High season · the herds stay in the Mara until roughly November — and since July 2026 park entry has cost US$200 per person per day

Masai Mara Safari

One reserve, five genuinely different ways in. The three-day group safari from Nairobi at ~$199, the better-rated Landcruiser version, the four-day trip that adds Lake Nakuru, the day trip, and the sunrise balloon flight. What each one costs, what the price actually covers — and what it does not.

Our Top Pick More Detail Compare All 5

Masai Mara at a glance

Three days means one full game-drive dayOn the classic three-day tour, day 1 goes on the drive out plus a two-hour evening game drive, and day 3 on the drive back. Only day 2 belongs entirely to the reserve. If you want more wildlife watching, you need four days, not three
Almost everything starts in Nairobi, about five to six hours awayThe group tours collect you free of charge from hotels in central Nairobi or in Westlands and drive via the Rift Valley viewpoint. The balloon flight is the exception: it lifts off inside the reserve and assumes you are already staying there
The entry fee is the real priceTours start at ~$190, but the reserve’s park fee is in none of our group safaris’ headline price. Since 1 July 2026 Narok County has charged US$200 per adult per day. Two days in the Mara is therefore about US$400 extra — more than the tour itself
The wildebeest arrive in July and leave in NovemberMore than one and a half million animals cross over from the Serengeti. The river crossings at the Mara River are the image most people come for — but they happen when they happen, and nobody can book one for your Tuesday morning. The Big Five are in the Mara all year round

The Mara in 60 seconds

Booking a Masai Mara safari: the short answers first

Only got a minute? Everything that actually decides which Masai Mara safari is right for you is here.

masai mara safari wildebeest migration at the mara river

masai mara safari crocodile at the river crossing

elephants in evening light masai mara safari kenya

impalas on the savannah masai mara safari

In short: we would book the three-day group safari in a 4WD jeep from ~$199 per person. It is the only Masai Mara tour with a genuinely solid base of evidence — 4.6/5 from 594 reviews, where the next best has 245 — and it is the cheapest at the same time. The catch is not in the tour but in the small print: the park fee is not included. The operator puts the figure in its own notes: US$400 per person for two nights between 1 July and 31 December — more than the tour itself costs. Budget for it before you compare any prices.

Our top pick: 3 Days 2 Nights Maasai Mara Group Safari in a 4WD Jeep — from ~$199, 4.6/5 from 594 reviews, run by Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari. Guaranteed daily departure, free pickup in central Nairobi or Westlands, two nights in a tented camp with its own shower, all meals. Here is why we would book it.
The trap when comparing prices: none of the three group safaris on this page includes park entry. Our top pick states the amounts in its own notes: US$200 per person for two nights from 1 January to 30 June, and US$400 from 1 July to 31 December. In high season that triples the cost of a ~$199 tour. Anyone lining up tour prices alone is comparing the wrong number.
If you want better rated rather than cheaper: From Nairobi: 3 Days Maasai Mara Safari with 4WD Landcruiser at ~$228 scores higher at 4.76/5 and does better on value for money too (4.67 against 4.57). Behind it, though, stand 115 reviews rather than 594, and it costs ~$29 more.
If you have four days: From Nairobi: 4-Day Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru Group Safari at ~$350 adds Lake Nakuru with its white rhinos and flamingos. That is the more honest shape — you get a full game-drive day in the Mara and a second park, instead of two days in the car for one day in the grass.
If you only have one day: the day trip from Nairobi at ~$190 runs 13 hours, around ten of them in the vehicle. 4.58/5 from 101 reviews, so genuinely popular — but have no illusions about how much Mara comes out of it.
The balloon flight is beautiful and expensive, and the reviews say so too: Maasai Mara: Hot Air Balloon Safari & Champagne Breakfast costs ~$495 for 70 minutes. The overall score of 4.84 is outstanding, yet value for money sits at 4.0 — the weakest subscore on this entire page. And it starts inside the reserve, not in Nairobi.
What almost everyone underestimates: the driving time. Nairobi to the Mara is roughly five to six hours, and the last stretch is dirt track. On the three-day tour that means: day 1 the drive out plus two hours of game viewing, day 2 full, day 3 the drive back. Further down we have written up what else hides in the small print — including the US$20 a pickup outside Nairobi costs.

The tour we would book

Best Masai Mara safari: three days in a 4WD jeep from Nairobi

Of all five here, this is the one we would take first — not because it has the best score, but because its score rests on enough reviews to mean something.

masai mara safari lions in front of safari vehicles

Best Masai Mara safari overall

3 Days 2 Nights Maasai Mara Group Safari in a 4WD Jeep

4.6 / 5 from 594 reviews · Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari · free cancellation up to 24 hours before

On evidence the gap is not close. This tour carries 594 reviews; the next most-reviewed Mara safari has 245, the better-scoring Landcruiser version has 115, and a substantial share of what is on offer in the reserve consists of freshly listed tours with no reviews at all. When one product in the same category has two to five times the review base of its rivals and is also the cheapest, the argument is largely settled before it starts.

