Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara in 6 days, with well-run mid-range lodges and camps at every stop. 5 nights on safari, priced on request.
Amboseli - Lake Nakuru - Maasai Mara
About this safari
The route opens in Amboseli — great elephant families beneath Mount Kilimanjaro — and works through 2 further destinations over 6 days. It stays within Kenya; the final proposal will confirm transfer times and the balance between travel and game viewing. Accommodation is at the mid-range standard: comfortable tented camps and established safari lodges. The balance most travellers settle on — proper beds, en-suite bathrooms and well-run lodges in good positions, without the premium that the top end of the market commands. Like every safari in this catalogue, it is priced on request rather than sold at a published rate, because park fees, permits, group size and contracted accommodation all change the figure.
Day by day
Written out in full before you book, so you can see exactly how the days are paced and where each night is spent.
Day 1
The route is drafted from Nairobi. Citrus will set out the actual meeting arrangements and first transfer in writing. Today's drive crosses the dry Kajiado rangelands where Maasai herders move cattle across open country and dust devils spin up off the flats. It is hot, bright driving, and it sets up the contrast that defines Amboseli — a parched landscape holding permanent water at its centre, with Africa's highest mountain filling the southern horizon whenever the cloud lifts. A full day here divides between the permanent swamps, which hold water all year and concentrate game reliably, and the open plains where zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and gazelle spread out. Lion, cheetah and spotted hyena are present, though at lower densities than the Mara and requiring more patience. A short climb up Observation Hill gives the only elevated view in the park and makes sense of how the swamps sit in the landscape. A mid-range camp or lodge is proposed for this night, subject to availability and written confirmation.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 2
Amboseli's elephants are the most closely studied in the world, monitored continuously since 1972, and the families here are relaxed around vehicles in a way that makes for exceptional viewing. Drives follow them between the swamps, where they feed belly-deep in water with cattle egret riding their backs, and the open plains they cross in long processions. Among them are some of the last genuinely big-tusked bulls left in East Africa. A full day here divides between the permanent swamps, which hold water all year and concentrate game reliably, and the open plains where zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and gazelle spread out. Lion, cheetah and spotted hyena are present, though at lower densities than the Mara and requiring more patience. A short climb up Observation Hill gives the only elevated view in the park and makes sense of how the swamps sit in the landscape. This outline assumes a comfortable safari stay near the route. The named property remains a suggestion until quoted.
Overnight: Amboseli
Day 3
The next section of the circuit moves on, the road north from the Rift Valley floor climbs towards Nakuru town, and the park gate sits close enough to the main highway that the transition from traffic to wildlife happens within minutes. Inside the fence the country changes immediately — yellow-barked acacia along the shoreline, euphorbia forest climbing the eastern slopes, and the pale sheet of the lake spread out below. Nakuru is small enough to cover thoroughly, and that is its advantage. The lakeside circuit is where white rhino graze the open flats, usually in loose groups and often close to the track. Black rhino are browsers and stay in thicker cover, so seeing them takes more luck. Rothschild's giraffe — distinguishable by their clean white lower legs — were introduced here and are now easy to find among the acacias. The suggested standard is mid-range. Citrus will confirm the property and contracted services in writing before booking.
Overnight: Lake Nakuru
Day 4
The route then continues onward, the road west out of Nairobi climbs the shoulder of the Rift Valley before dropping through Narok and onto the open country beyond, where cultivation gives way to grassland and the horizon widens. The last stretch is rougher going, but it is also where the safari properly begins — giraffe browsing beside the track, zebra scattering ahead of the vehicle, and the first raptors riding the thermals above the escarpment. The rhythm of a Mara day follows the animals rather than the clock. Dawn is the most productive window, when cats are still active and the light is low enough for photography. Later the plains settle into the heat and the emphasis shifts to elephant, buffalo and the birdlife along the water. By late afternoon the predators stir again, and the last hour before the gate closes is often the best of the day. The catalogue suggests a comfortable mid-range stay here. The exact lodge, room basis and meals are confirmed in the quotation.
Overnight: Maasai Mara
Day 5
Today is given over to the reserve, and how it unfolds depends on what your guide finds. Radio traffic between vehicles helps, but the best mornings often come from reading tracks and working a hunch. Lion are the most reliably seen of the big cats here; cheetah favour the open ground where they can use speed; and leopard, though present in good numbers along the watercourses, still ask for patience and a bit of luck. The Mara rewards early starts. Leaving camp while the grass is still wet puts you out when lion are finishing the night's work and cheetah are looking for the high ground that lets them scan for gazelle. Your guide will work the riverine forest along the Mara and Talek rivers, where leopard rest through the day in the fig branches, then move out onto the open plains where topi stand sentinel on termite mounds and elephant families cross in single file. A mid-range camp or lodge is proposed for this night, subject to availability and written confirmation.
Overnight: Maasai Mara
Day 6
Citrus will time the last day around the agreed end point and onward arrangements. A final crossing of the plains takes you out past the herds one more time before the ground begins to rise. The grassland thins into grazing land, the Maasai cattle reappear along the verges, and the Mara ecosystem is gradually left behind as the road climbs back towards the Rift Valley escarpment. The final road section is planned towards Nairobi. Citrus will confirm the exact end point and time.
Safari ends
Where you stay
Accommodation below is the suggested standard for this package, taken from the Citrus catalogue. Where an entry describes a standard rather than a named property, we confirm the exact camp or lodge with your quotation. Named properties are suggestions and are substituted with comparable alternatives if they are unavailable for your dates.
Source catalogue listing
Kibo Safari Camp + Sarova Lion Hill + Masai Mara Sopa
This is reproduced exactly from the catalogue. The written quotation will allocate nights and confirm each available property before booking.
These are planning examples, not confirmed inclusions for this package. Your written quotation will confirm exactly what is included.
The quotation will identify every separate cost before you confirm.
Before you ask
The catalogue sets the route and travel standard, but it does not publish a fixed price or a contracted inclusion list. Citrus will prepare a written quotation for your dates, party and rooming, showing the exact transfers, activities, accommodation, meals, fees and permits before you confirm.
No. It is suggested accommodation from the source catalogue. Availability and any proposed alternative are confirmed in the written quotation before a booking is made.
No. Cloud and weather can obscure the mountain even when a route is timed well.
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