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6-Day Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara Safari

6-Day Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara Safari

A working flower farm, a boat among hippo pods, a night drive after dark, then two full days where the Masai Mara's predators are a daily rhythm.

6 DaysDuration KenyaCountries PrivateGroup type
Overview Highlights Daily itinerary Accommodation Inclusions
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Overview

A Classic Safari Experience

Most Kenya itineraries treat Lake Naivasha as a stopover, a night on the way to somewhere else. This one gives it real time instead, a full day built around three things most Mara-bound travellers never see on the same trip: a working flower farm, a boat ride among hippo pods, and a night drive after dark.

From there, the itinerary shifts entirely. Two full days in the Masai Mara follow, morning and afternoon game drives structured around resident pride movements and, depending on season, the wider migration herds, plus a dedicated stretch along the Mara River itself. Where Naivasha’s day was built around variety, the Mara days are built around depth: the same reserve, worked properly, rather than skimmed on the way through.

It’s a trip for travellers who’d rather see two things well than three things quickly, six days split cleanly between a working lakeside landscape and the open plains the Mara is famous for.

At a glance

  • Duration6 Days
  • CountriesKenya
  • Group typePrivate

Activities

A few ways to shape your time on the ground, tell us which interest you.

Guided flower farm visit
Lake Naivasha boat ride
Night game drive
Private game drives in the Mara
Moments to note

A Working Farm, a Boat, a Night Drive, Then the Mara

Six things this safari offers that most Mara-bound itineraries skip entirely.

I

A Working Flower Farm

A guided visit to one of Naivasha's working flower farms, a rare, genuine look at the export industry behind a huge share of the world's cut flowers, not something most safari itineraries make room for.

II

A Boat Among Hippo Pods and Fish Eagles

An afternoon on the water instead of in the vehicle, weaving between resident hippo pods and fish eagle perches along the shoreline, a different rhythm entirely from a game drive.

III

A Night Drive, After the Sun Goes Down

A dedicated night game drive tracking species a standard daytime outing never turns up, genet, bushbaby, and, with some luck, aardvark or porcupine.

IV

Two Full Days, Not a Single Pass Through

A dedicated two days entirely on the ground in the Masai Mara, enough time for multiple drives across different sectors of the reserve rather than a single afternoon on the way to somewhere else.

V

A Private Guide, Reading Each Day as It Comes

The same guide throughout, adjusting the route through both landscapes around what the day's sightings, tracks and radio reports actually point toward, not a fixed script.

VI

Classic Kenya Safari Experience

A volcanic lake sanctuary and open Mara grassland on the same trip, landscapes most itineraries treat as alternatives to each other rather than a pairing worth doing back to back.

Day by day

How the days break down

A starting shape: pace, order and length of each stage are all adjustable.

Day
01
Lake Naivasha
Nairobi → Lake Naivasha

A private sanctuary before the plains begin

The drive out of Nairobi to Lake Naivasha takes under two hours, arriving at Chui Lodge in the early afternoon, a private wildlife sanctuary bordering the lake's shore rather than a lakeside hotel in the usual sense.
An afternoon game drive begins right on the property, the sanctuary's own resident wildlife setting an unusually active tone for what's normally treated as a transit day on longer Kenya itineraries.

Where you rest

Chui Lodge · Inside a private wildlife sanctuary bordering Lake Naivasha

Day
02
Lake Naivasha
A full day, three different rhythms

Flowers by morning, hippos by afternoon, the dark by night.

The morning is spent away from the vehicle entirely, a guided walk through one of Naivasha's working flower farms, a rare, close look at the industry behind an export trade most guests have never seen up close.
The afternoon shifts onto the water, a boat weaving between resident hippo pods and fish eagle perches along the shoreline, before the day closes after dark with a night game drive through the sanctuary, tracking genet, bushbaby, and, with some luck, aardvark or porcupine, species a standard daytime drive never turns up.

Where you rest

Chui Lodge · Inside a private wildlife sanctuary bordering Lake Naivasha

Day
03
Masai Mara
Lake Naivasha → Masai Mara

A Drive to Maasai Mara and an Afternoon Game Drive

A slow morning within the sanctuary before the drive south to the Masai Mara, roughly three to four hours depending on the road, the scenery shifting from Naivasha's volcanic shoreline to open, drier plains along the way.
Arrival at Enkakenya Camp in the mid to late afternoon, with enough daylight left for an evening game drive as the light softens, a first taste of the density and range the Mara is known for.

Where you rest

Enkakenya Camp · Set on the Olare Orok River, deep in resident predator territory, unfenced

Day
04
Masai Mara
A full day in the reserve

Two drives, one rhythm: the Mara by day.

An early start for the morning drive, tracing resident pride movements while the plains are still cool, before returning to camp through the warmest hours of the day.
The afternoon drive follows whatever the day's tracks and radio reports point toward, resident prides most reliably, and, if the season lines up, the wider migration herds further out on the plains.

