Time in Lake Nakuru Park
 

Fodorites,

How much time do you think is appropriate for game drives in Lake Nakuru?

2 days.... 1 day.... 4 hours ... etc ?

I've never been there and just wondering how much time is reasonable to plan for it.

I recommend two full day for lake Nakuru.
Many of the mini van operators use this as a 1 nighter to break the journey to or from the mara.

The euphorbia & fever tree forests are extraordinary, the colobus monkey, the rothschild giraffe unique and endemic to the lake, the water buck sans the white ring just are a few of the spectacles that this park boasts. Add to that the ring of pink flamingoes around the lake, the pelicans, rhino, lion, leopard and and and...well do i need to say more?

Where will you be coming from and where will you be going next? I found 2 game drives enough. It's a fairly small park and we explored different areas on our 2 game drives. We left the park later as we were only going to Lake Baringo from there, so we saw very few other vehicles on our morning game drive. As mkhonzo mentioned, many operators use Nakuru as a stop on the way to the Mara, so most visitors have already left the park by early morning (and the others haven't arrived yet).

Here are some posts from others considering time spent in Nakuru.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34576356

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34581453

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34538163

I spent only one night. A short rain shower reduced my game drive time and I did not see any rhino. If I had been there another day, I might have seen them.

If you post your whole itinerary, then the time alloted to Nakuru can be seen in context.

I would spend one night there.......not more.....the main highlight would be the flamingoes and the rhinos.....

I would truly try to maximize my time in either the Mara/serengeti depending on the time of the year.....

Although i think the Crater is very game dense......i would only spend one night there.....it is a complete tourist trap and the number of vehicles in there are truly awful!!!

Everyone has their own experience.

I spent about 3 hours in Nakuru on the way to Manyara. Loved the flamingos. It was also the ONLY place I got a good view of rhinos on my whole trip.

I keep hearing of these alleged leopards in Nakuru, but they were nowhere to be found during my my time there.

Oh and I would spend more time in the Crater in spite of the plethora of tourists.

I spent 4 nights in Nakuru, but I only went on one game drive. It was too expensive, so I went on solo walks outside the park instead. The park is definitely worth more than one game drive, but it’s small and fenced and can’t be compared to the Mara and Samburu. If the total length of the safari isn’t too short I’d stay 2 nights doing one afternoon and one morning game drive and then some other activity the second afternoon. If you have unlimited time you will not get bored after 7 game drives either. I agree with Mkhonzo’s description of L. Nakuru NP