Top Best Masai Mara Safari Lodges & Camps

Kenya’s Masai Mara is without a doubt one of the best safari destinations in the world, named after its ancestral inhabitants, the Maasai people, and their fitting description of the landscape when viewed from afar – ‘Mara’ means spotted in the Maa language, referring to how the country is dotted with acacia trees, indentations, and craters.

Amani Mara Camp

Amani Mara Camp, located near Olare Orok, just northeast of the reserve, includes stone-and-canvas rooms with earthy tones. Your private terrace is great for taking in the broad vista and keeping a watch out for wildlife on the plains. In the heat of the day, cool down in the camp’s swimming pool or watch hippos and crocodiles in the river. Enjoy a bush breakfast or lunch prepared with fresh vegetables from the organic gardens at the camp.

The wide grasslands of the Mara are filled with wildlife in every direction. Your gaming drives will be exciting and action-packed. Night drives are a great way to observe nocturnal wildlife including leopards, lions, spotted hyenas, porcupines, and civets. Explore the Mara habitat on foot, secure in the hands of a Maasai guide who will explain the Mara ecology to you. Visit a Maasai manyatta (village) to see how the indigenous people survive with animals. Treat yourself to a hot-air balloon ride early in the morning for a bird’s-eye view of Mara’s grasslands and wildlife.

Sand River Mara

Sand River Masai Mara camp is located in the national reserve on the banks of the Sand River. It conjures up memories of a movie set representing the glory days of safari, recalling the romance of tented camps in the 1920s. Consider safari chairs around a campfire and dinner by the light of paraffin lamps. A pleasant dip in the pool while drinking a martini Consider luxurious four-poster beds covered in flowing fabric. Freestanding baths provide a relaxing soak, or you may take an outdoor shower to feel more connected to nature. Breakfast is served on your private balcony, which views the river’s rocks and forest, as an elephant or gazelle passes by.

Little governors camp

Take a boat across the famous Mara River before hiking through a beautiful riverine forest to one of the best-located Masai Mara safari lodges, nestled behind the bush around a waterhole. At dawn, go on a game drive or a hot-air balloon trip to see the Masai Mara at its most magnificent.

Note,

• Only accessible by boat, this intimate and isolated setting
• Tents overlook a waterhole where elephants and warthog drink. Bush meals are served in the woods.
• In the Mara, there are game drives and guided walks.
• Hot-air balloon rides in the early morning

Saruni Mara

Travel to the community-focused Saruni Mara, which is nestled in an olive and cedar-forested valley. Set up shop in your lavish cottage, equipped with antiques, Persian carpets, and wide cedar wood beds. Join Maasai warriors on a guided bush walk around the surrounding hills, followed by a relaxing spa treatment in the tranquil Maasai Wellbeing Space. This is one of the best Masai Mara lodges for discerning travelers.

What to know

• One of just 10 Masai Mara lodges on a private reserve of 74 000 acres.
• The excellent starting point for a Wildebeest Migration safari.
• Drives to private, sole-use regions for game
• Maasai warriors lead walking safaris.
• Spa services are available at the Maasai Wellbeing Space.

Zebra Plains Mara Camp

The luxurious Zebra Plains Mara Camp, nestled below the Oldonyo Loip Ridge, provides views of the huge plains of Mara. This is one of the best wildlife viewing places in the world, located near the Great Migration’s crossing points at the Mara and Talek rivers. On your game drives, you’ll see giraffes, topi, gazelles, and elephants, as well as numerous huge cats.

Spend some time on a walking safari with a Maasai guide. Explore big cat trails in the sand and get up close and personal with zebra, giraffe, and other plains species. Plants and birds should be eaten and smelled, and they should be heard. Take a hot-air balloon ride above the Mara to get a bird’s-eye view of the animals. Visit a Maasai village to learn about their culture, hear their music, and see their jumps and dances. End the day with sundowners in the bush as the temperature lowers. Spend your evenings around the campfire, listening to the roars of the resident lion pride or stargazing.

Topi Mara Bush House

Relax on the balcony immediately outside your room in a comfy armchair while watching elephants and giraffes pass by. Alternatively, unwind on the lush grounds of this magnificent Masai Mara lodge with a drink and a good book beneath the canopy of an acacia tree. Don’t forget to talk to your chef about your next scrumptious supper.

Mahali Mzuri

Sir Richard Branson’s premium Mahali Mzuri in the Greater Mara’s private Olare Motorogi Conservancy is another of the stunning Masai Mara safari lodges. The name means “beautiful spot,” and it’s exactly what you’d expect. The tents feature an interesting bespoke design, and each has an enormous outlook from its own deck. Add a romantic freestanding bath (also with a view), a candlelight supper for two beneath the stars, a rim-flow swimming pool, and champagne picnics. All of the hallmarks of the Branson touch may be found here.

Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp

The Masai Mara safari resort Kichwa Tembo is well-known. From August to November, this is a fantastic home away from home with great staff, skilled guides, and front-row seats to the Wildebeest Migration.