Private & Tailor-Made
7 Days Kenya Classic Safari
From $4,150
Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara, in one continuous private journey.
The classic Kenya circuit, done properly: elephants beneath Kilimanjaro, two distinct Rift Valley lakes, and the wildlife density of the Masai Mara, all in one private itinerary with a single vehicle and guide throughout.
7 Days Kenya Classic Safari At a glance
| DETAIL | INFORMATION |
| Duration | 7 Days/6 nights |
| Destinations | Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara |
| Start | Nairobi |
| Finish | Nairobi |
| Style | Private, Tailor-Made |
| Vehicle | Private 4×4 Land cruiser safari Jeep |
| Game Drives | Private |
| Accommodation Options | Premium, Signature or Ultra Luxury |
| Price From | $4,150 |
Itinerary at a Glance
The shape of the trip, before the detail
Day 1. Nairobi-Amboseli
Day 2. Amboseli full day game drive
Day 3. Amboseli-Lake Naivasha
Day 4. Lake Naivasha-Lake Nakuru
Day 5. Lake Nakuru-Masai Mara
Day 6. Masai Mara Full day game drive
Day 7. Masai Mara-Nairobi
Plan your Amboseli safari now
Tell us about your dates, travellers and preferences and we’ll prepare the most suitable version of this journey for you.
Why Choose This Safari?
A genuinely comprehensive introduction to Kenya, without feeling rushed
Seven days is enough time to do something most shorter itineraries can’t: give four distinct ecosystems real, unhurried attention rather than a token overnight each. Amboseli opens with elephants and Kilimanjaro; Lake Naivasha adds a gentler, waterside pace with boat rides and Hell’s Gate nearby; Lake Nakuru contributes rhino and Rift Valley scenery; the Masai Mara closes the journey with two full nights of classic Big Five country. Together they make up the classic Kenya circuit, which is why we call this itinerary the Kenya Classics.
“Naivasha and Nakuru are often treated as one interchangeable Rift Valley stop. We treat them as two — because a boat ride at Naivasha and a rhino-tracking game drive at Nakuru are genuinely different experiences, and a week is enough time to give both their due.”
The honest trade-off: this is a road-based circuit from start to finish, since Naivasha and Nakuru have no scheduled air service and the whole point of this itinerary is genuine overland variety. It suits first-time visitors who want real breadth without sacrificing depth in the Mara, and repeat visitors who’ve done a Mara-only trip before and want to see more of the Rift Valley this time. If your priority is the Mara alone, our 3-Day Masai Mara Safari gives that single destination more concentrated time instead.
Safari Highlights
What this itinerary actually delivers
Two full nights in the Masai Mara, the longest stay on the route
Elephant herds beneath Mount Kilimanjaro in Amboseli
A boat ride on Lake Naivasha, with Hell’s Gate National Park nearby
Rhino and flamingo viewing at Lake Nakuru
A private vehicle and dedicated guide throughout — never a shared safari
Four genuinely distinct Kenyan ecosystems in one continuous journey
Choose your preferred accommodation level at every stop
Customise the safari around your interests and travel dates
Your 7 Days Kenya Classic Safari Itinerary
Exactly how each day unfolds
A week gives you the luxury of beginning gently. Today you leave Nairobi and drive south to Amboseli, the first of four very different places. There is no rush: the point of the first day is to arrive rested and let the country change around you.
The drive takes about four hours. The road runs south through open Maasai rangeland, distances feel long and the sky feels large, and on a clear day you may see Kilimanjaro’s outline well before the park gate.
After lunch at camp, a first drive. Amboseli’s swamps are the reason the park works: elephant, buffalo and hippo all come to the green patches, while thousands of birds gather in the shallows. It is an easy, open landscape to begin a trip in.
Return as the light turns amber. If the peak is visible, it often glows at this hour, and dinner is unhurried.
What this day gives youA week that starts in the most legible landscape on the route, so the days that follow have something to build on.
Amboseli rewards a full day in a way a single night cannot. Its elephants are among the longest-studied in Africa, and the herds are large, calm and used to vehicles, which lets you watch behaviour rather than just spot animals.
Leave at first light, when the mountain is most likely to be clear and the herds are moving from their night positions towards water.
