Budget Kenya Game Parks Lodge Safari

This Budget Kenya Game Parks Lodge Safari is ideal for travelers who want a unique African safari experience at an affordable price.

Experience the arid beauty of remote Samburu Game Reserve, the spectacular views of Mount Kenya, the world‐renowned Masai Mara Reserve teeming with wildlife and the flamingos and rhinos of Lake Nakuru Park.

This affordable Kenya Lodge Safari combines an unusual mix of superb wildlife destinations in Kenya for the best game‐viewing and scenic journey. Explore untamed Kenya and see Africa's Big Five in an exceptional variety of stunning natural settings, staying in comfortable lodges on this African safari adventure.

Wildlife highlights on the Budget Kenya Safari include lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, cheetah, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebra, various antelope species, giraffe and rhino. 

Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi - Kenya

On day 1 of the Budget Kenya Game Parks Lodge Safari you will be collected from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, the bustling capital of Kenya. From the airport you will be transferred to the historic 5‐star Sarova Stanley Hotel, one of Nairobi’s oldest and best known hotels.

The Sarova Stanley is conveniently located in the city centre close to shops and tourist attractions in Nairobi. This luxurious hotel offers a health club, roof‐top swimming pool and a wide selection of restaurants and bars.

We overnight at Sarova Stanley hotel in Nairobi on bed and breakfast basis.

Day 2: Nairobi to Samburu Reserve - Kenya

Day 2 starts with an early breakfast, before departing Nairobi on our drive north via the scenic Great Rift Valley to our first safari destination in Kenya, Samburu Game Reserve.

We arrive at the Samburu Sopa Lodge, situated inside the Samburu/Buffalo Springs National Reserve, in time for a late lunch. 

Located in the heart of the pristine Samburu Reserve, our safari lodge lies on an elevated area offering panoramic views of Samburu Hills and Mount Kenya in the distance. Samburu Sopa Lodge features a cluster of cottages set around an active waterhole that draws a wide range of wildlife throughout the day and night.

After lunch at the safari lodge we embark on our first exciting game drive in remote Samburu Park and the adjacent Buffalo Springs Reserve. This off-the-beaten-track wilderness area is one of Kenya's few sanctuaries for the endangered Grevy’s zebra, the rare beisa oryx and the blue‐shanked Somali ostrich.

Returning from our rewarding game drive we have dinner and stay overnight at the safari lodge.

Distance/drive time: 380 km / 5.5 hours

Day 3: On Safari in Samburu Reserve - Kenya

Today we enjoy a full day on safari in Samburu Reserve taking morning and afternoon game drives to explore this raw wilderness and search for Africa's wildlife.

A wild place of wide-open skies, endless arid plains of red earth and palm‐fringed rivers, Samburu National Park lies on the outskirts of the vast desert once known as the Northern Frontier District. A rugged region of heat‐scorched scrublands extending all the way to the jade‐green waters of the vast Lake Turkana and beyond.

The stark and dramatic landscapes of this 104 km² Game Reserve feature rocky battlements, craggy escarpments, dried-up river beds and thorny scrubland scattered with giant boulders, flanked by the distant hills and impressive red table mountain known as Ololokwe.

In the evening you have the option of some relaxing sundowners before dinner in the central dining room at the safari lodge.

Day 4: Samburu to Mount Kenya - Kenya

We travel south along the lower slopes of Mount Kenya after breakfast at our safari lodge, making our way to the Serena Mountain Lodge.

Rising out of the primeval forests of Kenya’s highest mountain, Mount Kenya, this timbered tree lodge offers crystal‐clear mountain air, sweeping views across the surrounding tree‐canopy, fresh trout streams, and magical forest walks. This cool, tranquil and quiet setting is ideal for game‐sightings, with the open‐air viewing‐deck looking out over its own watering hole, which attracts numerous elephant and buffalo herds.

The panoramic tree‐level dining room offers both local and international cuisine, while the central bar features a blazing fire and its own private game‐viewing terrace.

About Mount Kenya National Park - Kenya

The highlight of one of the world’s highest National Parks, Mount Kenya, is the namesake of the country. This ancient extinct volcano is the second highest mountain in Africa, with its Its tallest peaks being Batian at 5 199 m and Nelion at 5 188 m tall. 

Mount Kenya straddles the equator offering a unique mix of forests, moorlands, ice caps and rocky terrain. The extinct volcano is around three and a half million years old and is the sacred home of Ngai, God of the Kikuyu people. Mount Kenya is more than Kenya’s highest mountain, it is a national icon, a climbers’ Mecca, a wildlife haven and a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site.

