The Maasai Mara is Kenya’s best-known reserve, and this is the most direct way to see it. You drive out from Nairobi, spend a full day exploring the reserve, and head back, with three game drives in total. It’s a solid choice if your time is limited but you don’t want to skip the Mara.
Pickup starts at 07:00 from your Nairobi hotel. The drive takes around five to six hours, with a stop at the Great Rift Valley viewpoint on the way, followed by Narok town. You arrive at your lodge in time for lunch, around 13:00. At 16:00 you head out for your first game drive, watching for lion, elephant and buffalo across the Mara’s open plains. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
A morning game drive from 06:30 catches the reserve at its coolest and most active, before you return for breakfast. After a midday rest, an afternoon game drive from 16:00 covers a different part of the reserve, with a chance of spotting cheetah on the open ground and, if you’re travelling between July and September, wildebeest and zebra from the annual migration. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
After breakfast at 07:00, there’s a final game drive on the way out of the reserve, giving you one more chance at anything you haven’t yet seen. The drive back to Nairobi takes around five to six hours, with a stop for lunch at Narok. You arrive back in Nairobi in the late afternoon, with drop-off at your hotel or the airport.
Safari rates change with the season, number of travellers and available accommodation.
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