Affordable Surprise Lake Elementaita | 2 Days 1 Night
Couple Packages
Surprises
Lake Elementaita Lodge or similar
Planned quietly, revealed all at once, two hours from Nairobi
Affordable Surprise Lake Elementaita: you keep the secret, and we have the room decorated and the sparkling wine chilled before your partner walks through the door. One night above a quiet Rift Valley lake, every meal covered, a bonfire that evening and an early bird walk the next morning.
This one is for the partner doing the planning. A surprise works when the other person suspects nothing until the moment it lands, and a night at Lake Elementaita is an easy secret to keep. It is close enough to pass as an ordinary weekend drive, and quiet enough that the reveal has room to breathe.
You stay at Lake Elementaita Lodge, on the escarpment above the water. The lodge grew around an old farmhouse that Galbraith Cole established about a century ago, and it still feels more like a country house than a hotel, with 33 rooms, a pool and gardens that look out over the lake towards the Sleeping Warrior hill.
Before you arrive, the room is decorated and a bottle of sparkling wine is chilling. You choose the moment of the reveal: at pickup if you add our car, somewhere along the A104, or at the door of the room itself. If you are driving, our driver keeps to whatever story you agree with us, right up until you say otherwise.
Once the secret is out, the rest is simple for both of you. Lunch, the pool, dinner and a bonfire that evening, then an early walk to the shoreline the next morning to look for great white pelicans, which breed here and nowhere else in Kenya. Flamingos come and go with the water levels, so we never promise them. Transport from Nairobi is an optional add on.
For more on the lake, see our Lake Elementaita guide, or browse all our surprise packages.
Details
Summary information about this package
Lake Elementaita Lodge or similar
Elementaita
Couples
Included
Road
All Ages (For Kids & Adults)
Full-board
Included
All year round
Costs
Kenyan Citizen
Ksh. 19500 per person sharing
Non-resident
$ 225 per person sharing
Transport
Options: Road
Duration and Timing
No
Overnight (2 Days 1 Night)
About Package
More information about this package
A room that is ready before they are: The lodge decorates your room with petals and simple touches before you check in, so the reveal happens the moment the door opens.
Sparkling wine already chilling: A bottle and two glasses are waiting in the room, so the first toast happens while the surprise is still sinking in.
A reveal on your terms: Tell us how you want it to land, whether at pickup, on the road or at the lodge, and we plan around it. If you add our car, the driver knows the cover story and keeps to it.
Lake Elementaita Lodge or similar: A 33 room lodge built around Galbraith Cole's farmhouse, about 500 metres off the highway on the escarpment above the lake, with full board, a pool and gardens included in your stay.
A bonfire to end the evening: We arrange an evening bonfire with the lodge after dinner, the natural place to finally explain how long you have been planning this.
A guided bird walk at first light: A lodge guide takes you both down towards the shoreline early to look for great white pelicans, and your Lake Elementaita Wildlife Sanctuary fees are already paid.
Package Itinerary
The package itinerary is as follows
Affordable Surprise Lake Elementaita Itinerary with Baecation Adventures from Nairobi
Day 1: The Reveal
Check in at the lodge from midday. Adding our private transfer? We collect you both from your Nairobi address at 9 am for the 2 to 2.5 hour drive on the A104, with the reveal timed however you have planned it.
Morning: Keeping the Secret
For your partner, this is an ordinary day with a vague plan attached. You know better. Somewhere around the Rift Valley escarpment, most partners start asking questions. How much you give away, and when, is entirely up to you.
Afternoon: The Door Opens
You arrive at the lodge and walk to the room together. The petals are on the bed, the sparkling wine is cold and the lake is outside the window. Whatever your partner says next is the reason you planned this. Lunch follows, then the pool or the terrace for the rest of the afternoon.
Evening: Bonfire and Stars
Dinner at the lodge as the light goes, then out to the bonfire. Now that the secret is out, this is where the two of you finally talk through how it all came together.
Day 2: First Light and Home
Morning: The Shoreline Walk
An early walk with your lodge guide down towards the water, looking for great white pelicans while the lake is still quiet. Back for a slow breakfast, then check out.
Afternoon: The Slow Way Back
If you have the car, stop for nyama choma at Kikopey or visit the Kariandusi Prehistoric Site on the way home, both at your own cost. You are back in Nairobi with the evening still free.
Add Ons
Romantic Touches: (Extras that make the reveal bigger)
Celebration cake waiting in the room: KES 4,000 ($40) per cake
Photographer to capture the reveal, one hour: KES 11,500 ($115) per session
Private bush dinner for two: KES 9,000 ($90) per couple
Upgrade Your Stay: (Turn one night into two)
Extra night at Lake Elementaita Lodge on full board: KES 12,500 ($95) per person sharing
Transport: (Private car from your Nairobi address, driver stays with you for both days)
Private saloon car with driver, Nairobi return: KES 24,000 ($240) per couple
Private mini SUV with driver, Nairobi return: KES 36,000 ($360) per couple
Experiences: (Add any of these when you book)
Sirville Adventure Park water slides, high ropes or zipline: from KES 2,500 ($30) per person, lodge transfer arranged if you are not using our car
Specialist birding guide: KES 4,000 ($40) per group
Packed lunch: KES 2,000 ($20) per meal
Massage and wellness session: KES 3,500 ($35) per session
Lake Nakuru game drive: KES 10,000 ($100) per person, requires the transport add on
+ Inclusions
1 night at Lake Elementaita Lodge or similar, standard room
Full board: lunch on arrival, dinner and breakfast
Discreet planning with you before you travel, including the reveal and cover story
Room and bed decoration, ready before you check in
A bottle of sparkling wine and two glasses in the room
Guided nature walk and bird watching with a lodge guide
Lake Elementaita Wildlife Sanctuary conservation fees (KWS)
Evening bonfire at the lodge
Use of the lodge swimming pool
Baecation Adventures planning and support throughout your stay
All government taxes and levies
- Exclusions
Transport between Nairobi and the lodge, available as an add on below
Drinks beyond the bottle of sparkling wine
Lunch on Day 2 and any meals outside the lodge, including Kikopey
Celebration cake, photographer and bush dinner, available as add ons below
Sirville Adventure Park activities, available as add ons below
Kariandusi Prehistoric Site entry and Soysambu Conservancy fees
Spa treatments
Festive season supplement for stays between 20 December and 4 January
Tips and gratuities
Travel insurance
Anything not listed under Inclusions
What To Carry
Your partner's bag as well as yours, if keeping the secret means packing for them
A warm layer each for the bonfire and the early walk, since Elementaita mornings and evenings are cool
Comfortable closed shoes for the shoreline walk
Swimwear for the pool
A sun hat, sunscreen and sunglasses
A light rain jacket between March and May, and in November and December
National ID or passport for both of you, which confirms your KWS fee category
A charged phone or camera to catch the reveal, unless you add the photographer
Cash or M-Pesa for drinks and tips
Book This Package
Reach out:
For enquiries or bookings, write to [email protected]. We’ll revert within 20 minutes during business hours.