Maasai Mara is the most famous safari park in Kenya. This is mainly because of the annual Great Migration in which millions of wildebeest, zebra and antelope migrate from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya. The large open plains make it easy to spot wildlife. In this mini guide to the Maasai Mara, we share our practical tips: from the best accommodation to a detailed description of how to get to the Maasai Mara and the best activities.
Content of this blog:
Which accommodation Maasai Mara?
Your accommodation in Maasai Mara is the most important thing to arrange well. After all, through your accommodation you will also go on safari and possibly book other fun activities. Therefore, choose an accommodation in Maasai Mara with whom you can get good communication and who can arrange everything for you.
We stayed at Kambu Mara Camp for 4 nights and can definitely recommend it. The whole team works together to give you a fantastic time. From the chef who puts fresh meals on the table 3 times a day to the guide you go on safari with and the guys who do a bushwalk with you. Everything is incredibly well organized and we also received clear and quick answers to our many questions beforehand.
The tents at Kambu Mara Camp are beautiful and much larger and more comfortable than you see in the picture. You even have a private bathroom and when you wake up and see zebras and giraffes walking in front of your tent you know you made the right choice. What a fantastic accommodation in Maasai Mara! The tents are available from €60 per night in high season.
How to get to Maasai Mara by public transportation?
When traveling by public transport in Kenya, it can be overwhelming to plan everything. We’ve done everything by public transport ourselves, so we write it all out for you below.
From Nairobi to Maasai Mara
From Nairobi, you first take an Easy coach bus to Narok. Tickets for the Easy coach bus can be purchased online at https://easycoachkenya.com/. You can only buy these bus tickets with M-Pesa. M-Pesa is a mobile payment system in Kenya. This is used everywhere and is super convenient, except if you are not yet in Kenya and don’t have a SIM card it doesn’t work. So ask your accommodation in Nairobi if they will reserve the bus tickets for you and pay with M-Pesa so you can pay them back later. Read more information and a detailed description how to install and use M-Pesa: M-Pesa and Safaricom SIM card in Kenya.
The Easy coach bus station in Nairobi is at this location. Make sure you get here half an hour / hour before departure time because you still have to physically pick up your bus tickets first. This can take a while. Also, traffic in Nairobi is always chaotic so leave on time.
The bus ride from Nairobi to Narok takes 2 to 3 hours. Once you arrive in Narok, you have 2 choices:
- Walking to the Narok bus station(this is the Google Maps location) where you are incredibly harassed by pushy men who all want you to book your ride through them;
- Or at the place where you get off the Easy coach bus negotiate with cab drivers standing there to get a shared car to Sekenani (Maasai Mara).
There are no matatu (shared minivans) going from Narok to Sekenani. You can only choose a shared car or a cab. For a cab, you pay an average of 3000 – 4000 Kes (€20 – €26). For a seat in a shared car, you pay 600 Kes (€4) per person. Just keep in mind that in a shared car you are in the back seat with 4 people, so a little uncomfortable. Still, this is quite an experience.
The drive from Narok to Sekenani takes about 1.5 hours and then you are finally in the beautiful, tranquil surroundings of the Maasai Mara.
Lake Naivasha to Maasai Mara
When traveling from Lake Naivasha to Maasai Mara, you will first need to take a matatu (shared minivan) from Lake Naivasha to Narok. This costs 600 Kes (€4) per person. The matatu takes 2 – 3 hours. Then, again in Narok, you choose either a private cab or a shared car.
Great Migration in Maasai Mara
So the Maasai Mara is so well known because of the annual Great Migration. Millions of wildebeest, zebra and antelope migrate from the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara. What people especially want to see during the Great Migration are the world-famous river crossings where the animals cross the river by the hundreds at a time while hungry crocodiles make their move.
It is impossible to predict exactly when the river crossings take place; it is still nature. Usually this happens in early July, after which the millions of wildebeest and zebra stay in the Maasai Mara for 2 months. Even if the river crossings have already occurred, it is impressive to visit the Maasai Mara during this period because everywhere you look it is black with wildebeest.
When is the best time to visit the Maasai Mara?
The best travel time for Maasai Mara is in July and August. So, during the Great Migration. At the same time, this is also the best travel time for Kenya because it is dry, making it easier to spot animals at the water holes, and the climate is pleasant.
Yet the Maasai Mara is easily visited throughout the year, and each season has its advantages. June through September is incredibly busy in the park because of the Great Migration. January to April is the birthing season and you can spot many young animals, which is also great fun. It is then also a lot quieter in Maasai Mara.
How much does entrance to Maasai Mara cost and how do you pay entry?
In high season (July through December), entrance to Maasai Mara for foreigners costs $200 per person. In low season, it is $100 per person. For this money, you don’t even have a guide or a jeep. This is really just the entrance fee to enter Maasai Mara National Park.
For the guide and jeep, you often spend $250. This is a standard price for the guide and jeep. Therefore, the more people in the jeep, the cheaper you will be. We were lucky and found another couple at the last minute to share the cost with, thus saving us $125.
So you pay the guide and jeep separately to your accommodation. The entrance fee for Maasai Mara is paid on the morning itself, before you enter the park. It is most convenient to do this with $200 per person in cash. Don’t have dollars or does it cost a lot of money to exchange? Then you can also pay with your credit card. Just keep in mind that the signal for the ATM doesn’t always work properly and then you have a problem.
We paid by credit card and were very lucky that they found a good signal after 2 minutes. It also sometimes happens that there is no signal at all and then you are not allowed to enter the park. For your peace of mind, we recommend having dollars in your pocket.
Activities in Maasai Mara
Besides the safari, there are plenty of fun activities around Maasai Mara. For example, you can do a bush walk where you can get incredibly close to the zebras and giraffes. The guide also teaches you everything about nature, he points out places where the animals sleep and shares tips about the local life of the Maasai people. We did a bush walk with the guide from Kambu Mara Camp. You tip him afterwards. For the 2-hour walk, we gave him 2000 Kes (€14).
If you think about the things to do in Maasai Mara, then a hot air balloon ride over the plains of the Maasai Mara is the number one choice. Early in the morning during golden hour you will see how the African savannah slowly awakens, from the hot air balloon. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience that you will never forget. Do pull out your wallet for this because at $450 per person for an hour in the hot air balloon, it is one of the most expensive activities in Maasai Mara. You can book it through your accommodation or via GetYourGuide. Through this link you can see other people’s reviews instantly and get breakfast too .
Finally, you can also visit a local Maasai village. Here you will get an explanation about the Maasai tribe (Kenya’s most famous tribe) and see how they live here.
Tip: don’t visit a Maasai village near Sekenani
Visiting a Maasai village sounds fun, but when you do so at Sekenani (near Maasai Mara), it will not be an authentic experience. These villages are incredibly geared to tourists, making it feel like a real tourist trap. Upon entering, you immediately have to pay cash in dollars and after a 5-minute tour, they soon ask for more money.
Finally, 10 minutes later you are dropped at the “handmade” souvenirs and are fairly forced to buy a souvenir here as well. We really didn’t like the experience and recommend visiting a Maasai village somewhere else.
Visit the Maji Moto Eco Camp
Get a more authentic experience at the Maji Moto Eco Camp. This is a unique activity at Maasai Mara where you will be immersed in the culture of the Maasai. It is small-scale and quiet so you really get the feeling of a special experience. The tents and treehouse at Maji Moto Eco Camp are very comfortable and complete this adventure off grid. It is also a wonderful accommodation to stay in Maasai Mara.
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