8 Days Samburu, Maasai Mara & Lake Naivasha — Northern Wilderness Paired With The Mara

Overview

Highlights

• ✦Samburu's 'Special Five' — Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich
• ✦Three full days in the Maasai Mara — Big Five and great migration in season
• ✦Lake Nakuru flamingos and rhino sanctuary
• ✦Lake Naivasha hippo boat ride and Crescent Island walking safari
• ✦Optional sunrise hot-air balloon safari over the Mara
• ✦Optional Samburu and Maasai cultural visits
• ✦KPSGA-certified driver-guide throughout
• ✦Mid-range to comfort-class lodges with pools and verandahs

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1

   North to Samburu

   Nairobi → Samburu National Reserve

   Your KPSGA-certified driver-guide collects you from your Nairobi hotel at 7am for the spectacular 6-hour drive north — through the coffee plantations of central Kenya, past the equator marker at Nanyuki (a photo stop and a cup of equator coffee), with Mount Kenya (5,199m) standing snow-capped on your right shoulder. Lunch at the Trout Tree Restaurant near Nanyuki, suspended in a giant Mugumo fig over a trout-stocked stream. Continue north into Samburu County, the landscape shifting from green highlands to red, semi-arid acacia bushland. Arrive at your Samburu lodge by 3pm. The afternoon game drive runs along the Ewaso Nyiro River — the lifeline of the reserve where elephants come to drink, crocodiles bask, and the Special Five start to appear. Sundowner on a kopje, dinner at the lodge, and the sound of Verreaux's eagle-owls calling in the dark.

   Meals: L, D · Stay: Samburu Sopa Lodge / Ashnil Samburu / Sentrim Samburu

2. 2

   Full day in Samburu's wild north

   Samburu National Reserve

   A 6:30am wake-up coffee precedes the dawn game drive when temperatures are coolest and big cats most active. Samburu's leopards are notably habituated to vehicles and often visible draped in doum-palm trees along the river. Track the Special Five: Grevy's zebra grazing the open plains (their pin-stripe pattern unmistakable), reticulated giraffe browsing the higher acacias, gerenuk standing impossibly tall on their hind legs, Beisa oryx in tight herds, and Somali ostriches with distinctive blue-grey legs. Return to the lodge for a long breakfast and lazy mid-morning by the pool. An optional 90-minute Samburu cultural visit can be arranged for the late morning — a moran (warrior) walks you through the manyatta, demonstrates the high jumping dance, and explains the age-grade system that structures Samburu society. Afternoon game drive at 4pm focused on lions and cheetah at Buffalo Springs. Overnight Samburu.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Samburu Sopa Lodge / Ashnil Samburu / Sentrim Samburu

3. 3

   Down to the Rift Valley

   Samburu → Lake Nakuru National Park

   Breakfast at 7am, then the long but scenic 6-hour drive south, this time descending the western edge of the Aberdares range and into the Great Rift Valley. Stop at Thomson's Falls in Nyahururu for a leg-stretch and at Subukia for picnic lunch. Arrive at Lake Nakuru National Park by 2pm and enter for an afternoon game drive — the park's main attractions are the alkaline lake (rimmed with millions of lesser flamingos when conditions are right) and Kenya's largest population of both black and white rhino. Look also for Rothschild's giraffe (translocated here for protection), water buffalo, leopard in the yellow-bark acacia woodlands, and the rare tree-climbing lions of Lion Hill. Sunset at Baboon Cliff offers a panoramic view of the entire pink-tinted lake. Drive 30 minutes to your lodge on the lake's southern shore for dinner and overnight.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge / Sarova Lion Hill Lodge

4. 4

   Hippos, boat rides and Hells Gate

   Lake Nakuru → Lake Naivasha

   An early 6:30am breakfast precedes a final 2-hour Lake Nakuru game drive — your best chance for rhino in soft morning light. Around 10am check out and drive 2 hours south to Lake Naivasha, the freshwater Rift Valley lake famous for hippos, fish eagles and pink papyrus shores. Lunch at your Naivasha lodge. The afternoon centers on a 1-hour motorboat cruise across the lake — gliding past pods of yellow-billed hippos, fish eagles fishing in spectacular dives, and the floating papyrus islands where 400+ bird species nest. The boat lands at Crescent Island, a private wildlife sanctuary where you can walk on foot among zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and impala (no big cats — perfect for families). Return to the lodge at sunset for sundowners on the verandah. Dinner and overnight Lake Naivasha.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge / Sawela Lodges / Enashipai Resort

