Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Kenya: Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru for three generations
8 days for grandparents, parents and children 6 and up: two nights in Nairobi with the baby elephants, a flight to three nights in a Masai Mara conservancy, and two nights on Lake Naivasha with a day at Lake Nakuru.
8 days · Round trip from Nairobi · up to 12 guests
Wildebeest climbing out of a river bank in the Maasai Mara Photo: Nina R from Africa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maasai_Mara,_Kenya_(32792204257).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Nairobi
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Little walking: a flat 1.5 hour walk on Crescent Island, short walks at the Nairobi nursery and Giraffe Centre, and a bush walk of up to 2 hours in the conservancy for guests of 12 and up. Any of them can be sat out in the vehicle or at the lodge. The effort is sitting in a vehicle on bumpy tracks: game drives last 2 to 4 hours, and the Mara reserve half day about 6 hours with stops. We fly to and from the Mara, and no road leg between stops is over 3 hours. Dawn drives are optional. Altitudes run from about 1,500 m in the Mara to 1,880 m at Lake Naivasha.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 5 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,200 (estimated price)
- Season
- January to March and June to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Baby elephants at their milk feed and mud bath at the Sheldrick nursery, with the keepers telling each one's story
- Feeding Rothschild's giraffes at head height at the Giraffe Centre
- A small plane to the Masai Mara in under an hour, instead of a five-hour drive
- Three nights in a conservancy camp, with game drives at dawn and dusk and Maasai guides showing children how to read tracks
- A morning in the Masai Mara National Reserve and a picnic lunch by the Mara River, fee included
- A boat among the hippos of Lake Naivasha, then a walk among giraffes and zebras on Crescent Island
- Black and white rhinos in Lake Nakuru National Park, back at the lodge pool by lunch
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,200 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Nairobi
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to your hotel in Nairobi
- Welcome dinner at about 6 pm
- Stay in Nairobi
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), south-east of the city, at any time of day. A driver meets your family in the arrivals hall and takes you to the hotel, which we choose on Nairobi's quieter south-western side, near Karen and Langata, so the next day's visits are minutes away; allow up to an hour, because traffic can be slow. Nairobi sits at about 1,700 m, so evenings are cool even though it is close to the equator. The rest of the day is for sleeping off the flight or sitting by the pool. At about 5 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how game drives work, how we seat the vehicles so every child has a window, and how to pack a soft bag for the small plane.
Evening
Then we sit down early, at about 6 pm, to a welcome dinner, with grilled nyama choma and simpler dishes for children who want them.
Included
- Pick-up at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the late-afternoon briefing
Baby elephants and giraffes
Nairobi to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust nursery, then the Giraffe Centre in Langata
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Nairobi
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
A slow breakfast, because this is a day for getting over the flight. Late in the morning we drive a short way into Nairobi National Park to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's elephant nursery for its one-hour public visit (currently 11 am to noon), when the keepers bring the orphaned calves out for their milk bottles and a mud bath and tell how each one was rescued. Children stand at the rope a few metres away, and grandparents can watch from the shade. Visits are booked ahead, and we do that for you.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a garden restaurant in Karen. In the afternoon we visit the Giraffe Centre in Langata, where the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife breeds Rothschild's giraffes, a rare subspecies, and you feed them from a raised platform at head height.
Evening
Then it is back to the hotel by mid-afternoon for the pool and an early night. Dinner is free, so each family can eat at the hotel when it suits.
Included
- Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant nursery public visit
- Lunch in Karen
- Giraffe Centre, Langata
Optional experiences
- Karen Blixen Museum, the farmhouse of the author of Out of Africa, a few minutes from the Giraffe Centre
Easier option: Watch the giraffes from the garden below the platform, or return to the hotel after lunch.
More active option: Add the Karen Blixen Museum after the Giraffe Centre.
Free time: From mid-afternoon free at the hotel pool
Activity: About 1 hour of driving in short hops; both visits are on level ground.
Fly to the Masai Mara
Nairobi Wilson Airport to a Mara airstrip by light aircraft, then a conservancy camp
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Masai Mara
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
After breakfast our driver takes us about 30 minutes to Wilson Airport, Nairobi's small-plane airport, with main bags left in store at the hotel. A scheduled light aircraft flies us to an airstrip in the Mara in about 45 to 60 minutes, sometimes with a stop at another strip on the way, and children usually have their faces to the window as the city gives way to farms and then open plains. The camp's guides meet the plane, and the short drive to camp is often a first game drive in itself. Our camp sits inside a conservancy bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve, on land leased from Maasai families, where the number of vehicles at a sighting is capped.
