6-Day Amboseli, Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara Safari, Mid-Range

An early morning departure brings you to Amboseli National Park, where most of the park sits on a dry, ancient lake bed and fragile grassland dotted with acacia woodland, while the southern area holds small, rocky volcanic hills. Check in to your accommodation, take lunch, then head out for an afternoon game drive around swamps such as Ol Kenya and Enkongo Narok, where the vegetation turns lush with yellow-barked acacias and phoenix palms.

Distance: Road transfer from Nairobi to Amboseli

Activity: Afternoon game drive

Accommodation: Lodge or camp in Amboseli National Park

Meals: All meals included, drinking water provided

Rise early for clear views of Mount Kilimanjaro before clouds build over the summit later in the day. An optional visit to a Maasai village can be arranged after breakfast, offering a glimpse into traditional singing, dancing and daily life. Despite a changing habitat, Amboseli remains one of the best places in Africa to see elephant at close range, with herds regularly feeding and bathing in the swamps.

Distance: Full day with packed lunch, optional Maasai village visit

Activity: Game drives, optional cultural visit

Accommodation: Lodge or camp in Amboseli National Park (second night)

Meals: All meals included, drinking water provided

An early morning drive brings you to Lake Naivasha, the highest and one of the most beautiful of the Rift Valley lakes at 1,910 metres. Its fresh water is fringed with dense papyrus, a favourite perch for kingfishers and a hiding place for herons. The lake is also a popular weekend retreat for Nairobi residents, who come to sail, water-ski and fish, and the surrounding shoreline supports a small wine industry. Over 400 bird species have been recorded here, and the cool altitude keeps the water too cold for crocodiles, though hippos are common.

Distance: Road transfer to Lake Naivasha

Activity: Travel day, optional boat ride on arrival

Accommodation: Lodge near Lake Naivasha

Meals: All meals included, drinking water provided

Depart early for the Masai Mara National Reserve, arriving in time for lunch followed by an afternoon game drive. The Mara remains one of the few places left on earth where wildlife still moves in something close to its historic numbers, and as the northern edge of the Serengeti ecosystem it hosts the seasonal migration of huge herds of wildebeest and zebra alongside their attendant predators.

Distance: Road transfer to the Masai Mara

Activity: Afternoon game drive

Accommodation: Lodge or camp in the Masai Mara

Meals: All meals included, drinking water provided

A full day of game tracking with a packed lunch covers the rich acacia-studded grassland and rolling hills of the reserve, well known for its black-maned lion alongside abundant resident wildlife. It’s one of the few places where the Big Five can realistically be seen in a single morning’s drive. Many of the Mara’s cheetahs are notably relaxed around vehicles, sometimes climbing onto the roof for a better view of potential prey, and birdwatchers can look for some of the nearly 500 recorded species, including 16 types of eagle and the world’s heaviest flying bird, the Kori bustard.

Distance: Full-day game drive with packed lunch

Activity: Morning and afternoon game drives

Accommodation: Lodge or camp in the Masai Mara (second night)

Meals: All meals included, drinking water provided

A final morning game drive is followed by lunch en route as you transfer back to Nairobi, arriving in the late afternoon to bring the safari to a close.

Distance: Morning game drive, then road transfer to Nairobi

Activity: Final game drive and departure

Accommodation: N/A, end of safari

Meals: Breakfast & lunch