area for hippo, waterbuck, colobus and an exceptional range of resident and migratory waterbirds, with sightings varying by season and conditions. 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Naivasha.

4. Day 4

   Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru

   After breakfast you leave Lake Naivasha and travel on toward 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. Your guide works the area for black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife, with sightings varying by season and conditions. 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. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Nakuru.

5. Day 5

   Lake Nakuru to Maasai Mara

   Bags are loaded after breakfast and you depart Lake Nakuru bound for Maasai 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. 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.

6. Day 6

   Full-Day Nairobi Safari

   The whole day is given to Nairobi, with an early start to make the most of the cooler morning hours. 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. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Nairobi.

7. Day 7

   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. Arrival back is normally in the afternoon, with a drop-off at your hotel or the airport.