Lodges & camps in Masai Mara National Reserve

Elewana Sand River Masai Mara

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Sand River is Elewana Collection's camp inside the reserve, in the far south-east close to the Sand River Gate and the Tanzanian border, where the herds come in from the Serengeti. Elewana sells it two ways: full board from $656 per person in the April and May green season, or a game package with shared drives and transfers from $856. That full-board option suits you if a guide and vehicle are already booked. Sixteen tents are split between Sand River and Little Sand River. Keekorok airstrip is 45 minutes by road. Choose it for the quieter south; skip it if you want to be near the Mara River crossings in the north-west.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Mara Expedition Camp

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Mara Expedition is the lower-priced camp in Great Plains Conservation's Mara portfolio: five tents and a two-bedroom family tent, which Great Plains places in the reserve with access to Mara North Conservancy. At $1,225 per person, fully inclusive, the figure looks steep, but Great Plains bundles drinks, transfers and scheduled flights from Wilson, which most camps charge on top. The catch is the location: Ol Kiombo airstrip is in the central reserve and Mara North is on the far northern side, so 'access to' Mara North probably means a long drive, and the exact site is not published. Choose it if you want one bill that covers flights; skip it if you want to know exactly where your tent stands.

Mara Toto Tree Camp

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Mara Toto is Great Plains Conservation's four-suite tree camp, which the operator says is inside the reserve overlooking the Ntiakitiak River. Eight guests at most, each suite with exercise equipment, and a camera kit lent for your stay with the images handed over at no charge. The $1,745 per person rate includes reserve fees and scheduled flights from Wilson, so compare it against a camp's rate plus $200 a day in park fees plus airfares, not against the bare rate. The same river runs past Mara Plains in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, and one agent files Mara Toto under the conservancies, so the boundary position is the operator's word only. Choose it for a tiny, all-paid camp; skip it if you need certainty about which side of the line you sleep.

Angama Safari Camp

Top-end · Inside the park · Owner-run

Angama Safari Camp is the small sister of Angama Mara: four en-suite tents for eight guests that Angama places deep in the Mara Triangle, below the escarpment where the main lodge stands. Angama is founder-run, which is why we file it as owner-run. The only rate we have is $2,100 per guest per night in peak season, from a January 2026 copy of Angama's site. The Mara Conservancy's own list of Triangle accommodation does not include it, so it may be a seasonal or special-campsite camp; the site type is not published. Choose it if you want a tiny camp inside the Triangle and Angama's service; skip it if you need a firm answer on fees and site before you pay.

Basecamp Adventure

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Safari company

Basecamp Adventure is the cheapest published camp rate around the Mara in 2026: $250 per person a night from October to June outside the Christmas dates, with meals, shared game drives, transfers and VAT included. It has six tents and a family tent on a forested bend of the Talek River, right next to the reserve, run by Saruni Basecamp. The rate sheet heads it 'Talek River, Masai Mara National Reserve', but the camp's own description puts it beside the reserve, so you pay the $100 or $200 day ticket for each day you drive in. Drinks other than water are extra. Choose it for the best-value guided stay at the Talek Gate; skip it if you want drinks in the price.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Basecamp Masai Mara

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Safari company

Basecamp Masai Mara is Saruni Basecamp's larger Talek camp: 17 tents under thatch on a peninsula of the Talek River, walking distance from Talek Gate and bordering the reserve, which is the camp's own word. The rate sheet calls it 'Talek River, Masai Mara National Reserve', and that heading is what leads guides to say it is inside; it is not. At $300 per person outside high season, with shared drives and VAT included, it is among the cheapest guided stays at the reserve's edge. The camp is known for its women's beadwork project. Choose it for good value and a short hop into the reserve; skip it if you want drinks in the rate.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Angama Mara

Top-end · Outside the gate · Owner-run

Angama Mara stands on the Oloololo Escarpment 1,000 feet above the plains, on a 700-hectare site that borders the Mara Triangle, with a private road ten minutes to the reserve entrance. It is outside the reserve, which is why walks on the escarpment are possible and why the reserve ticket is charged separately. Founder-run, it has 30 glass-fronted tented suites in two camps of 15, a beading studio with Maasai women and the Out of Africa filming site nearby. The rate starts at $1,775 per guest a night, fully inclusive except park fees and a Foundation levy. Choose it for the view and drives in the quieter Triangle; skip it if you want to sleep on the plains.

Entumoto Safari Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Owner-run

Entumoto is a family-run camp in the Mara Siana Conservancy, on the reserve's eastern border, and it is the cheapest published conservancy stay in this guide. Two ways in: full board from $350 per adult, which suits you if you bring your own vehicle and guide, or all-inclusive from $450 with shared day and night drives, walks and transfers. Both include VAT and house drinks. The Siana conservancy fee is $116 per adult a night, lower than the $130 charged in Mara North, Olare Motorogi and Naboisho, and comes on top. Choose it for a conservancy stay at a mid-range price, especially with children; skip it if you want the reserve's river crossings within an hour.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Basecamp Wilderness

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Safari company

Basecamp Wilderness is Saruni Basecamp's lowest-priced conservancy camp: seven tents and a family tent in Mara Naboisho Conservancy, east of the reserve. At $400 per person in low season you get meals, house drinks, shared day and night drives, walks and VAT, which is the full conservancy experience at a price many camps charge before drinks. The conservancy fee of $130 per adult a night is on top, and the reserve ticket on days you go in. Choose it for night drives and walks without top-end prices; skip it if you want to spend most days in the reserve, where the ticket adds $100 to $200 a day.

