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Samaka MaraSafari

5 days · 4 nights · from Nairobi

5 Days Aberdare, Lake Nakuru & Maasai Mara

Highland forest, Rift Valley lake and open savanna in one loop

  • Lodge
  • Tented camp

A route that shows how much Kenya changes in a few hours' driving. You start in cool montane forest on the Aberdare range, watching a floodlit waterhole from a tree lodge, drop to the alkaline shallows of Lake Nakuru, and finish on the Mara's grassland.

Trip highlights

  • A night at a tree lodge above an Aberdare waterhole, with game arriving after dark
  • Forest species you will not see on the plains — bongo, giant forest hog, black-and-white colobus
  • Rhino, Rothschild's giraffe and flamingo at Lake Nakuru
  • Two nights in the Maasai Mara for unhurried big-cat viewing

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Nairobi → Aberdare National Park

    North out of Nairobi past coffee country and up onto the Kikuyu highlands. You check in at the base hotel, leave your main luggage there, and transfer up to the tree lodge in the early afternoon with an overnight bag. From then on the game comes to you: elephant, buffalo, waterbuck and — if you are lucky and stay up — a leopard or a rare bongo at the salt lick.

    Meals
    Lunch, dinner

  2. Day 2

    Aberdare → Lake Nakuru

    Breakfast at the lodge, back down to the base hotel to collect your luggage, then west across the Rift Valley floor to Nakuru. Lunch at your lodge, then an afternoon game drive through the acacia woodland and along the lakeshore.

    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch, dinner

  3. Day 3

    Lake Nakuru → Maasai Mara

    A morning drive in Nakuru, then the cross-country route south through Njoro and Bomet to the Mara — a long but scenic drive through tea and wheat country. You arrive in the afternoon and go out on an evening game drive.

    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch, dinner

  4. Day 4

    Maasai Mara

    A full day in the reserve, with a picnic lunch if you want to range as far as the Mara River. This is the day to look for a river crossing in migration season, or to spend time with a lion pride and let the day unfold around them.

    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch, dinner

  5. Day 5

    Maasai Mara → Nairobi

    Early game drive, breakfast, then the drive back via Narok and the escarpment. Drop-off in Nairobi or at the airport in the afternoon.

    Meals
    Breakfast

What’s included

  • Park and reserve entry fees for every park on the itinerary
  • Full-board accommodation (breakfast, lunch and dinner on safari)
  • Transport in a custom safari minivan or 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof
  • A professional English-speaking driver-guide throughout
  • All game drives listed in the itinerary
  • Bottled drinking water in the vehicle
  • Government taxes and levies

Not included

  • International and domestic flights
  • Kenyan and Tanzanian visas
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Drinks, laundry and other items of a personal nature
  • Optional extras such as balloon flights, Maasai village visits and night drives
  • Tips for your guide and lodge staff
  • Accommodation in Nairobi before or after the safari

Enquire

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