Afternoon
Lunch, then the middle of the day is for settling into the family tents and resting.
Evening
At about 4 pm we head out for the first drive, back at camp as the light goes, and dinner is early.
Included
- Transfer to Wilson Airport
- Scheduled light-aircraft flight from Nairobi to the Masai Mara
- Lunch and dinner at camp
- Late-afternoon game drive in the conservancy
- Conservancy fees
Easier option: Stay in camp and join the drives from tomorrow.
Free time: Middle of the day free at camp
Activity: Flight times are set by the airline and confirmed with your final itinerary. Soft bags of about 15 kg per person.
A conservancy day at the family's pace
A full day in the Mara conservancy
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Masai Mara
Morning
Early risers go out on the dawn drive at about 6:30 am, when lions and hyenas are often still on the move, while anyone who wants to sleep in joins a second drive after breakfast. Conservancy rules let guides leave the track to follow an animal, so children see it close without a ring of vehicles round it. The middle of the day is for rest, a book on the veranda or the pool where the camp has one. In the late morning the camp's Maasai guides take older children and adults on a bush walk of up to two hours to read tracks and droppings, while younger children, who are usually too young for walks under camp rules, get a session close to camp on footprints, the plants herders use as medicine and beadwork.
Evening
After afternoon tea we go out again for the late drive and stop on a rise for a sundowner, with juice for the children, before an early dinner.
Included
- Dawn or after-breakfast game drive in the conservancy
- Bush walk with Maasai guides for guests of 12 and up, or a camp-side session for younger children
- Late-afternoon game drive with a sundowner
- All meals at camp
Optional experiences
- Hot-air balloon flight at sunrise with a bush breakfast, where the operator accepts children (price confirmed at booking)
- Night drive with a spotlight, where the conservancy allows it (price confirmed at booking)
Easier option: Skip the dawn drive, take the after-breakfast drive and rest in camp until the late drive.
More active option: Take both morning drives, the bush walk and the night drive.
Free time: Middle of the day free at camp
Activity: Each drive lasts 2 to 3 hours on bumpy tracks. The bush walk is about 2 hours at a slow pace; minimum ages are set by the camp.
Into the Masai Mara National Reserve
From the conservancy into the Masai Mara National Reserve and out to the Mara River
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Masai Mara
Today we drive into the Masai Mara National Reserve itself, with the reserve fee included.
Morning
We leave after breakfast, at about 7:30 am, and work across the open grassland towards the Mara River, stopping wherever something is worth waiting for. The river holds hippos and large Nile crocodiles all year. From about July to October in most years the great herds of wildebeest and zebra are here from Tanzania's Serengeti, and some groups cross the river; when and where they cross changes daily, so a crossing is a chance, not a promise. Outside those months the reserve still has its resident lions, elephants, buffalo, cheetahs and plains game.
Afternoon
Lunch is a picnic in the shade near the river, and we are back at camp by about 2 pm, out of the afternoon heat, for a rest and the pool.
Evening
Those who want more stay out all day in a second vehicle and return at sunset.
Included
- Half-day game drive in the Masai Mara National Reserve, reserve fee included
- The Mara River and its hippo pools
- Picnic lunch in the reserve
- Dinner at camp
Easier option: Stay in the conservancy for a shorter morning drive and lunch at camp.
More active option: Stay out for the full day in the reserve and return to camp at sunset, when enough guests choose it to fill a vehicle.
Free time: Afternoon free at camp
Activity: About 6 hours in the vehicle with stops, on rough tracks. The full-day option is about 10 hours.
Back over the Rift Valley to Lake Naivasha
Mara airstrip to Nairobi Wilson Airport by light aircraft, then the Rift Valley escarpment and Lake Naivasha
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Lake Naivasha
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
A short last drive for anyone who wants it, then breakfast and the morning flight back to Wilson Airport, about 45 to 60 minutes. Our driver meets the plane with your main bags and we head north-west out of Nairobi on the A104, past the tea gardens around Limuru, to the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment. We stop at a viewpoint where the valley floor opens out far below, with the cone of Mount Longonot standing over the plain, then drop down to Lake Naivasha, about two and a half hours from Wilson with the stop.
Afternoon
Lunch is at our lodge on the shore, and the early afternoon is for the pool. At about 4 pm, when the heat has gone, a local boatman takes us out to watch the hippos at a safe distance, then lands us on Crescent Island, a private sanctuary with no large predators, where we walk among giraffes, zebras and wildebeest with a local guide.
