Lake Naivasha Day Trip — Boat Ride, Crescent Island & Hell's Gate

Eduard/August 2026

We were initially picked up from our hotel and greeted with gifts (a beautiful animal art picture, safari water bottle, and safari hat) for each member of our family! The safari vehicle is very large and spacious, has WiFi and outlets for charging! The vehicle also comes with a mini fridge stocked with sodas and bottled water for the trip. Our tour guide, Simon, was very knowledgeable and drove as carefully as he could, and got us up close to most animals in the parks for clear pictures, and easily knew his way around the massive wilderness areas without any maps or GPS! The only downside I would say about this trip are that most of the roads in Kenya and out in the wilderness are not paved, so most of the drive is extremely bumpy, like worse than a rollercoaster, and caused some motion sickness, we were bouncing out of our seats many times, and getting into the vehicle is a bit challenging as the steps are extremely high up to the knees, so be careful if you have bad knees. The Zebra Lodge that they booked for us was very luxurious, and spacious, though the food was so-so and very limited, the bathrooms were very large and even had an outside shower, although the water temperature regulation and water pressure was terrible. The second hotel, Sarova Woodlands Hotel and Spa, Nakuru, was very nice, professional, great buffets, and a very nice clean 5 star hotel. The first two days doing the game drive in the national parks were great and exciting seeing all the wild animals, the third day going to the lake was honestly the most boring and uneventful as most animals were extremely far away and just saw some birds very far away, also I did not care much for going to the Masai Mara Village, and seeing their poor living conditions. The 4th day was great though, as we took a boat ride to see many birds up close and then did a walking safari tour and got sooo up close to zebras, antelopes, a hyena, and right up next to a sleeping giraffe! I strongly recommend going in August as it's the "migration season" and there are far more animals to see. The drivers also like to drop off tourists at rest stops with souvenir shops, just be careful cause the prices are extremely jacked up and the locals try to rip tourists off like crazy; if they say something is $25-30, in reality it's worth more like $5-10, do your research and haggle down! Overall I liked this tour company and the safari experience, and would definitely do it again someday if I ever went back!

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Jeff Bauer/September 2026

We had a blast and were well taken care of. Multiple days and locations with the great Patrick of Imara Safari Tours!

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Craig McClelland/September 2026

We had a fantastic safari with Imara. Right from the start the team was easy and straight-forward to deal with. Our guide/driver was excellent (thanks so much Tony!), managed to find every animal on our wishlist, and made sure we enjoyed the whole trip. We were a group of 3 and did a private safari. This gave us a lot more flexibility about where to go, which animals to search for etc, and our guide (Tony) was always adjusting the plan make sure we had the best experience. Covering our 'spotting wishlist' was fantastic, but Tony was always working to ensure we got better views and up-close experience with our favourites. That made all the difference to how much we enjoyed the safari. I'd definitely recommend Imara, and we would happily book our next safari through them.

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Rotsen Alitao/September 2026

This trip is really one for the books! We started planning for a Safari Tour a year ago so that we will have an ample time to look for a good itinerary and tour provider that will our needs. We have inquired to several local travel agencies from our country, the Philippines and as well as thru online to Kenyan agencies. Most Kenyan agencies either disregarded our inquiries, too presistent that we book instantly or presented unreasonably priced agencies. We came across IMARA AFRICA SAFARIES thru Instagram and Wendy was very accommodating to our request. She patiently presented to us different options for our safari tours. And most welcomingly answered our never ending queries. She also gave us tips as to securing our travel documents down to our safari outfits. From then on, we knew IMARA is the right choice for us. So here we go! We booked and we eagerly anticipated for our much awaited safari experience! But I guess as the time came and no matter how prepared you were, there were some bumps along the way such as flight delays and missing our connecting flights. Yet, it never deterred our excitement. Good thing, Wendy was always in contact since day 1. And she was flexible as always readjusting our itinerary. We were met and greeted by the whole staff and even gave us souvenirs already. We met Wendy in person and of course Lewis who eagerly explained our itinerary. We also gotten to know Simon, our guide/driver in Kenya. He was very enthusiastic in touring us to different national parks in Kenya and made us witness the amazing wildlife it has to offer. We even driven into the deep areas of Maasai Mara just to find a whole pride of 20 lions! Next stop was Tanzania and there we met Dallas, our guide and driver and Mr Plan B guy. Without him, we could have never witnessed the Great Migration and completed the Big 5 of Africa. All in all, our safari experience was more than what we expected and way too amazing! It was way too difficult to part ways with our two big guides who made this experience memorable! Thank you Imara Africa Safaries! We would definitely recommend you to everyone for their safari experience! Five stars!!!

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Gianpiero Siciliano di Rende/August 2026

Exceptional people, fantastic service, the best. Don't book anywhere else. Edward, our guide and driver was the best. I will request him again at the next adventure. Edward, you are the best!

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Maren/August 2026

Thank you so much Imara Team for our unforgetable Safari Tour (5 days)! We (2 adults, 12 + 9 year old children from Germany) spent an incredible time in Masai Mara, at Lake Naivasha and Amboseli Parc. Only 3 weeks in advance we booked our trip and faced a very professional and prompt communication. At that point a big THANK YOU to Susan! We were picked up at our hotel, where we were given a detailed overview of our itinerary and route. The team surprised us with a few very useful gifts. The 4x4 was in a good condition and the frige was filled with enough cold drinks. Wifi worked well. There were small binoculars on board, but we didn't need to use them because we were so close to the animals. Our very experienced guide, Patrick, gave us some incredibly beautiful experiences. Without his knowledge and intuition, we wouldn't have seen so many amazing animals up close. He had a good network of contacts among other drivers and park attendants A very, very big THANK YOU to Patrick! We will unconditionally recommend Imara Tours to our families, friends, and everyone else.

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S I/August 2026

We had a wonderful experience with Imara Safaris. They made everything easy, arranging all transport, accommodation, and meals during the trip. Our guide Patrick was brilliant and expertly drove us around Masai Mara, getting a great view of lots of animals. We would definitely recommend Imara!

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Austin Frayler/August 2026

My wife and I were fortunate enough to spend a 7 day Lakes & Plains safari with Imara Africa this summer for our honeymoon. From the first message that we sent out asking for quotes and a proposed itinerary all the way to when we landed in Nairobi, Faith was there to make sure we had all of our questions answered and that our experience was exactly what we wanted. She was incredibly accommodating to us, answering at all hours of the day and making sure that we were informed and comfortable with each step of our itinerary and journey. Most of all, we never felt pressured to book or make deposits, which was incredibly important since other companies were actively putting sales pressure on us everyday. Also, the accommodations were all fantastic, clean, and exceptionally hospitable. The food was also delicious. Edward, or the “safari doctor” as we’ve come to know him, is an incredible guide. He is personable, kind, and incredibly knowledgeable. He was happy to share everything he knew about each animal that we saw, from a small bird to a leopard that we were fortunate enough to see climbing up a tree with its kill in Maasai Mara. We couldn’t have been more fortunate as we were to be paired with Edward for the past week, and I’m positive that all of Imara’s guides are just as exceptional as he is. We never felt rushed while spending time at each park, and Edward and Faith both worked together to accomplish a small itinerary change, since we wanted to spend a little extra time at the Mara in substitution for another activity. He seemed to be friends with everyone that we encountered across the trip, and it’s clear why that is— he’s a genuinely kind and knowledgeable person, and is great at what he does. Thank you so much for the most incredible honeymoon my wife and I could have asked for!

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