7-Day Classic Kenya Safari: Lake Nakuru & Maasai Mara
Rhino at Lake Nakuru, then the big cats of the Maasai Mara — a week by road through the Great Rift Valley, with two nights in a fenced rhino sanctuary and three in Kenya's best-known reserve.
About this safari
A classic Kenya week that puts the two halves of the Big Five question together. Lake Nakuru, on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, is fenced and run as a rhino sanctuary — one of the surest places in the country to see both black and white rhino, along with Rothschild's giraffe and, when the water levels suit them, flamingos and pelicans along the shore. The Maasai Mara supplies the rest: lion prides, cheetah, leopard, elephant and the plains herds.
The pace is unhurried. Each park gets full days rather than drive-throughs, the drives between them run through the Rift Valley and the farmland of the highlands, and you travel in your own 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof and the same driver-guide throughout. It ends with a farewell dinner at the Carnivore in Nairobi before your flight home.
What makes this one special
- Black and white rhino in the fenced sanctuary of Lake Nakuru
- Rothschild's giraffe and the waterbirds of the Rift Valley lakeshore
- Three nights inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve
- A picnic lunch by the Mara River, with hippo in the pools below
- Your own 4×4 Land Cruiser and driver-guide throughout
- A farewell dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi
The journey, morning by morning
Arrival in Nairobi
Met at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) by our airport representative and driven privately to your hotel. An evening to settle in before the safari begins.
Down the Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru
After breakfast the drive north-west from Nairobi and down the Great Rift Valley escarpment to Lake Nakuru National Park, with a game drive on the way in to the lodge. Lunch, then at 4:00pm an afternoon drive for black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe and the waterbirds along the shore, back to the lodge for dinner.
A full day at Lake Nakuru
Morning and afternoon game drives through the acacia woodland and the lakeshore grassland. Lions here sometimes climb into the trees, and leopard, big buffalo herds and, when the water levels suit them, flamingos and pelicans complete the day. Lunch and time by the pool at the lodge between drives.
Lake Nakuru to the Maasai Mara
Away at 8:00am after breakfast, south-west through farmland to the Maasai Mara, arriving at camp for lunch. At 4:00pm the first Mara game drive across the rolling savannah, tracking big cats and the plains herds until sunset.
A full day in the Maasai Mara
Morning and afternoon game drives across Kenya's best-known reserve, looking for lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and cheetah among the herds of zebra, wildebeest and gazelle, with hyena close by. Lunch back at camp between drives, or out on the plains.
The Mara River and the plains
A second full day, shaped around what the guides are seeing. Take a picnic lunch down to the Mara River, where hippo wallow in the pools and crocodiles bask on the banks. Between July and October this is where the migration herds gather to cross.
To Nairobi, the Carnivore and home
A last breakfast in the Mara, then the drive back to Nairobi with lunch on the way in Narok. A farewell dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant, then your driver takes you to JKIA for the flight home.
How this journey unfolds — 3 stops in 7 days
- 1Nairobi
- 2Lake Nakuru
- 3Maasai Mara
The year on this safari, month by month
July to October for the Great Migration in the Mara. Lake Nakuru's rhino and the Mara's resident predators are there year-round, so the trip works in any month; the long rains of April and May make some roads slower.
Indicative pattern for Kenya's safari circuit. The long rains (around March–May) and short rains (around November) shift year to year.
Conditions along the route
Live readings where this safari spends its days.
The world this journey moves through
Photography of the landscapes and wildlife along this route — tap any photo to view it full screen.
Included and not included
Included
- Airport meet and assist
- Private transfers as per the itinerary
- Service of an English-speaking professional driver-guide
- Game drives in a 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof
- Accommodation as listed
- Meals as listed in the day-by-day
- Farewell dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant, Nairobi
- All park entrance fees and government taxes as per the itinerary
- Driver-guide salary, allowances and vehicle park fees
- Bottled drinking water in the vehicle on safari
Not included
- International flights
- Visas, vaccinations and any required tests
- Travel, medical and cancellation insurance
- Optional hot-air balloon safari
- Tips and gratuities
- Telephone calls, room service and items of a personal nature
- Increases in park fees or other charges beyond our control
What a journey like this costs
Indicative all-inclusive rates per person, per night. Your own quote is built from your dates, your camps and the size of your party, and holds once agreed.
- Mid-rangeUS$450 – US$950per person, per night
Comfortable park lodges and permanent tented camps, road transfers between parks, shared game drives, all park fees.
Comfort · Classic camps and lodges
- LuxuryUS$950 – US$1,500per person, per night
Fly-in bush transfers, boutique tented camps, shared or private 4×4 vehicles, all park fees, fine dining.
Luxury camps and lodges
- Ultra-luxuryUS$1,600 – US$3,200+per person, per night
Private charter flights, exclusive-use conservancy lodges, a dedicated private guide and vehicle throughout.
Ultimate luxury camps and lodges
See the camps and lodges behind these bands
*Correct as at September 2026. Third-party costs such as park fees, gorilla permits, balloon flights and lodge rates are set by others and can change — we will quote the current price at the time of confirmation.
A first Kenya safari with a week to spend, couples and families who want rhino as well as the big cats, and keen birders.
Nairobi city hotel and safari lodges
Questions travellers ask
- Why include Lake Nakuru on a Kenya safari?
- For rhino. The Maasai Mara's black rhino are few and hard to find, while Lake Nakuru is fenced and run as a rhino sanctuary — one of the surest places in Kenya to see both black and white rhino. It also holds Rothschild's giraffe, and it sits on the way to the Mara, so it adds wildlife rather than driving.
- How long are the drives on this safari?
- Nairobi to Lake Nakuru is roughly three and a half hours, Lake Nakuru to the Maasai Mara roughly five to six, and the Mara back to Nairobi roughly five to six with a lunch stop in Narok. Each drive leaves after breakfast and arrives in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive.
- Will there be flamingos at Lake Nakuru?
- Possibly, but it cannot be promised. Flamingo numbers rise and fall with the lake's water level and the algae it supports, so you may find a pink shoreline or only scattered groups. Pelicans, storks and fish eagles are reliable, and the rhino are the real reason to come.
- Can we see the Great Migration on this trip?
- Between roughly July and October the migration herds are usually in the Maasai Mara, and the two full days there are when you have the best chance of a river crossing. Crossings cannot be timed; the herds gather for hours and turn back as often as they go.
- Can this safari be made longer?
- Yes. The 8-day and 10-day versions add Amboseli beneath Kilimanjaro and Lake Naivasha, and the 13-day Grand Kenya safari starts in Samburu in the north. Tell us how long you have and we will shape it.