Maasai Mara
The Mara Triangle’s resident lions, cheetah and leopard, from our camp on the escarpment.
- Length
- 3 nights · 4 days, or 4 nights · 5 days (our recommendation)
- Where
- Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
- Guiding
- A team of two: a senior guide and a guide alongside
- Vehicle
- Your own open game viewer
The Mara isn’t a seasonal park. Its lion prides, cheetah, leopard and elephant live there all year; they don’t arrive in July and leave in October. That resident life is what you come for, and it is there every month. We work the Mara Triangle, the western third of the reserve under the Oloololo Escarpment. It is separately administered and vehicle numbers are controlled, so you will often have a sighting entirely to yourselves.
Three nights gives you two full days in the field. Four gives you three, and that third day is where the trip changes: by then you’ve begun to read the country, and you are returning to animals you found on the first day rather than meeting everything cold.
Where you stay
The Mara has no fences. What matters is not whether you sleep “inside the park”, but which part of the Mara you drive in.
We stay at Enchipai Mara, on the Oloololo Escarpment, ten to fifteen minutes from the Oloololo gate, so we’re in the Triangle from first light. You look out over the plains and watch the sunrise from your bed. The welcome is warm, the food is good, and there’s a hot shower at the end of a long day.
Day by day: 4 nights, 5 days
Three nights, four days follows the same shape with two full days in the field.
- Day01
Nairobi, breakfast in Ngong, and on to the Mara
We receive you at the airport in Nairobi, or at your hotel, and bring you to the WBB house in Ngong for breakfast. Then the drive to the Mara, about seven hours with a coffee stop on the way, reaching camp for a late lunch. Rest, settle in, and in the evening meet your guides and plan the days ahead together. Prefer to fly? We can arrange a bush flight from Wilson Airport to the Mara at extra cost.
Overnight Enchipai Mara
- Days02–04
Full days in the field
There is no fixed schedule: each day follows what the bush is doing, the weather and the stories unfolding. We leave camp at first light, when the animals are most active, with breakfast and lunch carried in the vehicle. We stay with sightings as they develop, have lunch under a tree, then go further afield, and come back to camp in the evening for a hot shower, dinner and time by the fire.
Overnight Enchipai Mara
- Day05
The boma, and back to Nairobi
After breakfast, a visit to a Maasai boma nearby. The reserve was once Maasai land, and it is thanks to their values and their long relationship with the animals that the Mara holds as much wildlife as it does today. Then we drive you back to Nairobi and drop you at your hotel, or straight at the airport. Flying home the same day? Book a flight leaving Nairobi after 9 pm.
Where you’ll stay
The camps on this safari: your tent, the deck and the shared spaces.
All-inclusive, end to end
From the moment we receive you until we drop you back:
- Reception at the airport, and every transfer on the itinerary
- All nights in camp, with all meals
- Bush breakfast and lunch on full days in the field
- Your private vehicle and guiding team throughout
- Park and conservation fees
- Cultural visits on the itinerary
- Binoculars in each vehicle, and first aid on hand
On this safari it also includes breakfast at the WBB house in Ngong, all meals in transit, and the Maasai boma visit.
You won’t spend a penny unless you choose to: drinks at camp, laundry or shopping.
Not included
- Your international flights
- Visas and the Kenya eTA. You can apply yourself, or we can process them for you.
- Travel insurance, now mandatory for Kenya and for Tanzania
- A hotel night in Nairobi or Arusha, if your flight home is the next day
You’ll also need a yellow fever vaccination.
What it costs
Per person, in US dollars, sharing a tent. Three travellers pay the two-person rate.
4 nights · 5 days · three full days in the field
| Trips starting | 2 travellers | 4 or more |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jan – 15 Jun · 1 Oct – 15 Dec | USD 3,200per person | USD 2,750per person |
| 16 Jun – 30 Sep · 16 Dec – 5 Jan | USD 3,750per person | USD 3,350per person |
3 nights · 4 days · two full days in the field
| Trips starting | 2 travellers | 4 or more |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jan – 15 Jun · 1 Oct – 15 Dec | USD 2,750per person | USD 2,500per person |
| 16 Jun – 30 Sep · 16 Dec – 5 Jan | USD 3,750per person | USD 3,400per person |
Rates follow the camp’s and the park authority’s own calendars. The wildlife is there every month.
Questions people ask first.
What does all-inclusive mean?
Everything from the moment we receive you until we drop you back: transfers, camps, all meals, park fees, your private vehicle and guiding team. You won’t spend a penny unless you choose to, on drinks at camp or shopping. The only things outside the price are your flights, visas (including the Kenya eTA) and travel insurance, which is now mandatory for Kenya. We can process visas for you if you’d like.
Is the safari private?
Always. The vehicle and the guiding team are yours alone, and we never put separate parties together. That is what lets us stay with a sighting for as long as it takes.
Who are the guides?
Every safari has a guiding team of at least two: a senior guide and one or two guides working alongside. Our guides know the resident prides individually, and they read the land as well as the animals: the soil, the grass, the water, and why the animals are where they are.
Kenya, Tanzania, or both?
Kenya is the concentrated safari for fewer days: the Mara is compact, rich in resident cats, and easy to reach from Nairobi. Tanzania is the bigger, wilder one, where the guiding matters most and the ecological story is fuller. Together they make one ecosystem, and our Kenya & Tanzania journey covers the whole of it.
When is the best time to come?
Every month has something happening. The lion prides, cheetah, leopard and elephant of the Mara live there all year. The herds are always somewhere on their long loop through the Serengeti and the Mara, so we plan around where they will be. See When to come for the year, month by month.
Can I drive?
In the Serengeti, yes. We run two of our own Land Cruisers there, linked by radio, and you’re welcome to drive one with a guide beside you. Hand it back whenever you’d rather sit back and watch. In the Maasai Mara our guides drive the open game viewer, so everyone’s eyes are free for the bush.
Can we bring children?
Yes, children of every age come on safari with us, and it is a lovely time to introduce them to animals and their worlds. Children under 5 travel free, 5 to 11 are charged at half, and from 12 it’s the adult rate. That isn’t our choice: the camps charge by bed and the park authorities charge entry by age on the passport, so we pass those on as they are.
What about food?
Vegetarian and Jain meals are catered for regularly, and our camp in the Mara uses only halal meat. Our camps are chosen for where the animals are, not for their kitchens: they’ll happily attempt Indian dishes, but the flavours may not taste quite the way they do at home.
How do I book?
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We check the camp and the guiding roster, then send you the itinerary and exact costing. To confirm, we need the names as they appear on your passports and an address for the invoice. A 25% advance holds your dates and the balance is due 30 days before you travel; within 30 days, full payment confirms. We invoice in US dollars. Bank transfer is preferred, and a card payment link is available with a 3.5% card fee.