What you are buying is three days in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, approached via the viewpoint over the Great Rift Valley, with two nights in a tented camp and one full game-drive day in between. The second day runs all the way to the Mara River, where the wildebeest cross over from the Serengeti and where hippos and Nile crocodiles lie in the water year-round. On the way back on day three there is a short visit to a Maasai village.

What a group of seven actually means

Group safari sounds like a coach, and this is not one. The operator states 7 to 8 people per departure in a 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, which works out at a window seat each and room to stand with your head in the open air rather than shooting through glass. It also runs its own vehicles and owns its camp in the Mara, which is why it can guarantee a daily departure even when only a few people have booked — and why it states plainly that it will not cancel at short notice or sell you on to another transport company. That a company feels the need to rule that out says something about the market; that this one does says something for it.

Price from: ~$199
Duration: 3 days, 2 nights · effectively one full game-drive day
Operator: Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari
Rating: 4.6/5 from 594 reviews · value for money 4.57
Meeting point: Free hotel pickup in central Nairobi or Westlands · airport pickup on day 1
Guide languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Group: Small group of 7 to 8 people · guaranteed daily departure
Vehicle: 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof for photography
Not included: Park fees, drinks, tips
Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours before · reserve now, pay later

Check Availability & Price Compare With The Others

The park fee, and why it changes everything

This tour costs ~$199. Entry to the reserve is not included in that — it appears as Government park entrance fees for 2 nights in the exclusions list. The operator gives the amounts in its own notes, and that is the most reliable source there is for them: US$200 per person for two nights from 1 January to 30 June, and US$400 per person from 1 July to 31 December. Travel now and you pay roughly US$400 on top — considerably more than the tour itself. These rates are set by Narok County, which runs the Mara independently of the Kenya Wildlife Service; under the published tariff children aged 9 to 17 pay a reduced rate and under-8s enter free. The booking page offers entry as a bookable option, which is the cleanest solution. Just budget for it before you compare prices, because none of the group safaris here includes it, and the gap between them shrinks to almost nothing once you do.

Day 1 · Nairobi into the Mara

Pickup at 8:00 in NairobiFree from hotels in the city centre or in Westlands near the highway. Anyone staying elsewhere makes their own way to the meeting point outside the City Market on Muindi Mbingu Street. Airport pickup on day 1 is included; a pickup in Naivasha costs US$20 extra
Rift Valley viewpointA short stop above the valley floor before the road drops down into the plain. After that the surface gets worse and eventually turns to dirt track
Arrival for lunch, check in at campRhino Tourist Camp or equivalent — a large private tent with a proper bed, bed linen, its own shower and toilet, a mosquito net, and hot water and power in the evening for charging a phone and camera

First game drive 16:00 to 18:00, then dinner at camp

Day 2 · the day you came for

Full-day game driveThe only full day in the reserve. The Big Five are the target, and in the Mara that mostly means the big cats. Lions are reliable here, cheetahs common on the open plains, leopards remain a matter of luck
The Mara RiverThe place where the wildebeest cross over from the Serengeti. Hippo families and Nile crocodiles lie in the banks all year — they are there even when the herds are not
Picnic lunch inside the reserveInstead of driving back to camp, you eat in the park. That is the reason day 2 genuinely becomes a whole day rather than two halves
Back to camp for dinnerBuffet, and after that it is properly dark in the Mara. Bring a head torch

Second night at camp

Day 3 · back to Nairobi

Early breakfast and check-outThen the drive back begins. If you are expecting one more game drive on the final morning, agree it beforehand — none is scheduled
Short stop at a Maasai villageA cultural encounter on the way out. Note: on this booking page the village visit is listed as a bookable option, not as a fixed inclusion
Arrival in NairobiThere is a simple lunch at a travellers’ motel on the way, then drop-off at your Nairobi hotel

What you will actually see

The Mara is the Kenyan part of an ecosystem that runs across the border into the Serengeti — the same plain, the same herds, just a different administration. What sets it apart from most other parks is the openness: barely any bush, barely any trees, grass to the horizon. You can see a long way, and the animals can see you too. That is exactly why the Mara is so reliable for big-cat sightings.

LionsWhat the Mara is known for
CheetahsCommon on the open plains
Wildebeest herdsJuly to November, over 1.5 million
Mara RiverHippos and crocodiles year-round
Maasai villageAn option on this tour
Rift ValleyViewpoint on the drive out
Elephants and buffaloYear-round, often in big groups
Pop-up roof jeepPhotograph standing up

What nobody sells you, and what turns up in review after review, is how much time goes on the road. Five to six hours out, five to six back, and in between game drives that also happen in the vehicle. Go in expecting that and day 2 is superb. Expect a safari in the style of a lodge stay and a three-day trip from Nairobi is the wrong product.

Why not the better-rated Landcruiser tour?

A fair question, because on paper the 3-day safari with a 4WD Landcruiser beats our top pick on every visible figure: 4.76 against 4.61 overall and 4.67 against 4.57 on value for money. We still stay with the cheaper tour, and the reason is sample size: 115 reviews are a good start, 594 are a track record. The ~$29 price difference disappears next to the park fees anyway. If the higher score and the explicitly promised Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof are worth ~$29 to you, that is a perfectly defensible decision — it is not a mistake, just a different weighting.

