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Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara

Reviews of Kicheche Mara

Wildlife sightings and reviews

95 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kicheche Mara and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Aug-2018, 65 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Kicheche Mara.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

68% success

Cheetah

91% success

Wild dog

4% success

Buffalo

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Spotted Hyena

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Eland

92% success

Striped Hyena

6% success

Black Rhino

5% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 71-80 of 95
Duration
Arrival date
Ms N
London

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 27 Aug 2018
"Kicheche Mara feels the most like a bush camp of the Kicheche camps in its somewhat simpler tents and decor and and there are always animals close by or passing through in the night (including the occasional elephant preventing you getting to your tent after dinner). It is set in beautiful green country and is part of a huge conservancy with the whole range of landscape and thus animals.

The staff are exceptionally friendly, welcoming and attentive. I stayed there briefly 3 years ago with my grandson and every staff member who was there then remembered us and our time with them and asked about him. The relief manager was excellent and went out of her way to be inclusive and helpful and the permanent manager was terrific in celebrating the honeymoon of two of the guests. The food was delicious.

Our guide was excellent in his knowledgeable tracking and positioning - several times amazing us with where he drove off to only to find the animals heading straight in our direction. He felt very committed to giving us the best animal viewing and at the same time to the welfare of the animals. There was a great variety of animals and we saw many lions and cheetahs (though we missed the leopards)." See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Miss G.
Newark

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 27 Aug 2018
"Our tent here wasn't particularly large but was well furnished and clean. The bathroom was better than expect as they have recently gotten rid of the bucket showers and replaced them with real running water. All the staff were really friendly and helpful and tried to make you feel at home.

We loved how the emphasis here is on game drives and  everything else is secondary, well it was in our jeep anyway (I'm sure you can chose to be out for less time if you want to?). Most days we left at 6am and didn't return until just before lunch, taking breakfast with us. In the afternoon we went out from 4pm until just before dinner, enjoying a sundowner every night wherever the viewing was at its best. The first night we spend it next to a pride of 20 lions.

Our guide George was brilliant, he made sure we saw everything we wanted. He was an expert at predicting where the animals would go next so whilst everyone else were chasing the animals getting pictures of their backside, George had us positioned perfectly to watch the animal come to us. This happened on numerous occasions and it meant we got great pics.  Not only was he a great guide but a very nice person who was a pleasure to spend so much time around and very knowledgeable.

We spend one full day in the reserve and surprisingly actually saw less animals than we had in the conservancy. It was also very very busy with Jeeps. We did manage after waiting patiently for 3 hrs to see a river crossing which was fab although a bit brutal. After visiting the reserve we were glad that we had chosen to stay in the conservancy and do most of our game drives there.

We enjoyed sitting around the camp fire for a pre dinner drink before enjoyable evening meals. The only small issue was no pre warning on what you were going to have for dinner so if you didn't like it tough luck. We had an enjoyable but slightly cringe worthy experience at dinner on our last night where all the staff came out singing and dancing to celebrate our recent nuptials. We all then enjoyed a glass of bubbly which was great." See all these reviews: 15n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

6 sightings

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

6 sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

6 sightings

Lion

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Wildebeest

5 sightings

Zebra

5 sightings

Mrs S
Leatherhead

"AMAZING! We didn't want to leave!"

4 nights Arrived 19 Aug 2018
"We only have positive things to say about Kicheche Mara!

The setting, the animals, the accommodation, the food, but most importantly, the staff, made it the most memorable family holiday.

Even after 4 days of early mornings and off roading, we could have taken more! Just fantastic." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 5n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

9 sightings

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

9 sightings

Spotted Hyena

9 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mrs
Weybridge

"In the wild "

3 nights Arrived 9 Aug 2018
"Tents in the wild make you feel so good." See all these reviews: 6n in Kenya; 5n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms S
Ste Marthe

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 9 Mar 2018
"This location afforded the best viewing of animals ...so many animals including leopard (a first for me) and so much more. I again had the pleasure of our two incredible guides, Jimmy and Francis. I spent most of the time there with Francis, again because of a shared passion for the bird life.

We saw many families of animals, including mongoose, hyena, lion etc., etc. Even say a lioness transferring her very young cubs to a new location. These last days on safari were truly magical.