Anyone in reasonable health can attempt the steep trek to Point Lenana (4 985 m), the highest point for trekkers. Out of the some 500 climbers who attempt to summit Nelion peak annually, about 200 succeed and about 50 experienced climbers achieve Batian summit each year.

Wildlife highlights in Mount Kenya National Park include giant forest hog, hyrax, white‐tailed mongoose, elephant, black rhino, suni, black‐fronted duiker, bongo, leopard, Mount Kenya mouse shrew, duiker and the endemic mole‐rat. The lofty game park is also home to 130 recorded species of birds.

Distance/drive time: 220km / 3 hours

Day 5: Mount Kenya to Lake Nakuru - Kenya

After breakfast we travel south to Lake Nakuru National Park arriving at our next stop on this Budget Kenya Lodge Safari, Lake Nakuru Lodge, in time for lunch.

This afternoon we visit the lake where you enjoy your first glimpse of Lake Nakuru’s pink sea of flamingos, with flocks estimated at 1.2 million flamingoes. Lake Nakuru Park is the largest rhino sanctuary in Kenya so keep your eyes out for grazing rhinos along the lakeshore.

Then we return to the Lake Nakuru Lodge for a swim followed by a sumptuous buffet dinner.

Distance/drive time: 240 km / 3.5 hours

Day 6: Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara - Kenya

Leaving Lake Nakuru Lodge after breakfast, we drive along the floor of the Great Rift Valley towards Masai Mara Game Reserve, the wildlife highlight of our Budget Kenya Lodge Safari.

We arrive at the Masai Mara Sopa Lodge in time for a late lunch, followed by an afternoon game drive to explore the rolling plains of the world-famous Masai Mara National Reserve in search of game.

Masai Mara is home to the highest concentration of wildlife in Kenya, including Africa's Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo), and is this East African country's flagship game park.

Masai Mara is world-renowned for the annual Wildebeest Migration, also known as the Great Migration, an awe-inspiring spectacle said to be ‘the greatest wildlife show on earth’. Technically a continuation of the famous Serengeti Park in Tanzania, Mara covers a mere 4% of the entire Serengeti ecosystem yet it offers one of the world’s most rewarding and evocative wildlife arenas.

After our rewarding game viewing drive exploring the rolling grasslands, meandering rivers and escarpments of this beautiful game park, we return to the Masai Mara Lodge. Spend some free time relaxing on your private veranda, taking a refreshing dip in the luxurious pool, or unwinding with sundowners at one of the lodge’s many bars. 

Dinner is served at the lodge where we spend the evening relaxing at the end of our first unforgettable day on safari in Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Distance/drive time: 365 km / 5.5 hours

Day 7: On Safari in Masai Mara - Kenya

We spend a full day on safari in Masai Mara, one of the world’s best game reserves. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served at the safari lodge, between the morning and afternoon game drives in Mara.

Hosting an abundance of herbivores, the Masai Mara is the ideal hunting ground for Kenya’s famous ‘big cats’. Kenya's largest population of lions is in fact found roaming the open savannahs of this picturesque game park. Masai Mara National Park is best known for the massive annual wildebeest migration, one of the world's biggest wildlife spectacles, but is also renowned for its large elephant and buffalo herds.

The game-rich Masai Mara Reserve offers unbeatable game‐viewing, providing unparalleled African wildlife encounters. This pristine wildlife park of breathtaking beauty promises an unforgettable safari experience. On game drives in Mara you have the unprecedented opportunity of sighting all of the ‘Big Five’ of Africa in one go.

Leaving the plains of Mara, teeming with wildlife and home to prolific birdlife, we head back to the luxurious Masai Mara Sopa Lodge for dinner and our last overnight stay.

Day 8: Masai Mara to Nairobi - Kenya

After breakfast at our Mara Lodge we drive back to Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya, where our affordable Kenya Lodge Safari began.

Arriving in Nairobi we go out for lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant rated as one of the top 500 restaurants in the world. Carnivore Restaurant is known for its glowing BBQ's serving an impressive array of meats, including ostrich, crocodile and many more, as well as fish, vegetarian choices and salads.

After our delicious lunch you will be transferred to the airport and assisted with boarding your onward flight, bringing this unforgettable Budget Kenya Game Parks Lodge Safari to a close.

Distance/drive time: 265 km / 4 hours

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