Lodges in Masai Mara

Lodges in Masai Mara are spacious and very conducive for all travelers to lay and rest from the hectic day time tour activities in Park. The conservancies which are located along the boundaries of the Masai Mara reserve have attracted a number of tourists due to their different attractions and this has led to the construction of a number of accommodation facilities such as lodges in Masai mara for the tourists.

The conservancies include the following Ol Kinyei conservancy, Mara Naboisho Conservancy, Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Mara North conservancy, Ol Choro Oiroua conservancy, Lemek Conservancy Mara triangle conservancy, Olderikesi conservancy and Siana conservancy.

These conservancies offer accommodation facilities for the tourists such as lodges, tented camps, camping facilities to ensure that the tourists stay in comfortable and safe accommodation facilities as they explore the conservancies. Lodges that are located at a distance from the airstrips can offer pickup services to their clients in order to ensure that the tourists arrive safely at their lodges in the conservancies.

The landowners in the conservancies have divided the land outside the Masai Mara reserve which is used to construct lodges and other buildings as well as practice agriculture, set up ranches for livestock grazing among other land uses.

The lodges which are built in the conservancies are classified into luxury accommodation, mid-range accommodations and budget accommodations and some of them include the following;

Alex Walkers Serian, Elephant Pepper Camp, Karen Blixen Camp, Kicheche Mara Camp, Mara Bush Houses, Mara Plains Camp, Neptune Mara Rianta Luxury Camp, Offbeat Mara Camp, Richards River Camp, Royal Mara, Saruni Mara Lodge among others.

The rooms at the lodges in the conservancies include single rooms, double rooms, twin rooms, deluxe rooms, suites among others. The types of rooms booked by tourists or tour operators also have different prices.

The lodges in Masai Mara are booked in advance to ensure that the rooms for tourists are secured and to avoid inconveniences such as overbooking the lodges. Certain cancellation policies also apply to the different lodges and other accommodation facilities in the Masai Mara reserve.

The cancellation policies for the lodges in Masai Mara are discussed by the service providers at the accommodation facilities and the person who is making the booking at the lodges.

Bookings can be made by an individual tourist or by a tour operator who is designing a trip on behalf of his clients. Different rates apply to the person making the bookings since the rates of tour operators are different from those of individuals.

Bookings at the lodges can be also made online on different social media platforms for making bookings such as booking.com. Following the bookings for the rooms, payments can be made using credit cards or bank transfers and sometimes in cash form depending on the policies of the lodge.

The conservancies are under the management of the Maasai people and other landowners. These conservancies are managed in a way to protect the delicate ecosystem and benefits of the landowners as well as offering the tourists the ultimate safari which involves staying at good lodges and other accommodation facilities.

Some of the landowners are individuals, communities and sometimes in groups that consist of the Masai people and the Samburu. This land comprises key wildlife dispersal areas as well as migratory corridors for the neighboring reserves such as Amboseli national park, Tsavo national park, and Masai Mara national reserve.

About Masai Mara reserve

Maasai Mara national reserve is located in the south western part of Kenya and is known for the wildebeest migration which involves thousands of wildebeest and zebras crossing between Serengeti national park and Maasai Mara reserve.

Maasai Mara national reserve is known for its amazing wildlife viewing opportunity and for the local Maasai community which lives within the reserves as well as the conservancies which are part of the reserve.

Despite the low tourism densities in the Maasai Mara conservancies, there are a number of tourist activities that take place at these destinations such as guided nature walks, game viewing in the night and day time.

Game drives in the conservancies take place during the day time and also in the night time. The night game drives are accepted in certain destinations and they offer tourists the chance to see nocturnal wildlife species such as jackals, hyenas, porcupines, civet cats, aardvarks, white tailed mongoose among others. During the day time, wildlife species can easily be spotted such as lions, elephants, buffalos, giraffes among others since they are more active during this time of day. These game drives are carried out in the company of a Maasai guide who provides information to the tourists about the different wildlife species and other attractions in the conservancies.
Nature walks in the conservancies provide an up-close interaction between the tourists and their surroundings as they view the wildlife species and other attractions in the conservancies on foot. Tourists can also encounter the Masai people during their walks since the Masai graze their livestock in the surrounding areas of the conservancies.

Attractions which can be seen by tourists staying in the lodges found in the conservancies include;

Wildlife species such as lions, elephants, wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, leopards, buffalos, rhinos, hartebeest among others can be seen during the different game viewing activities which take place in the conservancies such as guided nature walks and game drives. These game viewing experiences are usually guided by the Maasai community as tourists enjoy the beautiful scenery around the conservancies.
Local Maasai villages give an opportunity to the tourists to interact with the Maasai people and to learn about their unique culture and nomadic way of life. Other cultural aspects of the Maasai include the local jewelry such as beaded necklaces, bracelets, anklets, earrings as well as watching traditional dance performances, visiting the “manyattas” which are the homesteads of the Maasai among others. They also show the relationship between wildlife and livestock as they coexist within the conservancies.

How to get to the conservancies near Maasai Mara reserve

The transport means used during a safari to any destination are among the major factors which tourists consider before their trips. The lodges which are found in the conservancies can be accessed by both air and road means as seen below;

By road, the Masai Mara reserve is in the western direction from Nairobi and tourists can access the conservancies by driving from Nairobi to Narok.
By air, tourists can access the conservancies by flights to the different airstrips in the conservancies such as Mara North airstrip, Naboisho airstrip, Ol Seki airstrip among others. Airline companies that operate flights at these airstrips include Safarilink, Airkenya, Mombasa Air, Fly 540 among others.

Visit the private conservancies for an experience of the Maasai culture as well as amazing wildlife viewing opportunities as you relax and enjoy your stay at any of the lodges in the conservancies which offer quality services to ensure maximum satisfaction during your safari.