Practical questions
Masai Mara: frequently asked questions
The questions first-time visitors to the Masai Mara ask, answered plainly with the figures from Narok County's own finance law and the Mara Conservancy's pages.
How much is the Masai Mara entry fee in 2026?
A non-resident adult pays $100 per day from 1 January to 30 June and $200 per day from 1 July to 31 December, under the Narok County Finance Act 2023. Children aged 9 to 17 and students pay $50, and children 8 and under enter free. A car with fewer than six seats adds KSh 1,000 a day.
A day means 06:00 to 18:00, whatever time you enter, so an afternoon arrival costs as much as a dawn one.
Is the Masai Mara a KWS park?
No. It is a national reserve owned and run by Narok County Government, with the Mara Triangle west of the Mara River managed for the county by the Mara Conservancy, a Kenyan not-for-profit. The KWS fee card and eCitizen do not apply, and a KWS ticket is not valid here.
The reserve's own law spells it Maasai Mara National Reserve. This guide writes Masai Mara, the spelling most people search for.
Can I pay in cash?
Not in the Mara Triangle, which takes only M-Pesa and card, sold by KAPS staff at Oloololo Gate, Purungat Bridge and the Mara Serena airstrip. On the Narok side the KAPS system still took cash in dollars and shillings in the 2024/25 financial year, according to the Auditor-General's findings heard by the Senate in February 2026. Carry a card and M-Pesa as well as cash.
Can I self-drive in the Masai Mara?
Yes in the Mara Triangle, where the Mara Conservancy says any four-wheel-drive vehicle is suitable. On the Narok side a memo of 3 June 2024 banned private vehicles from game drives, allowing only safari trucks, safari Land Cruisers and safari vans, and no written clarification of how that applies to a hired self-drive 4x4 has followed.
The road from Narok to Sekenani Gate is tarmac all the way, 87 km. Inside the reserve the roads are murram and black-cotton soil, slippery and sometimes impassable after rain.
When is the best time to visit the Masai Mara?
July to October for the wildebeest migration, which usually arrives in July and leaves by October or early November. River crossings are unpredictable and rain can send the herds back south within days, as a storm did on 17 August 2026. June is the best balance: dry, and still on the $100 fee until 30 June.
January and February bring resident game, quiet roads and the low fee. April and May are the wettest and cheapest months, with several camps closed and roads at their worst.
Do I need malaria tablets for the Masai Mara?
Yes. NaTHNaC rates Kenya as high risk for malaria outside Nairobi and land above 2,500 m, and the Mara lies at about 1,500 to 1,800 m, so antimalarial tablets are recommended for every visit, all year. NaTHNaC also recommends yellow fever vaccination by name for travellers to the Masai Mara, and tsetse flies are present in the reserve.
Are children allowed, and what do they pay?
Children 8 and under enter free; children aged 9 to 17 pay $50 a day and $20 a night to camp. Camps set their own age limits, and they vary widely: Governors' Camp welcomes all ages, Il Moran takes children from 8, Rekero from 5, and the Porini camps in the conservancies from 8. Check the lodge page before you book.
How do I book a campsite?
You do not book the three public campsites, Oloololo, Iseiya and Eluai: they are first come, first served with no booking fee. Private sites in the Mara Triangle are booked online at marabookings.co.ke for a non-refundable KSh 15,000 plus KSh 5,000 a night for two rangers. Narok County publishes no list or booking route for campsites on its side.
What is the difference between the reserve and the conservancies?
The conservancies, such as Mara North, Olare Motorogi, Naboisho and Ol Kinyei, are community land outside the reserve, leased to safari camps. They charge their own fee, $130 per adult per night in 2026 in those three named first, and allow walks and night drives, which are banned in the reserve. A conservancy guest pays the reserve fee only on days spent inside the reserve.
Can I drive from the Masai Mara into the Serengeti?
Not directly. The Sand River gate is a reserve gate, and the Bologonja crossing opposite it has been closed to tourist traffic since 1977. By road you go round through Isebania, 251 km from Narok, or you fly: Airkenya and partner airlines connect the Mara with Serengeti airstrips via Migori and Tarime, daily except from 1 April to 20 May.
How big is the Masai Mara?
About 1,510 km², the figure in the protected-area database and the 1984 gazette notice; Narok County's 2023 management plan gives 1,530 to 1,560 km². The Mara Triangle accounts for about 510 km² of that. The figure of about 1,800 km² seen on older pages is the 1961 extent, before parts were excised in 1984.