Masai Mara Safaris

Masai Mara Safaris – Masai Mara offers one of the best safari trips for wildlife adventures in the world, the reserve is home to some of the most diverse collection of animals, not just the ‘Big Five’ among other animals. Most of the animals are seen during the game drives in Masai mara which is the highlight of many activities in the park.

Masai mara receives the biggest number of travellers coming in to the park purposely for the wildebeest’s migration form the month of July to September which is the highlight of the year

Available Types Of Masai Mara Safaris

Despite the wildebeest migration, Masai mara offers a great all year-round experience for the visitors visiting the park. listed below are some of Masai Mara safaris ranging from budget road tours to luxury Fly-In Safaris. You can also check some of our recommended Kenya Safari itineraries.

Road Safari Tours

The most popular mode of getting to Masai Mara is by road, typically starting and ending in Nairobi, with the choice of vehicle being a 4×4 Landcruiser among others.

The trip from Nairobi to Masai Mara typically takes 5 to 6 hours depending on which Camp that you will be staying in, the benefit of a safari by road is that it lowers the costs and also offers a great chance of getting to see and experience more of the real Kenyan countryside.

Flying in safari

Fly in or “Flying Safaris” as these are also known offer the convenience of getting to Masai Mara within an hour from Nairobi and are norm for certain Safari Camps in Maasai Mara which are more remote or those that only offer packaged stays including safari drives.

Flights take off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi twice daily and upon arrival at the airstrip in the Mara, guests are received and transferred to their respective Camp or Lodge in time for lunch. Game drives are provided in 4×4 Safari Tour Vehicles by the property.

Best Masai mara safari tour packages include;

Typical Day to Day – 3 Days Masai Mara Safari

This 3-day tour offers an incredible opportunity to explore the rich wildlife plains of the Masai Mara, guided by an expert ranger, who will help spot the animals for you..

From witnessing the great wildebeest migration to spotting the big cats, this adventure experience, is entirely unforgettable safari experience.

Immerse yourself in the beauty of Africa as you explore the vast savannah plains and discover the unique cultures of the Masai people known as the indigenous group of people who first lived in the Mara before it was gazetted in to a national reserve and it’s also where the Sanctuary derived its name.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS 3 DAYS MASAI MARA WILDLIFE ADVENTURE

• Day 1: Transfer to Masai Mara and afternoon game drive
• Day 2: Full day game drive in Masai Mara national reserve and village tour
• Day 3: Transfer back to Nairobi

DAY TO DAY DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1: Transfer To Masai Mara And Afternoon Game drive

This 3-days Masai Mara Kenya safari begins with a pick up at your accommodation in Nairobi after early morning breakfast, the tour guide will brief you on your trip.

Embark on journey where you have the first stop over at the Great Rift valley that spreads from the North to the south of Kenya, for stunning breath-taking views and photography.

There also some art and craft market to which you may also choose to visit and also my get interest and purchase some African gifts then proceed on a drive to Masai mara.

On arrival in the park, you will see some of the animals,like zebras, warthogs, wildebeests, monkeys, Baboons and giraffes. Proceed and check in at the hotel, have lunch and drive for your first game drive, where you will see lots of other animals, including elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, kobs, leopards, buffaloes, and antelopes, among many others.

Return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.

Meal plan: lunch and dinner
Accommodation option;

DAY 2: Masai mara full-day game drive and mara River

You will have an early morning breakfast followed by a full-day game drive at the Masai Mara National Reserve. Drive to the park entrance.

Dawn is the best time to catch up with the early risers before they retire to the animals, which include lions, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, hippos, and Thompson’s gazelles, among many others. The guide will give you all the necessary information about animals and also drive you through the possible animal viewing trails.

The full-day game drive in Masai Mara will enable you to explore other areas of the Masai Mara National Reserve and the Mara Triangle to the Mara Bridge, which is at the border of Tanzania just next to the famous Serengeti National Park.\

Half On Day 2: Head to Mara river

You will make a few stops along the banks of the scenic Mara River to allow you to stretch your legs during your game drive.

With your packed lunch, you will have an hour’s snug picnic lunch break as you enjoy more of this park. Later, have a guided community tour to the Masai village and experience the stable pastoral culture of the oldest inhabitants of East Africa, the Masai.

The village tour takes you to the Masai communities, and you will be fascinated by the men who stand tall and proud of their culture.

