Lake Nakuru · Where to stay

The city sits right outside the main gate: hotels at a fraction of lodge rates, banks, supermarkets and matatus, and ten minutes' drive to be inside the park at opening. What you give up is hearing anything at night.

A handful of lodges sit on the ridges inside the park, so you wake up already in it and hear hyena and hippo across the flats after dark. You pay the conservation fee for every 24 hours you are inside, which is what makes them expensive.

Half an hour away towards Gilgil, inside Soysambu Conservancy. Walking, horse riding and night drives are all permitted here, none of which the fenced national park allows, and it works better as a base for a slow Rift Valley loop than Nakuru town does.

Practical tip: at USD 90 per adult per 24 hours, dipping in and out on three separate days costs three full fees. Enter early on day one and plan a single continuous 24-hour window rather than two short mornings.