Offbeat Mara Camp
A seasonal camp located on the Olare Orok river on Koyiaki Group Ranch. This small and exclusive tented camp offers a truly private, traditional safari experience with access to the famous Masai Mara Game Reserve.
The camp sleeps 12 guests in six large tents - three doubles and three twins - and an extra bed can be added to each tent for small children. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with hot bucket showers, washbasins and flush loos. All are also furnished with large, hand made cedar beds, solar lighting and fine linen.
Informal dining is hosted in the mess tent or around the campfire. Delicious English breakfasts, light lunches and three course dinners are served each evening. Guests can relax in the bar and 'mess' tent, furnished with comfortable sofas, a writing desk and library with wildlife guide books.
Unrestricted by game reserve rules around camp, guests can enjoy daytime game drives as well as night drives in custom-built Land Cruisers, bush breakfasts, picnics and sundowners. Guests also have access to the Game Reserve, the Mara River and early morning balloon trips.
The Offbeat Mara Camp works closely with the local Masai community. Local Masai helped build the camp and several are now working as the camps staff and guides.
Why We Love It
The camp is a long way from other lodges and camps with the aim to provide guests with great game viewing 'away from the masses'
Elephant Pepper Camp
Situated right on the Northern Edge of the Masai Mara reserve, this eight-tented bush camp is situated in one of the prime wildlife areas.
Originally Mara Bush Camp, Elephant Pepper Camp has been completely refurbished and redesigned to become an eco-friendly bush camp, committed to minimising impact on the surrounding environment and animals, and with revenue from the camp filtering back into the local community. As a result, Elephant Pepper Camp is constructed each season and then taken down, leaving no trace behind. The camp sits beneath the shady branches of a natural forest overlooking the Mara plains. There are 8 large light canvas tents with en suite dressing rooms, showers and flush toilets. The main dining and bar mess tent serve communal meals and there is a help-yourself bar.
The emphasis is on a traditional bush safari camp experience, complete with starlit nights, campfire tales and hurricane lamps. The Mara is the staging ground for the annual wildebeest migration, but this is by no means the only lure and other activities on offer include day and night game drives, guided bush walks, bush breakfasts, sundowners and cultural visits.
Why We Love It
The Camp is named after the Warburgia Ugandensis trees - more commonly known as the Elephant Pepper trees - that surround the camp.
Kicheche Mara Camp
The Kicheche Mara Camp is a bush camp located on the Aitong Plains in the northern region of Kenya's famous Masai Mara Reserve.
The Kicheche Mara Camp is hidden in a grove of wild olive trees in a prime wildlife area, and has a relaxed and intimate atmosphere.
There are eight fully insect-proof tents, comfortably furnished with proper beds, with some sleeping up to three or four people in total. Bathrooms are en-suite and are equipped with a shower and flushing loo.
A large central tent acts as the Kicheche Mara Camp lounge with comfortable seating, a collection of reference books and a fully-stocked bar. Game viewing starts right from the camp itself, with early morning and late afternoon game drives in customised vehicles, accompanied by knowledgeable guides.
The Mara is well known for the seasonal migration, but provides for wonderful game viewing all year round. Bush walks and overnight fly-camping, escorted by an armed ranger, are also available. In the heat of the day, relax in a hammock slung between the trees and sleep off the excellent bush cuisine or enjoy the stunning views across the sweeping grasslands.
Why We Love It
Kicheche Mara Camp is located in a prime wildlife area, and game viewing starts from the camp.
Ol Seki Mara Camp
Set on a rocky promontory overlooking the Il Supukiai River, Ol Seki sits amongst cordia and acacia trees, attracting an abundance of wildlife and birds, many of which can be seen from the tents.
The simple modern architecture creates an exciting living space in the spacious tents, each with a double and a single bed, crisp linen, thoughtfully designed lighting, a changing room and en-suite hot showers and flush loos. Extra double tents to accommodate families are available.
Game viewing is with experienced driver/guides in immaculately maintained Land Rovers and Land Cruisers and the staff can also arrange bush picnics and sundowners in the Maasai Mara Reserve, on the plains or by the nearby Hippo pools. Visits to local Masai villages, night game drives and tracking and guiding courses are also available.
Why We Love It
Silver-rated by the Ecotourism Society of Kenya, Ol Seki pledges to plant an indigenous tree for every guest visiting the camp.
Rekero Camp Masai Mara
Rekero is a small tented camp located inside the Masai Mara Game Reserve, offering old-time hospitality and an insight into the Masai Mara's wildlife, cultures, flora and fauna.
Nestled in forest close to the confluence of the Mara and Talek rivers, the camp comprises seven comfortable double/triple tents and one family tent for two adults and up to four children. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with flush loo and safari shower.
A typical day at Rekero involves an early morning game drive or walk, with a picnic breakfast, followed by an afternoon siesta, a further game drive in the late afternoon and then drinks around the campfire in the evening.
Appetising 'farmhouse' meals are produced by the camp's safari chefs. Other activities at Rekero include dawn balloon flights - the only way to really appreciate the vastness of the Mara - and cultural visits to the local Maasai and Il Dorobo communities.
Why We Love It
Rekero is ideally situated for the annual migration of over one million wildebeest and two hundred thousand zebra from the Serengeti through the Masai Mara in Kenya.