The Masai culture is unique from other cultures in Kenya in that women are bejewelled with bright beaded earrings and adorned with the brilliant red, blue and purple patterns of the Shuka’s and scarves they wear.

During the visit, you will encounter the locals, who will show you various activities like traditional songs, dances, cultural practices and the ancient history told by the local old women and men, among others. Return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation options;
Meal plan; full board

Day 3: Masai Mara To Nairobi

Wake up in the morning and you will have a leisurely breakfast after checking out of the lodge and exiting the park.

Embark on your journey to Nairobi, you will enroute stop for lunch, proceed to Nairobi, where the driver will drop you off at the airport for your flight home or to your preferred location.

End of tour

Price Inclusions

• Transportation in a Tour Van/Land Cruiser
• Service of an English-speaking tour guide or driver
• Park Entrance fee
• All meals on Safari
• Accommodation on full board
• All activities included in the itinerary

Price Exclusions

• Tips
• International Transfers
• Personal insurance

Getting to Masai Mara National reserve

This tour starts and ends in Nairobi

Book your own international flights. Fly to/from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

A transfer from and back to the airport can also be arranged

Additional accommodation in Nairobi before and at the end of the tour can be arranged for an extra cost.

Attractions On Masai Mara Safaris

Mara River

Mara river is situated inside Masai mara national reserve in Narok county. The river lies across the migration path for wildebeests in to Maasai Mara from Serengeti game reserve in Tanzania.

The river basin covers a surface of 13,504 square kilometres, of which approximately 65% is located in Kenya and 35% in Tanzania. With its sources in the Kenyan highlands, the river flows for about 395 km. It originates from the Mau Escarpment and flows through into Lake Victoria.

Mara river is a source of water for the animals grazing with in the river, it’s also the best spot most especially during the dry season it’s congested with various animal species coming in to the river to drink water and also to cool their bodies during the strong heat.

During the dry season, the Mara River may often appear shallow, but after a down pour, it may also swell to up to twice its normal size. This can create rapids in the river, which may be challenging for the predators looking for food since they cannot cross the river.

When to visit Mara river for Wildebeest migration?

If you get to visit the park from the month of July to October, this is the epic time for wildebeests migrations and Masai mara safaris, is at its peak. You will have a chance to visit the mara river and witness the worlds known greatest wildebeest’s migration where by millions of animals plus are seen crossing from the Serengeti national park in Tanzania in to Masai Mara in Kenya.

On that fateful day, the wildebeests stand above the river with their eyes wide open, nervously watching the water for any crocodiles.

Their breath is laboured and each animal vies for a position that gives it the safest and surest path through the wild waters to the opposite bank.

Finally, assured that there is no apparent hint of danger, the first animal hunts in to the water and a few more follow with speed and later thousands following close behind along with zebras, elands and gazelles.

Its exciting to watch yet sad too by the sudden grip of fear as you watch crocodiles approach the slower and smaller wildebeests.

Snapping jaws are not the only threat, though, as the current of the Mara River acts with greater unrelenting ferocity, often ending more lives than the predators would.

The Maasai village

The 3 days Masai mara safari will give you a chance to visit some of the oldest inhabitants of East Africa, live in nearby surrounding villages around the Mara reserve, their houses are made up of small grass-thatched mud structures.

They are mainly pastoralists who rare cattle for sale and for consumption, they move from one place to another in search for water and pasture. Their home steads are referred as bomas, they live with their cattle within their homesteads.

The cattle are their prestigious possession. Their cows are regarded with an astounding reverence. Besides the cattle keeping, they also own other smaller livestock like goats.

This noble tribe is one of the very few tribes who have retained most of their traditions, lifestyle they have refused to adopt to change, the Maasai men are warriors who keep security for the cows and for the villages. The Maasai people speak Maa.

Way of life of the masai people

What you will notice as soon as you enter the village are the many vivid colours of the Masai’s garments. The men, poised with their spears, stand tall and proud.

The women, on the other hand, are bejewelled with bright beaded earrings and scarves, both adorned with the brilliant red, blue and purple patterns of the shukas they wear. These bright shukas contrast strongly and vividly with the greens and browns of the landscape.

Their appealing beadwork of necklaces, bracelets and amulets has more than just an ornamental value. The women create these meticulously handcrafted pieces to express their identity and social status.

