5-Day Maasai Mara Safari

About This Tour

Kenya's Maasai Mara is the safari the rest of the world measures itself against, and five days is the right amount of time to meet it properly. The journey starts in Nairobi and crosses the Great Rift Valley — with the obligatory, jaw-dropping viewpoint stop — before dropping into the reserve for a first game drive the same afternoon. From there the itinerary builds: a full sunrise-to-sunset day tracking the Big Five with a picnic lunch on the plains; an optional dawn hot-air balloon flight that ends with champagne in the grass; an afternoon inside a traditional Maasai village learning the dances, beadwork, and rhythms of the people the land is named for; and a deep-exploration day along the Mara River, where hippos and crocodiles hold court year-round and — between July and October — the wildebeest crossings turn the water into the greatest wildlife theatre on Earth. Nights are spent at a comfortable lodge or tented camp inside the reserve on full board. A final early-morning drive squeezes the last light out of the Mara before the scenic road back to Nairobi. Ideal for first-time safari-goers and photographers alike, in customised safari vehicles with an expert guide throughout.