5 Days Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru & Lake Naivasha Safari

Leopard Orchid Safaris & Lawrence gave us an adventure of a lifetime

It all started in Oct 2025, when we came across Safari Bookings website by doing a simple google search since we were planning on going on a Safari in 2026, and they recommended top 3 companies for Kenyan safaris and Leopard Orchid Safaris was one of them. My search was simple - 5 days/4 nights Kenya safari but it should include Amboseli Park, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru & Masai Mara Park. We had a limited time on our hand as far as Safari days. All the other companies said NO to our initial request to include all the 4 parks in such small-time frame, but Leopard Orchid Safaris said YES. They were very quick to respond - within a day, they responded to our request and sent us an initial quote for Private Tour (2 people only). After 15 days of back and forth, we were able to fine tune the itinerary to our liking. We opted for all the 'SOPA' hotels in all the parks for the nights which of course they recommended based on our 4-star budget and turned out to be a great decision for us. The communication was extremely clear and done by a person named Elijah (they were very considerate of our demands) Per our instruction, they made sure that we have afternoon Game Drive in Amboseli Park on Day 1 from Nairobi, take us to Lake Naivasha and do afternoon tour of the lake by boat on Day 2, then head to Lake Nakuru for the night. Day 3 would be morning Game Drive in Lake Nakuru and then head to Masai Mara for evening game Drive. Day 4 included all day at Masai Mara along with Great Migration and finally in the morning of Day 5 we wanted the Hot Air Balloon before heading back to Nairobi. They mentioned that our itinerary would require a lot of driving each day and we should be ready for that. We opted for 4*4 Land Cruiser which is a little more expensive, but the driving and the roads would require something like that. After paying the first deposit in Dec 2025, we were locked in the price. Now comes the great part, once in 2026, we got clear instructions from Victor (who took over from Elijah) about visas, and what to expect, what to bring. Every few months, I would ask them various questions and within a day or two, there will be a detailed response from the tour operator that answered all our questions. Finally, the day arrived, we reached landed in Nairobi in the nighttime, and the following day - Day 1 - we were greeted by Victor and our wonderful driver Lawrence at our hotel. With a nice meet and greet, we were on road to Amboseli Park. Since this was our first Day with Lawrence, we didn't know what to expect, so the drive was pleasant, but we were quiet and sleepy (and of course we were tired from flying the previous day). Once we reached Amboseli, that's when we really got to know Lawrence. With his amazing, compassionate personality, he mentioned that the evening Game drive will change everything we thought or knew about safaris. He was so right, he focused on animals that were more famous for each park. This was his thought process - The main attractions were Elephants in Amboseli, Hippos and Birds in Lake Naivasha, Rhinos, Flamingoes and Buffaloes in Lake Nakuru & Leopards and Lions in Masai Mara. He said that if we focus this way, we will be able to see all the animals on our list and any additional animals will be just bonus. Amboseli was hit out of the ballpark - perfect evening where we only focused on Elephants. We saw plenty of Elephants and the bonus was seeing a Lion going for a kill. He made sure that there were plenty of time for photos, plenty of stops to see animals that can last for 15 mins or more if we wanted. From that evening, we fully surrendered to Lawrence because we knew he was the expert and did the best for us. From Day 2 onwards, Lawrence became our best man - He was professional, knowledgeable, and courteous. Always on-time, answering all our questions with great smile and always making sure that our best interests were take care of. With Lawrence, there was always a plan B if plan A didn't work for weather reasons, or something beyond anyone's control. We were stuck on Crescent Island in Lake Naivasha on Day 2 due to thunderstorm, and we were 1.5 hrs. late to start to for Lake Nakuru, but he made sure that everything worked in our favor. Day 3 was one of the highlights of our trip because we were able to see Big 5 in one day between Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. We did morning Game drive in Lake Nakuru (and saw the Big 4 except Leopard) and evening Game drive in Masai Mara. On that day, as a joke I mentioned that since your company name is Leopard Orchid Safaris, he should be showing us a 'Leopard' to complete our Big 5. And to our surprise, he was right to work in Masai Mara for the evening game drive and took that as a challenge, and guess what - He managed to show us a Leopard on the tree with a kill hanging. What a day! Day 4 was all about Masai Mara and Wildebeest Migration and for the whole day, he showed everything that Masai had to offer. The river crossing, lots of Lions and millions of Wildebeest. Lawrence even managed to find a Cheetah and we saw a live kill with our own eyes. We had exceptional lunch settings in the middle of the park which was the highlight. The final day was Hot Air Balloon ride, the tour company made sure that it was perfect, and Lawrence was there to greet us at the end of that and take us back to Nairobi. He stopped for us many times for any reasons, be it bathroom breaks or shopping or anything that we wanted. Victor greeted us back at the hotel in Nairobi and that's how our adventure ended. This safari will remain in our memories and hearts because of Lawrence and this exceptional tour company. If you are looking for a superior company with a sterling reputation, look no further. 5/5 * rating.

via Tripadvisor