Where you rest

Enkakenya Camp · Set on the Olare Orok River, deep in resident predator territory, unfenced

Day
05
Masai Mara
The river sector

The river sector, and a slow golden finish.

A different sector of the reserve for this second full day, centred on the Mara River, where hippo pods and resident crocodile populations hold their stretch of water year round.
The afternoon drive is timed deliberately for the last hour of light, when the plains take on the low, gold colour the Mara's afternoons are known for, before heading back to camp for a final dinner under the stars.

Where you rest

Enkakenya Camp · Set on the Olare Orok River, deep in resident predator territory, unfenced

Day
06
Masai Mara → Nairobi
Departure

A final drive, then the flight north to Nairobi.

A final morning game drive before transferring to the airstrip for the scenic flight back to Nairobi, one last look at the plains before the reserve gives way to cloud.
Arrival back in Nairobi by early afternoon, in good time for onward connections or simply resting before the next leg of your trip

What you'll likely see

Key species on this route

Naivasha and the Mara offer genuinely different wildlife rhythms, here's roughly what past travellers have seen across both stops on this specific route.

· · · · · · ·
Hippo
Hippo
88% chance
Giraffe
Giraffe
80% chance
Lion
Lion
85% chance
Zebra
Zebra
55% chance
Cheetah
Cheetah
55% chance
Leopard
Leopard
40% chance
Wildebeest
Wildebeest
35% chance
The details

What's included

What's included

  • All accommodation as listed on a full board basis
  • All road transfers and game drives in a private 4x4 vehicle with pop-up roof
  • Guided flower farm visit
  • Boat ride on Lake Naivasha
  • Night game drive at Lake Naivasha
  • Scenic flight between the Masai Mara and Nairobi
  • A dedicated driver guide throughout
  • All park fees

What's not included

  • International flights to and from Nairobi
  • Travel Insurance
  • Visa
  • Alcoholic and premium beverages
  • Gratuities for guides and camp staff

Notes about this trip

  • The flower farm visit and boat ride are arranged as excursions from Chui Lodge rather than activities the lodge runs on its own grounds, worth knowing since the property itself sits within a private sanctuary bordering the lake, not directly on the water.
  • Naivasha nights sit at a noticeably higher altitude than the Mara and can turn cool after dark, worth mentioning ahead of the night drive specifically, guests should have a layer on hand beyond what a typical Mara evening would call for.
  • The return flight from the Mara means Day 6 is breakfast only, a road transfer can be substituted if preferred, see the FAQ below.
Responsible travel

Responsible Travel

Lake Naivasha sits under real environmental pressure from the agriculture that surrounds it, and both the boat operators and the flower farm used on this route are chosen with that in mind. The Masai Mara camp used on this itinerary works closely with surrounding Maasai communities on employment, keeping tourism revenue circulating locally rather than leaving the region entirely.

I

Community-managed guidelines on the lake

Naivasha's boat operators work under community-managed guidelines that limit disruption to hippo pods and nesting birds along the shoreline.

II

A flower farm chosen for its water practices

The farm visited on this route is committed to sustainable water use, a genuinely important consideration for a lake under real pressure from the agriculture around it.

III

A private sanctuary, not open shoreline

Chui Lodge sits within a private wildlife sanctuary, which keeps a stretch of habitat bordering the lake managed and protected beyond what the public shoreline itself receives.

IV

Community-based staffing in the Mara

Enkakenya Camp draws its guides and staff from surrounding Maasai communities, keeping a share of tourism revenue local rather than routed elsewhere entirely.

Make it mine

This page shows the shape of a Naivasha-to-Mara safari. The trip itself gets built around you: how many nights at each stop, whether the flower farm or boat ride stay in or out, and whether the return leg flies or drives.

With the route as a starting point, your specialist will adjust the pace, camps and add-ons until the itinerary feels like yours.

Start tailoring this safari
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Common questions

Before you enquire

A guided walk through a working flower farm, one of the industries Naivasha is best known for internationally, offering real insight into the growing and export process behind the region’s blooms.

Not all properties offer this, but Chui Lodge does, and it’s one of the more distinctive activities on this itinerary, a genuine chance to see species that rarely appear during daylight drives.

Approximately three to four hours, depending on road conditions, with the scenery shifting from Naivasha’s volcanic shoreline to open savannah along the way.

It’s a matter of timing rather than luck. The herds are typically moving through the Mara somewhere between July and October, with the exact window shifting each year depending on how the rains fall further south in the Serengeti, so travel dates within that period give the best odds.

Yes, a road transfer is available and can be substituted for the flight if preferred, taking approximately five to six hours back to Nairobi.

It depends on the season, the camps, and group size, so there isn’t a single figure that fits every trip. Tell us your dates and how many are travelling, and we’ll put together a tailored quote rather than a generic estimate.

Ready when you are

Ask about 6-Day Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara Safari

Tell us your dates and we'll confirm whether the timing works, then adjust the route from there.

Start planning this trip