One thing we would flag: this tour’s inclusions list contradicts itself. Among the included items sits the literal sentence that park entry is not included in the price — three lines further down it reappears in the same list as a bookable option, and the exclusions list names it a third time. This is not an attempt to deceive, it is a badly maintained list, but it does mean the single biggest cost of the trip gets read straight past. In fairness: under the important information the same operator gives the amounts unambiguously — US$200 per person for two nights from January to June, US$400 from July to December. Read that far and you are not left in the dark. In the same way the balloon flight and the Maasai village visit are listed as options, not as fixed components. Get written confirmation before you pay of which options are in your booking and how many days of park entry are being charged.

Who you will be travelling with

Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari, a Kenyan operator that also runs the balloon flight on this page. Driver and guide are the same person — in Kenya that is standard and not a sign of cost-cutting: the driver-guide is the one who finds the animals, and you can spot the good ones because reviewers name them. On this tour they do so regularly. For questions, a WhatsApp number is given and staffed around the clock.

What comes with it, and what you bring yourself

Included are pickup and drop-off in central Nairobi or Westlands, airport pickup on day 1, the professional driver-guide, the 4×4 vehicle with a pop-up roof, two nights in a tent with its own bathroom, all meals as per the itinerary, the picnic on day 2 and bottled water in the car. Not included are park fees, drinks and tips. The operator says there is power at camp in the evening for charging a phone and camera. What you should bring is enough cash for entry and tips, a head torch, warm clothing for the early mornings — the Mara sits at roughly 1,500 to 1,800 metres and it gets cold at night — and a pair of binoculars, which do more on a game drive than any telephoto lens.

Included in the price

Free hotel pickup and drop-off in central Nairobi or Westlands
Airport pickup on day 1
Professional, experienced driver-guide — English, French, German, Spanish or Italian
4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof for game viewing and photography
2 nights in a tent with its own shower, toilet and hot water
All meals as per the itinerary
Picnic lunch box on day 2
Bottled drinking water in the vehicle
Hot water and power at camp in the evening for charging a phone and camera
Guaranteed daily departure in a group of 7 to 8 people

Not included

Reserve park fees for 2 days — currently US$200 per adult per day
Drinks
Tips
Pickup from hotels in Naivasha — US$20 surcharge

This suits you if

You want to see the Mara on the best-evidenced tour available, have three days, and accept that one of them genuinely takes place in the reserve.

When, how long, how much

Planning a Masai Mara trip: best time to go, fees and driving times

A little background on why all the tours look alike, why the prices still diverge, and when you should come.

The wildebeest migration is a window, not an appointment

The herds reach the Mara around July and head south again around November — those are the months in which you have any chance of a river crossing at all. Within that window, though, a crossing happens when the animals decide it does, and that can mean hours of waiting on the bank, or nothing. Anyone coming purely for that one image should allow more than a single day in the reserve. Anyone who wants to see the Big Five can come all year round.

Park entry doubled in July 2026

Narok County runs the Mara itself, independently of the Kenya Wildlife Service, and raised the daily rate for foreign adults from US$100 to US$200 on 1 July 2026. Our top pick sets it out in its own notes: US$200 per person for two nights from January to June, US$400 from July to December. Children aged 9 to 17 pay a reduced rate and under-8s enter free. It is charged per person per day, regardless of whether you sleep inside or outside the reserve. None of the group safaris on this page has that amount in its headline price.

What you are really paying the price difference for

Not for more time in the reserve. The three three-day tours here run between ~$199 and ~$238 and all offer the same shape: drive out plus an evening game drive, one full day, drive back. What differs is everything around it — whether a Land Cruiser or a converted minibus is doing the driving, what the camp is like, how big the group is and how reliably the departure is guaranteed. Read the package, not the number of days.

Five to six hours, and the last part is dirt track

Between Nairobi and the gates of the reserve lie five to six hours, depending on route and weather. The first part runs on tarmac to the Rift Valley viewpoint, the last over gravel and corrugated dirt. In the rainy season it takes considerably longer. That is precisely why the fly-in segment with flights from Nairobi exists — it saves a whole day, but costs several times as much, and it is deliberately not represented on this page because the flight products in the reserve have barely any reviews.

A tented camp is not a campsite

On group safaris in this price bracket you sleep in a permanent tented camp: a large tent with a proper bed, bed linen, a mosquito net, and a shower and toilet inside the tent, with hot water in the evening. This is not a hotel and it is not a backpacking tent either. Go in expecting that and you will be happy; expect a lodge and you will write a middling review afterwards. For our top pick the operator states that there is hot water and power in the evening for charging a phone and camera — for the other tours nothing is said about it, so ask if you depend on it.

The balloon flight is an add-on, not a way in

The balloon safari with champagne breakfast lifts off at Keekorok in the middle of the reserve and collects you from your accommodation. It therefore assumes you are already in the Mara. As a way of getting there it does not work. Some three-day tours, our top pick among them, carry the balloon flight as a bookable option — usually the easier route if you want it at all.

