Reviews of safaris to Maasai Mara National Reserve
123 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Maasai Mara.
"Out of Africa"
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Hard to improve on excellence." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari
"2nd trip to Mara - all expectations exceeded"
Olivia and Richard were of invaluable help in planning and executing our trip, and I particularly appreciated their commitment to understanding our needs and expectations and ensuring that the trip they recommended was the best possible match for us. They found us late availability at popular camps and secured us competitive pricing that matched direct rates with the lodges concerned, but came with all the advantages of dealing with an experienced agency and a single point of contact.
Unlike other agencies, I never felt that they were promoting or selling specific camps with whom they may have preferential commission arrangements - I genuinely felt that their only objective was to meet the needs of their customers as best they could. This, in my view, is the key to a successful agency and repeat business, and we will certainly be using Expert Africa for our next trip.
It's also worth mentioning that the lodges were aware of our backgrounds, travel experience and preferences / objectives before we arrived, thanks to the information passed on in advance by Expert Africa. This was another plus, reflecting a high standard of customer service and attention to detail.
The team also did an excellent job of managing our expectations in terms of areas where the camps we visited might be different from places we had visited in the past. Our past travel history did include one of the most famously luxurious camps in the Mara, and so we were prepared that certain aspects of the camps we were visiting may not quite match what we had experienced before, but the overall safari experience would still be first class.
I'm pleased to say that the safari experience and the guiding matched or exceeded the best of what we had experienced in the past, exactly as the promised by the team. And in terms of the relative simplicity of the camps themselves, I can honestly say that I didn't notice all that much difference from what we had experienced before, and that this aspect of the trip far exceeded our expectations.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep up the good work." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari
"My Aug 2019 trip"
I thought the locations and camps were well balanced and excellent. I loved the Maasia Mara, the people and the amazing amount of wildlife that we saw there. We successfully saw three Wilderbeest crossings which was the icing on the cake!
I thought that Clare listened to our requirements and did a great job in fulfilling them." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari
" Masai Mara 2019"
The camps, staff( particularly the guides) were outstanding as were the wildlife sightings. We collected some of the best photographs we have ever taken largely thanks to the guides.
Expert Africa organised an efficient, well planned trip which we will remember for a long time.
Particular highlights( and there were many) include: the hot air balloon trip, wildebeests crossing the Mara river. Very, very close encounters with big and small cats. Leopards under the jeep and lion cubs on the bonnet.
The enthusiasm friendliness and efficiency of all the staff was hard to fault.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
It is difficult to think how the service could be improved and we would use Expert Africa again and recommend it to friends.
Keep up the good work!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari
"My Aug 2019 trip"
"Trip of a lifetime"
We then spent a long time with Richard Trillo and his team discussing options and then left it to him to put together an extended trip to hopefully tick all the boxes on our wish list.
ALL BOXES TICKED, this was a fantastic journey through 5 African countries, we have seen and experienced so much, so a VERY BIG THANK YOU to Expert Africa for arranging this for us.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No, just carry on doing what you're doing now - it would be very hard to improve what you're already doing so well." Read full review: 44 nights in Africa; 17 on a Kenya safari
"My Feb 2019 trip"
Standard of all our lodges was very high indeed." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari
"Safari trip to Kenya/Tanzania"
Saw wide variety of game and birds, 30 mammals plus other species, over 90 bird species.
All the camps were comfortable and the people staffing them were delightful
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Quite happy with my experience so far" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari
"Kenya Safari review"
Olivia was very responsive and helped customize our trip based on our wants. She kept us up-to-date on any flight changes which was very helpful.
We loved the rough guide to Kenya that we received, it was nice to read.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We ended up staying 4 days in Masai Mara because they were running a special 4 nights for 3 days cost. We had a great time at Basecamp and saw a lot but it might have been too much time in one place. We had 7 nights total, I think it would be possible to fit a 3rd location into our itinerary for those that are looking for a more strenuous trip.
The Rough Guide to Kenya was great however you may want to consider sending it a little earlier on in the process if feasible. Our itinerary was already set by the time we received it so if we read about something we were interested in, we couldn't change anything." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
"October Kenya safari & Lamu dream holiday"
The four legs of the trip - Borana in the Highlands, a not for profit conservancy which is helping re-establish the black rhino to the first Maasai-owned Camp in the Mara, to six days on Lamu island, a centre of Swahili culture, provided wonderful contrasts and very different experiences.