Evening
Dinner at the lodge is early.
Included
- Scheduled light-aircraft flight from the Masai Mara to Wilson Airport, Nairobi
- Rift Valley viewpoint on the escarpment
- Lunch and dinner at the lodge
- Boat trip on Lake Naivasha
- Guided walk on Crescent Island
Easier option: Stay on the boat and skip the Crescent Island walk.
Free time: Early afternoon free at the lodge pool
Activity: About 2.5 hours on tarmac, broken at the viewpoint. The Crescent Island walk is about 1.5 hours on flat, open grass. Swimming in the lake is not allowed because of the hippos.
Rhinos at Lake Nakuru, then the pool
Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru National Park and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Lake Naivasha
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
We leave after breakfast at about 7:30 am and drive about an hour and a half north through Gilgil to Lake Nakuru National Park in our own vehicles, at most 6 guests in each, so every child has a window and can stand under the pop-up roof. The park was fenced in the 1980s as a sanctuary for rhinos, and it is one of the most reliable places in Kenya to see both black and white rhinos. Rothschild's giraffes, buffalo, waterbuck and big troops of olive baboons are common; lions are possible but never promised, and flamingo numbers swing widely since the lake rose.
Afternoon
We drive up to Baboon Cliff for the view over the whole lake, then head back to Naivasha for a late lunch at the lodge.
Evening
The afternoon is free for the pool, a nap or the lodge gardens, and the farewell dinner is early, at about 6 pm.
Included
- Morning game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park, park fee included
- Baboon Cliff viewpoint
- Lunch at the lodge
- Farewell dinner
Optional experiences
- Cycling through the gorge in Hell's Gate National Park in the afternoon, for older children and adults (price confirmed at booking)
Easier option: Stay at the lodge for the morning and enjoy the pool and gardens.
More active option: Cycle in Hell's Gate National Park in the afternoon, one of the few Kenyan parks where you may ride among the animals.
Free time: Afternoon free at the lodge
Activity: About 1.5 hours each way on the road, plus about 3 hours of game driving inside the park.
Back to Nairobi and home
Lake Naivasha to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
A slow breakfast by the lake, a last look at the hippos and the fish eagles, and time to repack. We leave the lodge at about 10:30 am and drive back up the escarpment and round the edge of Nairobi to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, about 110 km and two and a half to three hours depending on traffic, with a stop on the way for a stretch and a snack. Your guide sees your family to the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 5 pm.
Evening
If yours leaves earlier, we start straight after an early breakfast, or arrange a transfer to a Nairobi hotel the night before on request. Families who want more time can add nights at the coast or in Nairobi; ask us when you book.
Included
- Drop-off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)
Free time: Morning free at the lodge
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 5 pm.
- Nairobi2 nights
- Masai Mara3 nights
- Lake Naivasha2 nights
- Nairobiend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: June to October is the long dry season and lines up with the July and August school holidays: cool mornings, short grass, and in most years the wildebeest and zebra herds are in the Mara from about July to October, with more vehicles in the reserve. January to March, including March break, is warm and dry, with resident game, young animals and fewer vehicles. April and May bring the long rains, so we do not run then. Lake Nakuru's flamingo numbers swing widely from year to year since the lake rose.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Grandparents, parents and grandchildren of 6 and up on a first safari together
- Grandparents who walk comfortably for an hour on level ground and want to skip dawn starts when they like
- Families who want flights, fees and transfers handled, with a pool on rest afternoons
- A large family of 7 or more who could fill a departure on their own
Not for you if you want
- Children under 6: the minimum age is 6, and camps set their own rules for walks
- Travellers who use a wheelchair full time: light aircraft, tented camps and game-drive vehicles are not step-free; ask us about a private version
- Anyone who must see a river crossing: it happens only in some months and is never certain
- Families who want a beach in the price: the coast is an add-on
Minimum age: 6
Most guests are Three generations, children 6 to 14 with parents and grandparents
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Nairobi2 nights
- Masai Mara3 nights
- Lake Naivasha2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 2 in Nairobi, 3 at a permanent tented camp with en-suite family tents in a Masai Mara conservancy, 2 at a lodge on the shore of Lake Naivasha
- Family rooms or connecting rooms requested at every property
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)
- Our own vehicle with a pop-up roof and a licensed Kenyan driver-guide in Nairobi, at Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru, at most 6 guests per vehicle
- Scheduled light-aircraft flights from Nairobi Wilson Airport to the Masai Mara and back
- The camp's game-drive vehicles in the Mara
- Main bags stored in Nairobi and brought to Wilson Airport on day 6
- Boat on Lake Naivasha
