Overview
Most of Kenya's wildlife is seen from a vehicle because most of it is dangerous. This trip is built around the exceptions: Crescent Island on Lake Naivasha has no predators, so you walk among the zebra and giraffe, and Hell's Gate is one of the very few parks you may cycle through.
It finishes properly, too — three nights in the Masai Mara, then a last morning at the Kiambethu tea farm in the Limuru highlands, where you walk the indigenous forest and have lunch before your flight.
- Walking among zebra and giraffe on Crescent Island
- Cycling or walking Hell's Gate, between the red cliffs
- Crater Lake Game Sanctuary, quiet and green
- Three nights in the Masai Mara
Day by day
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Day 1 Arrive Nairobi
Met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to rest before the safari starts properly tomorrow.
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Day 2 Nairobi to Lake Naivasha and Crescent Island
Down the escarpment into the Rift Valley. In the afternoon, a boat across to Crescent Island, where you walk among zebra, giraffe, waterbuck and wildebeest — no predators, so no vehicle.
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Day 3 Hell's Gate National Park
A day in Hell's Gate, on foot or by bicycle, between the red cliffs and rock towers that gave the park its name. Buffalo, zebra and eland graze the flats, and the gorge walk goes down into hot springs.
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Day 4 Crater Lake Game Sanctuary
A quiet day at Crater Lake, a jade-green crater lake ringed by acacia forest, with a walking trail around the rim and good birding throughout.
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Day 5 Naivasha to the Masai Mara
South-west out of the valley to the Mara, arriving in time for an afternoon game drive in the reserve.
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Day 6 A full day in the Mara
Morning and afternoon game runs after the predators, with the plains carrying enormous herds of grazing animals between sightings.
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Day 7 A second full day in the Mara
Another full day in the reserve. Between late July and October this is when the migrating herds are on the move and a river crossing becomes a real possibility.
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Day 8 Mara to Kiambethu tea farm, then Nairobi
Leave the Mara after breakfast and drive to the Limuru highlands and the Kiambethu tea farm, where you walk the indigenous forest, learn how tea is grown and processed, and have lunch before the transfer to the airport.
Want to change something? Add a night, swap a lodge or combine parks. We’ll tailor it for you.
Customise this safariWhat’s included
Included
- Ground transport in a comfortable safari vehicle
- Full-board accommodation as listed in the itinerary
- Professional English-speaking driver-guide
- All game drives listed in the itinerary
- Bottled drinking water while on safari
- Airport transfers
Not included
- Park entrance fees and conservation levies (quoted separately at current rates)
- International flights
- Tips and gratuities
- Soft drinks and alcoholic drinks
- Optional village visits and activities marked as optional
- Bicycle hire at Hell's Gate (optional)
- Boat transfer to Crescent Island (optional)
- Hot-air balloon flight over the Mara (optional)
