Flights and airstrips

Flying to the Masai Mara: airlines, airstrips and 2026 fares

Name: Masai Mara National Reserve
Address: Kenya

Three airlines fly scheduled services from Nairobi Wilson to the Mara every day, and between them they land at more than a dozen strips inside and around the reserve. Two publish their fares, one does not. All the times and prices below come from the airlines' own 2026 timetables, read on 6 October 2026.

If you only want the answer

Safarilink, Airkenya and Mombasa Air Safari all fly Nairobi Wilson to the Masai Mara daily, with departures around 07:15, 10:00 and 14:15 and flight times of 30 to 80 minutes depending on the strip. Safarilink charges USD 260 one way and USD 425 return before taxes in 2026; Mombasa Air Safari charges USD 200 one way plus a USD 20 fuel surcharge; Airkenya publishes no fares. Baggage is limited to 15 kg per person in a soft bag on all of them.

Safarilink: three flights a day and published fares

Safarilink's 2026 timetable, valid to 31 December 2026, has three daily departures from Wilson to the Mara and three back. Fares are the same in its high and low seasons: USD 260 one way and USD 425 return, with taxes on top. Children aged 2 to 11 pay 75 per cent of the fare. Flights 05, 03, 04 and 06 need at least four passengers to operate, and flight 06, the early return, runs in high season only.

The airline's 2026 seasons are low from 1 April to 15 June and 1 November to 15 December, high for the rest of the year. The arrival times show the first stop; the aircraft lands at several Mara strips, up to four per flight, and operations can combine loads to another strip. Safarilink asks you to call its operations between 16:00 and 18:00 the day before you fly to confirm the time.

Flight	Route	Days	Times	Fare (USD, before taxes)
05	Wilson to Masai Mara	Daily	07:15 to 08:15	260 one way, 425 return
01	Wilson to Masai Mara (may route via Naivasha)	Daily	10:00 to 11:00	260 one way, 425 return
03	Wilson to Masai Mara	Daily	14:15 to 15:15	260 one way, 425 return
06	Masai Mara to Wilson (high season only)	Daily	08:30 to 09:34	260 one way
02	Masai Mara to Wilson	Daily	11:00 to 12:20	260 one way
04	Masai Mara to Wilson	Daily	15:15 to 16:15	260 one way
35	Amboseli or Tsavo West to Masai Mara	Daily	08:20 to 09:40	390 one way
31	Nanyuki, Lewa, Loisaba or Samburu to Masai Mara	Daily	09:05 to 11:00	441 to 467 one way
01	Naivasha (Loldia) to Masai Mara	Daily	10:15 to 11:00	275 one way
71 / 07	Masai Mara to Migori	Daily	08:15 or 11:30	317 one way
71	Masai Mara to Kisumu	Daily	08:50 to 09:15	120 one way
71	Masai Mara to Entebbe	Daily	08:30 to 10:45	550 one way
102	Masai Mara to Diani or Mombasa (high season only)	Daily	11:00 to 12:50	435 one way

Safarilink Timetable and Fares 2026, 1st edition, valid to 31 December 2026. Flights 35 and 31 route via Wilson in low season. Fares exclude taxes and can be paid in Kenya shillings.

Airkenya: three rotations, no fares in print

Airkenya's 2026 schedule, valid from 21 December 2025 to 31 December 2026, runs three daily rotations. P2 851 leaves Wilson at 07:30 and reaches the Mara at 08:00, returning as P2 852 at 08:05 and landing at Wilson at 09:35. P2 853 leaves at 10:30 (Mara 11:10, back as P2 854 at 11:15, Wilson 13:00), and P2 951 at 14:15 (Mara 15:00, back as P2 952 at 15:10, Wilson 16:30). P2 862 links Loisaba and Samburu to the Mara, 11:00 to 13:00.

Each service needs at least two passengers per strip and calls at several strips, so the published times are the first stop only. Check in 60 minutes before departure at Wilson and 30 minutes at a bush strip. Airkenya prints no fares in its timetable; get a quote from the airline or your camp. The 09:35 arrival at Wilson connects to northern Kenya flights at 09:45 and to Arusha at 13:30.

Mombasa Air Safari: the cheapest published fare

Mombasa Air Safari publishes the lowest Wilson to Mara fare found for 2026: USD 200 one way plus a USD 20 fuel surcharge, or USD 370 return plus USD 40. It flies Wilson to the Mara daily at 10:00 (arriving 11:00) and 14:15 (arriving 15:15), and back at 11:15 and 15:30. It also runs a daily coast service from Mombasa, Diani and Malindi at 07:30, arriving 10:30, for USD 295 one way plus USD 35, and a daily Amboseli and Tsavo West link at 09:15 for USD 310 plus USD 20. The return to the coast costs more, USD 420 plus USD 35, and Mara to Amboseli USD 435 plus USD 20.

The airline calls its schedule a general guide, subject to change without notice. Choose it on price; choose Safarilink if you need the 07:15 departure or a published child fare.

Which Masai Mara airstrip is yours?

