Masai Mara Game Reserve Transportation

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To maximize your wildlife viewing experience get an early start.
Most safari companies will break down their safaris in the following manner:

6:30 - 7:00am departure for first light and early animal viewing

8:30 - 9:00am return for breakfast

9:30 departure for additional game viewing

11:00am return to lodge for lunch and relaxation period

4:00pm tea/snacks with a 4:30 - 5:00pm departure for evening game viewing

6:30pm return to the lodge

You will get maximum game viewing by getting an early start. We were surprised by how few people actually seemed to take advantage of the 1st light viewing and we got to see alot of animals waking up w/out the hassle of being surrounded by so many vehicles.

Make sure you bring a jerry can with filled up. There is only one place inside the park that has a filling station at Sarova Camp near Sekenani Gate. There are plenty of places to fill up along the road from Nairobi to Masai Mara, but top off before you get inside the park.

The best way to get to and go around the Masai Mara by road is on a 4x4 vehicle. The journey from Nairobi takes about 6 hours and bumpy so you should take a more robust vehicle for better driving and comfort. Plus, a 4x4 can go in the Masai Mara Game Reserve where the little tour vans can't

I think I can?t repeat it often enough: the roads (if you want to call them so) in the National Parks in Kenya are quite bad. Gravel and big (BIG!) holes in it.

Use a 4WD or you will get stuck.
If it rains, even this is sometimes not enough. We had quite some rain when we were there and twice made a pirouette in the mud. No harm done, but .... phew. My husband says (of course) it is also a matter of experience. Even the best car drives not by itself....

In the picture you can see the car we had. In the background is a Masai Village, BTW.
Yes, this is Masai country, so it should be no surprise that you will at least once stop here to view and visit a village ...

Hiring your own car and doing self-drives in Masai Mara can be very rewarding. For budget minded travelers (one to two people), you will probably hire a RAV 4 Toyato in Nairobi. Anything from $70 to $90 US per day will be your rate. This includes insurance, which is manditory. If you have a larger group, you may consider hiring a Range Rover or Land Rover, which is more expensive but will give you better clearance and power to tackle the terrain as well as give you more room for more people (three to four people). A Range Rover and the like will probably cost $120 to $150 US per day.

Make sure you look over the vehicle carefully.
Check the tires (don't forget the spare!).
See if the fuel gage works.
Check out the bottom of the vehicle to see if anything is loose and/or hanging.
Make sure vehicle has a sun roof and test it.

Here is who we used: They were honest, but their cars were a little rickity (I think all rental cars are though)
Upgrade Tours and Car Hire
George G. Muriuki, Operations Manager
NCM Building, Opp. Odeon Cinema
Tom Mboya Street
P.O. Box 22129-00400 Nairobi
info@upgradesafaris.com
upgradecarhire@yahoo.com
Tel: 254-20-228725/338840
Cel: 0722-529228

Car Talk Top Ten List – Here are some reasons not to rent a car and try to travel through East Africa independently:
1. Tire blows out first day in the Mara
2. Fuel gauge doesn’t work and fuel leaks profusely from the bottom so you have no idea how much fuel is in the tank
3. Security alarm goes off for no reason
4. Terminal on the battery falls off and the car won’t start
5. Muffler decides to fall off and string is needed to hold it on
6. Apparently 4 out of 5 lug nuts are good enough and shocks don’t come standard
7. Seat belts work sometimes
8. Roads may qualify for national park status as the gorges and rifts in the road are magnificent
9. Bridges are an optional construction in the Kenyan Civil Engineering Manual
10. The innovation of road signs has yet to hit East Africa
11. The craft of giving directions is much like playing the Maryland Lottery, You can “let yourself play” but you know you will never win (okay so eleven we couldn’t resist the last one)

One of the options available for a safari, is to go up in a hot air balloon.

The view from the balloon is absolutely amazing and you can spot animals not normally visible from the ground, as well as getting a superb overview of large herds.

We started off from a pre-arranged launch site, where the balloon was inflated in front of us while it was still dark. We took off before sunrise and drifted silently above the African plains, watching the sun come up over the horizon. From our lofty perch, we could see large herds of buffalo, still asleep on the ground - that is until the pilot turned the burners on - stampede!

After about an hour of total wonder at the fabulous spectacle beneath us, the apparently never ending savannah, the wild animals, the peace and tranquility; we landed somewhere near the Tanzanian border.

It is not a cheap mode of transport, we paid US$ 385 each, booked through the travel dest at the Sarova Mara Camp. They do accept credit cards, but due to a huigh number of recent cancellations, expect payment with booking.

Many different vehicles are available for game drives in the Mara. We felt we had the best vehicle in the entire reserve! With open sides for optimum viewing and a roof to keep the sun off our pale bodies, tiered seating for additional visability, 4WD for difficult terrain, a great suspension for those bumpy tracks and just eight of us in a 13 seater vehicle, we were happy little bunnies!

When booking a safari, it is worth checking the type of vehicle they offer, and whether or not they guarantee you a window seat.