Compare Kenya Wildlife Safari by Intrepid Travel vs Treasures of Kenya by Hayes & Jarvis Limited

Day 1 Nairobi

Jambo! Welcome to Kenya. Your trip begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm. If you arrive with time to spare before the meeting, consider getting to know the city on an Urban Adventure like the ‘Nairobi Experience’. This optional 4-hour tour is a great way to get a feel for Nairobi, and includes lunch at a local restaurant. After the welcome meeting, perhaps join your new travel companions for an optional group dinner.

Day 2 Lake Nakuru National Park

Drive north-west past splendid views of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Naivasha and Elementaita to Lake Nakuru National Park. Situated in the heart of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru National Park is a great location for spotting wildlife, which you will do in an early morning game drive tomorrow. For now, head to a nearby village with your leader. This is a fantastic opportunity to interact with the local folk and get a feel for everyday life here. Enjoy a cooking class and return later in the evening to share the results for dinner.

Day 3 Lake Naivasha

Wake early for a light breakfast and head into the Lake Nakuru National Park for a game drive in the overland vehicle. Lake Nakuru is home to rhinos, and there will be a good chance of spotting and photographing one of these magnificent beasts. Return to camp for lunch before driving to your camp near Lake Naivasha. One of the few freshwater lakes in the Great Rift Valley, Lake Naivasha has floating islands of papyrus reeds and a border of flat-topped acacias. It's also home to a healthy population of hippos and a tremendous variety of birds.

Day 4 Lake Naivasha

Enjoy a free day to choose from a variety of optional activities available around Lake Naivasha. Perhaps venture to Hell's Gate National Park, which boasts beautiful cliffs, gorges, rock towers, volcanoes and a range of geothermal phenomena. Another great choice is to take a boat trip across Lake Naivasha – perhaps the best way to take in the atmosphere of this lush area. If you're looking for something active, why not hire a bike for the day and make some of your own discoveries, venturing beyond the cacti and olive trees.

Day 5 Loita Hills Maasai Village

Depart Lake Naivasha, making a short stop in Narok to do a spot of food shopping. Continue to Loita Hills, home of the Maasai people, stopping for lunch on the way. You’ll be camping at Tepesua Village, which is known for championing Maasai women’s health and education. When you arrive, be welcomed by traditional Maasai warrior song and dance, then your host will explain the details of Maasai warrior training. Take a walk to the community village which was founded to alleviate the poverty of Maasai widows, who traditionally are not allowed to inherit property. The village offers support, safety and economic growth through the ‘Tepesua Widows Income Project’. Spend the evening around a campfire and learn more about their age-old culture and traditions as you share stories with Maasai warriors into the night.

Day 6 Masai Mara National Reserve

Today you’ll travel from Loita Hills to Masai Mara. Most of the road there is tarmacked, but the final 5 km is dusty when dry and muddy when wet. The Masai Mara is the quintessential African experience, with sparse open plains, dramatic skies and some of the world's most tremendous animals. After setting up camp, sit down to some lunch. Then it's time to jump in 4WDs and go for a game drive through the wilderness of the Mara.

Day 7 Masai Mara National Reserve

Venture into the Masai Mara National Reserve for a full day's game drive in 4WDs. You'll explore this diverse environment and most likely see a multitude of wildlife. An optional balloon ride over the Mara at sunrise is available today. If you have pre-booked this activity, you will be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site for a safety briefing from your pilot. Then, you will glide through the dawn, sometimes at tree height, to get some amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you will ascend, getting an overview of the enormity of the plains and of the early morning movements of the teeming herds. After landing, you'll be treated to a bush breakfast, then meet up with the rest of the group while on their game drive.

Day 8 Nairobi

Say goodbye to the open expanses of the African bush and return to the bustling metropolis of Nairobi. On arrival, you'll be dropped at a centrally located hotel, and with no accommodation provided for tonight, you are free to leave at any time. If you would like to extend your stay in Nairobi, we’ll happily organise additional accommodation (subject to availability).

Day 1: Nairobi to Samburu National Reserve

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Elephant Bedroom Camp or similar

Upon arrival into Kenya's bustling capital Nairobi, you will be met by your driver/guide and then depart for the Samburu National Reserve at approximately 08h00. Heading north, you'll pass Thika and continue through some breathtaking scenery dotted with rushing mountain streams and fields of tea and coffee. After Nanyuki town, you'll continue north and eventually reach a dusty outpost known as Isiolo, the last major stop on the journey into the remote northern frontier district. From here, it's a fairly short hop to Samburu. Arrive at your camp in time for lunch before departing for an afternoon game drive; returning to the camp as the sun sets.

Day 2: Samburu National Reserve

Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Accommodation: Elephant Bedroom Camp or similar

An early morning game drive is followed by breakfast and time to relax by the river's bank. After lunch, there will be a further game drive and a sundowner before returning to the camp.

Day 3: Samburu National Park to Great Rift Valley

Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Accommodation: Mbweha Camp or similar

Leaving Samburu behind, you'll travel south through Isiolo, crossing the northen most foothills of Mount Kenya, until you get to the town of Nanyuki. Here, you'll head west to Nyahururu, still known to many as Thomson's Falls for its 237-foot cascade. Now travel in a southerly direction to Lake Nakuru, arriving at your camp in time for lunch. After lunch, enjoy an escorted walk on the grounds of the camp.

Day 4: Great Rift Valley

Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Accommodation: Mbweha Camp or similar

After breakfast, depart with a picnic lunch for a full day game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park, returning to the camp as the sun sets.

Day 5: Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara Game Reserve

Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Accommodation: Tipilikwani Mara Camp or similar

After an early breakfast, you head for Njoro town, where you begin your ascent up over the top of the Mau Escarpment. Then, heading due south, travel towards Narok, the gateway to the Masai Mara and district headquarters of this part of Masailand. You'll travel across the 'breadbasket' of Kenya, covered with acres of wheat and barley, before you reach the Mara in time for lunch. After lunch, enjoy an afternoon game drive in the famous Masai Mara National Reserve, before returning to the camp as the sun sets.

Day 6: Masai Mara Game Reserve

Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Accommodation: Tipilikwani Mara Camp or similar

Early morning and afternoon game drives in the Masai Mara.

Day 7: Masai Mara Game Reserve to Nairobi

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Please call one of our experts to discuss your accommodation choices

Again, after an early breakfast, you'll depart the Masai Mara and head across acres of rolling wheat and barley farms to Narok, the district headquarters of this part of Masailand. From here cross the vast plains on the floor of the Rift Valley whilst keeping an eye out for herds of giraffe and gazelle before heading up the rift escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners during World War II. You'll arrive into Kenya's bustling capital around mid day. On arrival in Nairobi, you will be dropped of at a city centre hotel or the airport for yoru onward connection.