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Samaka MaraSafari

3 days · 2 nights · from Nairobi

3 Days Maasai Mara Safari

The classic short break into Kenya's most famous reserve

  • Lodge
  • Tented camp
  • Budget camping

Two full nights in the Maasai Mara is the shortest trip we will honestly recommend — it gives you a golden hour on the day you arrive, a complete day in the reserve, and one more sunrise before the drive home. The Mara holds resident lion, elephant, buffalo and leopard year-round, so there is no wrong month to come.

Trip highlights

  • Two nights inside or on the edge of the reserve — no wasted travel days
  • A full day of game viewing with a picnic lunch by the Mara River
  • Big-cat territory: lion prides, cheetah on the open plains, leopard along the riverine forest
  • The Great Rift Valley escarpment viewpoint on the drive out
  • Optional sunrise balloon flight and a visit to a Maasai homestead

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Nairobi → Maasai Mara

    We collect you from your Nairobi hotel at around 08:00 and head west, dropping into the Great Rift Valley at the escarpment viewpoint for your first proper look at Kenya. Lunch is in Narok town, then the landscape opens out into rolling grassland and you reach camp in the early afternoon. After a short rest we head straight out on an evening game drive, which is when the plains game moves and the cats begin to stir.

    Meals
    Lunch, dinner
    Stay
    Lodge, tented camp or campsite depending on your chosen level

  2. Day 2

    A full day in the Mara

    Two ways to spend it, and you can decide on the night. Either a long morning drive, back for lunch and a rest, and out again from 16:00 — or a full day out with a packed picnic lunch, pushing further into the reserve towards the Mara River and its hippo pods and crocodiles. If the migration is running, the full-day option is the one that gets you to a river crossing. A balloon flight at first light and an afternoon at a Maasai homestead can both be arranged locally.

    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch, dinner
    Stay
    Same camp or lodge

  3. Day 3

    Maasai Mara → Nairobi

    An early game drive while the light is still low and the predators are still out, then back for a full breakfast and to pack up. We leave the reserve mid-morning and drive back through Narok, arriving in Nairobi in the mid to late afternoon. Drop-off at your hotel or at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for an evening flight.

    Meals
    Breakfast

What’s included

  • Park and reserve entry fees for every park on the itinerary
  • Full-board accommodation (breakfast, lunch and dinner on safari)
  • Transport in a custom safari minivan or 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof
  • A professional English-speaking driver-guide throughout
  • All game drives listed in the itinerary
  • Bottled drinking water in the vehicle
  • Government taxes and levies

Not included

  • International and domestic flights
  • Kenyan and Tanzanian visas
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Drinks, laundry and other items of a personal nature
  • Optional extras such as balloon flights, Maasai village visits and night drives
  • Tips for your guide and lodge staff
  • Accommodation in Nairobi before or after the safari

Enquire

Get a quote for this trip

Tell us your dates and party size. We will come back with a costed itinerary, lodge options at each level, and anything we would change about the route for your month.

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