9 Days Amboseli, Naivasha, Samburu, Nakuru and Masai Mara Private Safari

Morning departure from Nairobi. The drive to Amboseli National Park on the Kenya-Tanzania border takes approximately four hours via Emali. Check in and afternoon game drive. If Kilimanjaro is clear on arrival, the late afternoon elephants beneath the peak is one of Kenya's most iconic scenes.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Sentrim Amboseli Camp / OlTukai Lodge (standard rooms)
• Mid-range: Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge / Kibo Safari Camp / Tortilis Camp (standard)
• Luxury: Tortilis Camp / Elewana Tortilis Camp / andBeyond Ol Donyo Lodge / ol Donyo Lodge

One full game drive covering the Enkiongo Narok and Longinye swamps, the open plains, and the acacia woodland edges. Elephant families gather at the swamp edges in the morning heat and can be watched at close range. Kilimanjaro is most visible before nine o'clock. The afternoon is free for rest or optional activities.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Sentrim Amboseli Camp / OlTukai Lodge (standard rooms)
• Mid-range: Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge / Kibo Safari Camp / Tortilis Camp (standard)
• Luxury: Tortilis Camp / Elewana Tortilis Camp / andBeyond Ol Donyo Lodge / ol Donyo Lodge

Depart Amboseli after breakfast. The drive north to Lake Naivasha takes approximately three to four hours through the Rift Valley. Arrive at the lake for lunch and an afternoon boat ride on the freshwater lake. The boat ride covers the hippo pools at the western shore, passing fish eagles on overhanging branches and waterbirds in the papyrus. An optional walk on Crescent Island, a wildlife sanctuary accessible only by boat, adds zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, and waterbirds on foot without fences or vehicle restrictions.

Lake Naivasha activities: Boat ride on the lake: approximately 1 to 1.5 hours, hippos, fish eagles, waterbirds. Arrange with your guide on arrival.
Crescent Island walk: optional walk among wildlife on a private island. Approximately 1.5 hours. Supplementary cost.
Hell's Gate National Park: cycling and gorge walk. Can be arranged as an alternative or additional afternoon activity.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Crayfish Camp / Camp Carnelley's
• Mid-range: Enashipai Resort (standard) / Sawela Lodge / Naivasha Sopa Lodge
• Luxury: Enashipai Resort (luxury suites) / Great Rift Valley Lodge / Hippo Point Estate

An early departure north from Naivasha. The route passes through Nyahururu, home to Thomson's Falls, a 74-metre waterfall in the central highlands. An optional brief stop adds a striking landscape moment to a transit day. The drive continues north through the equatorial highlands and descends into the arid Samburu lowlands. Total drive time approximately five to six hours. Arrive Samburu in time for an afternoon game drive along the Ewaso Nyiro River.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Samburu Sopa Lodge (standard)
• Mid-range: Samburu Serena Safari Lodge / Samburu Game Lodge / Sentrim Samburu
• Luxury: Saruni Samburu / Elephant Bedroom Camp / Sasaab Lodge

Two game drives. The morning covers the Ewaso Nyiro River banks where leopards rest in the trees and elephants wade the shallows. Reticulated giraffe, with their distinctive mosaic coat pattern, are reliably sighted within the first hour. The afternoon explores the open scrubland where Grevy's zebra, gerenuk, Beisa oryx, and Somali ostrich concentrate. The gerenuk feeding upright on its hind legs is one of Kenya's most distinctive single wildlife behaviours. Leopard sightings in Samburu are among the most consistent in Kenya.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Samburu Sopa Lodge (standard)
• Mid-range: Samburu Serena Safari Lodge / Samburu Game Lodge / Sentrim Samburu
• Luxury: Saruni Samburu / Elephant Bedroom Camp / Sasaab Lodge

A morning game drive in Samburu before breakfast and departure south for Lake Nakuru. The drive covers approximately four to five hours through the central highlands (allow up to six hours depending on road conditions). Arrive at Lake Nakuru National Park in the early afternoon for check-in and an afternoon game drive covering the lake shore and the forested escarpment.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Milimani Guest House Nakuru / KWS Naishi Bandas (Lake Nakuru NP)
• Mid-range: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge / Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge / Lake Nakuru Lodge
• Luxury: Mbweha Camp / Flamingo Hill Tented Camp

Two game drives at Lake Nakuru. The morning drive focuses on the open grassland near the lake shore where white rhinos are most visible before the heat builds. Both black and white rhinos are present in this fully fenced sanctuary. The flamingo concentration varies with lake level and algae but the birdlife is extraordinary across all conditions. The afternoon drive covers the euphorbia forest and the escarpment woodland where lions, leopards, and Rothschild giraffe concentrate.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Milimani Guest House Nakuru / KWS Naishi Bandas (Lake Nakuru NP)
• Mid-range: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge / Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge / Lake Nakuru Lodge
• Luxury: Mbweha Camp / Flamingo Hill Tented Camp

Depart Lake Nakuru after breakfast and drive southwest to the Masai Mara National Reserve, approximately five to six hours. Check in and afternoon game drive. The Masai Mara is the final destination and the guide's accumulated knowledge of the previous seven days builds into the best approach for the Mara terrain.

Accommodation Options:

• Budget: Mara Explorers Camp / Basecamp Masai Mara (budget option)
• Mid-range: Tipilikwani Mara Camp / Fig Tree Camp / Mara Sopa Lodge
• Luxury: Angama Mara / Mahali Mzuri / Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp / andBeyond Bateleur Camp

Final morning game drive in the Masai Mara before breakfast and departure for Nairobi, five to six hours. Drop-off at your hotel, JKIA, or any Nairobi address. Safari ends.