This 4-day Masai Mara Reserve safari is designed to give travelers the best experience in the Masai Mara. The Masai Mara is one of Kenya’s most famous wildlife areas.
It is well known for the great wildebeest migration and as the home of the world’s fastest animal, the cheetah, along with the big five animals.
Visitors on this trip will have a good chance to see these animals and many others. Exciting activities like hot air balloon flights and game drives will make the trip even more rewarding.
Masai Mara Reserve Safari Highlights
- Day 1: Drive from Nairobi to Masai Mara National Reserve
- Day 2: Full-day game drive and Masai community visit
- Day 3: Hot air balloon flight and game drive
- Day 4: Return to Nairobi
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Helicopter transfer from Nairobi to Maasai Mara National Reserve
A professional tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in Nairobi. You will fly to Masai Mara by helicopter, which takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
On the way, you will see old towns and beautiful landforms of Kenya, including highlands and lowlands covered with green vegetation.
When you arrive at the park, you will go to your lodge and check in. After settling in, enjoy a delicious lunch.
In the evening, you will go for bird watching as the sun sets. You will have the chance to see rare birds such as African darters, Kori bustards, black-chested snake eagles, African openbills, common ostriches, lappet-faced vultures, and grey-headed kingfishers. After this, return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 2: Full-day game drive & Maasai community visit
Start the day with an early breakfast and then go for a sunrise game drive in the northern part of the park. Here, you may see big cats like lions, leopards, and cheetahs hunting or resting, along with their prey such as Defassa waterbucks, common elands, impalas, wildebeests, and Thomson’s gazelles.
Return to the lodge at noon for lunch and rest.
In the afternoon, go for another game drive in the southern part of Masai Mara and the Mara Triangle. You will see thousands of animals grazing near the streams. Return to the lodge at sunset for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Hot air balloon flight & game drive
After breakfast, take a hot air balloon flight at dawn over the dry plains of Masai Mara. These plains are hunting grounds for big cats, so you may see predators chasing their prey from the air. This experience will be one to remember.
The balloon flight ends around 10:00 am. After that, transfer back to the lodge for lunch and some rest.
In the afternoon, go on a game drive in the eastern part of Masai Mara. Here, you can spot rare birds like great blue turacos, green turacos, Abyssinian ground hornbills, black bee-eaters, cinnamon egrets, hammerkops, African fish eagles, African paradise flycatchers, African darters, and black vultures. Return to the lodge at dusk for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4: Fly back to Nairobi
Enjoy breakfast early at the lodge. After the meal, take a helicopter flight back to Nairobi. The flight takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Upon arrival in Nairobi, continue with your onward journey, marking the end of your safari.
