10 Days Best Kenya Wildlife Safari
10 Days Best Kenya Wildlife Safari is one of the top Kenya Wildlife Safari packages that takes you to the top Kenya Wildlife Destinations like Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara, Amboseli, & Tsavo National Park.
Lake Nakuru National Park is located on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland with a wide ecological diversity and varied habitat that ranges from the surrounding escarpment to picturesque ridges. Nakuru National Park is ideal for birdwatching and picnic game drives.
Lake Naivasha is one of the freshwater lakes with a depth of about five meters and 13 kilometers wide, fringed by thick papyrus and shallow waters. Lake Naivasha is known as one of the world’s best birding destinations. The lake waters also draw great ranges of wildlife to the shores, such as the giraffes that wander among the acacia, the buffaloes in swamps, and the colobus monkeys, while the large animals like the hippos sleep out in the shallows.
The Masai Mara National Reserve is the most famous and popular safari destination in Kenya and anywhere in Africa. The Masai Mara National Reserve is located in the southwest of Kenya, bordering Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, which is the best wildlife national park in Africa. The Mara is comprised of a medley of rolling hills, open grassland, and acacia woodland supporting quite an incredible profusion and variety of wildlife. The reserve truly blossoms between August and October, when the legendary wildebeest migration, the world’s most breathtaking wildlife crossing, enters Kenya from Tanzania.
Amboseli National Park is located in the southern part of Kenya, close to the border with Tanzania, covering an area of about 392 square kilometers. Amboseli National Park has the most iconic and beautiful view of the world’s highest mountain in Africa Mountain Kilimanjaro, in the northwest of Mount Kilimanjaro. Amboseli National Park is home to the renowned Big 5 game (lions, leopards, buffalo, rhinos, and elephants).
The elephants are the main tourist attraction in this park, with the largest terrestrial herds, with numbers more than 100 individuals, from wise old matriarchs to tiny calves. Other animals to find include the wildebeests, cheetahs, plains zebras, crocodiles, and giraffes, as well as hyenas. You will find an impressive number of different bird species living within the park boundaries.
Other attractions include Amboseli Observation Hill, a hill of volcanic origin and the only high point of the park offering a breathtaking panorama that sweeps from the arid and dusty prairie to the green springs and swamps beloved by elephants, hippos, and buffalo, and, on clear days, especially at dawn and dusk, the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro.
Tsavo West National Park is also a beautiful park with rugged wilderness consisting of open savannahs, scrublands, acacia woodlands, belts of riverine vegetation, and rocky ridges. On a clear day, the park offers lovely views of the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro in the morning and evening hours. Although Tsavo West has the Big Five game, wildlife viewing can be harder compared to any other Kenyan national park because the foliage is much denser and higher in Tsavo West National Park.
Tsavo West Park has Kenya’s largest elephant population. Other animals to spot in Tsavo West include giraffes, impalas, buffaloes, Burchell’s zebras, hartebeest, lesser kudu, eland, waterbuck, Grant’s gazelles, and more.
The birdlife in the park is outstanding, and at least eight hornbill species are recorded. The white-headed buffalo-weaver is a particularly noticeable species, with its prominent bright red rump. Other attractions in Tsavo West include the Shetani lava flows and Mzima Springs.
Tsavo East National Park is the largest national park in Kenya, with an area of 11,747 square kilometers covering 40 percent of the total area of Kenya’s national parks. The landscape in Tsavo East National Park is flatter and drier with bushy grassland, open savannah plains, and semi-arid acacia woodland and scrub, offering the best opportunities for spotting wildlife easily compared to Tsavo West National Park.
Tsavo East is best known as the home of the red elephants. The elephants rub dust or mud on their thick skins. Their skins remain strikingly red as a result of the iron oxide-rich soil, which protects them from intense exposure to the sun and parasites. Other animals to be spotted include the other members of the big 5, the waterbucks, kudus, gerenuks, zebras, and the rare hunter antelope. In the rivers, we find the crocodiles and hippos lurking.