Back to camp for a long lunch and rest. The plain is hot at midday and the animals lie up, and so should you.
Your guide can take you up Observation Hill, a small rise that gives a view across the swamps and plains, before an evening drive back down through the herds in softer light.
What this day gives youTime enough to move from seeing elephants to understanding them, and to photograph them in the best light Amboseli offers.
Today the landscape changes completely. You leave the dry, low plains of the south and climb into the highlands and the Rift Valley, where the air is cooler, the country is greener and the lakes begin. It is a travel day, and a scenic one.
After an early breakfast and, if you like, a last short look for elephants, depart. The route runs back towards Nairobi, around it, and then north-west up to the Rift Valley escarpment.
Lunch on the way. As you come over the escarpment the valley floor drops away below you, and it is worth getting out to take it in.
Arrive at Lake Naivasha, a freshwater lake fringed with papyrus and acacia. In the later afternoon a boat ride takes you out among hippo, fish eagles and pelicans, and you can add a walk on Crescent Island, where you may go on foot among giraffe, zebra and wildebeest with no large predators present.
What this day gives youA change of pace after two days of game drives: a boat on the water and, if you choose, a walk among animals on foot.
Naivasha and Nakuru sit only a short distance apart, but they feel like different places. Naivasha is a lake for boats and walking; Nakuru is a national park built around wildlife and rhino protection. This is a short, easy travel day, deliberately, so most of it can be spent in the park.
You may have time for Hell’s Gate National Park, where you can cycle or walk through a gorge among zebra and gazelle beneath tall red cliffs (optional). Then a drive of about an hour and a half to Nakuru.
Enter Lake Nakuru National Park. It is compact, which makes game drives efficient, and it is a strong place to look for both black and white rhino, along with Rothschild’s giraffe and rich birdlife. Flamingo numbers vary with water levels, so we treat them as a bonus.
Drive up to Baboon Cliff for a wide view over the lake and surrounding forest, a good place to be at sunset.
What this day gives youA strong chance to see both black and white rhino, in a park compact enough to do comfortably in a single afternoon.
You leave the Rift Valley lakes behind and head for the Mara. The road drops south-west out of the highlands and the landscape opens up. By evening you will be somewhere entirely different: a wide, treeless plain that seems to be all sky.
Depart after breakfast. A short early drive at Nakuru is possible if you rise before the light.
The drive takes about four hours, through farmland and then Maasai rangeland. Lunch is either on the way or on arrival, depending on timing.
Arrive at your camp and take a first game drive in the late light. Compared with Nakuru, the sense of scale is what you notice first: long grass, scattered acacias and herds spread across the plain.
What this day gives youYou reach the Mara with daylight left for a first drive and two full nights ahead.
This is the day the week has been building towards. Here the ecosystem is at its largest and the wildlife at its most concentrated, and with a full day you can take in more than a single drive allows.
Set out at first light. Lions and other predators are often at their most active and visible after the cool of the night.
Depending on your guide’s read of the day, a longer drive to the river or a return to camp for lunch. Hippo and crocodile line the Mara River, and in migration season (July to October) wildebeest may gather at the crossings, though crossings are seasonal and never guaranteed.
The evening drive is a good time for cheetah on the open plains and elephants coming through the thickets, and it ends with a sundowner in the golden light.
What this day gives youThe payoff for a week of travel: a full day in a place that rewards one.
The journey ends where it began, but with a very different sense of Kenya. Today is about a last morning well spent and a comfortable return.
A final game drive. Last mornings in the Mara often surprise, and it is worth being out for it.
Breakfast, packing and departure for Nairobi by road.
The drive takes about five to six hours. We plan the departure around your onward travel, and keep the evening free if you have a flight to catch.
What this day gives youFour ecosystems, one vehicle and one guide, with a return timed to your plans.
Why These Four Destinations?
Each stop earns its place on the route
Amboseli — Elephants & Kilimanjaro
A distinctive, high-wildlife-density opening, with among the clearest game viewing in Kenya thanks to Amboseli's open terrain.
Lake Naivasha — Rift Valley Waters
A gentler, waterside pace with boat rides and prolific birdlife — genuinely different from a game drive, and a natural first Rift Valley stop en route north.
