Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru Safaris

Side by Side

The table compares both 4-day safaris on the points that change the real cost and the feel of the trip. Prices, group sizes and nights come from the tour listings, fees from the park authorities.

What the Price Difference Buys

The group safari price covers three nights, all meals on the itinerary, bottled water in the vehicle and an English-speaking driver guide. Park fees, drinks, tips and the optional Maasai village visit are extra. It rates 4.6 from 99 reviews.

The jeep safari price covers full board, transfers from Nairobi hotels or the airport and all park entrance fees. A boat ride, a cultural village visit, tips and holiday supplements at the lodge are extra. It rates 4.7 from 89 reviews. Both listings allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.

The Group Safari Day Plan

Pickup leaves the Nairobi city centre between 08:00 and 08:30 on day 1. The road passes the Great Rift Valley viewpoint for a photo stop, and the first game drive in the Masai Mara runs 16:00-18:00 after lunch at camp.

Day 2 is a full-day game drive with a picnic lunch and a visit to the Mara River, where the Great Migration crosses in season. Day 3 is the transfer to Nakuru, arriving in the late evening. Day 4 starts with a 3-hour game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park and ends back in Nairobi around 15:00.

• Day 1: Nairobi, Great Rift Valley viewpoint, afternoon game drive in the Mara
• Day 2: full day in the Mara with the Mara River
• Day 3: transfer to Nakuru
• Day 4: Lake Nakuru game drive, return to Nairobi

How the Jeep Safari Differs

The jeep safari runs daily game drives across the Mara plains and along the Mara River, then a game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park for flamingos and white rhinos. Hotel and airport pickups in Nairobi start shortly before departure, and the exact time is sent when the booking is reconfirmed. The meeting point for walk-ins is the Bencia office in Uganda House on Kenyatta Avenue.

Read more about the road in how to get to the Masai Mara.

By Road on a Group Tour

On the group safari the transfer from the Masai Mara to Nakuru fills day 3 and the vehicle arrives in the late evening. That leaves no game drive at Lake Nakuru until the morning of day 4. If you are prone to back pain, note that the group listing says the trip is not suitable for people with back problems or for pregnant women, because the roads are rough.

The jeep safari makes the same move by road in a 4x4 Jeep. Its listing calls the trip suitable for all fitness levels.

Flying One Leg

Mara Conservancy lists six airlines with daily scheduled flights to the Mara, including Air Kenya and Safarilink. Neither tour on this page includes a flight, but some operators can arrange a one-way flight in or out of the Mara instead of a road leg. Ask before you book, because a flight changes the pickup plan and the price.

Official Fees per Non-Resident

The figures below come from Mara Conservancy for the Masai Mara and from Kenya Wildlife Service for Lake Nakuru National Park. Count your own days in each park before you compare the two tours.

How You Pay

The group safari listing says Masai Mara fees can be paid in cash or by card, and the Lake Nakuru fee by card only, with a card charge. In the Mara Triangle, Mara Conservancy accepts M-Pesa or credit card and no cash. Carry a card that works abroad and your passport, since resident rates need an ID and everyone else pays the non-resident rate.

The jeep safari settles all park entrance fees for you, which is the main reason its $1,300 price sits so far above the $333 group safari.

What Nakuru Adds to the Mara

The Mara gives you the big cats, the open plains and the Mara River crossings. Lake Nakuru adds rhinos, both black and white, plus Rothschild giraffes and a lake shore full of water birds. The jeep safari lists flamingos and white rhinos as the Nakuru highlights.

Set expectations on flamingos. Rising water levels have cut their numbers, so the famous pink shoreline is not guaranteed. Pelicans, cormorants, kingfishers, storks, herons and eagles remain. Kenya Wildlife Service lists Amboseli and Lake Nakuru as its only Premium Parks, priced at $90 per non-resident adult per day.

When to Skip It

If you have only 3 days, a Mara-only trip gives you more game drives and less road. Compare the Masai Mara safari options from Nairobi first. If you have 6 days, a route that adds Amboseli for elephants may suit you better than a 4-day loop.

What It Means on These Tours

On the group safari, day 1 enters the Masai Mara for a game drive from 16:00 to 18:00. Where the 12-hour ticket applies, that afternoon is a full fee day, because the ticket runs to 18:00 whatever time you arrived. Day 2 is a second fee day. Mara Conservancy also says vehicle fees cover 12 hours with unlimited exits and re-entries, so a camp lunch outside the gate does not cost a second ticket.

When more than five vehicles wait at a sighting in the Mara Triangle, viewing time is limited to 10 minutes and waiting vehicles stay 100 metres back. A small jeep group does not change that rule, but it does make it easier to agree where to go next.

Rain, Crowds and Fees

The Kenya Meteorological Department reports two rainy seasons: the March to May long rains and the October to December short rains. Wet months make the drive to Nakuru slower and some Mara tracks muddy.

July to October is peak season, when the Great Migration draws the most vehicles to the Mara River crossings. The Masai Mara fee is $100 per non-resident adult per day from 1 January to 30 June and $200 from 1 July to 31 December. A June trip often pairs the lower fee with drier roads. See the best time for a Masai Mara safari for each month.

Good Fits

Couples and solo travellers on a budget fit the group safari at $333 per person, with a single tent available at extra cost. Families fit the jeep safari, which lists a child rate for ages 3 to 12 and seats infants on an adult's lap. Photographers gain from the jeep safari's cap of 6 and from the pop-up roof on the group safari's Land Cruiser.

Pack layers for cold dawns and a dusty midday, and check what to wear on a Masai Mara safari.

Poor Fits

Skip the group safari if you have back problems or are pregnant, as its listing says. Skip both if you have only a weekend and look at shorter Masai Mara safari trips instead. Travellers who want a balloon flight should note that neither tour includes one, and on the group safari it is an optional extra.