I would also like to mention the 2 wondeful managers, especially Tony, who took the time to introduce me to the local expert in medicinal plants (a long standing interest of mine, which has taken me to other parts of Africa to study traditional medicine). Tony did an excellent job of simultaneous interpretation and it was a fascinating time.

The only negative with respect to Mara North was its size (many more people than we were used to) and this led to a loss of familiarity. Meals were served at a very long table which made conversation difficult and it was noisy. Having said that, I do understand that business is business!" See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Steve H
Cumbria

"Brilliant Kicheche Mara Camp"

6 nights Arrived 21 Feb 2018
"Thanks to everyone for another wonderful stay at Kicheche Mara Camp, including Aki, Andy and Raymond - all very convivial managers. Thank you too, Michael for your thought for the day each evening and your consideration in providing one for me to read in Nairobi on my journey home!

Brilliant food. Amazing location and comfortable tents. Very well looked after throughout.

So many exciting wildlife experiences thanks to the knowledge and skill of Francis. Staying 6 nights again allowed for patience to wait, absorbing the atmosphere and letting situations unfold to generate a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the residents of this amazing corner of Africa.

Every visit seems to get better. I don't think I've ever seen so many lions!" See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
SueD
UK

"Happy experience"

4 nights Arrived 18 Feb 2018
"Enjoyed my stay here. Aki was lovely, very kind and helpful, my guides David and intern John were excellent, the staff in general very attentive (and the animal sightings were brilliant). This tented camp has a great atmosphere, relaxed and friendly, and the staff really seem to care that you have a happy time here and go out of their way to make sure you do." See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Dr W & Dr D
Leeds

"My favourite camp"

5 nights Arrived 4 Feb 2018
"I love this camp more than any other I have stayed at.

It is set in a beautiful valley with fantastic views from the tents. The staff are very welcoming and remember you when you make return visits.

Also, the wildlife viewing in Mara North is excellent." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr V
Texas

"Kicheche Mara review"

4 nights Arrived 2 Feb 2018
"The tents at Kicheche Mara were simpler affairs than those at the other two Kicheche camps where we stayed, smaller and with less natural ventilation and no enclosed sitting area, but their location above a shady tree-lined creek bed was arguably the most attractive setting we had. Although the food was a little more straightforward than at Laikipia, that wasn’t an issue with us, and everything was very good.

The gracious and outgoing manager, Raymond, was very hands-on, and our guide, Francis, was excellent. His intuition, determination, and patience paid off, leading us to witness an unforgettable kill by a single lionness. Francis could tell that she was interested in this particular hunt, and at his urging, we stayed with her over the course of several hours until it all unfolded just as he had predicted it might. Now that is superb guiding.

As at the other Kicheche properties, morning drives began at 6:00 AM, with breakfast in the bush and returns shortly after noon, just in time to freshen up before lunch at 1:00 (unless you were on a great sighting, and then lunch became secondary). This is exactly the type of camp we desired — it had everything we needed, but management never lost sight of the fact that we were here for the wildlife.

Only 4 of the 6 tents were occupied during our stay, but to Kicheche’s credit, they kept all their guides and vehicles operating, so we each had a private guide and vehicle, which was an exceptional privilege and really enhanced our experience there.

I could not be happier with the ethos behind Kicheche’s approach to safari. They’ve really got their priorities in order, and the fact that the majority of guests we met at both Mara and Bush camps were repeat customers (some had been coming for years) is a testament to their success in this area." See all these reviews: 14n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr W
Stockton

"Kicheche Mara review"

4 nights Arrived 7 Nov 2017
"Another excellent camp. Location was fantastic. Felt at home straight away with the host Ray and all of the team. Guiding from Anthony was excellent. Very knowledgeable and a really nice guy. Tents were more than generous and kept nice and clean. Great leopard sightings. Cheetah and lions feeding. A real wildlife highlight to my trip. Thank you so much for a great experience ." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Showing 71-80 of 95
99%
95 reviews of Kicheche Mara by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
89
5
1
0
0
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Alternative places to stay in this same area.


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Kicheche Walking Wilderness

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Porini Lion Camp

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