Day 1: Drive To Masai Mara
Today your 3-Day Masai Mara Safari begins! We will pick you up at the airport or your hotel in our comfortable and private 4 x 4 safari vehicle.
Your private Driver/Guide is English speaking - or another language if requested. We begin our tour traveling towards Kenya’s fertile highlands and head down the Rift Valley escarpment on the road built during World War II by Italian prisoners
Along the way, you spot the charming chapel built at the foot of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. We will drive past the impressive Longonot earth satellite station as we travel across the valley to Narok. We proceed on our journey across acres of barley and wheat, before reaching the world-famous Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya’s finest game park famous for its black-maned Lions.
We will arrive at the lodge in time for lunch and some relaxation. Then, we set out on our first game drive in the “Mara”, as the locals call it. Look out for the resident plains game herds, the famous lion pride, cheetah coalition and elusive leopards that reign the area. A plethora of iconic African wildlife such as elephants, hippos, giraffes, Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelles, plains zebras, topis, warthogs and buffaloes are also common first sightings.
Remember to come with extra batteries for your camera, because Maasai Mara National Reserve is also a photographer’s paradise destination, with abundant wildlife, magnificent African landscape scenes, spectacular sunrise and sunset and excellent weather. The BBC Television show titled “Big Cat Diary” and Disney’s African Cats series were filmed here
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Mara Serena Lodge/Ashnil Mara Camp/Mara Leisure Camp
Mid-range: Mara Sopa Lodge/Jambo Mara Lodge/Basecamp Masai Mara
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive time approx.: 3-5.5 hours
Day 2: Full Day Safari In Masai Mara
We will wake up early today to view the reserve’s abundant wildlife, said to the densest of any park in the region. This will be a day of unlimited game drives over the golden savannah and past the distinctive acacia trees adorning these plains.
Be on a lookout for Africa’s Big Five animals - leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino. Also over 500 species have been recorded in the reserve, and should you be here during the season of the Great Migration (July - October), prepare yourself to witness the largest movement of mammals on the planet.
Mostly made up of zebras and wildebeest, the migrating animals cross into the park by the hundreds of thousands at the Mara River, also the site of hippos and waiting monstrous crocodiles. The potential drama here is inevitable as the streaming herds enter these lands for fresh grasses as the predators lie in wait.
Optional Activities Today:
- Masai Village Visit
The Maasai Mara National Game Reserve is named in honour of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar. Mara, which is Maa (Maasai language) for ‘spotted’, is an appropriate description for the scrub, savanna, circles of trees, and cloud shadows that mark the area. So, adding more richness to your 3-day Masai Mara Safari experience, you can enjoy an optional visit to one of the traditional Maasai villages. There, you’ll meet the Maasai and see their lifestyle up close.
- Hot Air Balloon Safari
Another optional event is a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the reserve. You will be collected before dawn and glide through the sunrise, sometimes at tree height, making the most of the amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you ascend to get an overview of the enormity of the Masai Mara plains and the early-morning movements of the teeming herds. A truly unforgettable experience - just ask your driver/guide to set up either or both activities.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Mara Serena Lodge/Ashnil Mara Camp/Mara Leisure Camp
Midrange: Mara Sopa Lodge/Jambo Mara Lodge/Basecamp Masai Mara
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 3: Game Drive & Transfer Back To Nairobi
On the final day of our 3-day Masai Mara Safari - we will set off with our bags on your last morning safari at sunrise through the Masai Mara National Reserve.
We can explore the Musiara Marsh and Paradise Plains - the terrific game viewing grounds made famous by BBC’s popular Big Cat Diaries and Disney’s African Cats series. We’ll enjoy game drive as we exit the park on our way back to Nairobi. A stop for lunch will break up the drive back to town.
We should arrive back in Nairobi in the late afternoon and will bring you to your hotel or the airport. You may also continue to the Kenya coast at Mombasa or perhaps to the island of Zanzibar. You may fly to Uganda or Rwanda for a mountain gorilla trekking safari if you are interested. Please contact us for more information.
Accommodation: Not Included
Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch
