Trip overview
A no-frills, full-immersion Mara safari for adventurous travellers. Group fixed-departures every Friday. Domed tents, communal meals, big skies, and the Mara at half the price.
The Mara on a real backpacker budget
Don't want to spend $3,000 to see Africa? Neither did we when we were younger. This is the safari that proves you can experience the Maasai Mara properly, Big Five, Big Cats, vast open plains, for under $700.
Group fixed-departures every Friday from Nairobi. Domed tents at a public camping site outside Sekenani Gate. Communal meals cooked over a fire. Shared 4×4 minivan with pop-up roof. Maximum 7 travellers per vehicle.
It's rugged. There's no swimming pool. The shower is a bucket. But the wildlife is exactly the same as the people in the $3,000 camps see, and you'll be drinking Tusker beer at the bonfire telling stories with Australians, Germans, Argentines and a Kenyan guide who's seen it all.
Day-by-day itinerary
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Day 1
Nairobi to Maasai Mara
Pickup from Nairobi (06:30). Long but scenic drive to the Mara via the Great Rift Valley viewpoint. Lunch at the campsite. Afternoon game drive.
🏕 Stay: Public camping outside Sekenani · 🍽 L/D
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Day 2
Full day Maasai Mara
Full day in the Mara with packed lunch. Look for lion prides, leopards, elephants, buffalo and (in season) the Great Migration crossings.
🏕 Stay: Same · 🍽 B/L/D
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Day 3
Full day Maasai Mara
Another full day of game drives or optional Maasai village visit (USD 30). Sunset back at camp, bonfire dinner.
🏕 Stay: Same · 🍽 B/L/D
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Day 4
Mara to Nairobi
Early morning game drive, breakfast, then the long drive back to Nairobi. Drop-off at your hotel or the airport (later afternoon).
🏕 Stay: None · 🍽 B/L
What's included
Included
- All park entrance fees
- Camping fees
- Domed tent (twin share), foam mattress
- All meals (cooked by camp chef)
- Shared 4x4 safari van
- Driver-guide
- Drinking water
- Pickup/drop-off Nairobi
Not included
- International flights
- Kenya eTA
- Sleeping bag (rent or bring)
- Travel insurance
- Drinks
- Optional balloon ($450)
- Maasai village visit ($30)
- Tipping
- Personal expenses
What guests say
I am a wildlife photographer and I have travelled across Africa for twenty years. Afriroam's knowledge of the conservancies and their relationships with the guides made this the most productive safari I have ever done. The lighting, the patience, the access, exceptional.
Our second safari, but our first with a Kenyan-owned operator, and it's the only way we'll travel here from now on. The conservancy stay was a revelation. We watched a leopard hunt at twilight from our tent. The Afriroam team handled every logistic from JFK to JKIA seamlessly.
Three generations of my family, me, my daughter and her two teenagers, and somehow Afriroam designed a trip that thrilled all of us. The kids loved cycling through Hell's Gate, my daughter loved the lodges, and I loved that everything just worked. Honest, kind, and brilliant at what they do.
