Masai Mara and the Rift Valley

Day 1 To Nairobi
Fly from London to Nairobi and transfer your hotel for the night.

Day 2 Nairobi to Samburu
This morning you’ll depart north to the Samburu Game Reserve, through misty African plains across the Equator past Mount Kenya, with a stop for lunch. This afternoon you’ll enjoy your first game drive, where you’ll see a variety of African game, perhaps elephant, giraffe, eagles or even big cats.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 3 Samburu
You’ll have a full day in the Samburu today with morning and afternoon game drives, as well as a visit to a local village. The Samburu National Reserve’s sun baked landscape is breathtaking with surrounding mountains that shimmer on the horizon as temperatures rise. Frequent animal sightings include herds of elephant, lion, cheetah, Grevy’s zebra, giraffe and gazelles. There are over 350 varieties of birds including the Somali ostrich and the reserve is also the home of the Samburu tribe; cousins of the Masai, who share the same nomadic, cattle-herding existence and an even stricter adherence to their age-old rites and customs.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 4 Samburu to Sweetwaters
An early morning game drive will reveal wildlife at its most active. Later in the morning you’ll travel back towards Mount Kenya to the Sweetwaters Tented Camp for 1 night. This afternoon you’ll visit the black rhino sanctuary, to see these magnificent animals that are now critically endangered. The sanctuary is also home to rescued chimpanzees from other parts of Africa. This evening you can relax in Streetwaters’ luxurious surroundings, located overlooking a water hole.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 5 Sweetwaters to Lake Elementeita
Today you’ll travel to the incredible Great Rift Valley. After lunch you’ll enter Lake Nakuru National Park, home to thousands of brilliant pink flamingos. In the evening drive to your lodge near Lake Elementeita, with amazing views across the Great Rift Valley and the vast extinct Sleeping Warrior crater.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 6 Lake Elementeita
Wake to the sun rising over the Rift Valley, and the sounds of the beautiful birdlife which is so abundant in this region. Depart on a game drive to Lake Elementeita, the small and quiet Soysambu Conservancy and if time permits, Lake Naivasha. This is an area known for its migratory birds and herd of gazelles. An evening game drive offers the chance to see nocturnal wildlife and to sip a sundowner drink in the evening light of the vast valley.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 6 To Maasai Mara
After a bush breakfast, you’ll head south to the famous Masai Mara. This is the classic Africa of endless savannah and herds of big game. Arrive in time for lunch at your luxurious tented safari camp. In the afternoon there will be an introductory game drive in the reserve. Travelling between July and October you’ll witness the great migration, where some 2.5 million plains game migrate from the Serengeti through the Masai Mara in possibly nature’s greatest spectacle. (Please note the date of the highest extent of the migration changes from year to year depending on climate.)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 7 Maasai Mara
Spend the entire day in the Masai Mara game reserve, with morning and afternoon game drives with expert Maasai guides. Masai Mara is a magnificent landscape of open plains bisected by the Mara River and its tributaries, with incredibly dense populations of wildlife. The reserve is home to all the “big five” and it is also possible to observe baboon, ostrich, jackal and the rivers abound with hippos and crocodiles.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 8 Maasai Mara
Another day in the Masai Mara offers the chance to see game you may not have seen already, or to go back to an area of particular wildlife activity. Some of the big cats can be elusive, and an extra day will give you a better chance of seeing them, plus some of the rarer game, and also then chance to visit a Maasai village.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8 To Nairobi & Depart
An early morning game drive offers the chance to see the landscape in the beautiful morning light. You’ll then drive to Nairobi in time for dinner, before transferring to the airport for your return flight.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 9 Arrive London Heathrow
Morning arrival into London.

Tour includes:

All flights specified
Local expert guides in resort
Inspirational sightseeing programme
7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners
Three nights in the Masai Mara

On a Journey of Distinction, you are not merely a bystander. They believe that the wonders, customs and cultures you experience will live on in the core of your being. They even go so far as to say that one of their holidays will change your life forever.

Their combination of Tour Managers and Local Guides is what makes Journey of Distinction so distinctive. When you’re embarking on a voyage of discovery, it’s reassuring to know that a seasoned traveller is with you every step of the way; planning, organising, checking details and offering their advice and support. Their groups all depart from the UK, and no one joins us along the way, so you have the reassuring constancy of always knowing your travelling companions.

Our Opinion
“Limited to just 25 travellers per departure, every Journeys of Distinction escorted tour has an intimate, personal feel that makes for a more enjoyable experience.”