The perfect Lake Naivasha and Nakuru itinerary

This area is such a nice place to relax and unplug. Nestled along a large lake, this area is known for Hell’s Gate National Park, its large flower exports, hippos, and some pretty cool places to relax. At 6,200 feet elevation, it’s relatively temperate and a great place to visit all year round. This was one of our favorite places we visited, mainly because of the unique places we stayed, gorgeous scenery, and abundant wildlife.

How to get there?
Naivasha is about two hours away from Nairobi. We hired a driver to take us there and back since there are no airports in this area, the closest being Nairobi-Wilison in Nairobi. We payed our driver about $80 USD one way. The Sanctuary Farm originally recommended a driver named Apollo and he was awesome. You can reach him on WhatsApp, (+254) 721 531130. He grabbed us from the airport in Nairobi and drove us up. It’s a single lane highway all the way up and there are definitely some driving techniques we wouldn’t have been privy to, so it’s good to ensure you have a reliable driver who you trust.

We had originally debated renting a car and exploring this region and honestly I’m very happy we didn’t. Not knowing the driving style of the area seemed like it would have been very stressful – for example many people were driving on the side of the highway where there were no designated roads, and had unfamiliar driving styles of weaving in and out of traffic.

Things to do in Naivasha:
Naivasha is beautiful, and there are a lot of things to explore in the region. Here are a few can’t-miss things to do:

Hell’s Gate National Park
Hell’s Gate is super unique because it’s one of the only places in Africa where you can bike through a national park. The reason you can bike through Hell’s Gate is because there are no large predators here. It’s 8km each way and you’ll see a lot of great wildlife here. At the end you’ll come across a gorge where you will want to hire a local Maasai guide to take you on a hike to see some awesome views, the gorge, and learn about the people and flora and fauna. When you’re biking through the park you’ll see lots of wildlife. Try and go early in the morning or evening for the most wildlife viewing. The animals hide away during the heat of the day. Read all about an ideal visit to the park in my guide to Hell’s Gate National Park.

Crescent Island Game Sanctuary
The island in the middle of Lake Naivasha, Crescent Island, has one of the highest densities of animals in any park in Kenya. The origin of this island is kind of funny, they brought a bunch of animals over to film Out of Africa and then they were left there after the filming was done. It is about a 30 minute boat ride on a fishing boat from the coast. It’s definitely worth a visit. Like all parks in East Africa, there’s a park fee associated when you get there – but they take cash or card.

Most animals here are used to humans, but of course are still wild. There are also no large predators here, aside from a couple of pythons we heard about. So you can get close, but just use common sense. We were told a few years prior a tourist went up to a baby giraffee to grab its tail and of course the mom didn’t like that and kicked the man. It was a fatal kick, so just be careful, use common sense, and you’ll have no problems at all. But this advice definitely goes for all travel, and wild animal encounters, always 🙂

Take a boat tour
We were staying on the lake at Camp Carnelleys. From there they took you out for an hour tour on the lake to go sight hippos, giant pelicans, eagles, and so many cool, massive birds. We coupled this with a ride to Crescent Island which you can do or go out and take shorter boat ride. It seemed like a lot of the docks along the lake offered this service. You can check out a video of the hippos in the water here, that we came across.

Crater Lake
We heard there was a cool crater lake to hike to about 20 minutes from where we were staying on the lake. We also were told by our buddies who we met at the hotel that the hike was pretty challenging. You can hike up to a crater and then walk around it for a nice day trip. If you have more days in the area, could be good to check out.

Lake Nakuru
You’re a little over an hour away from Lake Nakuru if you want to do a day trip to a very cool national park. We booked a day safari and the guide picked us up from Nairobi and dropped us back in Naivasha. It’s gorgeous, on a lake and known for its flocks of flamingos and massive birds all along the lake. It’s also a great place to try and see the rhino, since you can’t see them at every park. We saw four when we went. We booked our day tour through this company. Would definitely recommend this if you have time while exploring The Great Rift Valley.

What should I pack?
Really you’ll need gear to relax near the lake in, read books, walk around. It can be muddy and wet, we had a couple of showers come through during our five days here so bring a rain jacket and something. This area is higher altitude so it doesn’t get scorching hot, but still is quite warm in the peak of the day. As such definitely pack a good sunscreen and as always, bug spray. Although malaria isn’t very present here (we read) there’s still dengue and other mosquito born illnesses.

How long should I spend in Naivasha?
It completely depends on how long you want to relax and how long you have. We ended up spending 5 nights here which originally we thought was excessive, but had such a nice time hanging out at our accommodations and truly unplugging it ended up being a perfect amount of time. For those with a tighter schedule, 2-3 days in this area will definitely allow you to see the best of what the area has to offer. But we were certainly glad we had a couple more.

Where should I stay?
As I mentioned, the places we stayed in this area really made the trip special. If you’re looking for super unique and cool experiences, check out these two places below:

Sanctuary Farm
The first is The Sanctuary Farm. It’s an animal reserve that you can stay on. Stay in The Watch Tower if possible. It’s a tiny home and you’re surrounded by zebras, giraffes, gazelles, and a ton of wildlife. If you have 2 days to relax it’s ideal to just sit and read and be with wildlife. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day just chilling, reading, and eating at their restaurant. Their restaurant is reservation only so just let the host know what meals you want to eat when you’re there.

The tiny house has a full kitchen so it’s a good idea to grab some wine, beers, and breakfast food at least to stock up at a local grocery store before arriving. It also has a fireplace on the balcony where you can hang out and see some great stars at night. You are so remote that they ask you to text them before you step foot off the property at night since there could be hippos that come up on land. Book your reservations through: info@sanctuaryfarmkenya.com. Here’s my [horrible] video of The Watch Tower I filmed for my sister if you want to check it out.

Camp Carnelley’s
Also if you can, stay at Camp Carnelly’s and rent a Banda on the lake. This is seriously such a cool place with a truly quality restaurant (with great cocktails). It’s a campground with some modest and affordable (but super cool) accommodations. Aside from the great restaurant on the property, you can book a few activities as well including boat rides, bikes to visit Hell’s Gate National Park, and they will book you cars to check out nearby spots like Sanctuary Farm above.

There’s no WiFi here so you’re truly off the grid. So definitely let your family members know you won’t be reachable while you’re here ahead of time 🙂 Such a beautiful area and there are hippos at night on the lakefront that you could watch at dusk and dawn right out front. Hell’s Gate National Park is right there as well, so it’s a good home base for exploring the area. Do note this place is cash only so we reserved via their email and brought cash when we got there. Email is: info@campcarnelleys.com.