4 Days Masai Mara Lake Naivasha Safari: 2027 Prices And Itinerary
4 Days Masai Mara Lake Naivasha Safari: Two nights in the Mara, one at Naivasha. Three game drives minimum. KES 175,000 to 585,000 for Kenyans, USD 1,650 to 5,450 for international visitors. Best months are January to March or September.
What’s in the Price
Tier | Lodges (Mara + Naivasha) | Starting From (KSH / USD) |
Budget | Jambo Mara + Kongoni Naivasha Lodge | KSH 175,000 / $1,650 |
Mid-Range | Sentrim Mara + Naivasha Sopa Resort | KSH 235,000 / $2,150 |
Luxury | Mara Serena + Enashipai Resort & Spa | KSH 345,000 / $3,150 |
Premium | Angama Mara + Loldia House | KSH 585,000 / $5,450 |
Private 4×4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof for all 4 days. Driver-guide. Fuel. Full board at all stops, breakfast, lunch, dinner. Masai Mara park fees for 2 days. Bottled water. AMREF evacuation coverage.
What you pay separately: Lake Naivasha activities (boat ride runs KES 3,000 to 4,000 per boat, Crescent Island is USD 33, Hell’s Gate USD 50 plus USD 10 if you cycle). Tips, figure USD 20 to 25 a day for guide and staff. Drinks. Insurance. The usual.
Balloon safari if you want it: USD 550. Maasai village visit: USD 30.
2027 Prices
Two people sharing. Per person for the entire trip.
Kenyan Citizens (KSH per person)
Where | Low Season | Peak | |
Budget | Jambo Mara (2n) + Kongoni Naivasha Lodge | 175,000 | 245,000 |
Mid | Sentrim Mara (2n) + Naivasha Sopa Resort | 235,000 | 325,000 |
Luxury | Mara Serena (2n) + Enashipai Resort & Spa | 345,000 | 465,000 |
Top | Angama Mara (2n) + Loldia House | 585,000 | 780,000 |
International Travelers (USD per person)
Where | Low | Peak | |
Budget | Jambo Mara + Naivasha Kongoni Lodge | 1,650 | 2,250 |
Mid | Sentrim Mara + Naivasha Sopa Resort | 2,150 | 2,950 |
Luxury | Mara Serena + Enashipai Resort & Spa | 3,150 | 4,250 |
Top | Angama Mara + Loldia House | 5,450 | 7,150 |
Low season is January to June except Easter. Peak is July to December.
Why Not 3 Days
Three days means one afternoon drive and one morning drive in the Mara. Then you are leaving.
Four gives you a buffer. Bad weather, lions hiding, whatever, you have another day. And Naivasha stops being rushed. You actually do the boat ride properly instead of cramming it between checkout and driving.
The Route
Day | Route & Primary Focus | Inside Expert Tip |
Day 1 | Nairobi ➔ Masai Mara | Depart 7 AM. B3 to Narok, then the tarmac C12 to Sekenani Gate. |
Day 2 | Masai Mara (Full Day) | Enter gate by 6 AM; pack breakfast to beat the heavy crowds. |
Day 3 | Masai Mara ➔ Naivasha | Mara Serena guests exit the Mara by 10 AM sharp. Book the boat ride for 4:30 PM. |
Day 4 | Naivasha ➔ Nairobi | Choose Crescent Island walk or Hell’s Gate cycling; return pm. |
Day 1: Nairobi To Mara
Leave around 7 AM. Takes 5 to 6 hours.
Take the B3 highway from Nairobi through Narok town, then turn onto the C12. The C12 to Sekenani Gate is smooth, fast tarmac. The unpaved dirt tracks and heavy dust only start once you pass through the gate into the reserve or branch off toward Talek. If you are staying at Mara Serena inside the Mara Triangle, the fastest approach is still the tarmac C12 to Sekenani, crossing westward through the reserve via Purungat Bridge. If you are staying on the escarpment at Angama Mara, your driver will branch west from the B3 beyond Narok toward Oloololo Gate via the C13 Aitong road or the Mulot to Lolgorien route.
Skip the Rift Valley Viewpoint. Tourist trap. Stop in Narok town for chai and mandazi instead, KES 300 or less at any local place.
Camp by lunch. First game drive around 4 PM.
Day 2: Full Day
5:30 AM start. You want to be at the gate when it opens at 6. At dawn the grass smells wet, earthy. Lions are still moving from the night’s hunting. By 9 AM the Nairobi vehicles arrive and it gets crowded.
We pack breakfast and stay out until mid-morning. Back during the hot hours. Out again around 4.
If you notice your guide’s radio go quiet, it usually means someone found something and they do not want 50 vans showing up. Ask what the other drivers are saying. It shows you get how it works.
July to October we focus on river crossing points. The timing is unpredictable. Some days nothing, other days thousands of wildebeest crossing while crocodiles wait.
Day 3: Mara To Naivasha
How Day 3 morning runs depends on your lodge location:
- If you are staying inside the reserve (Mara Serena): Your Day 2 ticket covers your overnight stay. Check out early and take a sunrise game drive across the Triangle plains, making sure you clear the exit gate before 10:00 AM sharp (we target 9:30 AM) to avoid a full second-day ticket penalty (USD 100 in low season).
- If you are staying outside the reserve boundary (Jambo Mara, Sentrim Mara, or Angama Mara): Your Day 2 park ticket expired at 6:00 PM. Enjoy a relaxed lodge breakfast, taking in the panoramic escarpment views at Angama or the river views at Sentrim, before departing for Lake Naivasha. Entering the reserve for an early morning drive requires buying an additional calendar-day park ticket.