Five ways into the Mara

The 5 best Masai Mara safaris compared

Every tour we would genuinely put on the table — with the catch that comes with each one.

masai mara safari lioness beside the track

Our Top Pick

3 Days 2 Nights Maasai Mara Group Safari in a 4WD Jeep — best overall

By far the best-evidenced Masai Mara tour on offer and the cheapest at the same time. Free pickup in central Nairobi or Westlands, the drive out via the Rift Valley, two nights in a tented camp with its own bathroom, one full game-drive day out to the Mara River, and the option of a Maasai village visit on the way back.

Duration3 days, 2 nights · one full game-drive day
OperatorPerfect Wilderness Tours and Safari
Rating4.6/5 (594 reviews) · value for money 4.57
GuideLive guide in English, French, German, Spanish or Italian
Meeting pointHotel pickup central Nairobi or Westlands · airport pickup day 1
HighlightsGuaranteed daily departure, 7–8 people, all meals, pop-up roof jeep
Best forAnyone who wants the best-evidenced tour and has three days

Worth knowing: the park fee is not included; the operator itself puts it at US$400 per person for two nights between 1 July and 31 December, and US$200 from January to June — in high season, more than the tour price. The balloon flight and the Maasai village are bookable options, not fixed inclusions. Drinks and tips come on top, and a pickup in Naivasha costs US$20 extra.

~$199per person Check Price

Best Rated

From Nairobi: 3 Days Maasai Mara Safari with 4WD Landcruiser — best scores

The same three-day shape, but with the best rating among the group safaris here and explicitly in a Land Cruiser with an open roof rather than a converted minibus. This operator also advertises guaranteed daily departures — so against our top pick, which promises the same, that is not a distinguishing feature here.

Duration3 days, 2 nights
OperatorJOYINA SAFARIS
Rating4.76/5 (115 reviews) · value for money 4.67
GuideLive guide in English
Meeting pointNairobi
HighlightsLand Cruiser with pop-up roof, meals and accommodation included, guaranteed departures
Best forAnyone for whom the better score is worth the ~$29 premium

Worth knowing: the highest score and the best value-for-money verdict among the three-day tours, but on 115 reviews rather than 594 — a good start, not a track record. Here too the park fee is outside the price, so roughly US$400 extra in high season. The schedule is the same: a single full game-drive day.

~$228per person Check Price

pop-up roof safari vehicle masai mara and lake nakuru

Two parks

From Nairobi: 4-Day Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru Group Safari — best shape

Four days instead of three, and the fourth is put to good use: two nights in the Mara with a full game-drive day out to the Mara River, then on to Lake Nakuru with its white rhinos and flamingos before returning to Nairobi. For not quite double the budget you get considerably more than a doubled day.

Duration4 days, 3 nights · two national parks
OperatorEXCELLENT GAMESPOTTING ADVENTURES
Rating4.56/5 (94 reviews) · value for money 4.51
GuideLive guide in English
Meeting pointNairobi, departure between 8:00 and 8:30
HighlightsMara River with a ranger, rhinos and flamingos at Lake Nakuru
Best forFirst trips to Kenya where one extra day is possible

Worth knowing: at 4.56 the rating sits slightly below the three-day tours and rests on 94 votes. Lake Nakuru is run by the Kenya Wildlife Service and charges entry separately — so budget for two different fees, not one. Return to Nairobi around 3pm; drop-off outside the centre and Westlands costs extra.

~$350per person Check Price

hot air balloon safari masai mara at sunrise

From the air

Maasai Mara: Hot Air Balloon Safari & Champagne Breakfast — the experience

70 minutes in the basket above the savannah, lifting off at sunrise from Keekorok, with pickup from your accommodation inside the reserve. After landing there is a bush breakfast with champagne wherever the balloon touches down, and a short game drive in an open jeep on the way to it. A guaranteed window seat is promised.

Duration70 minutes flight time · pickup and breakfast on top
OperatorPerfect Wilderness Tours and Safari
Rating4.84/5 (36 reviews) · guide 4.8, transport 4.6
GuideLive guide in English
Meeting pointPickup from your accommodation in the reserve, lift-off at Keekorok
HighlightsSunrise from the air, bush breakfast with champagne, window seat guaranteed
Best forAnyone already staying in the Mara who wants one special morning

Worth knowing: on value for money this tour sits at 4.0 out of 5 — by far the weakest subscore on this page, at ~$495 for 70 minutes. The enthusiasm about the flight is genuine, and so is the criticism of the price. On top of that: lift-off is in the middle of the reserve, so you have to be there already. 36 reviews is a thin base.

~$495per person Check Price

leopard on a masai mara day trip from nairobi

In a single day

Nairobi: Day Trip to Maasai Mara Reserve & Maasai village — when time is short

The Mara in one single day: 13 hours from Nairobi, with a game drive in the reserve, a chance at the Big Five and an optional visit to a traditional Maasai village. For a tour of this shape it is remarkably well received — 101 reviews is more than most multi-day tours can show.

Duration13 hours · out and back on the same day
OperatorNiroskos Tours And Safaris
Rating4.58/5 (101 reviews) · value for money 4.54
GuideLive guide in English, Spanish or French
Meeting pointNairobi, very early departure
HighlightsGame drive in the reserve, optional Maasai village visit, cheapest way in
Best forNairobi stopovers with no second free day

Worth knowing: of the 13 hours, around ten go on driving — five to six hours each way. What is left is a short game drive at the worst time of day, when the cats are lying in the shade. Here too you pay park entry separately, and for this one day it is exactly as high as for a whole safari day. As a substitute for a real safari the trip does not work; as a fallback it does.