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip, with Kenyan driver-guides, the camp's Maasai guides in the Mara and a local guide on Crescent Island
Activities
- Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant nursery, Nairobi
- Giraffe Centre, Nairobi
- Three nights in a Masai Mara conservancy: conservancy fees, game drives morning and late afternoon, a bush walk for guests of 12 and up or a camp-side session for younger children, and a sundowner
- Half day in the Masai Mara National Reserve with a picnic by the Mara River, reserve fee included
- Rift Valley viewpoint on the escarpment
- Boat trip on Lake Naivasha and a guided walk on Crescent Island
- Lake Nakuru National Park game drive and Baboon Cliff, park fee included
Meals
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners
- Welcome dinner in Nairobi and farewell dinner at Lake Naivasha, both at about 6 pm
- Full board at the Mara camp and the Naivasha lodge
- Drinking water in the vehicles
Not included
- International flights to and from Nairobi
- Kenya Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) for each traveller
- Travel insurance, which should include medical evacuation
- Vaccinations and malaria tablets
- Dinner on day 2 and lunch on day 8
- Drinks, except water in the vehicles
- Tips for driver-guides, camp staff and local guides
- Optional activities: hot-air balloon flight, night drive, Hell's Gate cycling, Karen Blixen Museum
- Laundry and personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,200 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Prices in these answers apply from Jan 1, 2027. Black Friday offer: 15% off the small-group price for requests received by Dec 1, 2026. From CAD 5,255 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 5,690. From Jan 1, 2027: from CAD 6,185.
What does the price include?
Seven nights in a Nairobi hotel, a Mara conservancy camp and a Lake Naivasha lodge, 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners, airport transfers, both small-plane flights to and from the Mara, our own vehicles with driver-guides, your See Sight Tours guide, every park, reserve and conservancy fee, the elephant nursery, the Giraffe Centre and the Naivasha boat.
Is a safari manageable for a grandparent in their 70s?
Yes, it is built for that. Walks are short and flat, dawn drives are optional every day, and we fly to and from the Mara instead of driving five hours. The real effort is sitting on bumpy tracks for two to three hours per drive, so anyone with back trouble should tell us when booking.
What is the minimum age for children?
Six. Children of 6 and up join every game drive, the nursery, the Giraffe Centre, the boat and Crescent Island. Mara camps usually allow bush walks only from about 12, so younger children get a session with the Maasai guides close to camp instead. We confirm your camp's rules before you pay.
Can we get family rooms or connecting rooms?
We ask for them at every property, along with tents close to the main area for grandparents, and tell you what each one offers before you pay. Mara camps often have family tents with two rooms; availability depends on your dates, so request early, especially for July and August.
How big is the group, and will every child get a window seat?
Yes. The small group runs with 7 to 12 guests, children included, and we put at most 6 in each vehicle, so everyone has a window. In the Mara we ask the camp to keep each family together in one vehicle where numbers allow.
How long are the drives and flights?
No road leg is over three hours. The longest days are the trip to Lake Nakuru, about an hour and a half each way, and the drive from Naivasha to the airport, about two and a half to three hours. The flights to and from the Mara take about 45 to 60 minutes each.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the first evening to the airport. Licensed Kenyan driver-guides drive our vehicles, the camp's Maasai guides lead the Mara drives and walks, and a local guide walks you round Crescent Island.
Is there a single supplement for a grandparent travelling alone?
A room or tent of your own is from CAD 1,200 more than the shared price, shown before you book. Many families have a grandparent share with an older grandchild instead, which we can arrange where the property allows; ask us when you book.
When is the best time for a family safari in Kenya?
July and August fit school holidays and usually bring the migration herds to the Mara, with more vehicles. March break falls in the warm dry season, with resident wildlife and fewer people. We do not run in April and May, the long rains, when many Mara camps close.
What do children need to enter Kenya?
Every traveller, children included, needs a Kenya Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), applied for online before you fly. A child travelling without both parents should carry a signed consent letter. Ask a travel clinic about malaria tablets for each age and about yellow fever vaccination well before you go.
How does booking work?
Send your preferred dates as an enquiry. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. The small group starts from CAD 6,185 per person sharing, taxes included. Prices are indicative until we confirm your dates.
Can our family travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs as a private safari for your family only, on a date you choose, from CAD 11,135 per person sharing. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same camp, lodges and flights.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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