Basecamp Masai Mara
Eco tented camp · Talek River, on the reserve boundary outside Talek Gate · Saruni Basecamp
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.
Pros and cons
Pros
- From $300 per person with shared drives and VAT included
- Walking distance from Talek Gate
- Two family tents; under-5s free when sharing
- Community beadwork project on site
Cons
- Outside the reserve, despite the rate sheet heading
- Drinks except water are extra
- Reserve ticket per adult per day on top
- 17 tents: busier than the smaller Basecamp Adventure
What's here
- Family rooms
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Birding
- Community visits
Read from Basecamp Masai Mara'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 Masai Mara
From $300 pppn. Saruni Basecamp 2026 rack rate (ground package, read 6 Oct 2026): $300 per person sharing in mid and low season and $500 in high season (July to September, 20 December to 2 January); children 5 to 16 $150 or $250, under 5 free when sharing. Includes full board, shared day game drives, picnic excursions, a bird walk on the Talek Trail, airstrip transfers and VAT. Excludes drinks other than water and the reserve ticket of $100 (January to June) or $200 (July to 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 Masai Mara
Is Basecamp Masai Mara inside the reserve?
No. Its own page says it borders the reserve on a peninsula of the Talek River. The rate sheet's heading 'Talek River, Masai Mara National Reserve' is the source of the confusion.
How much is Basecamp Masai Mara in 2026?
$300 per person sharing in mid and low season and $500 from July to September and over Christmas, on the 2026 sheet, with full board, shared day drives and VAT. Drinks and the reserve ticket are extra.
Is Basecamp Masai Mara good for children?
Children under 5 stay free when sharing and 5 to 16 pay $150 or $250, and there are two family tents.