~$190per person Check Price

Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through one we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — and it has never changed the order of our recommendations.

Before you book

Masai Mara safari tips: park fees, driving times and the small print

Eight things that either disappear into an accordion on the booking pages or are not there at all — starting with the one that doubles your budget.

What you should know before booking a Masai Mara safari

The park fee is the single biggest item, and it is in no tour price. Since 1 July 2026 Narok County has charged foreign adults US$200 per person per day; from January to June it is US$100. Children aged 9 to 17 pay US$50 all year, under-8s enter free, and it is charged regardless of whether your accommodation lies inside or outside the reserve. On a three-day tour with two days in the park that is roughly US$400 per adult — on a ~$199 tour, double the booking price. Get written confirmation from the operator before you pay of how many days are being charged and whether you pay in cash or by card.
Three days means one game-drive day. The sequence is practically identical on every three-day tour: day 1 departure around 8am, arrival for lunch, two hours of game viewing in the evening. Day 2 all day in the reserve. Day 3 early breakfast and back to Nairobi, usually without a further game drive. If you want two real safari days you need the four-day tour — and if you would like to head out once more on the last morning, you have to arrange it in advance.
Reckon on five to six hours each way. The Nairobi–Mara route begins on tarmac up to the Rift Valley viewpoint and ends on gravel and corrugated dirt. In the rainy season it takes longer. That is the real reason the day trip leaves so little reserve behind, and why flight products exist at all. Anyone prone to back trouble or travel sickness should take it seriously.
The pickup only covers certain districts. Our top pick collects you free of charge from hotels in central Nairobi or the Westlands area near the highway, plus from the airport on the first day. Anyone staying elsewhere has to make their own way to the meeting point outside the City Market on Muindi Mbingu Street — factor that into an 8am departure. A pickup from hotels in Naivasha explicitly costs US$20 extra. Something similar applies at the end of the four-day tour: drop-off is in the centre or in Westlands, anything else costs a surcharge. Settle your address beforehand, not on the morning of departure.
Options are not inclusions. On our top pick the balloon flight, the Maasai village visit and even park entry sit as bookable options in the same list as the things that genuinely are included — and in the middle of it sits the sentence that park entry is not in the price. Skim it and it reads like an all-inclusive package, and it is not one. Go through the list line by line and watch for the note that something only applies if the option is selected.
Tented camp means a permanent tent with its own bathroom. In this price bracket you get a large tent with a proper bed, bed linen, a mosquito net, and a shower and toilet inside the tent. Not a hotel room, but not something you need a sleeping bag for either. Our top pick promises hot water and power in the evening at its own camp for charging a phone and camera; for the other tours nothing is stated. A power bank belongs in your luggage regardless — during the day you are in the vehicle for hours with no socket.
The river crossing cannot be booked. Between July and November the herds are in the Mara, and that is the precondition. Whether they cross the river on your day is decided on the spot, sometimes after hours of waiting on the bank. Hippos and crocodiles at the Mara River, by contrast, are there all year, as are the Big Five. Come for the Mara, not for one particular photograph — then you will not be disappointed.
Bring cash, more than you think. Drinks and tips are included on none of these tours, park entry mostly is not either, and there are no cash machines in the Mara. A tip for the driver-guide is customary in Kenya and is expected. Reckon too on a Maasai village visit carrying its own fee on the spot, even when it is in the programme. US dollars in small, newer notes are accepted everywhere.

Side by side

Masai Mara tours compared: price, duration, operator and rating

All five at a glance — the quickest way to spot which one fits your time, your budget and your expectations.

Swipe the table sideways → the tour name stays put

Tour	Best for	Price	Duration	Departure & drive	Operator & rating	Strength & catch	Book
3 Days 2 Nights Maasai Mara Group Safari in a 4WD Jeep (our top pick)	The best-evidenced Mara safari	~$199	3 days	Central Nairobi or Westlands · pickup free	Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari 4.6/5 (594)	The largest review base in the reserve, the lowest price and a guaranteed daily departure in a group of 7 to 8. All meals, a tent with its own bathroom, pop-up roof jeep. Park fee not included — roughly US$400 extra. The balloon flight and village visit are options, not inclusions.	View Deal
From Nairobi: 3 Days Maasai Mara Safari with 4WD Landcruiser	A better score rather than a lower price	~$228	3 days	Nairobi · guaranteed departures	JOYINA SAFARIS 4.76/5 (115)	The best overall score and the best value-for-money verdict among the three-day tours, plus a promised Land Cruiser with an open roof. 115 reviews rather than 594, ~$29 dearer, and the park fee is missing from this price too.	View Deal
From Nairobi: 4-Day Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru Group Safari	A first trip to Kenya with one day more	~$350	4 days	Nairobi · departure 8:00–8:30	EXCELLENT GAMESPOTTING ADVENTURES 4.56/5 (94)	The most honest shape here: a full game-drive day in the Mara plus Lake Nakuru with white rhinos and flamingos, instead of two days driving for one day in the grass. A slightly lower score, and Nakuru is charged separately by the KWS — two fees rather than one.	View Deal
Maasai Mara: Hot Air Balloon Safari & Champagne Breakfast	One special morning in the reserve	~$495	70 min	Keekorok, inside the reserve · pickup at your accommodation	Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari 4.84/5 (36)	The highest overall score on this page, sunrise from the basket, a bush breakfast with champagne and a guaranteed window seat. Value for money only 4.0/5 — the weakest subscore here — 36 reviews, and lift-off in the middle of the reserve rather than in Nairobi.	View Deal
Nairobi: Day Trip to Maasai Mara Reserve & Maasai village	A stopover with no second free day	~$190	13 hrs	Nairobi · very early departure	Niroskos Tours And Safaris 4.58/5 (101)	The cheapest way in, and with 101 reviews better evidenced than most multi-day tours. Around ten of the 13 hours are driving, the game drive falls in the hottest part of the day, and park entry costs exactly as much for this one day as for any other.	View Deal

