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Itineraries  /  Northern Kenya Mara Coast
KE17 · Kenya · Fly-In Collection

Northern Kenya Mara Coast

Diani Beach · Lake Naivasha · Lake Nakuru National Park · Masai Mara National Reserve · Nairobi · Ol Pejeta · Samburu National Park
Duration
11 Days · 10 Nights
The route
Diani Beach · Lake Naivasha · Lake Nakuru National Park · Masai Mara National Reserve · Nairobi · Ol Pejeta · Samburu National Park
Style
North to Coast
Best season
Year-round · crossings Jul–Oct
Image — add in editor
What you're tracking

What you'll see

Lion
Mara prides, often with cubs in the grass.
Elephant
Big-tusked herds on the Amboseli pans.
Leopard
Draped along an acacia branch at dusk.
Rhino
Black and white rhino on Nakuru's lakeshore.
Buffalo
Buffalo
Herds grazing the floodplains in number.
Day by day

The journey, one day at a time

01Nairobi → Ol Pejeta

Onto the conservancy

Rhino on the plain, Mount Kenya beyond.

Fly from Nairobi to Ol Pejeta and drive its grasslands — home to the last northern white rhinos and a dense cast of predators.

02Ol Pejeta → Samburu

North to the Ewaso Nyiro

Dry country, a different cast.

Hop by light aircraft into Samburu's arid north and drive the river line for the special species found only up here.

03Samburu

The northern specials

Grevy's zebra, gerenuk, reticulated giraffe.

Full days tracking Samburu's dry-country specials along the doum-palmed river, with strong odds on leopard.

04Samburu → Nakuru

To the lake of flamingos

A rim of pink along the shallows.

Hop by light aircraft to Lake Nakuru for an afternoon drive — rhino on the grassland and flamingo strung along the water.

05Nakuru → Naivasha

A freshwater pause

Hippos surface as the sun drops.

Hop by light aircraft to Lake Naivasha and take an evening boat among hippos, pelicans and fish eagles.

06Naivasha → Mara

Into the Mara

The plains open and don't stop.

Hop by light aircraft into the Maasai Mara and head out on a first game drive as the light softens — plains game, elephant and the first cats on the way to camp.

07Mara

Full day on the plains

Cats before the heat, a sundowner to close.

Morning and afternoon drives with a Maasai guide, routed by where the predators are moving, with the long midday hours to rest at camp.

08Mara

Deeper into the reserve

A different corner, a different cast.

A full day further afield — river lines, kopjes and open grassland — with a picnic lunch out in the bush.

09Mara → Diani

Down to the coast

Warm water, white sand, the bush behind you.

Fly down to the coast into Diani on the Indian Ocean — the rest of the day is for the beach, the reef and doing very little.

10Diani

A day on the sand

Reef in the morning, hammock by noon.

Snorkel the marine park, swim, or simply move between sea and shade — the unwound close to a safari.

11Diani → home

Homeward from the coast

Salt on your skin, the bush behind you.

Transfer to Moi International in Mombasa for your flight home — or onward to the next chapter.

When to travel

The season changes what you see.

Jul – Oct

The migration window

The wildebeest are in the Mara and the river crossings are on — the headline months, and the busiest. Book well ahead.

Nov – Jun

Resident game, green plains

The Big Five never leave. Fewer vehicles, lower rates, newborns in the grass and clean light for photography.

Wildlife you may see
Birds Elephant Leopard Lion Rhino

Make it yours.

Add nights, swap a park, extend to the coast — this route is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Tell us how you travel and we'll route the rest.

Field notes, now and then.

Where to go · When to go · Wildlife in season

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