Why Honeymoon at Lake Naivasha
Most Kenya safaris keep you in a vehicle from dawn to dusk. Naivasha is the counterweight. On Crescent Island there are no big predators, so guides take you on foot among giraffes, waterbuck, wildebeest and zebras. At Hell's Gate you can rent bikes and pedal between cliffs where lammergeiers once nested, then walk down into a narrow gorge with steaming springs.
The lake itself is pretty in the early morning, when mist lifts off the papyrus and hippos grunt just offshore. Over 400 bird species have been recorded here, from pelicans to the African fish eagle that seems to sit on every dead branch.
It also has history. Joy Adamson, author of Born Free, lived on the shore and her former home at Elsamere is now a conservation center that serves afternoon tea on the lawn. The grand Oserian house, nicknamed the Djinn Palace, recalls the scandal-prone Happy Valley set of the interwar years.
When to Go
Naivasha has the classic Kenyan pattern. The driest months are January and February and again June through September and those are the best times for walking, cycling and hiking. Days are warm and nights are cool at this altitude, so pack a fleece.
The long rains arrive around March to May and the short rains around November. Rain usually comes in afternoon storms, but trails get muddy and the Hell's Gate gorge can flood quickly after heavy rain upstream. Guides close the gorge when the weather looks threatening and you should listen to them.
Because Naivasha is mostly a stopover, its timing is usually set by the rest of the trip. If you are heading to the Mara for the wildebeest migration from July to October, Naivasha falls nicely in its best season too. Holiday weekends bring crowds from Nairobi, so try to stay midweek.
Where to Stay
The lake has everything from budget campsites to private houses and location matters more than star ratings.
The quieter western and southwestern shores have the more characterful options. Private conservancies such as Oserengoni Wildlife Sanctuary hold small lodges where you can walk and ride among plains game away from the day-trippers. Old family farms around the lake offer homestead-style stays with horse riding and long dinners at a shared table. Several larger hotels sit on the south shore close to the boat landings and Crescent Island, which is convenient but busier.
Expect roughly $250 to $900 per night for two at a good lodge with meals, with exclusive-use houses costing more (approximate). Ask whether your room faces the lake, whether the property sits near flower farm greenhouses and whether guided walks or horse rides are included. A lodge with its own wildlife sanctuary is worth the extra over a lakeside hotel.
Romantic Things to Do
Take an early boat across to Crescent Island, then walk the island with a guide for an hour or two. Giraffes are relaxed here and you can get closer on foot than you ever would in a vehicle.
Spend a morning in Hell's Gate National Park. Rent bikes at the gate or bring them from your lodge, ride the flat road past Fischer's Tower and grazing zebras, then hike into the gorge with a ranger guide. One of you can scramble the rocks while the other waits at the viewpoints.
If you like hiking, Mount Longonot is a dormant volcano just south of the lake. The climb to the crater rim takes a couple of hours and the full rim circuit adds several more. Start early.
In the afternoon, have tea at Elsamere, then take a sundowner boat ride past hippos as the light goes gold over the Mau escarpment.
Getting There and Around
International flights land at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta (NBO). Most couples connect through Amsterdam, London, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul or Addis Ababa and Kenya Airways has also flown nonstop from New York JFK (check the current schedule).
From Nairobi, Naivasha is roughly 90 km by road, which usually means two to two and a half hours with traffic. The drive drops down the escarpment with a viewpoint over the Rift Valley floor. Your safari operator or lodge will arrange the transfer. Light aircraft can also land at airstrips near the lake if you are linking to the Mara by air.
Around the lake, lodges arrange boats, bikes and guides. Roads on the south side are paved but busy with trucks, so avoid driving at night. If you continue to the Maasai Mara by road, expect another five to six hours; many couples fly from a nearby airstrip instead.
Food and Drink
Naivasha's food is mostly lodge food: hearty farm breakfasts, picnic lunches and three-course dinners that often draw on the surrounding farms for vegetables, dairy and lamb. Several homestead lodges grow their own produce and bake their own bread.
Tilapia from the lake is the local fish, usually fried whole. Nyama choma, grilled goat or beef served with kachumbari (a tomato and onion salad) and ugali, is the Kenyan roadside classic and worth trying at least once with your guide.
Kenyan coffee and tea are excellent, so ask for the local brew rather than whatever comes in packets. For a drink, Tusker lager is the default beer and lodges stock South African wines. A gin and tonic on a lawn at sunset is an old Naivasha habit. Tap water is not safe to drink; lodges provide filtered or bottled water.
Honeymoon Tips
- Check the State Department's Kenya advisory before you book and again before you fly. It changes and the reasons go beyond crime.
- Hippos are dangerous on land at night. Do not walk the lakeshore after dark and stay on paths at lodges that have hippos grazing on the lawn.
- Respect gorge closures in Hell's Gate. Flash floods have killed visitors before.
- Malaria risk is lower at this altitude but not zero. Use repellent, sleep under a net if provided and talk to a travel clinic. If you're pregnant or hoping to be soon, check CDC travel health notices.
- Bring layers. Mornings and evenings can be chilly at 6,000 feet.
- Book Crescent Island and the boat trip for early morning, before the wind picks up and the day visitors arrive.
- Ask for a quiet room facing the water rather than the farmland.
