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11 Day itinerary in Kenya, Africa

Kenya Big Five, Rift Valley Lakes & Tsavo

Travel across Kenya from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Tsavo West, and Tsavo East, with Big Five game drives, a Hell's Gate visit, a Lake Naivasha boat ride and Crescent Island walk, Mzima Springs, Taita Hills, and a return to Nairobi on the Madaraka Express.

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EstherAmos

By Esther and Amos

Overview

Physical Difficulty

Light
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Recommended Age

Everyone

Operated in

English

GUIDANCE

Driver as a Guide

starting point

Nairobi

trip type

Private

trip attributes

Sustainable Travel

Nature & Widlife

Boat Tours

Adventure

Jeep & 4WD

Culture & History

Start/End

Night

Highlights

1

Track the Big Five in the Maasai Mara National Reserve

2

Spot flamingos and rhinos in Lake Nakuru National Park

3

Watch elephant herds below Mount Kilimanjaro in Amboseli

4

Explore Tsavo East's red-earth plains and open savannah

Itinerary

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Day 1

place Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi | Airport meet and leisure time

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where your professional safari driver-guide will meet and welcome you. Transfer to your city hotel for check-in and time to relax after your international flight. The remainder of the day is at leisure to unwind and enjoy the hotel facilities.


Nairobi serves as East Africa’s primary gateway and a dynamic introduction to Kenya.


Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Tamarind Tree Hotel
Day 2

place Day 2: Nairobi - Maasai Mara | Rift Valley drive and first safari

After breakfast, depart Nairobi and journey toward the world-renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve. Drive along the Great Rift Valley escarpment, stopping at scenic viewpoints overlooking one of Africa’s most dramatic geological features. Continue through rural landscapes and Maasai homelands before arriving at your lodge in time for lunch.


In the afternoon, set out on your first game drive across the Mara’s expansive savannah, known for its rich wildlife populations and Big Five sightings. The Maasai Mara is globally recognized for its exceptional predator density and annual wildebeest migration.


The Maasai Mara is globally recognized for its exceptional predator density and annual wildebeest migration.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Mara Sopa Lodge
Day 3

place Day 3: Maasai Mara Exploration | Big Five tracking and open plains

Spend a full day exploring the diverse ecosystems of the Maasai Mara National Reserve with game drives in the morning and afternoon.


Look for lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards, and rhinos, while also watching plains game such as zebras, giraffes, and antelope. The reserve’s open terrain creates excellent conditions for wildlife viewing and photography.


Return for time to relax between activities.


The Maasai Mara is globally recognized for its exceptional predator density and annual wildebeest migration.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Mara Sopa Lodge
Day 4

place Day 4; Maasai Mara – Lake Nakuru – Naivasha | Rift Valley lakes and wildlife

After breakfast, depart the Maasai Mara and travel toward Lake Nakuru National Park in the Great Rift Valley.


Arrive for a game drive around the alkaline lake, known for its birdlife, including flamingos, and for its populations of white and black rhinos. The park’s acacia woodlands and grasslands also support wildlife such as lions, buffalo, and Rothschild giraffes.


Enjoy lunch within the park before continuing to Lake Naivasha, arriving in the late afternoon.


Lake Nakuru is one of Kenya’s key rhino conservation areas.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort
Day 5

place Day 5; Lake Naivasha Exploration | Walking safari and freshwater ecosystems

After breakfast, you head to Hell's Gate National Park, one of the few parks in Kenya where you can explore on foot or by bicycle. You move through dramatic gorges, volcanic rock formations, and open plains, with chances to see zebras, giraffes, antelope, and buffalo at close range without the barrier of a safari vehicle.


In the afternoon, you take a boat ride on Lake Naivasha, passing hippos and a variety of birdlife before reaching Crescent Island. There, you continue with a guided walking safari among free-roaming animals.


Lake Naivasha is one of the few freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley and supports a rich bird ecosystem.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort
Day 6

place Day 6: Naivasha to Amboseli | Journey to Elephant Country

After breakfast, you leave the Rift Valley and travel toward Amboseli National Park, passing through changing landscapes from highlands to open plains.


You arrive in time for lunch, with views, weather permitting, of Mount Kilimanjaro rising beyond the park boundary.


In the afternoon, you head out on a game drive across Amboseli’s open terrain, an area known for its large elephant herds and striking scenery.


Amboseli is one of the best locations in Africa to observe elephants up close in their natural habitat.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Amboseli Sopa Lodge
Day 7

place Day 7: Amboseli Exploration | Elephants and Kilimanjaro views

You spend the day exploring Amboseli National Park on morning and afternoon game drives.


Photograph elephants crossing the plains with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background, and watch for a variety of wildlife and abundant birdlife around the park’s swamps.


