The best Maasai Mara safari camps in 2026 are Angama Mara, 1,000 feet above the reserve, Great Plains' Mara Plains Camp and Virgin's Mahali Mzuri in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, &Beyond Bateleur and Kichwa Tembo under the Oloololo escarpment, Governors' Camp near the Marsh Pride, Cottar's 1920s Camp and Wilderness Mara in the Mara Triangle.
The Maasai Mara is Kenya's great safari destination, famous for big cats and for the Great Migration, which usually reaches the Mara and its river crossings from about July to October. Camps sit either inside the national reserve or in the private conservancies along its northern border, where guest numbers are limited and walking and night drives are allowed.
All camps here are $$$$ (over $1,000 per person per night) in peak season. Most guests fly from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to a Mara airstrip in about an hour.
Tented suites 1,000 feet above the Mara, with ballooning and walks.
Angama Mara is the flagship of the Angama group, sitting about 1,000 feet above the Maasai Mara with sweeping views. Activities include game drives, hot-air ballooning, walking safaris and a photographic studio.
Angama Safari Camp, its light tented camp, sits closer to the migration action.
Good to know: Book July to October for the migration.
Angama Mara, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Seven canvas suites on decks in a private conservancy, with outstanding big-cat viewing.
Mara Plains, part of Dereck and Beverly Joubert's Great Plains Conservation, has just seven canvas suites raised on wooden decks above the savanna in the private Olare Motorogi Conservancy on the reserve's northern boundary.
Guests can drive both the conservancy and the national reserve, and their fees support the conservancy.
Good to know: The two-bedroom Jahazi Suite suits families.
Mara Plains Camp, Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Kenya
Virgin Limited Edition's 12-tent camp in the path of the migration.
Mahali Mzuri is Virgin Limited Edition's camp in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, in the path of the annual Great Migration. Its 12 luxury tents and shared spaces look across the plains.
The conservancy setting means fewer vehicles at sightings.
Good to know: Ask about walking safaris in the conservancy.
Mahali Mzuri, Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Kenya
Two camps of nine tents each, with views over the Mara.
&Beyond Bateleur Camp sits beneath the forested Oloololo escarpment, where the Great Rift Valley begins and the final scene of Out of Africa was filmed. It is split into two camps of nine luxury tents each, with uninterrupted views of the Mara.
The migration passes close by in season.
Good to know: Book one of the two camps exclusively for a family or group.
andBeyond Bateleur Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Big Five drives, ballooning and sundowners by the Mara River.
Kichwa Tembo shares the Oloololo escarpment setting with Bateleur, with Big Five game drives, hot-air ballooning, Maasai cultural visits and sundowners beside the Mara River.
It is livelier and usually better value than Bateleur.
Good to know: Add a balloon flight at dawn over the plains.
andBeyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya
The classic Mara camp in the territory of the famous Marsh Pride.
Governors' Camp sits inside the national reserve near the Musiara Marsh, home to the Marsh Pride of lions, which has starred in productions such as BBC Earth's Dynasties and Nat Geo's LION.
The Governors' collection includes several camps in the area.
Good to know: Read the camp's Marsh Pride updates before you go; the lions are tracked individually.
Governors' Camp, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
A 1920s-style tented camp working with the Maasai community.
Cottar's runs a 1920s-style camp on the edge of the Maasai Mara in partnership with the Maasai community, protecting wildlife corridors.
The private conservancy allows walks and night drives as well as reserve drives.
Good to know: Book walking and night drives on the conservancy.
Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Wilderness's camp in the wildlife-rich Mara Triangle, under the escarpment.
Wilderness Mara, formerly Little Governor's Camp, is in the Mara Triangle, where sweeping plains meet a dramatic escarpment in a wildlife-rich corner of the greater Masai Mara National Reserve.
The Triangle is the western section of the reserve, bordered by the Mara River, and is generally less crowded.
Good to know: Combine with Wilderness Usawa in the Serengeti for both sides of the migration.
Wilderness Mara, Mara Triangle, Kenya
The herds usually arrive in the Mara around July and stay until about October, with the Mara River crossings the highlight. Timing varies with the rains each year.
Conservancies such as Olare Motorogi limit vehicles and allow walking safaris and night drives, so sightings feel private. Camps inside the reserve, such as Governors' Camp, are closer to the Mara River crossings. Many lodges in conservancies can also drive into the reserve.
Fly from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to one of the Mara airstrips in about an hour, or drive about five to six hours.
They are one ecosystem across the Kenya–Tanzania border. The Mara is smaller and easier to reach, with peak migration from July to October; the Serengeti hosts the herds for the rest of the year.