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Nairobi: 3-Day Masai Mara Safari & Big Five Game Drive

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Duration3d

GroupUp to 8

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Three Days in Masai Mara: Lion, Leopard & the Long Game Drive from Nairobi

You depart Nairobi in the morning and drive six hours to Masai Mara, arriving for an afternoon game drive. Day two is a full day in the reserve with flexible timing and picnic lunch options, hunting the Big Five across savannahs and valleys. Day three includes a final morning game drive or optional Maasai village visit before the six-hour return to Nairobi by late afternoon. All transport, accommodation, meals, and a professional guide are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Drive to Maasai Mara and game drive

Depart Nairobi in the morning
Drive to Rift Valley floor
Lunch in Narok town
Proceed to Maasai Mara
Afternoon game drive
Dinner and overnight in tented camp

Day 2 — Full day game drives in Maasai Mara

Breakfast at camp
Full day game drives
Option for picnic lunch in park
Optional visit to local Maasai village
Dinner and overnight at camp

Day 3 — Return to Nairobi after breakfast

Breakfast at camp
Optional visit to Maasai village
Drive back to Nairobi
Arrive Nairobi and drop at accommodation

The Experience

Our driver picked us up at the hotel before dawn, and on the six-hour drive south toward Narok — the biggest Maasai town — he pointed out the Rift Valley floor opening up ahead. We stopped for lunch in Narok itself, which meant eating where the Maasai eat, not in some tourist setup, and then the landscape changed again: the reserve appeared gradually, not all at once. By afternoon we were in the 4x4 van with the pop-up roof open, already scanning the grass for movement. That first game drive sets the pace for everything that follows — you're not rushing through a checklist, you're just watching, and the guide knows when to stop and when to keep moving.

Day two is the full day in Masai Mara, which is when you actually have time to sit with what you're seeing. The Big Five — lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino, elephant — are what everyone comes for, and yes, you can spend the whole day hunting them with a picnic lunch box in the van, or you can take the morning drive and come back to camp for a proper meal. The guide reads the landscape in a way that takes practice; he knows which waterhole the elephants use at dusk, where the leopards hunt at dawn. You're not guaranteed to see everything, but the reserve is dense enough that most days you'll see most of it. If you want to visit a local Maasai village on day two, that's an add-on, and it breaks up the rhythm of the drives without eating into them.

The return to Nairobi happens on day three after breakfast, a six-hour drive that lands you back at your hotel around five in the afternoon. You get the option to squeeze in another Maasai village visit that morning if you didn't do it the day before, though by then you're usually ready to sit still. The whole thing — transport in the safari van, the professional driver-guide, all meals and accommodation on full board, mineral water — is included, which means you're not negotiating stops or hunting for lunch. You just show up, and the logistics are already solved.

What’s included

Your three days include transport in a 4x4 safari van with pop-up roof viewing, a professional driver-guide, full board accommodation at a tented camp, all meals (lunch and dinner on day one.
breakfast, lunch, and dinner on day two.
breakfast on day three), and mineral water throughout. Game drives are included on days one, two, and three. The Maasai village visit is optional and available at an additional cost.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by simba paka safaris

Is this one for you?This works well if you want the main Masai Mara experience without arranging your own transport, accommodation, or meals — the fixed itinerary and included guide mean you land in Nairobi and everything else is handled, leaving you to focus on the wildlife and the landscape.