Midday is reserved for relaxation, giving you time to take in the landscape and the changing light over the mountain.


Amboseli’s swamps are fed by underground rivers from Kilimanjaro’s glaciers.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Amboseli Sopa Lodge
Day 8

place Day 8: To Tsavo West | Volcanic terrain and natural springs

After breakfast, you leave Amboseli for Tsavo West National Park and enter a region shaped by volcanic terrain and dramatic scenery.


You continue with a game drive en route, stopping at key features including lava flows and the crystal-clear Mzima Springs, where hippos and crocodiles can often be seen beneath the surface.


This park offers a different safari experience from the open savannah ecosystems because of its rugged terrain.


Tsavo West is known for its diverse landscapes, from volcanic hills to natural springs.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: NGULIA SAFARI LODGE KWAHERI
Day 9

place Day 9: Tsavo West to Tsavo East | Open plains and red soil

After breakfast, you depart for Tsavo East National Park, crossing into one of Kenya’s largest and oldest national parks.


Enjoy a game drive en route as the landscape opens into vast plains marked by red soil, scattered acacia trees, and seasonal rivers.


Wildlife sightings may include large elephant herds, lions, giraffes, zebras, and a wide variety of plains game.


Tsavo East is famous for its “red elephants,” colored by the region’s iron-rich soil.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Voi Safari Lodge
Day 10

place Day 10: Tsavo East and Taita Hills | Extended safari and wildlife corridors

You spend the day exploring Tsavo East National Park and the nearby Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.


This region forms an important wildlife corridor and supports diverse species across savannah, woodland, and riverine habitats. During your game drives, you have opportunities to track predators, observe elephant herds, and experience less-traveled safari terrain.


You return in the late afternoon for relaxation and views over the surrounding landscape.


The Tsavo ecosystem is one of the largest protected wildlife areas in the world.


Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Price per person sharing: Voi Safari Lodge
Day 11

place Day 11; Tsavo to Nairobi by Rail | Madaraka Express and departure transfer

After breakfast, you transfer to the train station for your journey aboard the Madaraka Express.


You travel through Tsavo landscapes toward Nairobi in comfort, with opportunities to spot wildlife along the route.


On arrival in Nairobi, you are met and transferred to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your departure flight, bringing your safari to an end.


The Madaraka Express is Kenya’s standard-gauge railway service linking Nairobi with the coast through Tsavo.


Meals: Breakfast

What’s Included

Accommodation expand_less

  • Tamarind Tree Hotel
  • Mara Sopa Lodge
  • Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort
  • Amboseli Sopa Lodge
  • NGULIA SAFARI LODGE KWAHERI
  • Voi Safari Lodge

Meals expand_less

  • Breakfast (11)
  • Lunch (9)
  • Dinner (9)

Transport expand_less

  • Airport meet and welcome at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
  • Arrival transfer from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
  • Road journey from Nairobi to Maasai Mara National Reserve
  • Road journey from Maasai Mara to Lake Nakuru National Park
  • Road journey from Lake Nakuru National Park to Lake Naivasha
  • Road journey from Lake Naivasha to Amboseli National Park
  • Road journey from Amboseli to Tsavo West National Park
  • Road journey from Tsavo West to Tsavo East National Park
  • Transfer to the train station in Tsavo
  • Madaraka Express rail journey from Tsavo to Nairobi
  • Transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi

Activities expand_less

  • Scenic stop at Great Rift Valley escarpment viewpoints
  • 3 game drives in Maasai Mara National Reserve
  • 1 game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park
  • Visit to Hell's Gate National Park on foot or by bicycle
  • Boat ride on Lake Naivasha
  • Guided walking safari on Crescent Island
  • 3 game drives in Amboseli National Park
  • 1 game drive en route in Tsavo West National Park
  • Stop at lava flows in Tsavo West National Park
  • Stop at Mzima Springs in Tsavo West National Park
  • 1 game drive en route in Tsavo East National Park
  • Additional game drives in Tsavo East National Park
  • Game drives in Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary

Not Included expand_less

  • International flights to and from destination
  • Mandatory travel insurance
  • Tips and personal expenses
  • International departure taxes
  • ETA / Visa fees into Kenya
  • Drinks in the lodges
  • Telephone / fax bills
  • Laundry
  • Any other items not specified in the inclusions clause

About Esther

TEAM LEAD

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Expertise: 

Cycling

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Visit markets

Meet local people

Rural home stays

Indigenous culture

Purposeful Travel

Nature & Wildlife

Creating transformative safari experiences that immerse you in the majestic natural wonders of Kenya and beyond with a commitment to sustainable travel is my deepest passion. Your intimate involvement and my support we create lifetime experiences

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