Day 1: Nairobi - Maasai Mara National Reserve
You will be driven from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Skirting around Mount Suswa, the road first heads north to Maai Mahiu, south of Lake Naivasha, before turning west to Narok and continuing west and then south to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. A highlight of this journey is the first glimpse of the huge Rift Valley's emptiness just past Limuru, at the top of the escarpments of the valley.
Mount Longonot, Hell’s Gate National Park, and Lake Naivasha may be glimpsed to the north, while the plains seem to sweep on forever to the south. The drive will take approximately four to five hours before you will arrive at Mara Sopa Lodge for check-in and to enjoy lunch later in the afternoon. After that, you will go for your first evening game drive and then you will enjoy dinner.
Variety is what distinguishes the exceptional from the mundane and this reserve offers copious amounts of variation. This is the best time of the day to see nocturnal hunters preparing for their nightly expeditions. Watering holes are also usually busy just before sunset, as animals, such as hippos, return to their resting spots while others congregate to drink before retiring for the night.
Day 2: Maasai Mara National Reserve
You will enjoy a full day of amazing game drives. Discover the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the most famous and most visited reserve in Kenya. Covering an area of 1510 square kilometers, the Maasai Mara reserve is, in fact, the extension in Kenyan territory of the vast Serengeti Park in Tanzania. Together, they constitute a huge ecosystem in which animals move freely. All large African animals are present.
Famous for its rich wildlife, the Maasai Mara is home to not only the Big Five but also many birds, over 500 species have been recorded. Along the rivers, crocodiles and hippos lie in wait. Composed of vast rolling plains and hills, the Maasai Mara is dotted with umbrella thorn acacias and thorny thickets.
In the Maa language, Mara means "spotted" and may refer to the colorful landscapes. Alternatively, the name may refer to the arrival of over two million herbivores during the annual migration (wildebeest, gazelles, and zebras). You will spend another night at Mara Sopa Lodge, where all your meals will be served.
Day 3: Maasai Mara National Reserve - Lake Nakuru National Park.
You will be driven from the Maasai Mara National Reserve to Lake Nakuru National Park. The road first heads north and east to Narok, before turning east to Maai Mahiu, south of Lake Nakuru. The drive will last between 5 and 6 hours. Route details and journey times may vary depending on road conditions. You will arrive at Lake Nakuru Lodge for check-in and to enjoy lunch later in the afternoon. Depart for an evening game drive at 1600Hrs to look out for the rhinos. The park is surrounded by wooded and bushy grasslands, a splendor of a grey-green forest of euphorbia candelabrum and offers sanctuary to some of the world most endangered creatures like both the white and black rhino. The Kenya’s first rhino sanctuary is established in this park since the rhino is an endangered species. In this park also lies the shimmering waters of Lake Nakuru which is packed with the pink flamingoes. You will come across wildlife such as the rock hyrax, colobus monkey, hippo, leopard, lion, black and white rhinos, water buck, stripped hyena, the golden cat, rothschild girrafe, thomsons and grant gazelles.You will spend the night at Lake Nakuru Lodge, where all your meals will be served.
Day 4: Lake Nakuru - Amboseli National Park
You will be driven from Lake Nakuru to Amboseli National Park. The road linking the lakes runs south from Baringo and Bogoria to Nakuru, before turning southeast to Elementaita and Naivasha. From Naivasha, the road ascends the Rift Valley escarpment before reaching Limuru, known for its tea plantations, and continuing down to Nairobi.
From Nairobi, the road leads south and east, mainly through open grassland, descending to an altitude of 1145 meters at Amboseli. The journey will last between six and eight hours. The route details and journey times may vary depending on road conditions. You will arrive at Amboseli Sopa Lodge for check-in. Then, later in the afternoon, you will enjoy a game drive through the Amboseli National Park.
Day 5: Amboseli National Park
You will enjoy a full day of game drives. Located along the Tanzanian border, the park derives its name from the Maasai word "Empusel," meaning salty, dusty place. Declared a national park in 1974 to protect its unique and fragile ecosystem, the Amboseli National Park offers landscapes of remarkable contrasts: arid zones alongside the lush oases of the swamps. The ecosystem of this low rainfall region depends on water from Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 meters).
A particular feature of Amboseli is the possibility to take picture postcard photos of elephants against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro. Covering an area of 392 square kilometers, the park is, in addition to elephants, home to numerous animals as well as 400 species of birds who live alongside the Maasai villages. You will spend the night at Amboseli Sopa Lodge and you will also enjoy delicious meals.
Day 6: Amboseli National Park - Tsavo East National Park
You will be driven from Amboseli National Park to Tsavo East National Park. First, you will be traveling in a south-easterly direction, where the route will pass to the north of Mount Kilimanjaro before branching north to Emali. From there, the main Nairobi - Mombasa road leads southeast to the Tsavo East National Park, entering Voi Gate. The journey will last approximately four hours and a half. The route details and journey times may vary depending on road conditions.
You will arrive at Voi Safari Lodge for check-in and then, later in the afternoon, you will enjoy a game drive through the Tsavo East National Park. Tsavo East is separated from the western part of the park by the railway linking Nairobi to Mombasa. No fence separates the two parks at present, allowing animals to move freely from one place to another.
Day 7 to 9: Tsavo East National Park - Diani Beach, South Coast, Kenya
You will enjoy breakfast, then you will enjoy the en-route game drive in the Tsavo East National Park as you head to Mombasa. The main Nairobi - Mombasa road runs between Tsavo East and Tsavo West and is joined typically at either Voi or Manyani. From here, the road leads southeast through the Taru Desert, an arid, scorched wilderness.
Thereafter, the scenery will become progressively more tropical, the heat and humidity will increase, and the landscape will change to coconut palms, papaya, and other coastal vegetation. The journey will last approximately four hours. The route details and journey times may vary depending on road conditions.
Here, you will enjoy a coastal beach holiday and relax on the beautiful white sand, while sipping a refreshing cocktail. You will have the next three days at Amani Tiwi Beach Resort, where you will enjoy at your leisure the African beach lifestyle. For these three days, you will enjoy delicious meals.
Day 10: Tiwi Beach, Mombasa - Moi International Airport (MBA)
You will enjoy breakfast and then you will be transferred to Moi International Airport (MBA) for your outbound international flight back home.