We could not have wished for a more perfect trip which exceeded all expectations. Now we would love to explore more of Kenya and see more of sub-Saharan Africa. Problem is, we also loved where we went and would like to return to these places and people too! Not the worst problem to have...asante sana, Expert Africa!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Expert Africa could offer a bit more information about activities in addition to quality of camps and lodges -- including interrogating the interests of a family group in order to get them to plan more of what they can get out of a trip. We didn't realise until the end of our first day at Borana, for example, that horse riding really offered the chance of a safari on horseback - and this then made Borana very special.
On the other hand, the flexibility of the Expert Africa team in allowing us to stay at a friend's private accommodation on Lamu was greatly appreciated. The process of building up the itinerary was a very positive experience and I trusted Richard Trillo's advice and in depth knowledge.
On the quote: It would have been nice to have had more of a breakdown of costs and options as I didn't feel able to weigh up alternatives fully. On the other hand, the itinerary was fairly fixed when it came to where we wanted to go on safari.
Finding ways of helping providers be as green as possible would be beneficial - not just conserving species (and we did donate to the Rhino International fund) but also ways of eliminating plastic in camps is important as these are visible ways of leaving less impact. After all, the Kenyan government has banned all plastic bags, so camps and airlines including safarilink should be encouraged to have refillable water canteens, etc. And camps can easily switch.
On Lamu - I would certainly explore the growing private villa/house rental options as these a fun, private and often of historic interest. Otherwise, airbnb and tripadvisor will take a share of your future business....(Our situation was coincidental and through a friend who owns a place with bandas at the end of the island...)
In summary, I rate Expert Africa highly and would recommend you to others! Many thanks." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari
Where to stay in Maasai Mara
Our suggestions for safari camps in Maasai Mara National Reserve
Rekero
Rekero is an unpretentious, high-end safari camp, for travellers who take their wildlife watching seriously and are prepared to pay for an exceptional location.
Little Governors'
Little Governors’ Camp sits by a swamp (an old oxbow of the Mara River) in the Mara Triangle sector of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. It has its own balloon-launching site.
Tangulia Mara
Tangulia Mara is a rustic and traditional safari camp on the border of the Maasai Mara National Reserve owned by Jackson Looseyia of Big Cat Diary fame.
Governors' Camp
Governors' Camp is a large tented camp on the Mara River and one of the oldest in the Mara region, dating from 1972. Although unfenced, and regularly visited by elephants, the whole compound is always busy with human activity.
Serian Nkorombo
Serian Nkorombo is a luxury bush camp in the Musiara sector of the Maasai Mara National Reserve on the east side of the Mara River.
Sand River Camp
Luxury colonial-style tented camp on the banks of the Sand River close to the Tanzania border – a great spot to see the wildebeest migration.
Sala's Camp
Sala’s Camp is a comfortable and intimate tented camp, with seven tented rooms, located on the banks of the Sand River, in the far south of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Governors' Il Moran
The smallest and most expensive of the three camps in the Governors’ group, Governors’ Il Moran Camp hugs a meander of the Mara River just 1km north of the main Governors’ Camp.
Mara Expedition Camp
Mara Expedition Camp is a small luxury camp located in a slightly elevated area of bush and woodland, just outside the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Basecamp Maasai Mara
Basecamp Maasai Mara is a family-friendly, award-winning eco-camp on a U-bend on the north bank of the Talek River, on the boundary of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Ilkeliani Camp
Ilkeliani Camp is a smart elegant camp overlooking the Talek River, on the edge of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Angama Mara
Angama Mara is a top-end luxury tented camp on the Siria-Oloololo escarpment of the Maasai Mara ecoystem, just above the Mara Triangle sector of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Ngenche Safari Camp
Mara Ngenche is a non-hosted, luxury tented camp with an antique style, which is perfect if you're looking for private dining while staying somewhere small and personal.
Tipilikwani Camp
Tipilikwani Mara Camp is a larger, mid-range tented camp offering good value from its base on the Talek River just outside the Mara National Reserve.
Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Mara Serena Safari Lodge is a large safari hotel with views of the Mara River, in the Mara Triangle sector of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Mara Explorer Camp
Mara Explorer is a smart tented camp is in a scenic location on a bend in the Talek River.
Governors' Private Camp
Located on a secluded bend of the Mara River, Governor’s Private Camp has just eight tents and is booked on an exclusive basis.
Entim Camp
Entim Camp is well located in the heart of the Mara National Reserve, offering traditionally styled tented accommodation.
Naibor Camp
Naibor has a great location in the Mara reserve, and offers accommodation to suit different budgets, with stylish high-end tents and some simpler ones too.
Ishara
Ishara is a highly luxurious safari camp in the Maasai Mara, located on the Talek River, which is one of the best areas in Kenya for wildlife.
