6-Day Christmas Safari – Mara, Naivasha & Amboseli

The safari leaves Nairobi by road for the Maasai Mara, travelling through the Rift Valley and the Narok area towards the reserve. The first afternoon game drive introduces the Mara’s broad grasslands, scattered acacias and riverine woodland. The guide follows the reserve tracks to look for the resident wildlife, stopping for observation and photographs as animals are encountered. The day’s programme combines the overland approach to the Mara with the first game-viewing circuit in the reserve.

Christmas Eve is spent on morning and afternoon game drives in the Maasai Mara. The programme explores the reserve’s open grassland and riverine habitats, with time to look for predators, grazing herds, hippos, crocodiles and the birdlife encountered on the circuits. Observation stops allow time to follow animal behaviour and photograph the Mara landscape. The day is the full wildlife-viewing stage between the arrival in the Mara and the Christmas Day journey to Lake Naivasha.

Christmas Day takes the safari from the Maasai Mara to Lake Naivasha for the lake programme and overnight stay. The included boat ride introduces the papyrus-fringed water and its birdlife, with wildlife observed from the boat at the distance directed by the operator. The guided Crescent Island walk explores the sanctuary’s grassland and resident wildlife on foot. The sequence of the boat and walk follows lake and site-access conditions, and the Christmas Day programme ends at Naivasha.

The safari leaves Lake Naivasha for the road journey to Amboseli, moving from the Rift Valley lake landscape to the plains beneath Mount Kilimanjaro. Arrival introduces the Amboseli area and the first game-viewing circuit through its open country and wetland margins. The guide looks for wildlife along the park roads and stops for observation as animals are encountered. This is the transfer and arrival day; the itinerary’s following Amboseli stage provides the dedicated full game-drive day where listed.

Morning and afternoon game drives explore Amboseli’s open plains, acacia woodland and permanent swamp habitats. The wetland edges provide opportunities to look for elephants, hippos and waterbirds, while the open ground offers a different setting for observing the park’s other wildlife. The programme includes Observation Hill for a wider view across the Amboseli basin. Mount Kilimanjaro forms part of the landscape when visibility allows, and the day provides time to photograph both the wildlife and the changing mountain views.

The final Amboseli game drive provides another opportunity to explore the park’s plains and wetland edges in the morning. The guide stops for wildlife observation and photographs as animals are encountered, completing the Amboseli stage of the safari. The party then leaves the park area for the road journey back to Nairobi. The drive returns the safari from the southern plains to the capital, where the stage finishes at the agreed Nairobi point.