Top Lodges in Masai Mara: Masai Mara ranks among Kenya’s most popular national parks. It sits in the southwestern part of Kenya and covers 1,510 square kilometers of vast wilderness. The park is world-famous for the Great Annual Wildebeest Migration and offers outstanding wildlife sightings, including the African Big Five, big cats, and hundreds of bird species.

The park welcomes large numbers of tourists every year. Fortunately, its wide range of lodges and camps comfortably accommodates families, couples, and groups of friends.

Accommodation options range from budget to mid-range to luxury. During the low season, budget lodges start from $90 to $150 per person per night. Mid-range lodges begin at $170 to $250, while luxury lodges start from $300. However, during peak season, rates generally double.

Additionally, private conservancies surrounding the Mara offer more secluded and exclusive stays. These camps and lodges provide a variety of exciting activities, including horseback safaris, night game drives, nature walks, and community visits.

If you are planning a Kenya safari, here are our top recommended lodges and camps in the Masai Mara.

Keekorok Lodge

Keekorok Lodge is the oldest lodge in the Masai Mara and is located in the heart of the reserve. It is located just 1.3 miles away from the Mara River and approximately 15 minutes from Keekorok Airstrip. The lodge provides elegant traditional lodging with private courtyards. It has an outdoor pool with a patio and spectacular Mara views. Keekorok lodge consists of 99 spacious rooms with private en-suite bathrooms. The rooms are beautifully designed with marble floors, fireplaces, and a minibar. They have a ceiling fan, hypoallergenic bedding, a mosquito net, and balconies overlooking the garden and swimming pool.

The Hippo bar at Keekorok Lodge overlooks the lake and provides traditional cuisine and drinks. The Elephant Deck restaurant serves authentic Savannah meals to guests. There is also a 24-hour front desk and a children’s play area within the resort. Keekorok lodge also provides airport transfers, BBQ facilities, a swimming pool, a spa and wellness center, security, free private parking, free internet access, daily housekeeping, laundry, and a business center. Activities offered at the lodge include game drives, walking safaris, horseback riding, hot air balloon safaris, Maasai Village visits, bush breakfasts, picnics, dinners, etc.

Angama Lodge

Angama Lodge is a luxury safari lodge perched on the Great African Rift Valley escarpment, overlooking the Masai Mara. The lodge gets its name from a Swahili word that means “suspended in mid-air.” Recently established in the Mara, the lodge offers luxury accommodation in two separate camps, each with 15 en-suite tented cottages. The cottages are spacious and fully furnished in an African setting, with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that give guests breathtaking views.

Guests at Angama lodge will enjoy facilities such as a fitness center, restaurant and bar, craft shop, solar, laundry services, parking, and babysitting, among others.

Governor’s Private Camp

This luxury safari camp perches in the forest along the winding Mara River banks. The camp, which is located on a scenic bend of the Mara River, was created in 1972 with new luxury camp standards and was the first tented camp in the Masai Mara Reserve. Because of its strategic position, the camp was designated for the colonial Governors of Kenya under colonial rule, thus its name. The camp features 7 spacious tents, some of which are located on the riverbed, providing excellent views of the spectacular wildebeest crossings as well as other exotic wildlife, including crocodiles and hippos.

The tents also provide panoramic views of the Mara’s vast open grassland. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with a shower, sink, hot and cold running water, a flush toilet, and a private verandah. The camp’s well-stocked bar offers views of the Mara River. The restaurant is thrillingly fantastic on its own, with a continental breakfast and a full English buffet available.

The camp also offers a bush supper and bush breakfast for an additional fee. The camp also features a spa tent where visitors may receive services such as massages, manicures, pedicures, and facials. Other amenities available to Governor’s Camp guests include free Wi-Fi, daily housekeeping, parking space, a 24-hour front desk, and a souvenir shop, among others. Activities here include hot air balloon safaris, bush meals, game drives, horseback safaris, and cultural encounters.

Mara Legends Camp

The camp is situated on the banks of the Olare Orok River within the Masai Mara. It was made by a dedicated photographer and sits in a natural bush forest, which is why it is often frequented by photographers and filmmakers. The camp has 12 big and luxurious en-suite tents that are completely outfitted with an exquisite and inviting environment. The rooms have en-suite bathrooms, showers, wash basins, a writing desk with a lamp, a seating area, and a locker. The camp also includes a large, well-appointed dining area where guests may have a delicious meal while on safari in the Mara. Other amenities include a fireplace, lounge area, safe parking, restrooms, room service, and a kitchen.

Activities at Mara Legends Camp include game drives, safari walks, Masai Village visits, bird watching, guided bush walks, sundowners, and bush breakfasts, to mention but a few.

