
The best safari locations in the Maasai Mara
Maasai Mara
contains seven busy public areas
seven quiet private reserves

the safari experience varies enormously area to area
We divide Maasai Mara into fourteen sub-areas. Most of our guests combine two or three of these areas, in order to ensure a great safari experience.
Seven of these areas are sectors of the public access reserves, which can experience horrific vehicle traffic and therefore need to be included with care.
The other seven areas are private conservancies, which not only do not suffer from high traffic, but also contain most of the best lodges and are able to offer a wider range of activities, notably including walking safari and night vehicle safari.
Given how much better the safari experience is in the private concessions, it may seem strange that anyone would want to stay in the public access areas. However, there can be valid reasons, at certain times of year or in order to stay in a few specific lodges.
The fourteen areas are listed here in order of descending popularity amongst our Kenya safari experts.
Maasai Mara’s key locations …
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Olare Motorogi is a prime private conservancy to the northwest of the main Maasai Mara reserve, with guest accommodation in a good range of camps, offering a wide range of safari and cultural experiences.
arguably the best of the private concessions
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara North is an excellent private conservancy to the northeast of the main Maasai Mara reserve, with guest accommodation in a good range of camps and offering a wide range of safari and cultural activities.
one of the best private concessions
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Naboisho is an excellent private conservancy to the north of the main Maasai Mara reserve, with guest accommodation in a handful of good camps and offering a wide range of high quality safari activities.
excellent private conservancy with a good mix of lodges
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Triangle is the sector of the Maasai Mara which is best known for migration river crossings Jul-Oct, with guest accommodation in a good range of properties and offering a decent range of safari and cultural activities. But with significant traffic issues.
separate reserve with migration river crossings
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Confluence is the sector of the Maasai Mara which is best known for migration river crossings Jul-Oct and has a very wide range of lodge options. But some serious traffic issues.
busy area with migration river crossings
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Governors is a sector of the Maasai Mara which has prodigious wildlife, especially during the Aug-Oct migration season, is well known for various BBC Wildlife documentaries and has some solid lodge options. But with traffic issues in high season.
sector of the main reserve with famous old lodges
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Ol Kinyei is a relatively small private conservancy to the northeast of the Maasai Mara, with guest accommodation in a handful of unusually earthy camps.
small private conservancy with mid-priced lodges
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Southeast is a relatively remote private conservancy to the east of the main Maasai Mara reserve, containing one particularly well-known upmarket camp.
remote private area with one very good lodge
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Lemek is a modest private conservancy which is a little too far removed from the main reserve, suffering from human encroachment and with a very modest range of accommodation options.
modest reserve that suffers from human encroachment
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Ol Chorro is one of the least attractive of the private conservancy areas in the Maasai Mara, with a real shortage of decent accommodation options.
marginal private conservancy with no recommend lodges
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Sekenani is one of the busiest and least attractive sectors of the Maasai Mara, with guest accommodation in dozens of largely very unattractive properties, but with a few better options in private areas.
the most busy and unpleasant area
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Northeast is a modest private conservancy a little too far to the north of the main reserve, with weaker wildlife and human encroachment issues.
a modest and little-used private conservancy
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Talek is one of the busiest and least attractive sectors of the Maasai Mara, with obvious and deeply upsetting human encroachment and guest accommodation in a range of largely poor quality properties.
badly polluted by encroaching development
Set 200 km west of Nairobi, Mara Keekorok is a sector of the Maasai Mara which is rather less scenic and interesting and has just one very large lodge, from which it is possible to access the prime Mara Confluence areas.
a relatively busy and uninteresting central area
let us know your thoughts about Kenya
and we will help you create the perfect trip

Extraordinary tailor-made adventures,
from earthy and edgy to easy and extravagant
From around USD 2500 per person, you set the ceiling
Sample Trips
Here are some of our popular trip shapes

Get started on your trip
It’s never too soon to get in touch, we are here to help with every stage of your planning.
Best Lodges
We regularly inspect and photograph all of the the best lodges, to ensure that we always recommend the most suitable options
Key Locations
Take a look around related locations. Click ‘View more’ to explore locations further afield.