Prices are the per-person "from" fares in US dollars as they stood on the relevant GetYourGuide page at the time of research; they move with season and travel date. The reserve’s park fees come on top for every tour on this page and are set by Narok County, not by the operator.

From the pop-up roof

Traveller reviews: Masai Mara safaris as the visitors saw them

Unfiltered impressions from people who have actually been in the Mara.

★★★★★

I had been to Kruger and Etosha before, and the Mara is still something else. It is the openness: no bush, no trees, just grass to the horizon, and that is why you really do see the cats. On our full day we had a pride of lions with five cubs in the morning, two cheetahs on a termite mound at midday, and in the late afternoon a hyena taking a kill off a cheetah. All in one day. Our driver-guide worked the radio with the other drivers and always knew where something was happening.

★★★★★

A bit long, sorry, but I wish someone had told me this beforehand. First: park entry is not in the price, and it is not a small amount. We paid 400 dollars each on top, more than the tour cost. That was our own fault, it is stated, but it is stated very quietly. Second: three days means one day of safari. Day one you drive, day three you drive back. Third: the dirt road at the end is genuinely rough, and anyone with a sensitive back should avoid the outside rear seat. Fourth: the tented camp was far better than feared — a proper bed, a hot shower in the evening, everything clean. Fifth, and nobody says this: bring binoculars. Everyone had enormous lenses and nobody had binoculars, and in the end everyone was looking through mine.

★★★★☆

The Mara was magnificent, the organisation around it was not. The pickup in Nairobi was forty minutes late with no message, and at the gate we had to wait a good hour because something was wrong with the entry tickets. Once we were in the reserve everything was excellent, and our driver was clearly very experienced. It is the surrounding logistics that need sorting out.

★★★★★

Short and sweet: book the four-day version if you possibly can. The extra day is the difference between ticking it off and experiencing it.

★★★★★

We saw the river crossing at the end of August and to this day I do not know how to describe it. We stood on the bank for two and a half hours, in the sun, and nothing happened. Then one single wildebeest started, and within seconds the whole slope was moving. The dust, the noise, the crocodiles in the water. Our guide had warned us that on some days it simply does not happen, and that is exactly why I believe we were lucky and that it is not normal. Allow several days if this matters to you.

★★★★★

Valeu cada centavo. In English for everyone else: we took the four-day tour with Lake Nakuru, and Nakuru was the surprise. In the Mara you see the cats; in Nakuru you stand twenty metres from a white rhino with a shoreline full of flamingos behind it. Two completely different landscapes in one trip. If you have the choice, take the fourth day.

★★★★★

Our driver-guide was called Joseph and he made the difference. He read tracks while every other vehicle sat in the same spot, and then drove the other way. Twenty minutes later we had a leopard in a tree, entirely to ourselves.

★★★★★

サバンナの朝が忘れられません。In English: the morning on the savannah was unforgettable. It is surprisingly cold before sunrise, far colder than I had expected for Africa. Bring a jacket.

★★★★☆

The reserve deserves five stars, the drive there three. Six hours out and six back is a great deal of car for three days, and the last hour and a half on the dirt track is hard work. At camp everything was good, the food plentiful and the tent clean. I would do it again, but next time with four days.

★★★★★

难忘的旅程。The best three days of our whole Kenya trip. Book it early in the trip, and you leave time for a second attempt if the weather gets in the way.

★★★★★

We were there in February, so outside the migration, and all I can say is: it was still absolutely worth it. Hardly any other vehicles, green grass instead of dust, and the lions, elephants and giraffes are there all year anyway. If the great herd is not the most important thing to you, the low season is the better Mara — and park entry was only half as much at the time.

★★★★★

I rarely book group tours and was sceptical accordingly, but there were six of us in the jeep and everyone had a window seat with a view out. The pop-up roof really does make the difference — you stand, your head is in the open air and you photograph with no glass in the way. The camp was right on the boundary of the reserve, at night you could hear hyenas, and in the morning a giraffe stood two hundred metres from the breakfast tent. For the price that is hard to beat. One piece of advice: bring enough cash for the entry fee, we had to stop at a machine again in Narok.

