How Much Does a Masai Mara Safari Cost?

Multi-Day Safaris and Their Fee Status

This table lists every multi-day Masai Mara safari on this site with its listed price per person and what the listing says about the reserve fee. Prices and fee status come from the listings themselves.

How to Read the Table

A cheap listing with the fee on top can end up above a dearer one. The two listings marked with a fees option let you pay the fee with the booking instead of at the gate. The lodge safari at $1,300 is the only price that already contains it.

Everything else adds a fee for each day you spend inside the reserve.

The Fee Table by Season

These are the per-person daily fees Mara Conservancy publishes for the Mara Triangle, by visitor type and season. The safari listings quote the same adult rate for the reserve.

Who Qualifies for Which Rate

Students pay the child rate only when they are under 24 and travel in an organised group of 12 or more. To get a resident or citizen rate you must show a passport, National ID or birth certificate. A driving licence is not accepted, and without valid ID you pay the non-resident rate.

A vehicle adds Ksh 1,000 per day under 6 seats or Ksh 1,500 for 6 to 12 seats, which a tour operator normally carries in its price.

One Ticket per Day in the Reserve

The 12-hour ticket applies from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, no matter when you drive in. Arrive at noon and it still ends at 6:00 pm. A night in camp does not carry it into the next morning, so every day inside the reserve is a new ticket. Vehicle fees also run for 12 hours, with unlimited exits and re-entries. A vehicle that only passes through the Triangle to another destination has two hours of transit before fees apply.

Fees are paid by where you stay. If you sleep in the Triangle and drive in through Sekenani Gate, you pay only when you reach Purungat Bridge.

No Cash at the Mara Triangle

The Mara Triangle does not accept cash for park fees, only M-Pesa and credit card. Buy online from KAPS with a VISA card in Nairobi, or on arrival from a KAPS employee at Purungat Bridge, Oloololo Gate or Serena Airstrip. Some listings, such as the 3 Days Maasai Mara Small Group Safari at Jambo Mara Lodge, ask for the fee in cash.

Bring a card that works abroad as well, and ask your operator which gate you use.

What the Price Buys

At the low end, the 3-day group joining safari with a Land Cruiser at $183 includes lunch, dinner and breakfast, and two nights in a camp or lodge depending on the option. The 3 Days 2 Nights Maasai Mara Group Safari in a 4WD Jeep at $199 adds a small group of 7-8 people, a sunset drive from 4:00 to 6:00 PM on day 1 and a full-day drive on day 2.

The 3-Day Maasai Mara Safari with 4WD Land Cruiser at $228 caps the vehicle at 8 and uses private tents with a bathroom. The 3-Days Maasai Mara Group Safari by 4WD at $238 is a budget camping trip. At $570, the Jambo Mara Lodge safari swaps tents for 2 nights in a lodge on full board.

On all five, budget for the fee as a separate line: $100 per adult per day in the first half of the year, $200 in the second.

Ways to Pay Less

Travel between 1 January and 30 June, when the adult fee is $100 a day instead of $200. Children under 9 enter free and ages 9 to 17 pay $50, so a family trip costs less per head than an adult one. A group joining safari shares the vehicle with other travellers, which is how listings such as the Overnight Safari To Maasai Mara reach $210 for 2 days.

Keep an eye on the season for rain too. The Kenya Meteorological Department reports long rains from March to May and short rains from October to December.

Extras Printed on the Listings

This table lists the common extras with the price printed on the listings or by the official body. The 3-Day Maasai Mara Safari with 4WD Land Cruiser, for example, prints the village visit at $20. Tips and drinks are excluded on most listings without a set figure.

The eTA and the Small Print

Every traveller needs their own eTA, including children in a group. It starts at $30 for normal processing, and expedited processing costs an additional $100. Apply only on etakenya.go.ke or the official app.

Tips are excluded on almost every listing, and drinks at camp are usually on you.

Two Day Trips Compared

The Day Trip to Maasai Mara Reserve & Maasai village at $190 lasts 13 hours, with a 4:30 AM pickup and a packed picnic lunch inside the reserve. The Day Tour to Maasai Mara Reserve at $225 lasts 12 hours in a 4x4 Land Cruiser with a maximum of 8 people, and meals are excluded.

Both leave the fee off the price. One 12-hour ticket covers the day, because the ticket runs from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. The full comparison is in the Masai Mara day trip from Nairobi guide.

Fees at Each Park

Kenya Wildlife Service charges non-resident adults $90 per day at Lake Nakuru and Amboseli, and children or students $45. The 4-Day Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru Group Safari at $333 lists the Lake Nakuru fee of $90 per person on top of the Mara fee. The 6 Days Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru & Amboseli safari at $580 has entry fees paid at each gate, and the 6-Day Group Safari at $750 depends on the option selected.

The 4-Day Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru Jeep Safari at $1,300 is the one listing with park fees included. See the Masai Mara and Amboseli safari guide for the route.