Kicheche Mara North

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Kicheche Mara North has nine tents and a family suite above the Olare Orok stream in Mara North Conservancy, on land leased directly from the community. It is the most child-friendly of Kicheche's Mara camps: children from 3 are priced in, the family suite comes with its own vehicle, and beading with Maasai women and a community trip are in the rate. From $625 per adult in the regular season, with drinks, walks and transfers; the $130 conservancy fee is extra. It closes from 1 April to 22 May. Choose it for a small camp that takes young children; skip it in April and May.

Kicheche Bush Olare

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Kicheche Bush Olare, also called Kicheche Bush Camp, is six tents in unfenced bush in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, on the reserve's northern edge. It is the quieter, more adult of Kicheche's Mara camps: children must be 7 or older. From $765 per adult in the regular season, with drinks, shared drives and walks included and the $130 conservancy fee extra. It closes from 1 April to 22 May. Balloon flights can be arranged on request. Choose it for a very small camp in a conservancy that limits camp size; skip it with young children or in April and May.

Kicheche Valley Naboisho

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Kicheche Valley sits on a secluded hillside in Mara Naboisho Conservancy east of the reserve: six elevated tents, one of them a family suite. Of the three Kicheche Mara camps it is the one whose rate includes night drives, and it carries a honeymoon offer in which the bride pays half, or three-quarters from July to September. From $765 per adult in the regular season; the $130 conservancy fee is extra. Children must be 7 or older, and the camp closes from 10 April to 31 May. Choose it for a honeymoon with night drives; skip it in April and May.

Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Elephant Pepper is Elewana Collection's small camp in Mara North Conservancy, eight tents and a safari suite, and by its own account the driving force behind creating the conservancy in 2009, which now covers over 70,000 acres north of the reserve. Only authorised vehicles may drive there, so sightings are less crowded than in the reserve. The green-season game package of $771 per person in April and May includes drives, a walk, a sundowner and a bush meal; the conservancy fee is extra. The kitchen is northern Italian. Choose it for a classic small camp with walking in a conservancy that keeps traffic down; skip it if you want everything, fees included, in one figure.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Hemingways Ol Seki Mara

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Hemingways Ol Seki is eight tents and two private villas on a gentle hill above Mara Naboisho Conservancy, east of the reserve. The regular rate of $810 per person runs for most of the first half of the year and from November, which is a longer cheap season than most camps offer, with drinks, two drives a day, a walk and taxes included. Every fee is spelt out: $130 conservancy fee, $5 reserve fund and the reserve ticket where it applies. Tents take children from 8, villas any age. Choose it for clear pricing and a long regular season; skip it if you want a night drive on a two-night stay, as it starts at three.

Hemingways River Camp Mara

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Hemingways River Camp Mara is the former Richard's River Camp, eight tents on the Njageteck River in Mara North Conservancy, now run by Hemingways Collection. The old richardscamp.com site is still online but stale, and it claims a reserve location the camp does not have; the camp is in the conservancy, north of the reserve. From $840 per person in the regular season, with day and night drives, house drinks, walks and laundry in the rate, and the $130 conservancy fee extra. Classic tents take children from 8, suites any age. Choose it for night drives on a short stay; skip it if you were planning by the old Richard's Camp details.

Naboisho Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Naboisho Camp is Asilia Africa's main camp in Mara Naboisho Conservancy, nine tents including two family suites, open all year. It sells what the reserve cannot: night drives, walking safaris and fly camping out in the conservancy, all with a spa tent to come back to. The price is steep from June to October at $2,250 per person, and $1,240 from November to mid-December 2026. The page contradicts itself on the conservancy fee, listing it as both included and excluded, so get that in writing. Children must be 5 or older. Choose it for walking and fly camping with a spa; skip it from June to October unless the budget is generous, because Encounter Mara next door costs less.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Mara Plains Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Mara Plains is Great Plains Conservation's flagship Mara camp, seven canvas suites and the separate Jahazi Suite on the Ntiakitiak River in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, right on the reserve's northern boundary, with drives in both. At $1,745 per person it looks dearer than most, but it is one of the few rates in the Mara that already contains reserve and conservancy fees, premium drinks and flights from Wilson. Great Plains claims the lowest vehicle density in the Mara region, which is its own claim. Choose it if you want a single all-in figure and access to both the conservancy and the reserve; skip it if you would rather pay for each piece and save on drinks.

Mara Nyika Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Mara Nyika is Great Plains Conservation's Naboisho camp, four raised canvas suites and a two-bedroom family tent on walkways deep in a valley, plus the private Sambuk Suite. It is priced like Mara Plains at $1,745 per person, with fees, drinks and flights from Wilson included. Great Plains says its Kenya camps are the country's only Relais & Chateaux members; that is the operator's claim. Unlike Mara Plains, Mara Nyika is in Naboisho to the east, so drives into the reserve take longer. Choose it for a very small all-in camp with a family tent; skip it if reserve days are the point of your trip.

Zamara Private

Top-end · Boundary unconfirmed · Safari company

Zamara Private is Great Plains Conservation's exclusive-use villa: two master suites and four stand-alone guest suites for twelve guests, or sixteen with children. The page names the Masai Mara and transfers from Ol Kiombo airstrip, which is in the central reserve, but does not say whether the villa stands inside the reserve or in a conservancy, so we show its boundary as unconfirmed. At $32,500 a night for twelve, about $2,708 a head, park fees and flights for the first twelve are included. Children must be 6 or older. Choose it for a large family or group that wants the place to itself; skip it for anything smaller than about ten.

Governors' Il Moran Camp

Top-end · Inside the park · Owner-run

Il Moran is the small sister of Governors' Camp, ten canvas tents on the banks of the Mara River inside the reserve in the Musiara sector, run by the same Governors' Camp Collection. The 2026 rate sheet puts it at $667 per person in April and May and $1,592 from July to October, with meals, house drinks, VAT, laundry and up to three game drives a day included. Park fees, bush meals and a $50 nightly community fee are extra. Children must be 8 or older. Choose it for the Governors' location with a fraction of the guests; skip it if you travel with young children or want walking, which reserve rules forbid.

Encounter Mara

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Encounter Mara is Asilia Africa's smaller camp in Mara Naboisho Conservancy, ten tents including two for families, and noticeably cheaper than its sister Naboisho Camp: $710 per person in November and December 2026 and $940 from June to October. Asilia stresses that its guides follow a strict conservancy code, which in practice means fewer vehicles at each sighting than in the reserve. The inclusions were not fully shown on the page, so confirm drinks, night drives and the conservancy fee. It closes in May. Choose it for a Naboisho camp at a lower price; skip it if you need every inclusion in writing up front.

Muthu Mara River Lodge

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Safari company

Muthu Mara River Lodge is MGM Muthu Hotels' riverside lodge with bungalows. Its own address names Lemek Conservancy, Aitong and the national reserve in one line, which is half wrong: Lemek and Aitong lie north of the reserve, outside the boundary. The operator steers guests here while its Keekorok lodge is closed. It sells two packages, a soft all-inclusive and a 'signature experience', without published prices, and does not state room numbers. Choose it if you get a good package quote and do not mind driving to the reserve; skip it if you were told it is inside the reserve.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Karen Blixen Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Ownership unconfirmed

Karen Blixen Camp is a riverside tented camp in Mara North Conservancy, its tents set along the Mara River, run by the Karen Blixen Group. Its strongest point for some travellers is access: the site has a page headed 'We are Wheelchair Accessible', which few Mara camps can say. It has a pool, wellness, bush meals, nature walks and balloon flights on offer, and sells several packages through an online booking engine. The tent count and the owner behind the group are not published. Choose it if accessibility shapes your trip; skip it if you want a published rate to compare first.

Fairmont Mara Safari Club

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Fairmont Mara Safari Club is a 38-room tented hotel on a bend of the Mara River in the north-western corner of the Mara, at the foot of the Aitong Hills in Olchoro Oirowua Conservancy, outside the reserve. Run by Fairmont, part of Accor, it feels more hotel than camp. Since January 2025 it has sold an all-inclusive safari package, and it advertises resident rates through December 2026, but no figure appears on the page. Choose it if you want a hotel brand you know with river frontage; skip it if you want a small camp or a short drive to the reserve.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

&Beyond Bateleur Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Bateleur is &Beyond's smaller, dearer neighbour to Kichwa Tembo on the same concession below the Oloololo Escarpment: two camps of nine tents each, 36 guests in all, with a spa sala. Like Kichwa Tembo it is outside the reserve, which allows bush walks and bush dining but puts the reserve ticket on top. The child policy matches its neighbour's: eight or older recommended, under-6s not on regular drives. No rate is published on the pages read. Choose it for a small camp with Kichwa Tembo's flight access; skip it if you want a camp that settles all fees in one rate.

&Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Kichwa Tembo is &Beyond's original Kenya camp, on a concession leased from Maasai landlords below the Oloololo Escarpment, beside the Mara Triangle. &Beyond's brochure calls it 'within the Mara Triangle', but the same brochure's map separates the Kichwa concession from the reserve, with Oloololo Gate between them, and offers bush walks 'not permitted in the national reserve'. So it is outside, which is why reserve fees are extra. With 34 rooms and a pool it is a big camp, with its own airstrip and the WILDchild programme. Choose it for easy flights and a family-friendly camp next to the Triangle; skip it if you want a small camp or a camp inside the reserve.

Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Mid-range · Inside the park · Safari company

Mara Serena is a Serena Hotels lodge on a hill inside the Mara Triangle, and with Wilderness Mara it is one of only two permanent lodges there. That matters: the Triangle is the quieter, cashless western half of the reserve, and from here you are on the plains without passing a gate. It has 74 rooms, eight of them interconnecting family rooms, and runs on solar power since 2019 by its own account. The website shows 'from USD 377' without saying per room or per person. Its activity list includes night drives, which the reserve's management plan does not allow, so confirm what is offered. Choose it for a big, family-friendly lodge inside the Triangle; skip it if you want a small camp.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Mara Intrepids

Mid-range · Inside the park · Safari company

Mara Intrepids is a Heritage Hotels tented camp on the Talek River inside the reserve, which the camp places at the meeting point of the Mara's four game-viewing areas. Its strongest card is children: the Adventurers' Club, run with Maasai naturalists, is designed for children on safari with their parents. Heritage advertises three drives a day and an airstrip three minutes away, but publishes no rates, no tent count and no child ages. Choose it if you travel with children and want a camp built around them inside the reserve; skip it if you want a published price before you enquire.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Mara Explorer

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Mara Explorer is the smaller, quieter sister of Mara Intrepids: ten tents on a thickly forested bend of the Talek River inside the reserve, run by Heritage Hotels. Each tent faces the river and the camp makes much of its outdoor bathtubs. Three game drives a day are advertised and the airstrip is three minutes away. Heritage publishes no rates and no child policy. Choose it for a small, river-facing camp in the central reserve; skip it if you have young children, as nothing on its page caters for them.

Entim Main

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Entim Main is a twelve-tent bush camp on the banks of the Mara River, which the Wilder Group places inside the reserve; one agent also puts it in the heart of the reserve. Its claim is position: the camp says it looks directly onto one of the river crossings, so in the migration months the action may come to you. Tents are raised, and Maasai warriors walk guests to their tents after dark. The Wilder Group, which also runs Ilkeliani, Entim Private, Paradise Plains and Lerai, publishes no rates. Choose it for a crossing on the doorstep from July to October; skip it if you need a published price or a pool.

Entim Private

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Entim Private is the Wilder Group's second camp at Entim, eight tented suites set back from the Mara River along a natural spring, which the group places inside the reserve. It takes up to twenty guests and includes one family suite. Where Entim Main sells the view of a crossing, Entim Private sells a little distance from the river traffic. The group publishes no rates. Choose it for a small camp inside the reserve with room for a family; skip it if you want to watch the crossing from your tent.

Naibor Camp

Top-end · Inside the park · Ownership unconfirmed

Naibor describes itself as a luxury tented camp deep in the heart of the reserve, in a grove of woodland on the banks of the Talek River. Its own argument for being inside is practical: guests do not have to rush out before the gates close at 6 pm. The site does not name the company behind it, the number of tents or a rate, and no booking email is published; it also lists a separate 'Naibor Wilderness Experience'. Choose it if you like the look and are ready to enquire from scratch; skip it if you want figures before first contact.

Ilkeliani

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Ilkeliani sits on the community bank of the Talek River, connected to the reserve by a footbridge, which puts it outside the boundary but a few steps from it. It is where the Wilder Group began, and the old ilkeliani.com address now forwards to the group's site. Twelve tented suites in two wings take up to 30 guests, with a pool, spa and an organic kitchen garden. The camp says it is fully accessible for guests with mobility needs and welcomes children of all ages, which few Mara camps say. No rates are published. Choose it if accessibility or young children decide your booking; skip it if you need a price before you enquire.

Kilima Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Ownership unconfirmed

Kilima Camp is perched high on the Oloololo Escarpment at 1,850 metres, outside the reserve, with access to a private conservancy of its own; a travel wiki puts it about 15 minutes from Oloololo Gate. It offers horse riding on the escarpment, which the reserve does not allow, and game drives down in the Mara Triangle. Besides the tents there is Osim, a private house for up to nine guests. The site does not name the owner or publish rates. Choose it for an escarpment base with riding and quick access to the Triangle; skip it if you want to wake up on the plains.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Mara Siria Tented Bush Camp & Cottages

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Ownership unconfirmed

Mara Siria is a tented bush camp with cottages on the Oloololo Escarpment, which local people call the Siria, outside the reserve above the Mara Triangle. Its menu is broader than most: game drives, nature walks, mountain biking, horse riding, cultural visits and balloon flights. The site does not name the owner, and rates sit behind an online booking engine. Choose it if you want an active escarpment stay with the Triangle below; skip it if you want everything confirmed in writing before you click.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Mara Elatia Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Mara Elatia is a Heritage Hotels camp of sixteen tents along the Oloololo Escarpment. Its website says it is in the Mara Triangle within the reserve, and on the same page places it on the escarpment; the Mara Conservancy, which runs the Triangle, lists only Mara Serena and the former Little Governors' as its accommodation, and the escarpment top is outside the gazetted reserve. We therefore list it as outside, with the Triangle below. Each tent has an en-suite with a rain shower, Wi-Fi and a balcony. No rate is published. Choose it for escarpment views with Heritage's service; skip it if you were sold it as a camp inside the reserve.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Lerai Safari Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Safari company

Lerai is the Wilder Group's eight-tent camp in Olerai Conservancy, where 3,500 of the conservancy's 5,000 acres are reserved for the group's guests. The camp lists daily game drives, night drives, walks and Maasai village visits, the conservancy menu the reserve cannot offer. It is a small, little-known conservancy, and no rates are published. Choose it for a very private conservancy with night drives; skip it if you want the big-name conservancies bordering the reserve. Ask how far the drive is to the nearest reserve gate, because the Wilder Group does not say.

Cottar's 1920s Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Owner-run

Cottar's 1920s Camp is the camp of a fifth-generation family safari company, in Olderkesi Conservancy on the Tanzanian border, south-east of the reserve near Sand River. Eleven tented suites recreate a 1920s safari, with canvas baths on the verandas, and four new two-bedroom family tents make it one of the stronger family choices around the Mara. Cottar's lists more than twenty activities, from a Maasai Warrior School and foraging walks to children's activities. Rates are not published. Choose it for a family safari with a long list of things to do outside a vehicle; skip it if you want to be near the Mara River.

Cottar's Bush Villa

Top-end · Outside the gate · Owner-run

Cottar's Bush Villa is the exclusive-use house of the Cottar's family business in Olderkesi Conservancy: five en-suite bedrooms for ten guests, 10,000 square feet and a private 25-metre pool. Cottar's says it was the first property in Kenya to win World Travel Market's Best Private Villa in Africa award; that is its own claim. Guests share the conservancy and the activity list of the 1920s Camp nearby. No rate is published. Choose it for a multi-generation family or a group of friends who want a house and a pool to themselves; skip it if there are fewer than six of you.

Mara Bushtops

Top-end · Outside the gate · Owner-run

Mara Bushtops is a family-run camp of twelve large luxury tents in what it calls the Bushtops Conservancy, its own private wildlife area outside the reserve, where only its guests and the Maasai have access. The camp offers private night drives, off-road drives and walking safaris, plus a live stream from its salt lick, visits to Kakiya Cave and the Amani spa, which it says won a World Luxury Spa Award for best safari spa three years running. Which named conservancy the land belongs to is not stated. No rate or email is published. Choose it for a spa and private drives; skip it if you need to know exactly where you are.

Basecamp Mara Houses

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Basecamp Mara Houses are three exclusive-use safari houses with dedicated staff, which Saruni Basecamp describes as having personal access to Mara North Conservancy. They are the group's answer for families and friends who want a house rather than a tent. Saruni Basecamp has published 2026 rate sheets for most of its camps but not for the houses, and the size of each house is not stated. Choose them if you are a group who wants a staffed house in Mara North; skip them if you need a price to plan around.

Basecamp Hill Top

Budget · Outside the gate · Safari company

Basecamp Hill Top is the simplest stay in Saruni Basecamp's Mara portfolio: five dome tents with twin beds and a shared bathroom in the Pardamat Conservation Area, which the group calls the first triple-use community-owned conservancy in the Mara region. The minimum age has been raised to 18 for all guests. No rate was captured, but by style it sits at the budget end. Choose it if you are an adult traveller who wants a basic community-area stay; skip it with children, or if you need your own bathroom.

Basecamp Dorobo Mobile

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Safari company

Basecamp Dorobo is a mobile camp of five specially designed tents that moves within Mara Naboisho Conservancy, with bucket showers and a set-up closer to fly camping than to a lodge. Like Hill Top it takes guests of 18 and over only. Saruni Basecamp did not publish a rate for it in the material we read. The camp moves, so ask where it will stand on your dates. Choose it for an adult camping trip deep in a conservancy; skip it if you want running water or are travelling with children.

Paradise Plains

Top-end · Boundary unconfirmed · Safari company

Paradise Plains is the newest Wilder Group camp, nine suites in the Musiara region where the plains meet the Mara River, with copper baths, a library, yoga deck, pool, spa and gym. 'Musiara region' covers both the reserve's Musiara sector and land north of the boundary, so the sentence does not tell you which side it is on; we show it as unconfirmed. Eight suites take couples or solo travellers and one is for families. No opening date or rates are published. Choose it for a new camp with more facilities than most near the Musiara Marsh; skip it until the location is clear.

Masai Mara Sopa Lodge

Mid-range · Boundary unconfirmed · Safari company

Masai Mara Sopa Lodge is a 99-room lodge high on the slopes of the Oloolaimutia Hills, by the gate of the same name in the south-east, and calls itself one of the first safari lodges built in the Mara. Sopa gives its location as 'Masai Mara National Reserve', but the Oloolaimutia Hills rise outside the reserve's south-eastern boundary and other sources describe the lodge as just outside the gate; neither side is confirmed, so we show it as unconfirmed. Guests fly to Keekorok and drive an hour. No rate is published. Choose it for a large, established lodge near the eastern gates; skip it if inside-the-reserve matters to you.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Mara Simba Lodge

Mid-range · Boundary unconfirmed · Safari company

Mara Simba Lodge stands a few metres from the Talek River and is run by Simba Lodges, a Nairobi-based group. Its own page does not claim to be inside the reserve; OpenStreetMap shows a 'Mara Simba' gate on the reserve's eastern side, which points to a site at the boundary, but the lodge does not say which side, so we show it as unconfirmed. The old marasimba.com domain is now for sale, so follow links to simbalodges.com only. No rate or room count appears on the lodge's own page. Choose it if you get a good quote near Talek; skip it if you want a small camp.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Enkipai Hill Hotel

Budget · Outside the gate · Ownership unconfirmed

Enkipai Hill Hotel stands about a kilometre from Narok town and 86 km from Sekenani Gate, by its own figures. It is solar-powered and has a pool, a spa and a gym, more than a transit stop usually offers. The site does not name the owner or publish room numbers, and rates sit behind online booking. Like any Narok bed, it lets you drive to the gate for the 6 am opening rather than lose half a paid day. Choose it for a comfortable night before the reserve; skip it if you want to wake up in the bush.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Muthu Keekorok Lodge

Mid-range · Inside the park · Safari company

Muthu Keekorok Lodge, the old Keekorok Lodge in the south-east of the reserve, is closed. Its operator, MGM Muthu Hotels, says it is temporarily closed for renovation and invites guests to its Muthu Mara River Lodge instead, which is outside the reserve in Lemek Conservancy. No reopening date is given. Any guide listing Keekorok as open, or under its older management, is out of date. We keep it here so you know why it no longer appears in itineraries; check the operator's page before you plan around it.

Ashnil Mara Camp

Mid-range · Inside the park · Safari company

Ashnil Mara is a 30-tent camp on the Mara River inside the reserve, one of five camps run by the Kenyan group Ashnil Hotels. It has a pool, a wellness centre and interconnecting family tents with special children's meals, and Ashnil collects guests from Keekorok or Ol Kiombo airstrip. No rate appears on the page. Choose it for a mid-sized camp with a pool on the river inside the reserve; skip it if you want a small camp, or a price before you write.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Ngare Serian

Top-end · Outside the gate · Owner-run

Ngare Serian is Serian's second camp in Mara North Conservancy and its smallest: four tents plus a tree house called The Nest, with Mara North as the preferred airstrip. Serian's other camp, The Original, gives every group its own vehicle and guide; the page we read for Ngare Serian does not repeat that rule, so ask. No rate or child policy is published. Choose it for one of the smallest camps around the Mara and a night in a tree house; skip it if you want facilities beyond a tent.

Oloololo Public Campsite

Budget · Inside the park · County-run

Oloololo is the biggest of the three public campsites in the Mara Triangle, the part of the reserve west of the Mara River that the Mara Conservancy runs for Narok County. It sits at Oloololo Gate and is the only public site with hot showers, toilets including an accessible one, and a kitchen shelter, though you bring every pot and pan. Camping costs $40 per non-resident adult a night on top of the $100 or $200 entry, so a night here in August costs $240 a head before the vehicle fee. Choose it if you drive yourself and want the cheapest legal night inside the reserve; skip it if you want anyone else to cook.

Iseiya Public Campsite

Budget · Inside the park · County-run

Iseiya is the smallest of the Mara Triangle's three public campsites, taking ten people at most, beside the Triangle headquarters near Mara Serena Safari Lodge. The Mara Conservancy describes it plainly: the only facility is a long-drop toilet, and you can buy food and drinking water at the canteen nearby. You pay $40 per non-resident adult per night plus the $100 or $200 day ticket. Choose it if you want a central pitch in the Triangle and travel light on comfort; skip it if you need a shower, because the nearest one on a public site is at Oloololo Gate.

Eluai Public Campsite

Budget · Inside the park · County-run

Eluai is the third public campsite in the Mara Triangle, run by the Mara Conservancy on Narok County's behalf, with room for fifteen campers. Its listing on the Conservancy's booking system names long-drop toilets and a bathroom and tells you to bring camping gear, water and firewood. The price is the same as the other public sites: $40 per non-resident adult a night plus the day ticket of $100 or $200. Choose it as the overflow when Oloololo and Iseiya are full or when you want a quieter pitch; skip it if you have not packed water, because the listing names no supply on site.

Mara Triangle private and special campsites

Budget · Inside the park · County-run

The Mara Conservancy rents out five private campsites in the Triangle to anyone, booked online at marabookings.co.ke: Dirisha, Ndovu and Hornbill on the northern Mara River, Kiboko and Olarro in the south near the crossing points. Three more, Kijito, Kishanga and Kampi ya Mungu, open from July to October for professional operators only. You get the site to yourselves, pay $40 per adult camping, a booking fee and two night rangers, and bring everything. Choose this if you are a group with your own gear who want a riverbank to yourselves; skip it in July to October unless you book very early, as operators get priority.

Governors' Camp

Top-end · Inside the park · Owner-run

Governors' Camp has stood beside the Musiara Marsh on the Mara River, inside the reserve, since 1972, which makes it the first permanent luxury tented camp in the Mara by its own account. The Governors' Camp Collection runs it; we file it as owner-run on that long tenure, though the company does not name its owners. The 2026 rate sheet starts at $453 per person in April and May and climbs to $998 from July to October, covering meals, house drinks, VAT and up to three drives a day. Park fees and a $50 nightly community fee are on top. Choose it for the marsh and the river on the doorstep; skip it if 24 tents feels too busy.

Rekero Camp

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Rekero is Asilia Africa's small camp inside the reserve, nine tents in trees above the Talek River near where it meets the Mara, which puts it within reach of the crossing points. Asilia calls it one of the first camps established in the Mara and says many guests come back. The rate of $910 per person from June and in late-season months, rising to $1,450 from July to October, includes meals, house drinks and game drives; park fees are extra. It closes in April and May, so ignore any guide that says it is open all year. Children must be 5 or older. Choose it for a small camp in the middle of the action; skip it if you want walking or night drives, which the reserve does not allow.

Wilderness Mara

Top-end · Inside the park · Safari company

Wilderness Mara is what Little Governors' Camp became: the camp closed in October 2025 and reopened under Wilderness in June 2026, rebuilt with 12 tented suites. It stands inside the Mara Triangle by a marsh, reached across the Mara River by a private footbridge, and with Mara Serena it is one of only two permanent lodges in the Triangle. Rates start at $1,007 per person in March and April 2027, fully inclusive, and Wilderness says the conservation levy and taxes are in that figure. Any guide still listing Little Governors' with its old tent count is out of date. Choose it for the Triangle with every cost bundled; skip it if a four-figure nightly rate breaks the budget.

Porini Giraffe Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Safari company

Porini Giraffe is the cheapest of Gamewatchers' five Porini camps around the Mara, eight tents on the Ripole River in Mara Ripoi Conservancy, which borders Siana and the reserve. The extra-night rate of $470 per person in June and late 2026 already includes the conservancy fee and activities, which is unusual and makes it cheaper than it first looks next to camps that add $130 a night. Porini camps do night drives and walks with Maasai guides, and Porini says its conservancies hold one guest tent per 700 acres. Children must be over 8. Choose it for a conservancy camp with the fee built in; skip it in May, when it closes.

Saruni Mara

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Saruni Mara is a cottage lodge in Mara North Conservancy, north of the reserve, run by Saruni Basecamp, the company formed when Saruni and Basecamp Explorer began trading together. Five cottages and two villas suit couples and families alike, and the villas come with a private vehicle. The low-season rate of $500 per person in March to May and November includes drinks, night drives, walks, VAT and a massage per room; the $130 nightly conservancy fee is extra. Children get their own Warriors Academy. Choose it for a family villa in a conservancy with night drives; skip it if you want the reserve on your doorstep, as Mara North is a drive from the boundary.

Saruni Eagle View

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Saruni Eagle View sits on an escarpment in Mara Naboisho Conservancy, east of the reserve, and has reopened after a significant refurbishment. The rate sheet counts eight tents and two family tents, the website nine doubles; we follow the sheet. The narrow gap between seasons, $600 per person in low season and $800 in high, makes it good value from July to September next to camps that double their price. Drinks, night drives, walks and VAT are included; the $130 conservancy fee is not. Choose it for the view and a honeymoon tent with its own outdoor spa; skip it if you want to be close to the Mara River.

Porini Mara Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Porini Mara Camp has six tents in Ol Kinyei Conservancy, an 18,700-acre community area east of the reserve set up in 2005 on land the Maasai owners lease to Porini. Porini says no other tourist vehicles are allowed in, and drives carry six guests at most, so sightings are rarely crowded. The extra-night rate of $620 per person in June and late 2026 already includes the conservancy fee, drives, night drives and walks. Children must be over 8. Choose it for an uncrowded conservancy with the fees built in; skip it if you want daily drives in the reserve, as Porini includes only one reserve day, and only from July to September.

Porini Cheetah Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Porini Cheetah is Gamewatchers' second six-tent camp in Ol Kinyei Conservancy, east of the reserve, priced exactly like Porini Mara Camp at $620 per person in June and late 2026 with the conservancy fee, drives, night drives and walks included. It takes twelve guests plus children, against fourteen at its neighbour. Porini's factsheet gives the same map point for both camps and the cottages, so it is a conservancy coordinate, not the camp's own. Choose it when Porini Mara Camp is full, or for a slightly smaller camp; skip it if your children are under 8.

Porini Lion Camp

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Porini Lion is the largest of the Porini camps around the Mara, ten tents and two family units in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, which borders the reserve to the north. As at every Porini camp, the extra-night rate, here $640 per person in June and late 2026, already contains the conservancy fee, game drives, night drives and walks. Olare Motorogi is one of the conservancies that caps tents per camp, so even the biggest Porini camp stays small by reserve standards. Children must be over 8. Choose it for Olare Motorogi with the fee included; skip it if you want a six-tent camp.

Saruni Leopard Hill

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Saruni Leopard Hill is six round tents, styled on Maasai manyattas, overlooking Mara Naboisho Conservancy east of the reserve, with a waterhole and a fig tree in front of camp. Some agents still list it as Basecamp Leopard Hill; Saruni Basecamp now sells it under the Saruni name. The low-season rate of $700 per person in March to May and November includes drinks, night drives, walks and VAT, with the $130 conservancy fee on top. Choose it for a very small camp with a family tent and a honeymoon tent; skip it if you want river frontage.

Saruni Wild

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Saruni Wild is a small bush camp in the heart of Lemek, a community-owned conservancy north of the reserve: four double tents and one family tent, twelve guests at most. Saruni Basecamp prices it like Leopard Hill, from $700 per person in March to May and November, with drinks, night drives, walks and VAT in the rate and the conservancy fee on top. Lemek is further from the reserve than Mara North or Olare Motorogi, so it suits guests who want to stay in the conservancy rather than drive into the reserve every day. Choose it for a quiet, small camp; skip it if reserve days matter most.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Porini Ol Kinyei Safari Cottages

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

The Ol Kinyei Safari Cottages are Porini's answer for families and groups: four cottages in Ol Kinyei Conservancy, each with four double bedrooms, its own kitchen and a private chef, eight guests a cottage. They are the only Porini property in the Mara that takes children under 8: over-5s at any time, and any age if you book a whole cottage. From $720 per person in June and late 2026, with the conservancy fee and activities in the rate. Unlike the tented camps they stay open all year. Choose them for a family or two couples who want a house of their own; skip them if there are only two of you and you want camp company.

Olonana Lodge, an A&K Sanctuary

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Olonana is Abercrombie & Kent's Mara lodge, now listed as Olonana Lodge, an A&K Sanctuary; older guides call it Sanctuary Olonana. Secondary sources place it on a private stretch of the Mara River at the foot of the Siria Escarpment, west of the Triangle and outside the reserve, with 14 tents and a three-bedroom suite. A&K's own page would not render, so every figure here comes from resellers: from $2,450 per person in peak 2026 and $1,020 in late 2026 on one listing. Choose it if you are already travelling with A&K; skip it if you want an owner-published rate and confirmed inclusions before you commit.

Zebra Plains Mara Camp

Mid-range · Boundary unconfirmed · Ownership unconfirmed

Zebra Plains Mara Camp is the largest camp of the Zebra Plains Collection, up to 100 guests in 48 rooms and tents below Oldonyo Oloip Ridge, an area it ties to the Moniko lion pride. The group says its founder is a Kenyan master guide and that all safaris are led by KPSGA-rated guides within the reserve; the camp itself does not say which side of the boundary it stands on, so we show it as unconfirmed. Packages come with or without full inclusions, and the fee line on the page is ambiguous about the reserve ticket. Choose it for a mid-sized budget with guide quality in mind; skip it if 100 guests is too many.

