Maasai Mara National Reserve | Kenya Safaris All-inclusive & More
Situated in southwestern Kenya, Masai Mara National Reserve is a picturesque 1510 square kilometres of gently rolling African savannah grasslands that borders Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park to the south. There are a plethora of reasons for tourists to visit the Masai Mara, an exceptional wildlife protection area well-known for its remarkable natural variety of animals and the best place in East Africa to go on a safari. The park is home to a wide variety of animals in their native environment, including lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, African buffalo, wildebeests, giraffes, zebras, and many more. The wilderness of Kenya stretches on for miles, and the animals roam freely throughout the park.
With the reserve being named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, it is no wonder that travellers from all over the globe come here to enjoy a Masai Mara Safari tour. ‘Mara’ means’spotted’ in the Maasai language, which is where the word ‘Masai’ comes from. This refers to the spotted acacia trees, shrubs, and plants that cover most of the reserve’s landscape.
Masai Mara Safaris
It is without doubt the case that a safari in the Masai Mara offers the most unparalleled opportunity to encounter exotic animals on Earth. When you go on a safari in Masai Mara, you’ll encounter a wide variety of animals, including the “Big Five” and the “Big Nine,” which live in the reserve. Safaris in the Masai Mara are enjoyable at any time of year, but especially during the wildebeest migration in July and September. See below for a selection of Masai Mara vacation packages for 2026 and 2030, including everything from inexpensive day trips to extravagant fly-in Masai Mara safaris with stays at posh tent camps. Here you can also find some of the safari itineraries that we recommend for Kenya.
Masai Mara Safaris By Road
Travelling by road from Nairobi is the most common way to reach Masai Mara. Most visitors opt for a safari minibus, which is more affordable, or a 4×4 Landcruiser Jeep. Depending on the camp you’ve reserved, the journey from Nairobi to Masai Mara can take anywhere from five to six hours. You can see more of the authentic Kenya countryside and usually pay less for your safari vacation if you travel by car. Unfortunately, there are certain sections of road along the way that are in worse-than-average condition.
3-Day Masai Mara Safari
A 3-day Masai Mara safari Kenya typically includes a 2-night stay, starting with a drive from Nairobi through the Great Rift Valley to the reserve, with an evening game drive on the first day. The full second day is dedicated to game drives within the reserve to see the Big Five and other wildlife. The safari concludes on day three with a final morning activity, followed by a drive back to Nairobi.
4 Day Masai Mara Safari
The Masai Mara is home to an incredible variety of African animals and is widely recognised as one of the world’s premier wildlife preserves. Travellers may enjoy six thrilling private gamedrives inside the main Maasai Mara National Reserve on this four-day Masai Mara safari that departs from Nairobi. The Four Day Masai Mara Safari tour includes lodging in top lodges or camps.
5-Day Masai Mara Safari
Have you ever seen the motion picture, Lion King? Well, picture being a part of that coming to life. Not your typical African vacation, this 5-Day Masai Mara Safari Safari in Masai Mara is unique. People travel from all over the world to Kenya to see this magnificent spectacle. Indeed, it is an experience that endures forever, a tale you can tell that only grows in value with each time you tell it.
Hot Air Balloon Masai Mara
A Masai Mara hot air balloon safari is a premier, early-morning experience (starting ~4:30 AM) offering aerial views of the savannah, Mara River, and wildlife like lions, elephants, and the Great Migration, usually costing US$450–$550+ per person. The hour-long flight concludes with a champagne bush breakfast, providing a unique perspective of Kenya’s landscape.
Masai Mara vs Serengeti vs Kruger
Masai Mara, Serengeti, and Kruger offer premier African safaris with distinct characteristics: The Masai Mara (Kenya) is renowned for high-density, big cat action and the dramatic July–October migration river crossings. The Serengeti (Tanzania) offers vast, open plains, a more immersive, year-round migration experience, and greater solitude. Kruger (South Africa) provides unrivaled, affordable Big 5 viewing, excellent infrastructure, and convenient self-drive options.
Masai Mara vs Serengeti
You will see the wildebeest migration during your 8-day Masai Mara and Serengeti Safari in two of Africa’s most well-known safari locations, the Masai Mara and Serengeti. Every year, an estimated two million wildebeests, along with zebras, gazelles, and other animals, migrate across Kenya’s Masai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti in search of green grass and water sources. Predators like lions, cheetahs, and leopards closely follow these animals, making for an unforgettable wildlife viewing experience.
