Kenya Classic Safari — Self-Launched Version (Maasai Mara, Nakuru & Amboseli)

Land at JKIA, grab a Bolt or Uber into the city or Westlands (£6–9, ~40 min) and check into a hostel or budget hotel. Spend the afternoon registering on Kenya's eCitizen portal and paying your park entry fees in advance — this is now mandatory for Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Hell's Gate and Amboseli, and the cost is roughly £230–250 in total for the seven days, which most tour prices bury in the headline figure. Buy a Safaricom SIM with data (£2–3) and set up M-Pesa at an agent — it makes paying for everything from matatus to boat rides much easier. If you're booking a scheduled shared safari, confirm your pickup time now (most depart 07:00–07:30). Evening: cheap and excellent nyama choma or a Kenyan-Indian meal in Westlands (£6–9).

🚌Airport Bolt/Uber ~£7; local matatus and boda-bodas £1–2

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Westlands / city centre, £25–35 (private room) or £12–15 dorm

• →eCitizen park-fee registration (self-service)
• →Safaricom SIM + M-Pesa setup
• →Westlands evening food walk

Join a scheduled shared safari minibus (booked direct with a Nairobi operator or via GetYourGuide; ~£95–110 per person for this leg's transport share) departing 07:00. The drive climbs through the fertile highlands and over the Great Rift Valley escarpment at Limuru and Longonot — the classic viewpoint stop is at ~2,200 m where you can see Longonot's crater and the satellite station. Lunch en route at Narok, then into the reserve for a late-afternoon game drive: lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo and huge plains herds. Base yourself in a mid-range tented camp just outside the reserve gate rather than a Sopa lodge — same wildlife, roughly 40% cheaper.

🚌Shared pop-top safari minibus, Nairobi–Maasai Mara ~£95 per person (return leg included in 3-day Mara block)

🛏Mid-range tented camp outside Talek/Ololaimutia gate, £55–65 half board (or banda £30–40)

• →Rift Valley escarpment viewpoint stop
• →Afternoon game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve

The classic safari day: out at 06:15 for the best predator action while it's cool, back to camp for brunch, then out again from 16:00 until sunset with a sundowner stop. Optional extras worth pricing separately: a hot-air balloon flight over the Mara (£340–400, book direct with Governors' or a similar operator, not through the tour — book 2–3 weeks ahead), and a guided visit to a Maasai village (£15–20, pay the community directly at the gate rather than a middleman). Bring a packed lunch from the camp instead of paying lodge picnic rates.

🚌Included in the shared safari vehicle for the day

🛏Mid-range tented camp outside Talek/Ololaimutia gate, £55–65 half board

• →Dawn game drive
• →Sunset game drive
• →Maasai village visit (optional, ~£18)
• →Hot-air balloon safari (optional, ~£360)

Drive north via Narok and the Mau Escarpment to Nakuru (5–6 hrs), with a lunch stop in Narok or Gilgil. Enter Lake Nakuru National Park in the afternoon — it's small enough to cover in a few hours and is Kenya's best bet for both black and white rhino, plus Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo and thousands of flamingos when the water levels suit. Stay in Nakuru town (guesthouses from £20–25) or, for a splurge-equivalent, a mid-range lodge on the park edge (~£55–70 full board).

🚌Shared safari vehicle transfer ~5–6 hrs; park entry ~£45 (paid via eCitizen)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Nakuru town, £22–30 (or park-edge lodge £55–70)

• →Mau Escarpment drive
• →Afternoon game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park

Morning at Lake Naivasha — hire a boat directly at the jetty (~£18–22 per boat for 6, so ~£4 each if you share) to see hippos, fish eagles and pelicans, and optionally a walking safari on Crescent Island (£15). Then a long transfer south via Nairobi to Amboseli (6–7 hrs), with Kilimanjaro appearing on the horizon as you approach. Note this is the day the operator's private vehicle really earns its keep; on a scheduled shared safari you may switch vehicles in Nairobi, which is normal and cheap but adds an hour. If you'd rather skip the double transfer, an alternative is public transport (Nakuru→Nairobi shuttle ~£8, Nairobi→Emali bus ~£4, then matatu), but for time-keeping the shared safari transfer (~£110) is worth it.

🚌Shared safari transfer via Nairobi ~£110; Naivasha boat ~£4 shared

🛏Mid-range lodge or camp near Amboseli Kimana gate, £50–65 half board

• →Lake Naivasha boat safari
• →Crescent Island walking safari (optional, ~£15)

Amboseli's selling point is the backdrop: elephants photographed against Kibo with snow on the summit, best seen in the early morning. Two game drives today — 06:15–11:00 and 16:00–18:30 — with a warm picnic lunch in the park (bring it from the lodge to avoid inflated in-park prices). The swamps at Enkongo Narok and Observation Hill are the reliable spots for big elephant herds, hippo and 400+ bird species. Park fee is around £50 for the day via eCitizen — budget it as a separate line, it's the single biggest non-transport cost of the trip.

🚌Included in the shared safari vehicle; park entry ~£50

🛏Mid-range lodge or camp near Amboseli Kimana gate, £50–65 half board

• →Dawn game drive
• →Picnic lunch at Observation Hill
• →Sunset game drive

Early breakfast and an optional final short game drive on the way out, then the 4-hour drive back to Nairobi via the Athi Plains, with Namanga/Kilimanjaro views on a clear morning. Arrive Nairobi early afternoon — enough time for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage (public visiting 11:00, book online ~£10) if your flight is late, or the Giraffe Centre (£12). Transfer to JKIA by Bolt (~£7) or spend a final night in a hostel if you're flying out the next day.

🚌Shared safari transfer ~£55; Bolt to airport ~£7

🛏None included (hostel in Nairobi ~£25 if staying an extra night)

• →Athi Plains drive
• →Sheldrick Wildlife Trust visit (optional, ~£10)