★★★★☆

Very nice tour, but I am still annoyed about the communication over park entry. We were told on the phone that everything was included, and at the gate it was not. In the end we paid 800 dollars extra for two people. The operator was friendly on the spot and apologised, but please get it in writing beforehand. The safari itself was excellent.

★★★★★

Nous avons adoré. In English: we did the balloon flight and it was beautiful — and it was very expensive. Both are true. Seventy minutes over the savannah at sunrise, complete silence apart from the burner, and elephants moving below. The breakfast at the landing site was a little piece of theatre, but a pretty one. Whether it was worth the price is for each person to decide; I do not regret it, but I would not book it a second time either.

★★★★★

The visit to the Maasai village on the way back was short and obviously staged for visitors, but the conversations afterwards were real. Ask questions and you get answers.

★★★★★

Una experiencia irrepetible. In English, because I want other people to book this: there were two of us travelling and we worried about being lost in a huge group. The opposite was the case. The jeep was not full, the driver listened to every question, and on the second day we picnicked in the reserve at midday while a storm built in the distance and the light went completely mad. We photographed more that afternoon than in the whole rest of the trip. And one more thing: the food at camp was considerably better than I had expected for the price.

★★★★☆

Good tour, but the day trip was a mistake. We left at four in the morning, reached the reserve around eleven, had about three hours of game viewing in the midday heat when all the animals were lying in the shade, and were back at nine in the evening. We saw elephants and giraffes, no cats. If you only have one day, do it — but expect not a safari but a very long day in a car with a view.

★★★★★

We had the Landcruiser version and I would take it again. The vehicle was newer than the minibuses we saw in the reserve, and on the dirt track you notice that clearly. The departure really was guaranteed, even though only three of us had booked. The premium over the cheapest tour barely registers next to the entry fees anyway.

Ready when you are

Book the best Masai Mara safari now

If you have three days in Kenya and want to see the Mara properly — the drive over the Rift Valley, the tented camp on the edge of the reserve, the full game-drive day out to the Mara River, the hippos in the banks and, with a bit of luck, the herds on their way north — then the tour we would put in the calendar is the three-day group safari in a 4WD jeep from Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari.

At 4.6 out of 5 from 594 reviews it is the best-evidenced Masai Mara tour on offer, and the cheapest. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before and you can reserve now and pay later. Budget for the park fee of currently US$200 per person per day before you book — then there is no surprise at the gate.

~173 €

per person · 3 days · Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari

Check Availability

✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
✓ Reserve now, pay later
✓ The operator runs its own vehicles and camp
✓ Guaranteed daily departure, 7 to 8 people
✓ Free pickup in central Nairobi or Westlands
✓ All meals and two nights in a tent with its own bathroom

Frequently asked

Masai Mara safari FAQ: your questions answered

The questions we are asked most often before a booking.

Which Masai Mara safari is the best overall?

For most travellers it is the 3 Days 2 Nights Maasai Mara Group Safari in a 4WD Jeep from Perfect Wilderness Tours and Safari. It starts at ~$199 per person and, at 4.6/5 from 594 reviews, is by far the best-evidenced Masai Mara tour as well as the cheapest in the comparison. Included are free pickup in central Nairobi or Westlands, airport pickup on day 1, a 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, two nights in a tent with its own shower and toilet, all meals, and a guaranteed daily departure in a group of 7 to 8 people. Important: the reserve’s park fee is not included — the operator quotes US$400 per person for two nights in high season.

How much does a Masai Mara safari cost?

The tours on this page run from ~$190 for the day trip, through ~$199 to ~$238 for the three-day group safaris and ~$350 for the four-day trip with Lake Nakuru, up to ~$495 for the 70-minute balloon flight. Those are the per-person "from" fares in US dollars, and they move with season and travel date. What matters more is the item that is in none of those prices: entry to the reserve. Since 1 July 2026 Narok County has charged US$200 per foreign adult per day, and US$100 from January to June. With two days in the park that doubles to triples the cost of a three-day tour.

How much is entry to the Masai Mara?

The reserve is run by Narok County, not by the Kenya Wildlife Service, and has its own two-season fee schedule. Since 1 July 2026 foreign adults pay US$200 per person per day; from January to June it is US$100. Children aged 9 to 17 pay US$50 per day all year and children under 8 enter free. It is charged per person per day and regardless of whether your accommodation lies inside or outside the reserve. Our top pick sets it out in its own notes: US$200 per person for two nights from 1 January to 30 June, US$400 from 1 July to 31 December. None of the group safaris on this page has that amount in its headline price — ask the operator for the current rate and how many days are being charged.

When is the best time for a Masai Mara safari?

It depends what you want to see. The wildebeest migration reaches the Mara around July and moves on south around November — that is the window for the famous river crossings at the Mara River, and it is also the expensive season, both for tours and for park entry. The Big Five, by contrast, are there all year. If you want the big cats and can do without the herds, the low season is often the better bet: fewer vehicles, green landscape instead of dust, and half the entry price. The long rains from roughly March to May do make the tracks considerably harder going.

How long is the drive from Nairobi to the Masai Mara?