The park is also home to about 600 bird species, many of which are waterfowl that decorate the trees, grasslands, and sky above. Other attractions found include the Yatta Plateau, the Lugards Falls, and the Aruba Dam, to mention a few.
Safari highlights
- Day 1: Transfer to Lake Nakuru National Park
- Day 2: Game drive and transfer to Lake Naivasha – Crescent Island visit
- Day 3: Transfer to the Masai Mara National Reserve
- Day 4: Full-day safari in Masai Mara
- Day 5: Another day in the Masai Mara National Reserve
- Day 6: Transfer to Amboseli National Park
- Day 7: Full day at Amboseli National Park
- Day 8: Transfer to Tsavo West National Park for a full day game viewing
- Day 9: Game drives in Tsavo East National Park
- Day 10: Transfer to Nairobi and departure
Detailed Safari
Day 1: Transfer to Lake Nakuru National Park
Depending on your location in Nairobi city, connect to Lake Nakuru National Park with your packaged lunch. Upon arrival in the park, connect for an afternoon game drive followed by a walk along the shores, which will also allow us to see the many wild animals in the park, and especially the park is a sanctuary to the black rhino, White Rhino, and Rothschild giraffe.
Here you will have the chance to look out at some of the common species like the lesser and greater flamingos, African fish eagle, tawny eagle, green wood hoopoes, cliff chat, great white and pink-backed pelicans, plus other intra-African migrants.
Dinner and an overnight stay today will be at Ziwa Bush Lodge/Lake Nakuru Lodge/Flamingo Hill Tented Camp.
Day 2: Morning game drive/birdwatching and transfer to Lake Naivasha
Wake up early, enjoy breakfast, and connect for an early birdwatching experience with sights of some of the animals on a game drive as you connect to Lake Naivasha with views of the Great Rift Valley for stunning views, arriving at Lake Naivasha by mid-morning for a bird walk before time for lunch at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge. Lake Naivasha, being close to Lake Nakuru, is a freshwater lake declared a bird sanctuary in 1967, and also supports the pastoral industries of wine and flowers.
During your drive to Lake Naivasha, you will study the birds of the region, such as herons, fish eagles, ospreys, black crakes, and lily-trotters. Dominated by the shadow of Mt. Longonot, few lakes in the world have a more commanding or spectacular setting than Naivasha.
You will also have an excursion to the Elsa Mere Centre. Lake Naivasha, being on the Rift floor, is home to an incredible variety of species. Over 450 species have been recorded here. Dinner and overnight stay at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge
Day 3: Crescent Island visit and Transfer to the Masai Mara National Reserve
After breakfast, visit Crescent Island Game Sanctuary—a peninsula or island on the eastern side of Lake Naivasha. A short boat trip from the mainland out into Lake Naivasha gives you access to the unique Crescent Island Wildlife Sanctuary, which hosts giraffes, waterbucks, elands, wildebeests, zebras, and impalas. It is also a haven for more than 200 species of birds. The lake has a lot of hippos, which you can easily spot from the island. Among the resident birds are fish eagles, ospreys, lily-trotters, black crakes, and a variety of herons.
Thereafter, across the floor of the Great Rift Valley to the Masai Mara Game Reserve, the unspoiled savannah. The Masai Mara is actually the northern portion of the Great Plains ecosystem in the neighboring country of Tanzania, bordering Serengeti National Park.
It is home to the big five game, such as the lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and elephant, as well as cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, vast herds of plain antelope, and numerous other types of wildlife. Upon arrival, have lunch and then connect for an afternoon game drive in search of the Big Five.
