Nairobi – Amboseli National Park (240 km – Approx. 4 hours)

Meal Plan: Lunch, Dinner

Your driver/guide will pick you up from your Nairobi area hotel, Nairobi airport, or Nairobi area residence. We’ll then head out in our private 4x4 safari jeep for Amboseli National Park on the Nairobi – Mombasa Highway.

Our journey begins traveling over the African savannah with its local farms. You may spot Maasai herdsmen in their colorful wraps tending their cattle, a quintessential Kenyan sight.

We’ll enjoy lunch at our Amboseli accommodation, with time to freshen up and relax before our first game drive.

As promised, the imposing form of Mount Kilimanjaro dominates the scenery of this relatively small park, where wildlife are often spotted through the sparse scrub, offering clear views.

The afternoon will see us on exciting game drives, and we’re sure to see Amboseli’s famous elephants marching to or from a favorite watering hole – a truly iconic sight.

We’ll spend the first of two nights at Amboseli, at your chosen safari lodge or tented camp, immersing ourselves in this beautiful wilderness.

Full Day – Amboseli National Park: Wildlife and Iconic Views

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Early morning is a very special time for a game drive. You’ll see the park come alive with the first stirrings of wildlife as the gentle early light plays upon the trees and plains, creating stunning photographic opportunities.

We’ll have breakfast at our accommodation, and then we’re off in our 4x4 on another exciting drive. We'll be looking for majestic lion and swift cheetah, as well as smaller game like cunning hyena, elusive fox, and playful baboon and monkey.

Amboseli enjoys a rich palette of birdlife as well – vibrant crake, egret, heron, falcon, and eagle have all been spotted at the park’s marshes and lakes, making it a birdwatcher's delight.

We can also spot wildlife from the lookout vantage of Observation Hill, where we may see herds of buffalo, pods of hippo, graceful pelicans, and still more avian life below, spread across the vast landscape.

As evening approaches, look to Mount Kilimanjaro as its snowy peak may spectacularly appear through the breaking clouds, offering a truly breathtaking vista.

We’ll spend your final night at Amboseli at your safari lodge or tented camp, reflecting on the day's incredible experiences.

Amboseli – Lake Naivasha (340 km: Approx. 6 hrs)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

We’ll be up early for a final game drive in Amboseli and bid farewell to our many elephant friends as we leave the park and journey through the spectacular Great Rift Valley. Seeing this exciting landscape with its dramatic escarpment will inspire us to stop and enjoy the breathtaking views.

We should arrive at freshwater Lake Naivasha in time for lunch at your chosen accommodation.

Then it’s time for a unique bicycle safari (or hiking if you prefer) to nearby Hell’s Gate National Park to explore its imposing cliffs and canyons. We’ll be biking (or hiking) past the park’s resident wildlife including graceful impala, eland, gazelle, and buffalo.

We’ll spend the night at the Lake Naivasha safari lodge or tented camp of your choice, enjoying the serene lakeside atmosphere.

Lake Naivasha – Masai Mara Game Reserve (240Km – Approx. 5 hours)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Let’s rise for an early boat safari across Lake Naivasha, with the morning sun breaking upon the lake as we float by awakening hippos and exotic birds. This is Africa at its most serene.

We’ll follow that with a pleasant sojourn, a guided walking safari to Crescent Island Game Sanctuary – a jewel of a reserve that quietly shows off rich flocks of birds and grazing animals such as waterbuck, zebra, and gazelle. How lucky to find ourselves in such a heavenly sanctuary!

And now we’re off to the Masai Mara National Reserve, the most popular park in the country. You’ll soon see why.

Your first views of the park will be of its rolling, open spaces, delightful acacia trees, and perhaps some early wildlife sightings. The Mara is known to possess the greatest concentration of wildlife in the region. So, let’s start looking for those Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo), plus giraffe, zebra, ostrich, and so many others.

We’ll spend the next two nights at the Masai Mara, at your safari lodge or tented camp, immersing ourselves in this iconic wilderness.

Full Day – Masai Mara Game Reserve: Unforgettable Encounters

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Your day will be filled with unlimited game drives, and we’ll begin early in our 4x4, traversing these golden savannahs in search of the large predators like lion, leopard, cheetah, and the smaller, cunning hyena and jackal. Sightings are common in this park, so you’re sure to be active and engaged throughout our drives.

If you’re here from July through October, you’ll witness a stunning influx of wildlife into the park during the Great Migration – the season when vast herds of gazelle, wildebeest, and zebra flood into the park over the Mara River in a timeless cycle of birth, death, and renewal.

We’ll take a picnic lunch by the Mara River, where we may see hippos and also crocodiles awaiting the seasonal influx of wildlife or simply basking in the sun.

We have provided still more optional activities for you in the park, designed to enhance your experience:

• We can arrange for a visit to the local Maasai people, to see their village and learn about their fascinating culture and traditional lifestyle. This would also be a good opportunity to pick up some of their colorful beaded handiwork, directly supporting the community.
• Ever safari in a hot air balloon? We offer a pre-dawn adventure, sailing silently over the park, watching the wildlife darting about the plains below as the sun rises. You’ll not soon forget this unique and breathtaking adventure. Your driver/guide will be happy to make all the arrangements for you.

Our final night at the Masai Mara will be at the safari lodge or tented camp of your choice, allowing you to cherish these last moments in the wild.

Masai Mara – Nairobi: Safari Conclusion & Departure (265 km – Approx. 5 hrs)

Meal Plan: Breakfast.

After a leisurely breakfast at your lodge/camp, your dedicated driver-guide will assist you with the checkout process and proceed to Nairobi – Kenya’s vibrant capital city.

On the way, your guide will point out the impressive Longonot extinct volcano, a stratovolcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s, and its name is derived from the Maasai word Oloonong’ot, meaning “mountains of many spurs” or “steep ridges.”

You have flexible options for your return:

• You can opt to drive via Naivasha for lunch/excursions (at an extra cost).
• Alternatively, drive straight to Nairobi and pass by Kiambethu Farm for the tea farm tour, inclusive of a three-course buffet lunch (at an extra cost).
• OR, drive straight back to the capital and later transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) for your flight back home.

We will comfortably bring you to your Nairobi hotel, residence, or the airport.

From elephants and Mount Kilimanjaro to sailing and biking safaris, and the great wash of wildlife at the Masai Mara, this has been a very full African safari. We hope you took lots of pictures and collected a rich treasure of memories to revisit and share.

We, at Walk With Maa Tours, are grateful for the trust you have placed in us and we thank you for letting us show you so much of Africa.