The airlines sell "Masai Mara" as one destination and then drop passengers at the strip nearest each camp. Your camp tells you which one. Five are inside the reserve and on the management plan's list of air access points: Keekorok, Ol Kiombo, Musiara, Mara Serena and Kichwa Tembo, which sits just outside the Triangle's northern edge. The conservancy camps use their own strips.

Keekorok was closed for repair in August 2026; the Mara Conservancy wrote that too many large aircraft were using the murram strips. A KAPS revenue office and visitor terminal opened there in April 2026. In 2025 newspapers reported a plan to close every airstrip inside the reserve once a new airport near Narok opens. That airport, at Ewaso Nyiro, broke ground on 6 March 2025, cost KSh 677 million and was said on 25 August 2026 to be two months from completion. As of October 2026 no closure order exists and both Safarilink and Airkenya still fly to the reserve strips; if you book for 2027, ask your camp which strip it expects to use.

Airstrip	Code	Where	Serves
Keekorok	HKKE / KEU	Inside, south of the Narok side, 5,800 ft	Sand River, Sarova, Sopa, Ashnil; 16 km from Sekenani Gate
Ol Kiombo	OLX	Inside, central Narok side	Rekero, Ashnil, the Great Plains reserve camps
Musiara	MDR	Inside, north-west, 1,600 m gravel	Governors' camps
Mara Serena	HKMS / MRE	Inside, Mara Triangle	Next to Mara Serena; KAPS ticket point for the Triangle
Kichwa Tembo	KTJ	Just outside the Triangle, below the escarpment	Wilderness Mara, the &Beyond camps
Angama Mara	ANA	On the escarpment, outside	Angama
Olare Orok	OLG	Olare Motorogi Conservancy	Kicheche Bush, Porini Lion, Mara Plains
Ol Seki	OSJ	Naboisho Conservancy	Naboisho camps, Porini Ol Kinyei camps
Mara North	HKR	Mara North Conservancy	Kicheche Mara North, Elephant Pepper, Serian

Flying between the Mara and the Serengeti, the coast and the north

For Tanzania, Airkenya and partner airlines fly from the Mara strips to Seronera, Kogatende, Lobo, Ndutu, Fort Ikoma, Grumeti, Sasakwa, Serengeti South and Manyara via Migori and Tarime, with Airkenya handling the road transfer across the border between the two strips. It leaves the Mara at 08:05 and reaches the Serengeti at 12:30, daily with at least two passengers per strip, at least four from 1 November to 15 December, and not at all from 1 April to 20 May. Safarilink flies the Mara to Migori at 08:15 or 11:30 for USD 317 one way to connect with northern Tanzania carriers.

For the coast, Safarilink flight 102 (high season) and Mombasa Air Safari fly direct to Diani and Mombasa. For the north, Safarilink flight 31 and Airkenya P2 862 link Samburu, Loisaba, Lewa and Nanyuki with the Mara without a change at Wilson. Safarilink also flies the Mara to Kisumu for USD 120 and to Entebbe for USD 550 one way.

The Mara Conservancy also names Fly540, Aeronav and Boskovic Air Charters among the airlines with daily Mara flights; none of their schedules is reproduced here. Governors' Camp runs its own aviation arm for its guests.

From the international airport to Wilson

Every scheduled Mara flight leaves from Wilson Airport, not from Jomo Kenyatta International. The two are 16 km apart: 22 minutes on an empty road, 45 to 90 minutes in Nairobi traffic. Add the 60-minute check-in at Wilson, and a same-day connection from an overnight long-haul arrival is realistic only for the 10:00 to 10:30 or 14:15 departures. If you land after midday, spend a night in Nairobi or drive instead.

Baggage: 15 kg, soft bags, and what extra costs

Safarilink: strictly 15 kg per person including hand baggage, soft bags no larger than 60 x 45 x 30 cm; excess can be pre-bought in 10, 20 or 30 kg batches.
Airkenya: 15 kg (33 lb) in soft-sided bags, with up to 5 kg of carry-on counted inside the 15 kg; guideline bag 60 x 45 x 23 cm; excess USD 5 per kilo.
Both sell a freight seat at the adult fare that carries up to 75 kg.
Leave hard suitcases and anything over the limit at your Nairobi hotel or with your operator.

Park fees when you arrive by air

Flying in does not change the reserve fee: USD 100 per non-resident adult per day from January to June and USD 200 from July to December in 2026, set by Narok County. In the Triangle, KAPS staff sell tickets at the Mara Serena strip; on the Narok side KAPS staff work at the airstrips and the new office at Keekorok. In practice most camps collect the fee from fly-in guests and settle it themselves, so ask yours whether it is in the bill. Guests in a conservancy pay the reserve fee only on the days they drive into the reserve.

Fly or drive?

The flight takes 30 to 80 minutes against 5 to 6 hours by road from Nairobi, so it buys back most of a day in each direction. For two people, Safarilink's return fare comes to USD 850 before taxes. Fly if you have three nights or fewer, are staying in a conservancy that includes game drives, or are combining the Mara with the coast, Samburu or the Serengeti. Drive if you are self-driving anyway, carrying more than 15 kg each, or want to stop in Narok and the Rift Valley on the way.

Something this page does not answer?

Mara flight times move with each day's routing. If the dates or strips you need are not covered here, ask.

Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.

Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.

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