Self Drive Masai Mara
Self-driving in the Masai Mara is permitted, primarily in the National Reserve and Mara Triangle, using a strictly required 4×4 vehicle with high clearance. While allowed, it is challenging due to rough, muddy terrain, making a popup roof vehicle essential for wildlife viewing. Permits are bought at gates, and staying on authorized roads is mandatory.
7-Day Masai Mara Safari
An Ultra Luxury 7-Day Masai Mara Safari And Beyond to 5-star Lodges in Masai Mara best suited for couples, friends and family. One of Africa’s finest safari locations is the Masai Mara, which features incredible wildlife densities in addition to the annual wildebeest migration. Stay in the most premium camps while exploring two distinct regions of the Mara.
Masai Mara And Zanzibar Beach
A Masai Mara safari and Zanzibar beach holiday combines thrilling Big Five game drives (June–October for Great Migration) with relaxation on white-sand Indian Ocean beaches. Typically, this 7–12 day, multi-centre trip includes flights from Nairobi to the Mara, followed by a flight to Zanzibar for diving, snorkeling, and exploring Stone Town.
6-Day Kenya Safari
A 6-day Kenya safari combining Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, and Masai Mara offers diverse experiences: iconic elephant herds with Mt. Kilimanjaro views in Amboseli, boat safaris & birding at Naivasha, and classic “Big Five” action & the Migration (seasonal) in the Mara, making it a popular, comprehensive choice for first-timers wanting varied landscapes and wildlife in a compact trip, usually splitting nights 2-1-2 across the parks.
Maasai Mara Flying Safaris
Some more isolated or all-inclusive safari camps in the Maasai Mara exclusively provide fly-in or ‘Flyng Safaris’ as a means of transportation to the park, which allows visitors to reach the Masai Mara in under an hour from Nairobi. Two flights per day depart from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport; guests are met at the Mara airstrip and whisked away to their designated Camp or Lodge just in time for lunch. The property offers game drives in 4×4 safari tour vehicles.
2-Day Masai Mara Flying Safari
A Luxury 2-Day Masai Mara Flying Safari from Nairobi. Take a quick 1-hour flight from Nairobi to Masai Mara, where you’ll be welcomed by your Driver-Guide to start your safari. If you only have one night to spend in Masai Mara, this is the ideal alternative. The following morning, after a game drive and breakfast, fly back to Nairobi.
4-day Masai Mara flying safari
A 4-day Masai Mara flying safari offers a luxurious, time-efficient, and scenic way to explore Kenya’s premier wildlife destination, featuring direct flights from Nairobi to avoid long road transfers. Packages generally cost between $1,540 and $3,430, including flights, luxury tented camp accommodation, and daily 4×4 game drives to spot the Big Five and the Great Migration.
Maasai Mara National Reserve
The Masai Mara National Reserve comprises 1,510 square kilometers with vast endless plains that encounter short sweet grasses, which is a source of ample feeding for the plentiful herbivores within the region. The Mara was established in 1961 as a wildlife sanctuary and covered only 520 square kilometers of the current area, including the Mara Triangle. It was further extended to the east to cover 1,821 square kilometers when it was converted into A Game Reserve.
The Mara is part of the large Mara – Serengeti ecosystem that spans 25,000 square Kilometers, located in the north most part of the section. The National Reserve is bordered by the Serengeti National Park in the south, Siria/Oloololo escarpment to the west, Masai Mara pastoral ranches in the north, east, and west. The Mara ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Masai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, and several Masai Conservancies, including Koiyaki, Lemek, Ol Chorro Oirowua, Mara North, Olkinyei, Siana, Maji Moto, Naikara, Ol Derkesi, Kerinkani, Oloirien, and Kimintet.
Activities & Things to Do in Masai Mara
Top things to do in the Masai Mara include experiencing the thrilling Great Migration (July–October), taking daily game drives to spot the Big Five, and soaring above the plains in a hot air balloon. Visitors can also enjoy cultural visits to Maasai villages, walking safaris, sundowner cocktails, and photography tours.
Birds, Wildlife And Animals in Masai Mara National Reserve
The Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya is a premier wildlife destination, renowned for the annual Great Migration (July-October) and high concentrations of Big Five animals (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino). With over 500 bird species and diverse savannah, woodland, and riverine habitats, it is also a top spot for spotting cheetahs, hyenas, and rare raptors.
Simply said, the wildlife in the Masai Mara is regarded as one of the world’s best collections of wild species. Masai Mara and the adjacent Great Mara eco system are home to a rich, diversified array of wildlife that travelers from over the world travel to view during an African safari. There are literally close to 90 species of mammals and many more bird species there.
