6-Day Fly-In Mara Ol Pejeta and Naivasha Luxury Safari

Your luxury fly-in safari begins at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport where you board a light aircraft for the one-hour scenic flight to the Maasai Mara. The aircraft sweeps over the Rift Valley escarpment before the vast golden grasslands of the Mara unfold below in every direction. Upon landing at the bush airstrip, your expert safari guide and driver meet you for the short transfer to your premium lodge, where a welcome drink and gourmet lunch await on a veranda overlooking the savannah. After settling into your spacious suite, you head out for an afternoon game drive through the heart of the reserve. Your guide navigates prime wildlife corridors where resident lion prides control extensive territories and cheetah scan the plains from elevated termite mounds. Return to the lodge for a lavish sundowner experience and a gourmet dinner by lantern light.

Enjoy a full day in the Maasai Mara on morning and afternoon game drives exploring different sectors of the vast reserve. The morning drive covers mist-drenched grasslands where leopards are still returning from nocturnal hunts and elephants move through the acacia woodland in the cool dawn light. Your guide drives toward the Mara River, where hippo pods crowd the deep pools and crocodiles line the sandy banks waiting for their opportunity. During migration season from July to October, dramatic wildebeest and zebra crossings transform the river into one of nature’s greatest arenas. The afternoon drive explores remote areas of the reserve away from other vehicles, seeking cheetah families on open plains and photographing the spectacular African sunset over the endless Mara savannah. Return to the lodge for a farewell Mara dinner under a brilliant canopy of stars.

After breakfast at the lodge, check out and transfer to the Mara airstrip for the connecting flight north to Nanyuki airstrip near Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The scenic flight crosses the equator and passes the forested slopes of Mount Kenya before landing in the fertile Laikipia highlands. A short road transfer brings you to your luxury Ol Pejeta lodge for lunch with Mount Kenya views. The afternoon is dedicated to Ol Pejeta’s most extraordinary experience: a ranger-guided visit to the northern white rhino enclosure where Najin and Fatu, the last two of their subspecies, live in a carefully managed area under 24-hour armed protection. Your ranger guide provides a comprehensive briefing on the science and conservation efforts dedicated to preserving this incredible genetic legacy. The evening game drive through the conservancy reveals lions, black rhinos, and cheetah in the fading highland light.

Spend a full day exploring Ol Pejeta Conservancy with morning and afternoon drives through its 90,000 acres of highland wilderness. Begin with a visit to Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only facility in Kenya rehabilitating rescued chimpanzees, which offers a fascinating and touching encounter with these intelligent primates. Your guide then leads a dedicated black rhino tracking drive, patiently following signs through the highland bush until you locate one of Africa’s largest black rhino populations at close photographic range. The afternoon game drive covers the conservancy’s open grasslands where cheetah, lion, elephant, and a remarkable diversity of plains game provide outstanding wildlife viewing. Your expert guide shares the story of how Ol Pejeta has become one of Africa’s most successful wildlife conservancies through combining conservation science with responsible tourism.

Enjoy a final morning drive through Ol Pejeta before checking out and driving south to Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley, approximately two hours through the scenic Laikipia highlands. Check into your lakeside lodge for lunch with views of the hippo-filled lake and the surrounding yellow fever tree woodland. The afternoon is spent with a relaxing boat ride on the lake, drifting past papyrus beds where hippos surface lazily and African fish eagles call from their perches in the fever trees. Over 400 bird species inhabit the lake shores and woodland, and your guide identifies kingfishers, herons, and the spectacular goliath heron in the shallows. After the boat ride, visit Crescent Island for a sunset walking safari among free-roaming zebra and giraffe on the lake’s private wildlife sanctuary.

Wake early for a peaceful final morning on the shores of Lake Naivasha before a leisurely breakfast and check-out. The lakeside setting is at its most serene in the early morning as mist drifts over the water and waterbirds begin their daily activity. After a relaxed breakfast, your driver transfers you to the Nairobi-Naivasha highway for the 90-minute scenic drive back to the capital along the Rift Valley escarpment. You arrive in Nairobi by midday, completing an extraordinary six-day luxury safari that has taken you from the lion grasslands of the Mara and the conservation heartland of Ol Pejeta to the tranquil freshwater shores of Naivasha, three profoundly different and equally unforgettable Kenyan experiences.