Sand River by Elewana Camp

Sand River Camp is a luxury lodge located on the banks of the Sand River, from where the camp derives its name. The Serengeti is a wonderful place for its gorgeous landscape and abundant animals, running through the Masai Mara near the Tanzanian border. The camp has 16 tented campgrounds and maintains a sense of intimacy. The camp has two tents, one of which is larger and is ideal for families. The tents are visually appealing, with an Out of Africa style and décor. The tents also have observation decks, which are excellent for gazing at the Mara wilderness.

More facilities and amenities at Sand River lodge include a restaurant, a lounge, a dining area, a swimming pool, free internet access, parking space, laundry, room service, etc.

Olare Mara Kempinski Lodge

Olare Mara Kempinski is located in the Masai Mara at the center of the Olare Orok conservancy. The camp offers 12 luxurious en-suite tents, each well-equipped with four fitted beds and other equipment, all meant to meet current African standards for beautiful comforts. The camp’s one tent is a honeymoon tent, with a well-furnished interior and a swimming pool. There is also a central lounge and eating room, bar, and swimming pool.

Olare Mara Kempinski features a large organic garden that depicts ecology. It also offers expert guides and rangers to assist guests on their safaris, as well as a spa and an en suite bathroom with hot and cold showers and a flushing toilet. Activities at the camp include bush walks, game drives, and cultural visits to the Maasai.

Fairmont Mara Safari Club

This luxurious hotel combines the comfort and facilities of a premium resort hotel with a classic safari experience. The Safari Club is positioned in the Ol-Choro Oiroua Conservation Area along the Mara River at the base of the Aitong Hills. The Safari Club is made up of 51 elegantly furnished tents, each with its own Apitong viewing deck from which travelers may see crocodiles and hippos. Each room has four-poster beds with pillow-top mattresses and excellent linens, a three-piece en-suite bathroom with solar-heated hot and cold running water, a refreshment center, an in-room safe, and a wireless telephone.

Fairmont also features a lodge with a warm welcome lobby, a well-equipped library with a good internet connection, a dining room, a swimming pool, and a stylish lounge space. Guests at Fairmont can enjoy outdoor buffet meals, visit and interact with the native Maasai, explore the Mara on foot, and enjoy wildlife viewing on safari game drives.

Enkorok Mara

Located in Masai Mara’s Sienna Conservancy, the lodge sits on 30 acres of private land overlooking the Oloolotikoshi Hills, which are perfect for amazing sundowners for guests staying at the camp. Enkorok lodge boasts a strategic position lying 2.5 km from the Olalaimutia gate and 20 km from Keekorok Airstrip.

Offering accommodation in twin, double, family, and triple rooms, Enkorok camp offers fully furnished rooms with en-suite bathrooms, mosquito nets, televisions, dressing mirrors, power, and stunning views. Each tent has a sitting area where guests can relax and gaze at the distant plains of the Mara. Other facilities at the camp include Tamu Tamu restaurant – a grass-thatched hut that offers delicious menus, both local and international, and it also caters to vegetarians. The restaurant also offers bush meals served by well-trained professional chefs. Enkorok Mara camp also has a well-stocked bar, free parking space, free WIFI, laundry services, solar energy, and a craft shop, among other facilities.

Crocodile Camp

The camp sits on the banks of the Talek River and is the best place to stay if you want to enjoy the Talek River. Above all, Crocodile Camp has 9 en-suite spacious tents with hot and cold showers and a flushing toilet. The camp also provides for any guests who want to rent a tent or campsite to bring their own tent. Besides, Guests staying at Crocodile camp can enjoy breathtaking views from the terrace, enjoy delicious meals and drinks at the camp’s restaurant/bar, and those camping have a kitchen to make their meals. Activities at Crocodile camp include game drives, bush meals, Maasai village visits, nature walks, etc.

Enchoro Wildlife Camp

Top Lodges in Masai Mara: Enchoro Wildlife Camp is a budget-tented camp located in the Eastern region of the Masai Mara, close to the Oloolaimutia gate in Narok. However, The camp has 3 various accommodation styles offered: campsite, mid-range, and luxury tented camps. The camp has 27 spacious and comfortable tents, both standard and superior tents. Enchoro also has a campsite where visitors station their tents.

Amenities offered at Enchoro wildlife camp include a restaurant and well-stocked bar, airport transfers, a 24-hour front desk, daily housekeeping, a swimming pool, a game room, free parking space, etc. Activities here include safari walks, Maasai Village visits, game drives, hot air balloon safaris, and bush meals.