Best Month to Visit Masai Mara
The best time to visit the Maasai Mara is during the dry season from July to October, which coincides with the Great Migration, offering optimal wildlife viewing, including the dramatic river crossings. For fewer crowds but high wildlife activity, June, November, and December are excellent alternatives.
Masai Mara is known to have excellent wildlife viewing all year round. However for those looking for an opportunity to watch as the great wildebeest migration unfolds the best time to visit the Mara is from July to October.
The lion season falls when most big plain game wildlife like the wildebeest, zebras are giving birth to their young ones. A few weeks at the start of the year, Maasai Mara is dotted with young ones tagging along after their mothers. Along with the overwhelming numbers of newborn calves come the predators.
Maasai Tribe
The nomadic and pastoral Maasai people are a Nilotic ethnic group that inhabits some but significant portions of northern, central, and southern Kenya as well as across the border in northern Tanzania. They are one of the most well-known tribes in Africa. Due to their historical origins in the regions surrounding the Masai Mara Game Reserve and Amboseli, which are close to the Tanzanian border, the Maasai are arguably the more well-known ethnic group in East Africa.
Safari Lodges and Camps in Masai Mara
Masai Mara National Reserve and Mara conservancies offer a wide variety of accommodation alternatives. There is a wide variety of Masai Mara safari lodges to choose from, including airy designer hotels, tented camps suitable for families, and everything in between.
To narrow your search for affordable accommodations, please utilise the filters provided below. On the page describing each lodge, you may see the specific pricing. You can also look for lodgings in the Mara conservancies or within the Masai Mara National Reserve itself.
In the Masai Mara National Reserve and Mara conservancies, there are numerous lodging alternatives. You may be sure to find the best Masai Mara safari lodge for you, whether you’re looking for designer lodges suspended in the air or family-friendly tented camps
Masai Mara Conservancies
the secret entrance to Masai Mara Conservancies’ greatest areas. Today, there are very few locations where you can still see unspoiled, natural beauty and wildlife. places that arouse your senses and give you a chance to enter a world populated by lions that are mighty, elephants that are majestic, and darting gazelles. Welcome to the Masai Mara conservancies, which may be the world’s most abundant wildlife preserves.
Masai Mara Safari Cost
How to Calculate Masai Mara Safari Cost in Kenya. The price of a mid-luxury Masai Mara safari package starts from $600 per person sharing per day. This cost is inclusive of accommodation on a full-board basis. One of the best wildlife reserves in Kenya, if not the entire globe, is the Masai Mara Reserve, which is well-known for hosting the annual big wildebeest migration.
A 3 to 5-day Masai Mara safari typically costs between $1,500 and $3,500 per person for mid-range, while budget options start around $300-$500 per day, and luxury, all-inclusive packages can exceed $1,500–$2,500+ per person per day. Prices vary significantly based on season (migration), accommodation, and transport (flights vs. driving).
Distance Between Masai Mara to Serengeti By Flight/Road
Here is a list of the best routes from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, or Masai Mara to Serengeti National Park. While the Masai Mara National Reserve and the Serengeti National Park are close to one another and only divided by the Tanzania–Kenya border, traveling from one side of the road to the other is more difficult than it appears on the map.
Nairobi City Tour
Best Nairobi City Tour (Visiting Elephant Orphanage & Giraffe Centre) -Which are the greatest spots in Nairobi to see if visitors have a day or even a little more than 4 hours before their flight? The David Sheldrick Elephant Animal Orphanage and the Giraffe Center are two of Nairobi’s top tourist attractions, and they are both included on our custom Nairobi City Tour.
Things To Do In Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi, a major African city and cosmopolitan center with a diverse population, offers visitors a wide range of amazing attractions and things to do, including going to museums, national parks, animal sanctuaries, and local African markets, as well as participating in a variety of sports like golf and enjoying Nairobi’s delectable cuisine at some of the best restaurants in East Africa.
Is Masai Mara Safe For Tourists
Yes, the Masai Mara National Reserve is generally very safe for tourists and is considered one of the safest wildlife destinations in Africa. It is well-patrolled by professional rangers and, because it is a major tourist draw, security is a top priority. The primary risks are related to wildlife encounters, not crime.
Masai Mara National Reserve, widely regarded as one of the best wildlife reserves in Kenya and the entire world, is home to an incredible variety of mammals, from large herds of herbivores like the wildebeest, zebra, and Thompson’s gazelle to the famous “big five” (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo).