Basecamp Adventure
Small tented camp · Talek River, on the reserve boundary outside Talek Gate · Saruni Basecamp
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.
Pros and cons
Pros
- From $250 per person with shared game drives and VAT included
- Under-5s stay free when sharing
- Seven tents only
- Next to Talek Gate for early starts in the reserve
Cons
- Outside the reserve, though the rate sheet heading implies otherwise
- All drinks except water cost extra
- Reserve ticket of $100 or $200 per adult per day on top
- Rate sheet has a date typo in the low-season fee line
What's here
- Family rooms
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Birding
Read from Basecamp Adventure's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Masai Mara National Reserve charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe non-resident rate from 1 July to 31 December; $100 from 1 January to 30 June.
- $200per person, per day
- VehicleKSh 1,000 a day for a car under six seats, about $8 at KSh 129 to the dollar.
- $8per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $1224 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
The figure above uses the July to December rate. From January to June the same sum halves for the people. A day is 06:00 to 18:00, and guests in the conservancies outside the reserve pay only on the days they drive in.
The full fee schedule for Masai Mara National ReserveRates at Basecamp Adventure
From $250 pppn. Saruni Basecamp 2026 rack rate (ground package, read 6 Oct 2026): $250 per person sharing in mid and low season (3 January to 30 June, October, November and 1 to 19 December) and $400 in high season (July to September, 20 December to 2 January); children 5 to 16 $125 or $200, under 5 free when sharing. Includes full board, shared day game drives, picnic excursions, a bird walk, airstrip transfers and VAT. Excludes all drinks except water and the reserve ticket, which the sheet itself quotes at $100 (1 January to 30 June) and $200 (1 July to 31 December) per adult per 12-hour day.
Full board. Meals are included; drinks, activities and park fees are not.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked on 6 October 2026 against each operator's own website or 2026 rate sheet, in US dollars per person per night sharing unless the entry says otherwise. One figure is a reseller's, not the owner's: Olonana Lodge's $2,450 (safari.com, 6 Oct 2026), because A&K's own page would not load. Angama's rates come from a January 2026 copy of its site, since the live site blocks automated reading. On top of nearly every rate sits Narok County's reserve ticket: $100 per non-resident adult per 12-hour day (6 am to 6 pm) from January to June and $200 from July to December, $50 for a child of 9 to 17, free at 8 and under. Conservancy camps add their own nightly fee, $130 per adult in Mara North, Olare Motorogi and Naboisho in 2026 and $116 in Mara Siana, unless the entry says it is included.
Questions about Basecamp Adventure
Is Basecamp Adventure inside the Masai Mara reserve?
No. Its rate sheet heads it 'Talek River, Masai Mara National Reserve', but Saruni Basecamp's own description says the tents are right next to the reserve. You pay the reserve ticket for each day you drive in.
What does Basecamp Adventure include?
The 2026 ground package includes full board, shared day game drives, picnic excursions, a bird walk, airstrip transfers and VAT. Drinks other than water and the reserve ticket ($100 January to June, $200 July to December, per adult per day) are extra.
Is Basecamp Adventure good for families?
Children under 5 stay free when sharing and children of 5 to 16 pay $125 or $200, on Saruni Basecamp's 2026 sheet. There is one family tent.