As the sun starts to edge into the horizon, it will be the perfect time to photograph the beautiful Mara rolling plains. Don’t forget this is the right time to spot the shy leopard. Dinner and overnight stay at AA Mara Lodge/Mara Sopa Lodge/Sentrim Mara Lodge
Day 4: Masai Mara full-day game viewing
After breakfast, a full day in the park with a packed lunch in search of its popular residents. The Masai Mara plains are full of wildebeest during migration season, early July to the end of September; zebra, impala, topi, giraffe, and Thomson’s gazelle are regularly seen; and leopards, lions, hyenas, cheetahs, jackal, and bat-eared foxes. Black rhinos are a little shy and hard to spot, but are often seen at a distance if you are lucky.
Hippos are abundant in the Mara River, as are very large Nile crocodiles, which lie in wait for a meal as the wildebeest cross on their annual quest to find new pastures. Later Meals and overnight at lodge as above
Day 5: Another day in Masai Mara National Reserve
Wake early, have breakfast, and connect for a full-day game drive with a packed lunch and an evening game drive in the plains.
Optional activity: A hot air balloon safari launches in the early morning, just in time for sunrise. For about one hour, you will be floating peacefully above the ground, with a bird’s-eye view of the African bush below. The capacity for this activity is limited, making this a very special and exclusive experience. Please note that this activity is weather-dependent and may need to be rescheduled due to poor weather.
Day 6: Transfer to Amboseli National Park
You will be met by your guide after breakfast, and you will set off on your journey to Amboseli National Park, located in the southern part of Kenya. It’s a 7-8 hour drive from Masai Mara to Amboseli National Park with an en route lunch.
Upon arrival, visit the observation hill that gives you an overall view of the whole park, especially the swamp and some animals. In the evening, the clouds are usually vividly giving you chances of viewing the snow-capped dome of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in Africa. As you return to the lodge, enjoy an evening game drive. Dinner and overnight stay at AA Lodge Amboseli/Kibo Safari Camp/AA Lodge Amboseli
Day 7: Full Day Amboseli National Park
Have breakfast and explore Amboseli National Park. This park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to the savannah elephants. Other wildlife species include the lions, cheetahs, leopards, wildebeests, buffaloes, monkey families, and rare bird species.
Spend your morning and afternoon on game drives, also visiting the swamp below Observation Hill that hosts many elephants, hippos, and a variety of waterfowl like pelicans and Egyptian geese. Dinner and overnight stay at the lodge as above
Day 8: Transfer to Tsavo West National Park for a full day of game viewing
Early in the morning, after your breakfast, drive to Tsavo West National Park, which is about a 1-2 hour drive from Amboseli National Park. Connect for a morning game drive. Tsavo West has the country’s largest elephant population.
Other animals include giraffes, impalas, buffalo, and Burchell’s zebras, which are all common species here. Mammals include hartebeest, lesser kudu, eland, waterbuck, Grant’s gazelle, and more. After the game drive, connect for lunch and later in the afternoon visit the rhino sanctuary and the Mzima Springs, depending on the time, before you return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay at Voyager Ziwani Safari Camp for a mid-range option or Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge for a luxury option. Meal plan – Full board
Day 9: Game drives in Tsavo East National Park
After breakfast, you can do any missed above-mentioned activity or, if interested in Tsavo West, connect to Tsavo East National Park, which is the largest Kenyan national park and home to the Big 5 game, including the famous red, large herds of elephants. Lunch will be served at your booked lodge.
Do another afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight stay in Voi Wildlife Lodge for mid-range option/Ngutuni Lodge for luxury option. Meal plan – full board.
Day 10: Morning game drive and transfer to Mombasa/transfer back to Nairobi
Wake up and connect for an early morning game viewing drive at Tsavo East National Park for the predators with a picnic breakfast. Thereafter, depending on your personal plans, you will either drive back to Nairobi to be dropped at the airport for your next destination, or you will be transferred to Diani Beach in Mombasa, which is about a 6-7-hour drive. The guide will drop you off at the advised hotel on Diani Beach. Meal plan – Only breakfast.
