7 Day Kenya Safari Baringo Nakuru Naivasha & Masai Mara

Day 1: Nairobi – Drive to Lake Baringo National Park
Day 2: Discover Lake Baringo National Park
Day 3: Lake Baringo  – Visit Lake Bogoria – Drive to Lake Nakuru National Park
Day 4: Lake Nakuru  –  Drive to Lake Naivasha
Day 5: Lake Naivasha – Drive to Masai Mara Game Reserve
Day 6: Explore Masai Mara Game Reserve
Day 7: Masai Mara – Drive to Nairobi

Day 1: Nairobi – Drive to Lake Baringo National Park

After breakfast, depart by road to the Great Rift Valley, with Mt Longonot in the background. Stopping periodically to marvel at the plunging escarpments, volcanic mountains, and pristine lakes

Arrive at Lake Baringo in time for lunch, followed by a relaxed afternoon to be enjoyed, and swimming at the pool later in the evening. We have an optional boat ride in the lake to visit the Islands, hot water geysers, and see hippos and crocodiles.

Overnight Accommodation: Samatian Island Lodge, Parmalok Island Lodge, or Tumbili Cliff Lodge, Lake Baringo

Meal Plan {Lunch & Dinner}

Day 2: Discover Lake Baringo

The lake has several small islands, the largest of which is Ol Kokwe Island. Lake Baringo, a freshwater Rift Valley lake, is famous for its magnificent bird life. Enjoy interesting and informative bird walks.

Lake Baringo is well known for two of its water residents–the hippo and the crocodile. Hippos are seen in the lake on boat trips, and at Lakeside lodges and camps.

Overnight Accommodation: Samatian Island Lodge, Parmalok Island Lodge, or Tumbili Cliff Lodge, Lake Baringo
Meal Plan {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 3: Lake Baringo – Drive to Lake Nakuru National Park

After breakfast, a 30 km drive south brings us to the spectacular Lake Bogoria, with its natural hot springs and geysers as the main attractions. The lake has been called ‘the new home of the flamingo’, hosting a migratory population of up to two million of these pink birds at certain times.

It is the high salt and mineral content of this scenic soda lake that attracts huge numbers of flamingos, making the lake a visual delight. Our journey continues to the Lake Nakuru National Park, an important wildlife sanctuary covering 180 km².

This compact game park is home to giraffes, warthogs, waterbuck, buffaloes, reedbuck, lions, and the occasional leopard. White and black rhinos were introduced to the park some years ago, and white rhinos can be spotted at the southern end.

Lake Nakuru has also retained its reputation as an ornithologist’s delight, with more than 400 bird species found here. Bird species include the Great White Pelican, African Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Stork, Lesser and Greater Flamingo, and Long-crested Eagle.

Overnight Accommodation: Egret Savannah Camp, Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge, or Lake Nakuru Lodge
Meal Plan {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 4: Lake Nakuru –  Drive to Lake Naivasha

Next, we overland to papyrus-fringed Lake Naivasha. With over 400 species of birds, this freshwater lake is a birding Paradise. Along the lake’s fabled waters, we are bound to see some of the area’s more intriguing species—hippos, giraffes, buffalo, and even the arboreal colobus monkey.

Lake Naivasha lies in the Great Rift Valley, and the name derives from the local Masai name Nai’posha, meaning “rough water” because of the sudden storms that can arise.

After lunch, we visit Crescent Island- a private sanctuary, where you can walk beneath yellow-barked acacias (yellow fever trees) in search of giraffes, wildebeest, impala, dik-diks, Thompson’s and grant’s gazelles, elands, waterbucks, and countless bird species.

Oh, and there are some rather gigantic pythons, too! We are allowed to walk with the animals since all were introduced during the filming of Out of Africa. An optional boat ride on the lake reveals many waterbird species and schools of Hippos.

Overnight Accommodation: Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge or Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge
Meals: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 5: Lake Naivasha – Drive to Masai Mara Game Reserve

After a leisurely breakfast at Naivasha Sopa Lodge, depart overland to the Masai Mara Game Reserve, the jewel of Kenya’s Game Parks. The Masai Mara is Kenya’s finest and most outstanding wildlife sanctuary, where gentle rolling grassland ensures animals are never out of sight.

The climate is gentle, rarely too hot, and well-spread rainfall year-round. The sensation of the great wildebeest migration between July and October is unparalleled. The wildlife is far from being confined within the Reserve boundaries, and an even larger area extends beyond the game Reserve.

Centuries of close association with wildlife have resulted in an almost symbiotic relationship in which the Masai people live in peace with wildlife. After lunch, explore the Reserve on a late evening ‘Spice’ game drive.

No matter how much you have thought about Africa, this is more than you expected—the big five-Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Rhino, and Cape buffalo are in abundance.

Overnight Accommodation: Mara Sopa Lodge or Mara Simba Lodge

Meals: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner}

Day 6: Explore Masai Mara Game Reserve

We explore the Masai Mara on game-viewing drives. We venture into the world-famous Masai Mara on morning and afternoon game drives when the chances of seeing animals are best.

Wherever you go in the vast Masai Mara, you will see a frequent amount of wildlife such as Masai giraffes, baboons, warthogs, bat-eared foxes, grey jackals, spotted hyenas, topis, impala, hartebeests, and wildebeest.

Elephants, buffalo, zebras, and hippos are also found in great numbers. It is also common to see lions either basking after a heavy meal or surveying the plains for their next meal. Cheetahs and leopards are harder to spot but reasonably common.

The ultimate action here is, without doubt, the annual wildebeest exodus, the Great Migration, in July and August, when millions of these grass eaters move north from the Serengeti in search of lusher grass before turning south again in October.

Hot-air balloon trips are an outstanding way to see the savannah plains teeming with wildlife. These Masai Mara balloon trips can be arranged at an extra cost.

Overnight Accommodation: Mara Sopa Lodge or Mara Simba Lodge
Meals: {Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 7: Masai Mara – Drive to Nairobi

Meals: {Breakfast}