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Travel guide
Masai Mara
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: July to October for the migration, and January to February
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Welcome
Masai Mara, in a few days
The Masai Mara covers 1,510 km² of savannah in south-west Kenya, running straight on from Tanzania's Serengeti. Between July and October, the Great Migration brings more than a million wildebeest across the Mara River, watched by the lions of Musiara Marsh and the crocodiles waiting at the crossings.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Mara River crossings · half a dayHerds from the Serengeti mass on the banks, sometimes for hours, then plunge into the current within seconds once one animal jumps.
- Afternoon · The Mara Triangle · half a dayThe reserve's western third, run since 2001 by the Mara Conservancy, with better-kept tracks, far fewer vehicles and stricter anti-poaching patrols.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mara Sopa Lodge€140 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Hot-air balloon flight over the Mara · half a dayAn hour aloft from before dawn, low over the acacias then higher, showing the shape of the herds and the trails through the grass.
- Afternoon · Musiara Marsh · half a dayA spring-fed wetland in the north that never dries out, drawing elephants, buffalo and a lion pride filmed by camera crews since the 1990s.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Sarova Mara Game Camp€180 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Oloololo Escarpment · about 1 h 30The wall along the western side of the Mara Triangle, close to 300 metres above the plain, with leopards and hyenas in the valleys below.
- Afternoon · The Talek River and its leopards · half a dayFig and yellow-barked acacia woodland along this Mara tributary is the reserve's best leopard habitat, where females raise cubs and cache prey in branches.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Ashnil Mara Camp€200 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Talek, a Maasai town · about 1 hA small town at the reserve's eastern gate living from cattle, tourism and trade, with thorn enclosures, low mud houses and a livestock market.
- Afternoon · Naboisho Conservancy · a full dayA private reserve of about 200 km² created in 2010 on land leased from some five hundred Maasai owners, with capped tent numbers.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Fig Tree Camp€240 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Nyama choma: goat or beef grilled over charcoal, shared at the table and eaten with your hands.
- Ugali: a firm maize porridge, the base of most meals, used to scoop up everything else.
- Sukuma wiki: collard greens fried with onion and tomato; the name means stretch the week.
- Pilau and biryani: spiced rice dishes of the Swahili coast, shaped by centuries of trade with Arabia and India.
- Chai: black tea boiled with milk, sugar and spices, drunk all day.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Choose a licensed safari operator and follow the ranger's instructions: stay in the vehicle unless told otherwise.
- Take malaria tablets for the Mara and the coast, and drink bottled water.
- In Nairobi, do not walk after dark: use a taxi or a ride-hailing app.
- Agree prices before you set off, and bargain at the markets.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Swahili
| English | Swahili |
|---|---|
| Hello | Jambo / Habari |
| Thank you | Asante |
| Please | Tafadhali |
| Yes | Ndiyo |
| No | Hapana |
| Excuse me | Samahani |
| Goodbye | Kwa heri |
| Do you speak English? | Unazungumza Kiingereza? |
| I don't understand | Sielewi |
| How much is it? | Ni bei gani? |
| Where are the toilets? | Choo kiko wapi? |
| The bill, please | Bili, tafadhali |
| Help! | Saidia! |
| Cheers! | Afya! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyKenyan shilling (KES)
BudgetAbout €375 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJuly to October for the migration, and January to February
PlugG (prise UK) · 240V
Tap waterBottled only
TippingAppreciated, around 10%; safari guides are tipped by the day
Emergency999 / 112
EntryAn electronic travel authorisation (eTA) is required for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens, applied for online before departure; allow at least two weeks. Your passport must be valid six months after arrival with two blank pages.
HealthHepatitis A, typhoid and yellow fever vaccinations are recommended; a yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from a country where the disease is present. Malaria is a risk in the reserves and on the coast, so take preventive tablets.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/masai-mara
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.