The QR code system is strict. Do not rely on your guide having “a connection” at the gate. If the ticket is not pre-validated you can sit there for hours while the system buffers. Get a screenshot of the QR code on your phone the night before.
Drive to Naivasha is 4 to 5 hours. Arrive mid-afternoon.
Boat ride around 4:30 PM. Wind usually dies down by then. Hippos start moving, you hear them grunt across the water. Fish eagles perch in the yellow fever trees. The boat captains throw tilapia to attract them. If you want a good wingspan shot, ask them to throw it 15 to 20 meters out, not right next to the boat.
At Sopa, Simba Lodge, Country Club, hippos graze on the lawns after dark. Do not walk alone after 7 PM.
Day 4: Naivasha To Nairobi
Morning activity, your choice.
Crescent Island. Walking among giraffes, zebras, waterbuck. No predators, no vehicles. The giraffes descend from stock brought for Out of Africa filming in 1985. USD 33 entry. There are two exit points. Exit 1 near the pelican colony has more wildlife. Ask about the western shoreline path. Hippos sometimes sunbathe out of the water there during the day.
Hell’s Gate. Cycling among wildlife, then the gorge hike. One of the only Kenyan parks where you can leave the vehicle. The gorge was closed after 2019 flash floods, reopened September 2024 with mandatory ranger guides. USD 50 entry, USD 10 cycling permit, plus bike rental. Inside the park is Olkaria Geothermal Spa. Go late morning once the early tour groups have moved on. USD 30 for non-residents, KES 400 to 1,000 for Kenyans.
If you want to cycle Hell’s Gate, hike the gorge, and soak in the Olkaria Spa, expect a later Nairobi drop-off around 5:00 PM. To be back in Nairobi by mid-afternoon (2:00 to 3:00 PM), choose either the gorge hike or the geothermal spa, but not both.
The drive back to Nairobi takes about 2 to 3 hours via the A104 highway.
Problems
The tarmac ends at Sekenani Gate. Inside the reserve the tracks are rough, and in heavy rain the black cotton soil turns to mud. If you have spine issues, consider flying in, 45 minutes from Wilson Airport.
April and May are the long rains. Some lodges close. Roads flood. We run trips but you accept the risk.
Leopards are hard to find. Solitary, nocturnal, good at hiding. Two days gives you better odds than one but nothing is guaranteed. I had a family see three leopards on Day 1 and nothing on Day 2. Another couple saw zero for both days then spotted one while driving to the exit gate.
Park Fees
Destination / Activity | Kenyan Citizen (KSH) | International (USD) |
Masai Mara Fee (Low) | KES 1,500 / day | USD 100 / day |
Masai Mara Fee (Peak) | KES 3,000 / day | USD 200 / day |
Naivasha Boat Ride | KES 3,000–4,000 / boat | KES 3,000–4,000 / boat |
Crescent Island Walk | Local Rates Apply | USD 33 |
Hell’s Gate Entry | Local Rates Apply | USD 50 |
Masai Mara: USD 100 a day (January to June) or USD 200 a day (July to December) for non-resident adults. KES 1,500 or KES 3,000 a day for Kenyans. Children under 9 enter free. Ages 9 to 17 pay USD 50. Tickets are calendar-day tickets, valid 6 AM to 6 PM. Sekenani and Talek fees are collected by Narok County. Mara Triangle fees are processed via the Mara Conservancy KAPS portal. Sleep inside the reserve and your ticket covers the night, but exit after 10 AM on departure day and you pay again.
Hell’s Gate National Park: USD 50 for non-resident adults, USD 25 for children aged 5 to 17, under 5 free, paid via KWS eCitizen. Cycling permit is USD 10.
Crescent Island Game Sanctuary: USD 33 for non-resident adults, USD 16 for children. Boat transfers across Lake Naivasha run KES 3,000 to 4,000 per boat.
Lake Naivasha itself: No entry fee.
Other Things
Sit on the left side for the Rift Valley view.
Do not wear blue or black in the Mara. Tsetse flies in the riverine woodland and acacia belts love both colours. Naivasha sits at about 1,884 m and has none. I will ask you to change if you show up in navy. More in the packing list.
Guides share sightings via radio. A well-connected guide who has been at this for years gets more calls than someone in their first season. That is just how it works.
Crescent Island is flat and easy. Hell’s Gate is 7 km cycling plus a gorge scramble. Pick based on your group’s fitness.
Wind picks up on Naivasha around 2:30 PM. We schedule boats for 4:30.
FAQ
Cost? KES 175,000 to 585,000 for Kenyans. USD 1,650 to 5,450 international. Peak season adds 35 to 50%.
Is 4 days enough? Yes. Three game drives is enough to see most things.
Best time? September for crossings. January to March for fewer crowds. April and May if you want discounts and do not mind mud.
Wildlife? Lions almost guaranteed. Elephants, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, hippos yes. Cheetah good odds. Leopard possible. Rhinos rare in the Mara. Add Lake Nakuru for those.
Can we extend? Yes. Nakuru for rhinos, Amboseli for Kilimanjaro.
Private vehicle? We only do private.
Related
Written by David Njunge, TRA-licensed safari guide with over 10 years in the Masai Mara. Edited by Cess Wambui, travel consultant, BSc Tourism and Hospitality Management. Park fees are set by the Narok County Government and KWS. Verified for the 2027 season.
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