5. 5

   South to the Maasai Mara

   Lake Naivasha → Maasai Mara National Reserve

   After breakfast at 7am, depart Lake Naivasha for the 5-hour drive south to the Maasai Mara — first along the Rift Valley escarpment with spectacular viewpoints over Mount Longonot, then through the Maasai grazing lands of Narok County. Stop in Narok town for lunch (the last proper town before the reserve). Arrive at the Mara's Sekenani or Talek Gate by 2pm and enter for an afternoon game drive en route to your lodge. The Maasai Mara needs little introduction — 1,510 sq km of open savanna where the great migration arrives each July, where Kenya's densest lion population (1,500+ individuals) patrols, and where every BBC wildlife documentary you've ever loved was probably filmed. Sundowner stop on a Mara kopje. Dinner at the lodge, lions calling in the dark, and the deep silence of the Mara at night.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Mara Sopa Lodge / Sentrim Mara / Mara Serena Safari Lodge

6. 6

   Full day in the Mara

   Maasai Mara — Mara Triangle, Talek River

   An optional sunrise balloon safari (US$550pp, pre-bookable) lifts off at dawn for a one-hour float over the Mara plains, concluded with a champagne bush breakfast. Non-balloon guests start with a 6am game drive and breakfast en route — the cool early hours are when the cats are still on the move from the night's hunt. Spend the full day exploring the Mara's most rewarding zones: the Mara Triangle (managed separately, fewer vehicles, exceptional cheetah sightings), the Talek and Mara Rivers (hippo pods, crocodiles, Topi Plains), and the famous BBC-Big-Cat-Diary marsh area where the Marsh Pride still rules. An optional 90-minute Maasai village visit in the late afternoon explains traditional life, the bead-work economy, and the controversial age-grade circumcision ceremony. Sundowner on a hilltop, then back to the lodge for dinner.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Mara Sopa Lodge / Sentrim Mara / Mara Serena Safari Lodge

7. 7

   Different sectors of the Mara

   Maasai Mara — Sand River, Mara North conservancy boundaries

   Today your driver-guide rotates you through different sectors of the Mara from yesterday — likely the Sand River area in the south-east (where the migration enters from Tanzania), the Lookout Hill plains (vast wildebeest concentrations July–October), and the boundary with the Mara North Conservancy (where vehicle traffic is lighter and off-road driving is permitted). From July through October this is the day to position for a Mara River crossing — your guide is in radio contact with other vehicles tracking herd movements, and any massing on the bank triggers immediate repositioning. Picnic lunch on a kopje. The afternoon revisits whichever zone produced the morning's best sightings — leopards in the Olare Orok riverine forest, cheetah on the Topi Plains. Final Mara sundowner. Dinner at the lodge with a glass of Tusker — your last bush night.

   Meals: B, L, D · Stay: Mara Sopa Lodge / Sentrim Mara / Mara Serena Safari Lodge

8. 8

   Final game drive and home

   Maasai Mara → Nairobi

   Your final morning starts with one last game drive at sunrise — often the best of the trip, when guides have learned exactly where you most want to find that elusive species. After breakfast at the lodge you check out at 10am for the 5-hour drive back to Nairobi via Narok with a sit-down lunch en route. Arrive Nairobi by 4pm — your driver-guide drops you at your Nairobi hotel for a day room (pre-bookable) or directly at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for an evening international departure. End of safari. Asante sana — thank you very much. Most international flights to Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia depart Nairobi between 8pm and midnight, giving plenty of cushion against any road delays.

   Meals: B, L · Stay: N/A (departure)

What to bring

• • Lightweight neutral-color clothing (khaki, olive, beige)
• • Warm fleece for cool early morning game drives
• • Sun hat and sunglasses with UV protection
• • High-SPF sunscreen and lip balm
• • Insect repellent (DEET)
• • Comfortable walking shoes and sandals
• • Swimsuit for lodge pools
• • Binoculars (8x42 ideal for safari)
• • Camera with telephoto lens (200mm or longer)
• • Spare batteries, memory cards, power bank
• • Refillable water bottle
• • Small daypack
• • Anti-malarial prophylaxis (consult your doctor)
• • Copies of passport and travel insurance

Frequently asked questions