Standing in muted contrast to the colourful villagers are the browns and greys of the Maasai’s houses called bomas. These are small structures with thatched roofs. As a tradition, it is the duty of the Maasai women to build these sturdy dwellings.

They begin with a framework of timber poles into which they interweave smaller branches to form a structure. These are then covered with a mixture of mud, grass, cow dung, urine and ash.

Their men build the protective fencing around the village to ward off lions and other predators from their livestock.

A visit to the Maasai village gives you an opportunity to join in their graceful ever-changing rhythmic call-and-response singing, and perhaps their most widely known dance is the adumu or “jumping dance going up and down.” You also get to acquire a handmade souvenir, specially crafted to remind you of your thrilling visit to Maasai Mara.

Your participation in purchasing the products is much appreciated as away of extending service since the income generated from of the products, brings in income used to provide basic needs for their families.

Masai mara national reserve

This is a vast game reserve in the semi-arid Narok County in Kenya. It is situated in the boarder with the Serengeti National Park in the Mara region of Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Masai people who are the ancestral inhabitants of the area. Mara means “spotted” in Maa, a Masai language.

Maasai Mara is globally famous for its exceptional population in wildlife and wildebeest immigration where by millions plus animals are seen crossing from Serengeti into Masai mara area every year during the dry season from July to October their movement is mainly in search from water and pasture most especially during the dry seasons.

This is commonly known as the Great Migration or the wildebeest’s migration.

Masai Warriors

A visit to the reserve is a great venture to undertake for a cultural tour of one of the oldest inhabitants of East Africa, the Maasai. This noble tribe is one of the very few tribes who have retained most of their traditions.

It has a team of traditional dancers who dance to their call-and-response singing and perhaps their most widely known dance is the Adamu or rather “jumping dance.”

You can get to join in the dancing as these flexible male dancers jump higher and higher to the rhythms of the enchanting music accompanying their dance stroke.

Masai Mara has several intriguing as well as engaging tourism activities. Among others, these are the hot air balloons over the reserve, safari drives, nature walks, bird watching, site seeing, guided bush walks and hiking.

Mount Longonot

As you drive to Masai mara, you will have a chance to view Mount Longonot along the way which is situated southeast of Lake Naivasha on the floor of the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Mount Longonot is a stratovolcano and best destination to add on a masai mara safari.

Its name is derived from the Maasai word oloonong’ot, meaning “mountains of many spurs” or “steep ridges.” Its unique feature is the thick forest that is encompassed within its crater.

About Longonot Crater

The crater rim also provides great scenic views across the beautiful Rift Valley, all the way to Lake Naivasha. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s.

Rising from the floor of the Great Rift Valley like a monolith is the extinct volcano of Mount Longonot. A unique feature is the thick forest that lies within the crater of the mountain.

The crater rim also provides great scenic views across the beautiful Rift Valley all the way to Lake Naivasha.

Major wildlife attractions at Mount Longonot include buffaloes, elands, lion, leopard, bushbucks, common zebra, giraffe and Grant’s gazelles.

How to get to longonot

A visit to Longonot gives you the chance to take part in hiking, which is the major activity that take place there. The 3.1 km trail on this mountain runs from the park entrance up to the crater rim and continues in a 7.2 km loop that encircles the crater.

The whole tour from the gate, around the rim and back is 13.5 km. It and takes about 4 to 5 hours, thus allowing for necessary rests.

Other activities include nature walks and bike riding around the park, both of which bring you eye to eye with the wildlife that has made the great mountain home.

The other feature worth nothing is the alkaline Lake Oloiden, majorly known for its concentration of flamingos. These provide a considerable dose of optical nutrition to those viewing them, owing to their mesmerizing looks.

A boat ride in the lake is also a worthwhile venture to undertake.

Safari vehicles used on Masai mara tours

There are two basic types of Safari Tour vehicles used in Kenya’s masai mara safaris and Tanzania for wildlife and adventure tours

These are the Tour Minibus / Van and the 4×4 Toyota Landcruiser Jeeps.

Both of these have game viewing roofs which are opened when on Safari, UHF radio calls (useful for locating wildlife in the park and for logistics) and are fully safari customized.

Click this link for more on these tourist vehicles Safari Vehicles in Kenya.

Independent travellers who wish to book their own hotels and lodges while in Kenya can also hire these tour vehicles with Driver ~ Guides for their local transport requirements.