Masai Mara safari

Park entry fees

The Masai Mara National Reserve is managed by Narok County Government, and fees are seasonal.

Narok County Government, as at September 2026. East African citizen and resident rates also apply, on production of national ID or a passport with a valid residence endorsement.

Fees no longer depend on whether your lodge sits inside or outside the reserve. Any source quoting USD 70 or 80 is out of date.

Narok, not KWS

Mara fees are collected by Narok County, not the Kenya Wildlife Service. Travellers who have pre-loaded funds into a KWS eCitizen account for Amboseli or Lake Nakuru cannot use them here. Payment goes through the Narok County portal instead. The Mara Triangle, managed separately by the Mara Conservancy on the western side, charges the same rates but is cashless only.

The Great Migration

The wildebeest herds move between the Serengeti and the Mara annually, and the Mara River crossings fall roughly between July and October. Crossings are not scheduled events — herds gather at the bank and may or may not go, sometimes for days. Patience is the requirement, and any operator guaranteeing you a crossing is selling something they do not control.

Outside those months the Mara is still excellent. Resident predator density here is unusually high year-round, and without the migration crowds you have far fewer vehicles at each sighting.

Reserve or conservancies

The reserve is the government-managed core, and it is where the river crossings happen. The conservancies along the northern boundary — Mara North, Naboisho, Olare Motorogi, Ol Kinyei and others — are community-owned land leased from Maasai families. They cap vehicle numbers at sightings, and they permit walking safaris and night drives that the reserve does not.

Conservancy fees are typically folded into the lodge rate rather than paid at a gate, which is why a conservancy lodge can look more expensive on paper while costing less than it appears once park fees are added to the alternative.

Getting there from Nairobi

• Light aircraft from Wilson Airport — about 45 minutes to the Mara airstrips. Most travellers on shorter trips fly.
• Road — five to six hours, with the Rift Valley escarpment viewpoint on the way. Cheaper, and a genuine experience rather than dead time, but it costs you the better part of two days across the round trip.

How long to stay

Three nights minimum. Two means one full day of game driving, which does not justify the transfer either way. Four gives you the margin to wait out a crossing during migration season, which is exactly when you want that margin.