Where to stay
Stay in Nakuru city for value and quick access to the park, inside Lake Nakuru National Park for a real safari night, at Lake Elementaita for peace and flamingo views, or at Lake Naivasha for the most choice and outdoor adventures.
The areas
Best valueClose to the park gate
Business hotels, guesthouses and apartments in Kenya’s newest city, a few minutes from the Main Gate of Lake Nakuru National Park and Menengai Crater, with restaurants, shops and banks nearby.
Best for: Budget travellers, early game drives and road trips
Safari stayWake up in the park
A few lodges and camps inside the park, where you can be on a game drive at first light and hear the animals at night. More expensive, and you pay park fees for each day you stay.
Best for: Wildlife lovers and photographers
Quiet escapeLakeside lodges and camps
Small lodges, tented camps and villas on the shores of a quiet soda lake, between Nakuru and Naivasha, with flamingo views and Lake Nakuru National Park about 40 minutes away.
Best for: Couples and slow travel
Most choiceLodges among the fever trees
The widest choice of lodges, resorts and campsites in the county, along the lake shore under the fever trees, close to Hell’s Gate, Mount Longonot and Crescent Island, and two hours from Nairobi.
Best for: Families, active trips and weekend breaks
Nakuru has business hotels, guesthouses and serviced apartments, good value and close to the park’s Main Gate. They suit travellers with their own transport or a hired driver.
Lodges inside and around the national park and on the lake shores offer full board, game drives and the sounds of the bush at night. Tented camps have proper beds and bathrooms under canvas.
Naivasha has everything from large resorts with pools to simple campsites on the lake shore, popular with families and weekend visitors from Nairobi.
Prices are highest from July to October and over Christmas and Easter. Lodges inside the park are the most expensive, and you also pay park fees for each day you stay there.
Good to know
Stay in Nakuru for Lake Nakuru National Park and Menengai, and in Naivasha for the lake, Hell’s Gate and Mount Longonot. With three nights or more, split your stay between the two.
If you love wildlife, yes: you can start a game drive at first light without driving through town. Lodges inside the park cost more, and you pay park fees for every day you are inside.
A few weeks ahead for most of the year. Book earlier for July to October, Christmas and Easter, and for Naivasha at weekends and on public holidays, when Nairobi residents head to the lake.
Yes, especially around the lakes. Lodges usually provide nets. Ask a travel clinic about malaria before you travel, and use repellent in the evening.
Plan your Rift Valley trip
Once you have a base, compare game drives, boat rides and day trips around the Rift Valley lakes.