Day 1: Nairobi to Amboseli National Park – Elephants Beneath Kilimanjaro
Your adventure begins at 7:30 am when your professional guide picks you up from your Nairobi hotel or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Leaving the city behind, the road south takes you past bustling towns, roadside markets, and traditional Maasai homesteads. As you approach Amboseli, the air grows drier and the landscapes open up into vast plains.
By midday, you arrive at Amboseli Sopa Lodge, located at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. After a refreshing welcome drink, check into your comfortable room and enjoy a hot lunch. The lodge itself is surrounded by lush gardens, with views stretching to Kilimanjaro’s peaks on clear days.
At 4:00 pm, set out on your first game drive in Amboseli. Known as the “Land of Giants,” Amboseli has the highest concentration of elephants in the world, with more than 1,600 individuals. Many of these elephants are so well studied that they are known by name, and your guide will share fascinating insights into their family dynamics. In addition to elephants, Amboseli offers sightings of lions, hyenas, giraffes, buffalo, and a variety of antelopes. The park’s swamps, fed by underground streams from Kilimanjaro’s glaciers, also attract hippos and abundant birdlife.
As the sun sets, casting long shadows across the plains, return to your lodge for a delicious dinner. Spend the night listening to the sounds of the bush — a distant lion’s roar, the whooping of hyenas, or the rustle of wind in the acacia trees.
Accommodation: Amboseli Sopa Lodge
Day 2: Full Day in Amboseli – Big Five & Birdlife
Today, the schedule is flexible to suit your preference. After an early breakfast, you can choose between a full-day safari with picnic lunch or a split-day safari with morning and afternoon drives.
- A full-day safari allows you to penetrate deeper into the park. With Mount Kilimanjaro as your constant backdrop, you’ll drive through wetlands teeming with elephants, open grasslands where predators stalk their prey, and acacia woodlands where giraffes browse. Picnic lunch is enjoyed in the shade of a tree, with panoramic views of Amboseli’s plains.
- If you opt for the split-day safari, begin with a sunrise drive at 6:00 am. This is the best time for photography and predator sightings, as lions and hyenas are still active. Return to the lodge mid-morning for breakfast and leisure time — perhaps a dip in the pool or simply relaxing with a book on your veranda. Later at 4:00 pm, head out again for another drive, watching the landscapes turn golden as the sun sets.
Amboseli is not only about elephants. It is also a birdwatcher’s paradise, with over 400 species recorded, including the rare grey crowned crane and secretary bird. Each game drive reveals something new, whether it’s cheetahs on the hunt or a herd of wildebeest kicking up dust as they gallop across the plains.
Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
Accommodation: Amboseli Sopa Lodge
Day 3: Amboseli to Lake Naivasha & Lake Nakuru – Rift Valley Magic
After breakfast, check out and begin your journey north toward the Great Rift Valley, one of Africa’s most dramatic landscapes. En route, stop at the Rift Valley viewpoint, where escarpments plunge dramatically into the valley floor. From here, you can see miles of volcanic terrain, fertile farmlands, and scattered lakes glistening in the sun.
Arrive in Lake Naivasha around midday and enjoy lunch. Afterwards, embark on a boat ride across the lake, where hippos wallow and fish eagles swoop down for their catch. The waters are home to pelicans, herons, and countless other bird species, making it a paradise for photographers and bird enthusiasts alike.
Step ashore on Crescent Island, a privately owned sanctuary where giraffes, zebras, and gazelles roam freely. Here, you can enjoy a walking safari, a rare chance to walk alongside wildlife in a safe, predator-free environment.
Later in the afternoon, continue your drive to Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge, perched above Lake Nakuru National Park. After checking in, relax with refreshments and enjoy views stretching over the park. Dinner is served in the lodge’s elegant dining area.
Accommodation: Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge
Day 4: Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara – Rhino Country to Predator Paradise
Wake early for a morning game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park, a sanctuary for endangered rhinos. Both black and white rhinos thrive here, often seen grazing on the open grasslands or resting under shady trees. The park is also home to Rothschild’s giraffes, buffalo, zebras, and more than 450 bird species, including flamingos when conditions are right.
After breakfast, begin your journey westward to the Masai Mara National Reserve, arriving in time for lunch at Masai Mara Sopa Lodge. Situated on the slopes of the Oloolaimutia Hills, the lodge offers sweeping views across the Mara plains.
At 1:30 pm, set off for your first Mara game drive. Few places on earth rival the Mara’s wildlife density. Lions are particularly abundant, and sightings of cheetahs and leopards are also common. From July to October, the Mara hosts the Great Migration, when over two million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles cross the plains, pursued by predators. Even outside migration season, the Mara is teeming with wildlife, making it a year-round safari paradise.
Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight, with Maasai cultural performances often included.
Accommodation: Masai Mara Sopa Lodge
Day 5: Full-Day Masai Mara – Africa’s Safari Crown Jewel
Today is dedicated entirely to exploring the Masai Mara. After an early breakfast, head out for a full-day game drive with picnic lunch. Your guide will take you to different sections of the reserve, including the Mara River, where crocodiles and hippos thrive and dramatic predator-prey interactions occur during migration.
Optional: Begin your day with a hot air balloon safari (extra cost), drifting silently above the savannah as the sun rises. After landing, enjoy a champagne bush breakfast before continuing your game drive.
Throughout the day, expect unforgettable encounters — prides of lions resting in the shade, cheetahs scanning the horizon, elephants moving gracefully in family herds, and jackals scavenging near predator kills. Birdlife is also abundant, with vultures circling overhead and colorful rollers adding splashes of color.
Return to camp for dinner and cultural experiences. Around the campfire, Maasai warriors may share stories of their traditions, connecting you to the deep cultural heritage of this land.
Accommodation: Masai Mara Sopa Lodge
Day 6: Masai Mara to Nairobi – Farewell to the Wild
On your final morning, enjoy an early sunrise game drive. This is the best time to see nocturnal predators returning from hunts and herbivores starting their day. Capture your last photographs of the Mara’s stunning landscapes.
Return to the lodge for breakfast before checking out. Depart for Nairobi, arriving in the afternoon. Depending on your plans, you will be dropped off at your hotel or transferred to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your flight home.
This marks the conclusion of your unforgettable Kenya Tours safari, a journey filled with elephants beneath Kilimanjaro, rhinos grazing in Nakuru, and lions roaring across the plains of the Masai Mara.
