5-Day Lake Naivasha and Maasai Mara Safari with Lake Nakuru

• Travel overland to papyrus-fringed Lake Naivasha, a cool and peaceful escape from Nairobi's big-city bustle. With over 400 species of bird, this freshwater lake is a birding paradise.

• Along the lake's fabled waters, you are bound to see some of the area's more intriguing species - hippos, giraffes, buffalo, and even the arboreal colobus monkey. Lake Naivasha lies in the Great Rift Valley, and the name derives from the local Maasai name Nai'posha, meaning "rough water" because of the sudden storms that can arise.

• After lunch, visit Crescent Island - a private sanctuary, where you can walk beneath yellow-barked acacias (yellow fever trees) in search of giraffes, wildebeest, impala, dik-diks, Thompson's and Grant's gazelles, elands, waterbucks, and countless bird species. There are also some rather gigantic pythons.

• Walk with the animals, as they were all introduced during the filming of Out of Africa.

• An optional boat ride on the lake reveals many waterbird species and schools of hippos.

Overnight at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge or similar

Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}

• After a delicious breakfast, travel overland to Lake Nakuru National Park for a full-day game viewing experience. The spectacular alkaline lake is famously known as the feeding ground of both lesser and greater flamingos.

• This national park, which is fenced all around, is a sanctuary for birds, Rothschild giraffes, and both black and white rhinos. Other mammals in abundance include waterbucks, buffalo, gazelles, lions, baboons, and the elusive leopards, sometimes seen sleeping on the horizontal branches of the "fever trees".

• Enjoy lunch served at one of the lodges located in the game park, offering local specialities prepared with fresh produce from the region.

Overnight at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge or similar

Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}

• After a leisurely breakfast at Naivasha Sopa Lodge, depart overland to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, the jewel of Kenya's game parks. The Maasai Mara is Kenya's finest and most outstanding wildlife sanctuary, where gentle rolling grassland ensures animals are never out of sight. The climate is gentle, rarely too hot, with well-spread rainfall year-round. The spectacle of the great wildebeest migration between July and October is unparalleled. The wildlife is far from being confined within the reserve boundaries, and an even larger area extends beyond the game reserve.

• After lunch, explore the reserve on a late evening game drive. No matter how much you have thought about Africa, this is more than you expected - the Big Five, lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, and Cape buffalo, are in abundance.

Overnight at Mara Sopa Lodge or similar

Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}

• Spend time in the vast ecosystem of the Mara, searching for the Big Five and much more with your Kenyan safari guide.

• There is also an optional balloon safari - many call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Once you are up, you will not want to come down, and once you land, a champagne breakfast awaits you. Game viewing is excellent from the air, with the opportunity for beautiful pictures. The annual wildebeest migration is expected in the Maasai Mara between July and early November. Millions of animals migrate to the Mara from Serengeti in search of fresh green pastures and water. It is worth noting that every game drive is different, and missing one means missing out on the fun.

Overnight at Mara Sopa Lodge or similar

Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}

• Enjoy an early breakfast.

• Drive to Nairobi.

• Eat lunch at the InterContinental Hotel.

• The rest of your afternoon is at leisure. You may take this opportunity to visit local stores in downtown Nairobi. The stores display items pertaining to Kenyan culture.

• If you are returning home today, you have a day room available for the afternoon, and dinner at the hotel is included. Early in the evening, depart for home. As you leave Africa, you know that the old adage is true: you may leave Africa, but Africa will never leave you.

Dayrooms at the InterContinental Hotel or similar

Meal Plan: {Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}