I have been to the Mara and a number of other national parks in Kenya and have really enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of the parks. When planning my visits one of the questions that came to mind is how many days do you need in Masai Mara in order to experience its full beauty?
You should spend a minimum of 4 days and three nights at the Masai Mara for you to enjoy the full scope of wildlife in the park. Four days and Three nights will allow you to have 4 game drives for the length of your stay and allow you enough time to rest when you arrive at the park. In this article, I will break down the ideal itinerary for the Masai Mara and alternatives for those on tighter schedules or more time in their hands.
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Minimum time Recommended for the Masai Mara
At the very least, you should plan to spend 4 days 3 nights at the Masai Mara in order to view the a good percentage of the variety of wildlife and sceneries in the park. The Masai Mara is a big place and 4 days would give you sufficient time to explore the most interesting parts of the park.
Here is an itinerary of what this would look like
- Day 1: You arrive in the Mara after a long drive from Nairobi. Get some rest and get ready for an early morning game drive. You may get the chance to have an evening game drive on this first day
- Day 2 & 3: go for a morning game drive, rest at midday, then go for another game drive. in the evening.
- Day 5: Drive back to Nairobi.
If you are flying to the Masai Mara, you can do the three days and 2 nights.
Doing the trip this way will leave room for you to rest sufficiently if you drove to the Mara.
Number of days in the Mara when on a tight budget.
If you are on a tight budget, plan to spend at least 2 days in the Mara. The two tour drives that you will have on just one day of touring will not be sufficient for you to experience the Masai Mara’s Beauty sufficiently.
Should I spend all my safari in The Mara or should I visit other parks in Kenya
Most of the other National parks in Kenya have the same kinds of wildlife as the Masai Mara. If you were forced to visit just one park in Kenya, You should visit the Mara.
I found this interesting guided tour by Intrepid Travel that explores the Masai Heartland and gives you an opportunity to interact closely with the local Maasai people. This would be the perfect tour for someone seeking to understand the culture of the people in Masai Mara while also experiencing the wildlife and amazing views.
Having said that, there are a number of other national parks you can also visit even after visiting the Mara:
- The Lake Nakuru National park is a lovely smaller park that is home to rhino and flamingos and is definitely worth a visit even after visiting the Mara
- The Olpajeta conservancy is a lovely nature preserve in the Wonderful and cold Nanyuki and is home to white rhino and a number of other rare animals.
Is the Maasai Village worth going to?
When planning your visit to the Mara, you will find suggestions that you should visit the Maasai Village which is a village. This is a traditional Maasai Village where you get to experience the way the traditional Maasai people live their lives.
Even as a Kenyan, I am constantly fascinated by the traditions of the Maasai and whenever, I get to interact with them, it’s always a lovely experience. The Maasai are the last of the Kenyan tribes to still keep a lot of their traditions and ways of life. It’s always interesting to watch them as they conduct their traditional dances and ceremonies.
The thing about the Maasai Village is that, even though the village has Maasai who dress in Traditional clothing, they may not be Maasais. It’s very likely that they are people from other Kenyan tribes pretending to be Maasais. The Maasai Vilage is usually a camp set up by locals looking to give a show and make some money through the entry fee and the curios they sell you.
If you are looking for an authentic experience with actual Masai villagers, you may get disappointed. Though there will be an interesting show of how the Maasai Live their life, you need to keep in mind that its still a show and not the truly authentic thing.
As I was doing my research for this article, I found a tourist who had a terrible experience at one of these Masai villages. If you would like to see the forum post, here it is.
If experiencing the Masai Culture is something you are keen on, you should check out the guided tour I mentioned earlier by Intrepid travel. Based on what I found, they have a partnership with actual Masaai villages in Masai Mara and Serengeti so the cultural interactions will be more authentic.
10 Tips on Travelling to the Mara
1. Buy your curious in Nairobi Maasai Market. Its cheaper and better quality
When buying African jewellery and gift items, you should not buy them from the Mara. They will usually be priced really expensively and may not be of exceptional quality. Instead of the Mara, you should go to the Maasai Market in Nairobi. It is an open-air market in Nairobi that has a wide selection of jewellery, handicrafts, fabrics and gift items made with the traditional African feel.
When I visited the Maasai Market Near the Globe Cinema Round About (here is the google maps location),I found them to have a really good selection of curios.
2. Prepare to Haggle and Negotiate
When buying anything from a Kenyan, as a tourist, you will always attract a price hike. My American friend Dave used to call it “Mzungu Price” (White Man’s Price). In your interactions with Kenya’s vendors, you will need to learn not to take the price you are quoted as the final price. The average Kenyan business person will be ready to negotiate and will, generally, be offended if you try to negotiate. This is especially the case when you are dealing with an individual seller as opposed to a company. Eg. when buying curios from the Maasai Market
3. If you can drive to the Mara then fly back
If you have the budget for it, you should drive to the Mara then fly back to Nairobi or the Kenyan coast. This has a few advantages:
- This will allow you to experience the beauty of Kenya from both perspectives.
- The drive to the Mara is really bumpy. You will spend half of your 6-hour drive there in insanely bad roads. This may be fun when coming to the Mara, but after spending 6 days in the Mara, you will not want to endure the ride back.
- Flying back will allow you to travel quickly to the Kenyan coast within one day. If you were to drive back to Nairobi then to Mombasa, it would take you two days on the road.
4. Stay in your car on game drives
When out on tour drives, you should always stay within your car and don’t dangle your hands outside of the tour van. You are out in the wild and there is the real danger of getting attacked by an animal if you don’t follow this simple rule.
5. Wear Neutral clothing when on a game drive
When out on a touring drive, you do not want to call attention to yourself with what you wear. Blending in with the background will help you observe the animals without spooking them away or creating unwanted attention. Go for pastel neutral colours like green and brown.
6. The best time to go to the Mara
The best time to visit the Mara is during the great migration. This usually happens between July and September. Keep in mind that everyone wants to come to the Mara at this time and the park will be very crowded.
7. Plan to visit the beach for a few days
No Kenyan Safari is complete without a visit to the Kenyan Beaches. They are beautiful, white sandy beaches that are perfect after spending several days in the dusty roads of the Mara.
8. Look for a good Driver/Tour-guide
Getting a good tour guide is one of the greatest assets you can get when going to the Mara. Usually, the tour van drivers double up as tour guides and will usually work with the park staff to help you find the best animal sightings and best spots. With a good driver, you may end up witnessing a predator hunt or something as spectacular as a dramatic River Mara crossing by the Wildebeest
9. Prepare for a lot of dust or mud
The Mara is either really dusty or really muddy most of the time. This means that if you are coming with sensitive camera equipment, ensure you have a bag to put them away when not in use. This will protect them from the dust.
As for the mud, there are sections of the Mara where the roads get bad and if you are unfortunate enough to get stuck on this kind of road, you have very interesting stories to tell.
10. Pack for chilly evenings
The Mara can get chilly, especially in the months of June and July. Pack a sweater or shawl for the evenings. Also, pack long sleeve shirts and long trousers for the evenings due to the mosquitos. If you will be seated outside for your dinner, you will thank me that you had packed your trousers.
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