Naivasha is a town in Kenya located just 90 km from Nairobi. It attracts tourists with its national park, where you can go cycling, and a massive lake where boat tours take you right alongside hippos.
I highly recommend making Naivasha your first stop—right after arriving in Kenya and before heading to Masai Mara. In my opinion, very little can truly impress you after the Masai Mara. But visiting it beforehand is just right: it’s the perfect place to rest after a long flight, gather your strength for the journey ahead, and get your first “WOW” from seeing wild animals.
Navigation:
How to Get There from Nairobi
The easiest way to get from Nairobi to Naivasha is by minivan (matatu). In Nairobi, matatus depart directly from the city center. There isn’t really a fixed schedule. The capacity of a matatu is 14 people; they wait until the van is full and then depart. We waited about 20 minutes, but we were the very first passengers to arrive.
Matatus from Nairobi to Naivasha: point on the map
Fare: 500 KES
Travel time: almost 2 hours.
In Naivasha, the bus arrives in the city center, right near the Naivas hypermarket. Generally, there are no issues with public transport in Kenya; you can get almost anywhere from almost anywhere. I know for a fact that matatus run from Naivasha to Nairobi, Nakuru, and Narok (if you plan to continue to Masai Mara).
Taxis in Naivasha
Both Uber and Bolt are available in Naivasha. While there is a price difference between these apps in Nairobi, in Naivasha, both will show a low price for short trips. However, drivers often message you privately saying they won’t go for that price and demand double. It’s up to you whether to agree or not.
By the way, you should look for tickets to Kenya on trip.com. A little secret: when searching, try switching the language—the price can sometimes drop by several dozen dollars per person.
What to Do in Naivasha
Lake Naivasha
Naivasha is home to a massive namesake lake. It covers 139 km² and is inhabited by nearly 400 species of birds, but most importantly, it has a large hippo population. Numerous boat stations are located around the lake, both at hotels and independently. There are two types of tours: one-hour and two-hour rides. In January, we were told it’s best to go in the morning because the lake gets choppy in the afternoon and boat tours stop. We went around 12 PM; the water was quite calm, as were the hippos.
We went to this boat station: Watamu Boat Rides Naivasha
As I understand it, you pay for the boat, not per person, though they might charge more for a large group. For 2 adults and a 7-year-old child, we paid 5000 KES for a one-hour ride in January 2025.
I can’t say I was crying with joy here—we were likely still recovering from the flight, plus I caught a fever due to the acclimatization. Still, this was where we saw our first wild zebras, antelopes, and giraffes. They live on Crescent Island, which the boat circles around.
If you take a two-hour boat trip, you get dropped off on the island for the second hour. We stuck to the one-hour tour. They say only herbivores live on the island and there are no predators, but our boat driver mentioned he had seen a python there. I can’t confirm or deny it; I’m just passing on what I heard.
We saw hippos and even sailed within 5 meters of them. But hippos sleep during the day, so you mostly just see their nostrils sticking out of the water. To truly see the hippos, you need to stay at a camp right on the lakeshore, which we did—more on that later.
Hell’s Gate National Park
Hell’s Gate National Park is famous for two reasons:
- This is where the inspiration for the “The Lion King” scenery came from.
- There are no predators in the park, so you can go on a walking or cycling safari.
Entrance fee: $27 per adult / half price for children
Bicycles are available for rent everywhere, especially right before the park entrance, just after turning off the main road. We chose to get around by bike and were incredibly happy with that choice. We rented our bikes from our camp.
Daily bike rental: 800 KES
The park has several gates. We entered through these (Elsa Gate).
These gates are closest to the highest concentration of animals.
If you also decide to go by bike, ride straight once you enter the park; it’s flat, unlike the hilly path to the left. Most of the animals are in the lower area anyway. The park is home to giraffes, zebras, warthogs (yes, that’s Pumbaa!), monkeys, baboons, about 100 bird species, and lots of buffalo—hundreds, maybe thousands, living in massive herds.
In reality, meeting an animal just standing on the road is a stroke of luck and quite rare. Zebras might cross the road, but they won’t stand around posing for photos. We saw giraffes from about ten meters away at first, but then we had a close encounter. It’s such a thrill cycling through the park because you never know who you’ll meet around the corner. I consider myself lucky because we came almost nose-to-nose with a giraffe. He stood there, looked at us in surprise for about 5 minutes, and then retreated into the bushes.
Where to Stay
As I mentioned, to truly enjoy the hippos, you must stay right by the lake, close to the water. Lodges are quite pricey, and hotels are located across the highway. However, there are many camps around the lake. Conditions vary. I recommend finding them on Instagram and messaging them directly about bookings and prices.
We chose **Fisherman’s Camp**. It’s located 17 km from Naivasha town and just a couple of kilometers from the entrance to Hell’s Gate. We rented a tent for one night for three people for 5000 KES.
What I didn’t realize until bedtime was that tent rental does **not** include bedding, pillows, or towels. Naturally, we didn’t have our own. The tent had holes and no rainfly—luckily no bugs got in, but it was freezing, even though we put on every piece of clothing we had. The camp has small cottages (Bandas); they are only a couple thousand KES more expensive, but they come with beds, linens, and everything a “mzungu” (Western traveler) is used to sleeping on!
The atmosphere here is great, everyone is super friendly, and many locals visit for the weekend. The toilets are clean, and the showers have hot water all day long.
We also ate at the camp. There is a beautiful restaurant right by the water, so you can watch hippos emerging from the lake while you have dinner.
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