6-Day Kenya Highlights: Mara, Nakuru and Naivasha

Your driver-guide meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for the drive south-west, dropping off the Rift Valley escarpment near Maai Mahiu with a photo stop at the viewpoint, then on through Narok town before the final stretch onto reserve land. Afternoon game drive on arrival.

Morning and afternoon game drives across the Mara’s plains, split by a picnic lunch wherever the morning’s sightings take you.

As above

Morning game drive before departing north-east for Lake Nakuru, climbing back up onto the Rift Valley floor. Arrival with time for an evening drive around the lake’s shores.

A morning game drive for flamingos and the park’s black-and-white rhino sanctuary, then a short onward drive of roughly an hour and a half to Lake Naivasha, considerably closer than the Nairobi detour a Nakuru-only itinerary would need.

A morning boat ride across Lake Naivasha’s calm freshwater — a genuine change from the Rift Valley’s alkaline lakes — for hippos surfacing close to the boat and some of the richest birdlife in the region. The optional afternoon add-on at neighbouring Hell’s Gate National Park is worth taking if you enjoy walking or cycling: it’s one of the few Kenyan parks where you can explore on foot or by bike alongside grazing zebra and giraffe, no vehicle required.

As above

A relaxed morning before the roughly ninety-minute drive back to Nairobi, timed against your onward flight.