Richard's Camp
Richard's Camp is a small and exclusive tented camp situated in a conservation area to the north-west of the Masai Mara Reserve.
The camp offers a traditional and exclusive safari experience with accommodation in comfortable and spacious tents, each with an en-suite bathroom equipped with flushing loo and hot-water shower. Activities include escorted bush walks, day and night game drives, full days out with delicious picnic lunches into the very heart of the Mara and cultural visits to Masai villages. Guests can also spend a night fly-camping, which offers a chance to spend a night with basic comforts out in the bush. In the evenings, enjoy cocktails by a cosy campfire and delicious three-course meals under a canopy of stars.
Why We Love It
Richard's Camp is set in an area of riverine forest and grass plains which offers exceptional big game viewing.
Ngare Serian
The sister of neighbouring Serian Camp, Ngare Serian is owned and run by Alex Walker, a professional film maker, fourth generation Kenyan, and guide extraordinaire.
There are just four tents at Ngare Serian, each spacious with ensuite bathrooms - and when we say ensuite we don't just mean a bucket shower and a hole, these are the real deal with sunken baths, twin basins and a separate outdoor shower. The tents are on raised polished wooden decks with spectacular views across the Mara river, and the small number of tents makes the camp perfect for exclusive use.
Being in the heart of the Mara, the wildlife is fantastic, and the viewing opportunities even better from a private vehicle (guests have exclusive use of a private vehicle and guide throughout their stay). Activities include day and night game drives, river fishing and guided walks in the 4,000 acre exclusive walking area.
Why We Love It
Because Ngare Serian has one of the most romantic of all approaches: along a rope bridge over the river
Sala's Camp
Located in the heart of Kenya's Masai Mara, an area dubbed as one of the best places to see the Migration – where over a million wildebeest pour into the Masai Mara's lush grasslands between July and September – and Sala's Camp is at the heart of the action.
The camp comprises of seven tents, including a huge honeymoon-come-family size tent that can accommodate an extra two children. All of the tents have showers, flushing loos and running water. The food at Sala's camp is delicious and homemade, and the sundowners are pretty good too. Soak up the wilderness and catch up on the day's sightings around the camp fire.
As well as the Great Migration practically passing the doorstep, the Masai Mara is home to the 'Big Five' and boasts an abundance of birdlife. Go on morning and afternoon game drives to see the spectacular animals.
Children of all ages are welcome at Sala's Camp, and the local Masai tribe love teaching them all about the Masai and its wildlife, their traditional lore and playing games such as find the toothbrush tree. Couples are just as welcome, and private bush dinners and champagne breakfasts can be arranged.
Why We Love It
Sala's Camp is located at the junction of two rivers, and the river crossings during the Great Migration (July-September) are nothing short of spectacular.
Cottar's 1920's Camp
Cottar's 1920's Camp is the oldest established family run safari camp in Africa spanning over five generations. Situated amidst 6,000 acres of private reserve and located less than a mile from the Masai Mara, the camp offers bespoke safari experiences.
There are just ten canvas tents in total; one honeymoon, five double tents and four family suites each with en-suite bathrooms and canopied verandas offering panoramic views. The family tents feature spacious living rooms and cosy fireplaces and the wooden treasure trunks and cream drapes create an essence of safari from a bygone era.
Facilities include a tented reading room, swimming pool with lounge hammocks, a full-time masseuse and two large mess tents where guests enjoy fine dining. As the concession borders the Serengeti reserve the sunsets are phenomenal, watch the orange glow touch down on the distant horizons of the Masai Mara and stretch across the Serengeti plains.
The Masai Mara is brimming with wildlife from the wildebeest migration to lesser flamingos (and everything in-between) and, as the camp's guides all have a unique skill set, you're in great hands. Embark on daily 4x4 game drives, guided bush walks and night drives and enjoy cultural interactions with the local Masai community. Make sure to treat yourself to a bush meal followed by a relaxing canvas bush bath to make the most of the spectacular surroundings.
Why We Love It
Upon request the camp staff will set up a safari bath or shower in the midst of the Savannah for a truly unique bathing experience.
Kichwa Tembo
Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp is situated on the spur of the Oloololo escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, with spectacular views across the open plains of the Maasai Mara.
The camp is made up of 40 ""Hemingway-style"" safari tents with private shower, toilet and private terrace overlooking the savannah. All tents are tastefully furnished with lots of natural wood and traditional African pieces to add a splash of colour to the otherwise neutral colour scheme. There are 12 Classic tents, 20 Superior tents and 8 Superior View tents.
When it comes to dining, Pan-African cuisine is served in the beautiful thatched central building, which has open sides so that views can still be enjoyed as you dine. Alternatively opt to eat under the stars on the terrace. After dinner guests will want to head to the boma for a drink or two around the fire.
With the Maasai Mara on the doorstep guests can expect to see a wealth of wildlife, including the Big Five, on early morning and afternoon game drives. Alternatively opt to try a bush walk along the Mara River or Oloololo Escarpment, or simply relax by the camp's swimming pool and admire the views from there. If you're visiting between July and October you'll also want to head out and try to catch a river crossing during the Great Migration.
Why We Love It
Enjoy a private dinner overlooking the Mara as the sun sets, from the comfort of your tent's private deck.