Through the Rift Valley, Sopa Lodges - Private Tour

After landing at Nairobi Airport, a tour representative will meet and transfer you to the Safari Park Hotel or similar. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure, perhaps taking advantage of the services available at the hotel, an African-themed resort that features beautifully landscaped gardens and indigenous forest. All rooms are distinctively designed and decorated and have television, bathroom facilities, and private balconies. A visit to Nairobi city centre, which is just 10km away, is also an option. 

Overnight in Nairobi.

After breakfast, Safari briefing and travel towards Kenya's fertile highlands and head down the Rift Escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners during World War II. Keep an eye out for the charming chapel they built at the foot of the escarpment. Pass the futuristic Longonot earth satellite station as you head across the valley to Narok, and then travel through fields of wheat and barley, before reaching the Maasai Mara and Mara Sopa Lodge, in time for lunch. Afterwards, it’s time for the first game drive of the tour, returning to the lodge at sunset. At Mara Sopa Lodge, the accent is placed on both the indigenous Maasai people and on the fabulous wealth of wildlife, birdlife and natural flora seen in every direction. The lodge is located in the Oloolaimutia Valley and it blends into the surrounding hillside landscape. The décor features all the mod cons one would expect from a Sopa-styled lodge in the bush. The bedrooms are spacious, the large pool has wonderful views and there are evening wildlife films to enjoy. All this ensures a blissfully comfortable stay. In the evening, dinner is served at the lodge. 

Overnight in Maasai Mara.

Wake up to an early breakfast before departing for a morning game drive. The Maasai Mara National Reserve is home to millions of wild animals, including the fabled Big Five (lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and black rhinos) as well as antelopes, gazelles and wildebeest, amongst other animals. Return to the lodge for lunch and perhaps a siesta before setting off for an afternoon game drive and a visit to a Maasai village, heading back to the lodge as the sun sets. In the evening, dinner is served at the lodge.

Overnight in Maasai Mara.

Bid farewell to Maasai Mara after breakfast and travel across the ‘breadbasket’ of Kenya, where acres of wheat and barley dot the landscape as you head north to Narok, the capital of this part of Maasailand. Continue across the vast plains on the floor of the Rift Valley, keeping an eye out for herds of giraffes and gazelles as you head up the Maai Mahiu, before arriving at Lake Nakuru around midday. Once in the park, view game en route to the lodge. Following lunch and a siesta, enjoy an afternoon game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park, returning as the sun sets. The waters of Lake Nakuru are often coloured a shimmering pink, from the thousands of flamingos that line its shores. As well as all the beautiful flamingos, both black and white rhinos are being carefully protected and given a new lease of life in this 188-square-kilometre, fully fenced park. The rhino population numbers more than 50 and continues to multiply. The Rothschild’s giraffe is another rarity that can be seen here, and the park has its fair share of buffaloes, leopards, zebras, elands, waterbucks and lions. Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge is located on a range of hills that form the western limits of Africa’s Great Rift Valley. The newest member of the Sopa family, Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge offers spectacular views over the vastness of Africa and overlooks Lake Nakuru and its surrounding national park, a paradise for bird-watchers and wildlife lovers alike. In the evening, dinner is served at the lodge.

Overnight in Lake Nakuru.

Following an early breakfast, continue to Lake Naivasha for a boat ride on the calm waters of this lake, in and around which you’ll see plenty more examples of local wildlife. Then, leaving the Rift Valley behind, proceed to Nairobi, where you’ll drop off to Jomo Kenyatta airport to take the flight to your onward destinations.