Reckon on five to six hours each way, depending on route, weather and traffic. The first part runs on tarmac up to the viewpoint over the Great Rift Valley, where the tours make a short photo stop. The last stretch is gravel and corrugated dirt and takes a good hour and a half. In the rainy season it can take considerably longer. That is precisely why a 13-hour day trip leaves so little time in the reserve once the driving is subtracted, and why a market for flights from Nairobi to the Mara exists at all.

Are three days enough for the Masai Mara?

Three days are enough for one full game-drive day, not three. The sequence is the same on every three-day tour: day 1 departure around 8am in Nairobi, arrival for lunch and a game drive from roughly 4pm to 6pm. Day 2 is the only whole day in the reserve, with a picnic lunch in the park so that nobody has to drive back in between. Day 3 consists of an early breakfast and the drive back, as a rule with no further game drive. If you want two real safari days, take the four-day tour — which also adds a completely different landscape in Lake Nakuru.

Are you guaranteed to see the wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara?

No, and nobody should promise you that. The herds — more than 1.5 million animals — arrive around July and move on around November, and that is the precondition. Whether a river crossing actually takes place on your day is up to the animals. Groups do wait for hours on the bank and nothing happens, and it does happen that a whole slope moves within seconds. Anyone coming specifically for that image should allow several days in the reserve. Hippos and Nile crocodiles lie at the Mara River all year, and the Big Five are there all year too.

What is the accommodation like on a Masai Mara group safari?

A permanent tented camp on the edge of the reserve — for our top pick, the Rhino Tourist Camp or an equivalent property that the operator runs itself. That means a large private tent with a proper bed and bed linen, a shower and toilet inside the tent, a mosquito net, and a buffet dinner at camp. Neither a hotel room nor camping in the usual sense, and travellers who know that are generally happy. Hot water and power for charging a phone and camera are available in the evening, according to the operator. Bring a power bank and a head torch anyway — at night it is properly dark in the Mara.

Is the balloon flight over the Masai Mara worth it?

The reviews are honest about it: wonderful, but expensive. The balloon safari with champagne breakfast costs ~$495 for 70 minutes of flight time and reaches an overall score of 4.84/5. On value for money, though, it sits at 4.0 out of 5 — the weakest subscore on this entire page. Two practical points come on top: lift-off is at Keekorok in the middle of the reserve, so you have to be staying there anyway, and the base is only 36 reviews. If you are in the Mara already and want one special morning, it is an experience. As a way of getting there, or as a substitute for game drives, it does not work.

Is a day trip from Nairobi to the Masai Mara worth doing?

Only as a fallback. The day trip lasts 13 hours, of which around ten go on the drive out and back. The game drive therefore falls unavoidably around midday, when the cats are lying in the shade and least is to be seen. At 4.58/5 from 101 reviews the tour is genuinely popular, and you will very probably see elephants, giraffes and antelope. But reckon on park entry costing exactly as much for this one day as for any other — at a ~$190 tour price plus US$200 entry, the cost per hour in the reserve is the worst on this page. If you can free up a second night, do it.

What is included in the price of a Masai Mara group safari?

On our top pick the following are included: free hotel pickup and drop-off in central Nairobi or Westlands, airport pickup on day 1, a professional driver-guide, the 4x4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, two nights in a tent with its own shower and toilet, all meals as per the itinerary, the picnic lunch box on day 2 and bottled drinking water in the vehicle. Not included are the reserve’s park fees, drinks and tips; a pickup from hotels in Naivasha costs US$20 extra. Anyone staying neither in the city centre nor in Westlands makes their own way to the meeting point outside the City Market on Muindi Mbingu Street. Note too that the balloon flight and the Maasai village visit are listed on this tour as bookable options rather than fixed inclusions.

What animals will you see in the Masai Mara?

The Mara is known above all for the big cats, and that comes down to the landscape: open grassland with little bush, where you can see a long way. Lions are considered reliable, cheetahs are common on the open plains, leopards remain a matter of luck. Add to that elephants, Cape buffalo, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, impalas, eland, hyenas and jackals. Hippo families and Nile crocodiles lie at the Mara River all year. Rhinos are rare in the Mara — anyone who wants to be sure of seeing them takes the four-day tour with Lake Nakuru, where white rhinos and flamingos are part of the standard programme.

What should you take on a Masai Mara safari?

Cash first, and more of it than you think: park entry, drinks and tips are not included, and there are no cash machines in the Mara. US dollars in small, newer notes are accepted everywhere. Then warm clothing for the early mornings — the Mara sits at roughly 1,500 to 1,800 metres and it is cool before sunrise — sun protection and a hat for the daytime, a head torch for camp, a power bank for the long days in the vehicle (there is power at our top pick’s camp in the evening, but not on the road) and, without fail, a pair of binoculars. On a game drive binoculars do more than the largest telephoto lens, and very few travellers bring a pair.

Should you book a group safari or a private one?

For most travellers the group safari is the sensible choice, and not only on price. The groups on these tours are jeep groups, not coachloads — our top pick states 7 to 8 people per departure, and because the vehicle has a pop-up roof everyone stands with their head in the open air rather than photographing through glass. Private tours in the same reserve start on GetYourGuide at roughly five times the price and differ little in what actually happens. Private makes sense if you want to set the schedule yourself, are travelling with small children, or are working very deliberately as a photographer. Otherwise you are mostly paying for the empty seat beside you.