Lake Nakuru — Rhino & Rift Valley Wildlife
A short hop from Naivasha, adding rhino tracking and, seasonally, flamingo spectacle — distinct enough from Naivasha to justify its own night rather than a shared day-trip.
Masai Mara — The Classic Kenyan Safari
Two full nights, deliberately the longest stay on the route, giving genuine time for the ecosystem's famous wildlife density rather than a rushed single night.
Accommodation & Your Preferred Level
Three accommodation levels, so the safari can be designed around your style and budget
Premium Luxury
Comfortable, well-appointed safari accommodation with strong locations, good service and a relaxed atmosphere.
Signature Luxury
More intimate accommodation with distinctive character, enhanced privacy and a stronger connection with the surrounding environment.
Ultra-Luxury
Exceptional safari accommodation with highly personalised service, refined hospitality and an elevated level of privacy.
Specific properties are selected according to availability, location, season and your preferred style of travel. Your final quotation will identify the recommended properties for your dates.
Inclusions and exclusions on the quote
Your final quotation will clearly specify all inclusions
What is Included on the price
- Six nights’ accommodation across four destinations
- Meals according to the selected accommodation plan
- Private 4×4 safari vehicle
- Professional safari guide
- Private game drives and the Naivasha boat ride
- Applicable park/conservancy fees where included in the quotation
- Fuel, driver/guide costs, bottled drinking water
- Safari planning and pre-travel assistance
What is not Included on the price
Unless specifically included in your quotation:
- International flights
- Kenya entry requirements / eTA
- Travel insurance
- Personal purchases, laundry, spa treatments
- Optional activities (hot-air balloon, Hell’s Gate entry, cultural visit)
- Tips and gratuities
Make This Safari Yours
Two days is the foundation. The journey can be adapted around you.
Stay Longer in the Mara
Add nights if wildlife and photography are your priority.
Upgrade Your Accommodation
Choose Premium, Signature or Ultra-Luxury.
Add Diani Beach
Close the journey with several days on the Indian Ocean coast.
Hot-Air Balloon Safari
A dawn flight over the Mara, typically followed by a champagne bush breakfast.
Maasai Village Visit
A respectful cultural encounter in the Mara, arranged through the local community.
Our Approach to Responsible Travel
Part of how a safari is designed, not an afterthought
We aim to work thoughtfully with wildlife areas, local communities and accommodation partners, while encouraging respectful behaviour in Kenya’s natural environments.
Looking for Something Different?
This safari is designed for travellers who want to experience three iconic Kenyan landscapes in five days
If your priorities are different, consider:
5 days Amboseli, Nakuru, Mara safari
- Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara
- From $3,100
A broader introduction to Kenya across three destinations.
9 Days Grand safari
- Samburu, L. Nakuru, Masai Mara, L. Naivasha, Amboseli
- From $6,400
The full five-ecosystem circuit, including Samburu’s northern landscapes.
7 Days great Migration Safari
- Masai Mara
- From $4,200
Experience the great Migration at the Masai Mara in a slow unhurried itinerary
Frequently Asked Questions
7-Day Kenya Classics Safari — common questions, answered directly
Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and the Masai Mara — the classic Kenya circuit, with two nights each in Amboseli and the Mara and one night at each lake.
Because these four destinations are the places most first-time visitors are told to see, connected in one continuous private itinerary rather than as separate trips.
Yes — seven days gives genuine time at all four destinations, including two full nights in the Mara, without feeling rushed.
Naivasha offers a boat ride and a gentler pace with Hell's Gate nearby; Nakuru is a game-drive destination known for rhino and, seasonally, flamingo.
Yes, Hell's Gate sits close to Lake Naivasha and can be added as an optional activity during your stay there.
Two nights in the Mara during migration season (July-October) offers a real, though never guaranteed, chance of encountering the herds.
Yes, this route can be compressed to five days or extended with Samburu and additional Mara nights, depending on your available time.
Yes, though couples wanting a slower, more intimate pace may prefer our dedicated Honeymoon Safari itineraries instead.
This is a fully road-based circuit; the longest single drive is roughly 4-6 hours, with most days considerably shorter.