Masai Mara: Holidays

It is possible to camp in the Masai Mara, although most of the campsites are very basic. It is best to book one of the sites run by the Maasai, although only one of these offers showers and toilets! There are strict rules for your own safety in these sites. They prohibit anyone from straying too far from the site or going on night game drives. However, if you’re up for a bit of adventure, camping in the Masai Mara could be a camping holiday with a difference!

It is also possible to book camping safaris to the Masai Mara either from Nairobi or Mombasa or before you leave home. These offer a budget way to see the Masai Mara and include the services of a guide, a camp cook, tents, camp toilets, food and park fees.

As most travel around the Masai Mara is by vehicle, and most safari lodges offer accommodation on one floor only, disabled access for the visitor to the Masai Mara is relatively good.

There are dedicated holiday companies that provide safaris specifically for physically challenged holidaymakers to the Masai Mara, with adapted vehicles, and more guides and helpers than on the average safari vehicle, but as most lodges and camps offer a personal service anyway, it’s worth enquiring about their facilities for disabled visitors to the Masai Mara.
 

Taking your children to see fantastic animals such as lion, cheetah and wildebeest in their natural habitat will be a wonderful experience in the Masai Mara. However, most safari lodges will not accept children under eight, although this is sometimes flexible, so it’s worth asking at individual camps and lodges if you think your child is up to the challenge.

Remember that the drive to the Masai Mara is a long one if you’re not flying into the reserve, and that a stay in a safari lodge usually involves early starts, a long rest during the middle of the day, and then game drives and dinner in the evening. In safari vehicles in the Masai Mara, guests often need to be still and quiet in order to get the best viewing opportunities, so if your child is a fidget, it might be best to wait until they’re a little older to visit the Masai Mara. However, surely few children could fail to be amazed by seeing the sort of wildlife they only see on TV, and a visit to the Masai Mara could turn out to be the holiday of a lifetime for them.

Some holiday companies do offer family-friendly safaris, with children’s menus and the opportunity to book Kenyan nannies to look after the children. Some are even surrounded by electric fences to keep wildlife out, which could be comforting to parents! The Heritage Group’s camps in the Masai Mara even offer children’s activities for 4-12 year-olds in their Adventurer’s Club.
 

While sex between men is illegal in Kenya, attitudes towards the gay community are starting to change in the country. However, it is mostly seen as an ‘un-African’ practice, and is still taboo, and lesbians remain virtually invisible. Discretion is advised to gay travellers to Kenya, and the best way to visit the Masai Mara is by using a gay and lesbian tour group.

With luxury accommodation, fantastic wildlife viewing, private rooms with balconies and verandahs overlooking the bush or water, it’s hard to imagine a more romantic place to spend a honeymoon than the Masai Mara.

The personal service that many of the more upmarket lodges offer is just perfect for the honeymoon couple visiting the Masai Mara.You may have a private verandah for dining, and even your own butler to bring cool drinks as the sun goes down over the Masai Mara. And with the added excitement of seeing a wonder like the great wildebeest migration, or going on a night-time game drive, or a balloon safari followed by a champagne breakfast, a honeymoon in the Masai Mara will leave you with a lifetime of memories. If you want more privacy, ensure that your lodge will offer you private game drives and trips – but be prepared to pay for it!

And remember that there are some early mornings involved – although many people on safari in the Masai Mara retire to their tents/lodges for a few hours in the middle of the day, which could be perfect for honeymooners!
 

Bring a touch of romance to your holiday with a safari in the Masai Mara. Couples on holiday in the Masai Mara can share some fantastic experiences together – balloon safaris, wildlife watching and visiting a Maasai village. And with most safari camps offering accommodation in private tents or bungalows, couples on holiday in the Masai Mara also enjoy plenty of privacy. You may have a private verandah on which to sit back and enjoy an evening drink – or even dinner. Choose the right accommodation and you can both enjoy swimming in the pool, or even some spa treatments together. Fine food, fine accommodation and fine experiences will make sure that couples enjoy a trip to remember in the Masai Mara.

With some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on the planet, the Masai Mara is the most popular game reserve in Africa. Visitors to the Masai Mara have the chance to spot the Big Five – lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard – as well as a host of animals including giraffe, antelope, cheetah and many more. Birdwatchers won’t be disappointed on a visit to the Masai Mara either – there’s more than 450 species recorded.

And of course the Masai Mara is the venue for the most spectacular migration of wildebeest and zebra from July to October. The Masai Mara has been the subject of hundreds of wildlife documentaries – most recently the Big Cat Diaries – so it’s not hard to see why so many people want to experience the Masai Mara for themselves.
 

Many of the more upmarket safari lodges in the Masai Mara offer spa treatments. Saruni Camp offers its treatments in the Masai Wellbeing Space where treatments merge European beauty techniques with Maasai knowledge. At the end of a facial, for instance, you may enjoy a compress made using the leaves of an African relative of the sage bush soaked in water. Expect to pay from about £168 a night at this Masai Mara haven.

There are even companies that combine a week of yoga, aromatherapy and meditation with a safari in the Masai Mara, with the addition of walks in the bush with a local witch doctor. And if you’re on holiday with your other half, who relishes adventure, while you enjoy being pampered, a luxury lodge with spa treatments in the Masai Mara could be the ideal compromise.
 

If you long to escape from a cold winter, the Masai Mara will certainly offer to warm you up during the months of November through to March. However, November and March are the rainy seasons in the Masai Mara, so don’t expect to escape precipitation at these times of the year. December and January are particularly hot and dry, and very good for spotting wildlife – and taking the chance to soak up a few rays by the side of the pool at your safari lodge.

With long days starting early morning to head out and see all that the Masai Mara has to offer, and warm evenings spent enjoying dinner while regaling fellow guests, if you fancy winter sun, with the added bonus of fantastic wildlife viewing, a stunning landscape and the chance of a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, book a trip to the Masai Mara. If you really want a winter sun holiday on the beach, book a holiday in Mombasa, then book a short safari trip to the Masai Mara, for the ideal combination.