Zebra River Camp

Mid-range · Boundary unconfirmed · Ownership unconfirmed

Zebra River Camp is the Zebra Plains Collection's smaller camp, fifteen river-facing rooms and a family villa for 34 guests in forest along the Talek River. It is open all year and sold on all-inclusive packages. The camp does not say whether it is inside the reserve or on the community bank of the Talek, so we show the boundary as unconfirmed. No rate was published in readable form, and the group takes cards only. Choose it for a smaller river camp with everything in one package; skip it until you know which bank of the Talek it is on.

Serian's Nkorombo Mobile

Top-end · Inside the park · Owner-run

Nkorombo is Serian's seasonal mobile camp, which Serian places inside the reserve on a private riverside site, flying guests into Musiara. It is a simple set-up with bucket showers, closer to the old mobile safaris than to a permanent camp. Serian is a long-running Kenya operator with two camps in Mara North Conservancy; we file it as owner-run on that tenure. The page publishes no rate, no tent count and no exact months. Choose it for a mobile camp in the Musiara area during the migration; skip it if you want plumbing or a fixed price.

Sarova Mara Game Camp

Mid-range · Inside the park · Safari company

Sarova Mara Game Camp is a 75-tent camp with permanent roofs, a pool and mini golf, 2.5 km from Sekenani Gate, which is the end of the tarmac road from Narok. Sarova's fact sheet says it is inside the reserve and that Keekorok airstrip is 11 km away. The same sheet lists nature walks and visits to the adjoining Maasai village, which sit oddly with a site inside the reserve, where walking is not allowed; the boundary position rests on Sarova's word. No rate is published. Choose it if you drive in from Narok and want a big, family-friendly camp near the gate; skip it if you want a small camp or a quiet corner.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Tangulia Mara Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Ownership unconfirmed

Tangulia Mara is a rustic tented bush camp on private land, on a leafy hill above the Olotulo Murt salt lick near the Mara River. Its postal address is in Narok, but the site does not say who owns it. Because it is outside the reserve it can offer guided walks, alongside game drives into the reserve, Maasai village visits and sundowners by the river. No rates or tent count are published. Choose it if you want a simple camp with walking on the menu; skip it if you need published prices.

Sekenani Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Ownership unconfirmed

Sekenani Camp is a 15-tent camp at the source of the Sekenani River, on the eastern edge of the reserve; secondary sources put it on the boundary about six kilometres east of the main gate. Its own site still uses the Sekenani name, while TripAdvisor's listing for the same property now reads 'Miliki Maasai Mara', and whether the camp has been renamed or sold is not stated anywhere we could read. No rate or email is published. Choose it if you find it under either name at a good price near Sekenani Gate; skip it if you want to know who you are paying.

Mahali Mzuri

Top-end · Outside the gate · Safari company

Mahali Mzuri is Virgin Limited Edition's Mara camp, twelve contemporary luxury tents perched on the side of a lush valley within Olare Motorogi Conservancy, north of the reserve. The design is modern rather than classic canvas. The page read shows no rate and no child policy, so everything comes back by email. Being in a conservancy, it can offer what the reserve cannot, but the activities were not listed on the page we read. Choose it if you want a design-led tented camp in one of the better-known conservancies; skip it if you want figures before enquiring.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Serian, The Original

Top-end · Outside the gate · Owner-run

Serian, The Original is five tents in Mara North Conservancy, which Serian says has just 11 member camps. Its rule is the selling point: each group has its own open-top vehicle and its own dedicated guide, so you set the pace and never share. Bathrooms are open to the bush. Serian is a long-established Kenya operator, which is why we list it as owner-run, though its site does not set out the ownership. No rate is published. Choose it for a private vehicle without paying for a villa; skip it if you want a pool or a published price.

Zebra Valley Mara Camp

Mid-range · Outside the gate · Ownership unconfirmed

Zebra Valley Mara Camp says two things on one page: that it is in the heart of the reserve, and, in its own FAQ, that it is located in a private concession bordering the reserve. The second, more specific sentence is the one we follow, so this camp is outside, and a con below says so. It belongs to the Zebra Plains Collection, which says its founder is a Kenyan master guide; the ownership structure is not stated. Guests fly into Olkiombo or Olare Orok. No rate is published, and the group takes cards only. Choose it if you get a fair quote for a concession camp; skip it if you were sold it as inside the reserve.

Surana Mara Camp

Top-end · Boundary unconfirmed · Safari company

Surana Mara is Ashnil Hotels' small luxury camp, twelve tented suites perched above the Mara River with views over the plains and the Mara Triangle, about 9 km from the Serengeti border. Ashnil says it is 'within the Masai Mara ecosystem' and never says inside the reserve, so we show the boundary as unconfirmed. It appears to be a recent addition to Ashnil's portfolio; no opening date, rate or child policy is published. Choose it if Ashnil's service suits you and you want a smaller camp than Ashnil Mara; skip it until you know which side of the line it is on.

Dates and availability on Booking.com ↗

Seasons Hotel Narok

Budget · Outside the gate · Safari company

Seasons Hotel Narok is a 53-room transit hotel in Narok town, which it calls one of the best and biggest in town, run by the small Kenyan group Seasons Hotels and Lodges. For self-drivers it solves a timing problem: the reserve ticket covers 6 am to 6 pm whatever time you enter, so arriving at Sekenani Gate late in the afternoon buys you a few hours for a full day's fee. Sleep in Narok, fill up, and drive the 87 km of tarmac to Sekenani in about an hour and a half to be in at opening. No rate was published. Choose it as the night before your first reserve day; skip it if you would rather sleep near the gates.