7 Day Kenya Great Migration Safari

Nairobi to Amboseli, Afternoon Game Drive

Meet your safari driver guide at your hotel or the airport in Nairobi and begin the journey south towards Amboseli National Park. The drive takes approximately 5 to 6 hours, carrying you away from the city and into the broad landscapes of southern Kenya.

On arrival, transfer to your selected lodge for lunch and some time to settle in. Later in the afternoon, head into Amboseli for your first game drive. Explore the open plains and wetland edges, looking for elephants, buffaloes, giraffes and other animals living around the park.

Amboseli is especially famous for its elephants, which may be seen feeding in the swamps or travelling in family groups across the grasslands. When the weather is clear, Mount Kilimanjaro provides a magnificent backdrop for photography.

Return to your lodge in the evening for dinner and overnight.

Amboseli National Park, Full-Day Wildlife Experience

After an early breakfast, leave your lodge for a full-day game drive in Amboseli National Park. Carrying a packed lunch allows you to remain in the park throughout the day and explore areas farther from your accommodation without having to return for lunch.

Your guide will take you through different habitats, searching for elephants, lions, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras and other wildlife. The park's mixture of open plains, marshes and woodland makes each game drive different, with opportunities to watch animals feeding, resting and moving between habitats.

Stop for your picnic lunch at a suitable location, then continue exploring Amboseli in the afternoon. If the skies are clear, watch for views of Mount Kilimanjaro beyond the plains, particularly when the mountain emerges from cloud cover.

Return to your lodge after the game drive for dinner and your second overnight in Amboseli.

Amboseli to Lake Nakuru, Scenic Rift Valley Journey

Enjoy breakfast before checking out and beginning the drive north towards Lake Nakuru National Park. Today's journey takes you away from the open plains of Amboseli and through Kenya's countryside towards the Great Rift Valley.

This is a substantial road transfer, so an early departure is important. Enjoy lunch along the route as you pass changing landscapes, towns and rural communities. Your driver guide will make suitable stops for refreshments and photographs.

Lake Nakuru offers a very different environment from Amboseli. The lake is surrounded by woodland, grasslands and rocky slopes, providing habitat for rhinos, buffaloes, giraffes and numerous bird species.

Arrive at your accommodation, check in and enjoy some time to relax after the journey. The main Lake Nakuru game drive is scheduled for the following morning.

Dinner and overnight near Lake Nakuru National Park.

Lake Nakuru Game Drive and Transfer to the Maasai Mara

After breakfast, head into Lake Nakuru National Park for a morning game drive. Explore the woodland, grasslands and lakeshore habitats while your guide searches for black and white rhinos, two of the park's most important conservation species.

You may also encounter buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, waterbucks and other wildlife, together with numerous birds that inhabit the lake and surrounding vegetation. The morning drive provides a chance to appreciate Nakuru's wildlife before continuing towards the Maasai Mara.

After the game drive, leave Lake Nakuru and begin the journey to the Mara, stopping for lunch along the way. The landscape changes again as you travel through the Rift Valley region towards the rolling plains of southwestern Kenya.

Arrive in the Maasai Mara in the evening, check in at your camp and spend the remainder of the day relaxing. The next 2 days are dedicated to full-day wildlife viewing and the seasonal Great Migration.

Dinner and overnight in the Maasai Mara.

Maasai Mara, Full-Day Great Migration Game Drive

After an early breakfast, head into the Maasai Mara with a packed lunch and a full day available for wildlife viewing. Your guide will choose the most productive game-drive areas based on recent sightings and, during the migration season, the location of the wildebeest and zebra herds.

The Great Migration is the main focus of today's experience. Depending on your travel dates and the movement of the animals, you may encounter large herds feeding across the grasslands or gathering near one of the rivers.

If the herds approach a river crossing point, your guide may spend time observing their behaviour. River crossings can be dramatic, but they are unpredictable and cannot be guaranteed. The animals sometimes remain beside the water for hours before moving or retreating.

Beyond the migration, the Mara supports a remarkable range of resident wildlife. Look for lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes and other species. Predator sightings are particularly rewarding when your guide has time to follow animal movements rather than rushing between different parts of the reserve.

Enjoy your packed lunch in the bush and continue the game drive throughout the afternoon. Return to your camp for dinner and overnight.

Maasai Mara, Another Full Day of Migration and Wildlife Viewing

Wake up early for breakfast and return to the reserve for another full day of game drives. Having 2 complete days in the Maasai Mara is valuable because the migration herds move widely, and wildlife activity can change significantly from one day to the next.

Your guide may explore areas you did not reach yesterday or revisit a promising location where wildebeest and zebras have been gathering. Look for lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and other wildlife across the plains.

Carry a packed lunch so you can remain in the reserve throughout the day. This allows more flexibility when interesting sightings occur far from your accommodation.

Travellers interested in a different perspective can choose an optional early-morning hot-air balloon safari over the Maasai Mara. The flight takes place around sunrise and replaces the regular morning game drive, with additional wildlife viewing possible later in the day.

An optional visit to a Maasai community can also be arranged for travellers interested in local culture and traditions. Both optional experiences require advance arrangements and are not part of the standard safari inclusions.

After the afternoon game drive, return to your camp for dinner and your final overnight in the Maasai Mara.

Maasai Mara to Nairobi, End of Safari

Enjoy breakfast at your camp before checking out and beginning the return journey to Nairobi. Travel through the Kenyan countryside, watching the rolling Mara landscape gradually give way to the towns and busier roads approaching the capital.

Allow sufficient time for the road journey, lunch along the route and Nairobi traffic, especially if you are departing Kenya on an international flight the same day.

On arrival, your driver guide will transfer you to your Nairobi hotel or the airport according to your onward travel arrangements.

This marks the end of your 7-day Great Migration safari, with memories of Amboseli's elephants, Lake Nakuru's rhinos and three nights exploring the remarkable wildlife of the Maasai Mara.