Masai Mara National Reserve

Amazing to see the migration herds of wildebeest. Also great lion viewing and diversity of other wildlife.

Pure bliss

I don't have words to express the beauty of the country and this park in particular. It is a place for a complete detox from phones and any electronics. We lived our time there and wouldn't mind going for morr

It was acceptable.

The park is not as it was expected in past. We have seen most of wild life in the park.

Stunningly impressive

Everything was superb. The only downside: poor Internet connection at the hotel. OK, it was a time to relax and savor the habitat.

June may not be the best time to visit

June, being the time of the year just before the Migration, was not the best time to visit. The grass was very high and smaller big cats like Cheetahs and Leopards were impossible to spot in the grass growth.

Still the bigger wildlife like Wildebeests, Buffaloes, Elephants and Giraffes were almost common without compromising on the 'wild' feel. Lions were quite easy to spot but the Male lions were quite elusive.

Amazing!

We shared our visit to Masai Mara with some friends, who had never done Safari before. We enjoyed their enthousiasm :-). In the park you find no traces of any human waste, the wildlife was abundant. The one thing we missed, were the big groups of wildebeest, but this time of the year, most of them are in the Serengeti.
In 4 days, we have seen Lions, cheeta, zebras, wildebeest, hartebeest, maraboe, mangoest, impala, topi, hyena, buffalo, gazelle, vultures, crocodile, hippo, eagles ....
We hope to visit the park again.

Beautiful surroundings - we visited the park at the time of the wildebeest migration - an amazing experience. Guides and fellow tourists not particularly knowledgeable or interested regarding birds. However, what I saw/identified led me to believe that this would be a good birding destination. Visited a luxurious lodge in the middle of the Masai Mara - not much bush vibe there!

Ol Seki in Mara Naboisho
This was the last part of our Safari. The accommodation is very upmarket, in robust tents, embedded in the middle of the wilderness. It is a 10 min drive from the airstrip, and it is located in the heart of the Naboisho conservancy.
Run by a British Manager, this place is spotless, clean, very well looked after and the Manager (Melinda) looks after all guest very well. There are 6 tents, and all guests meet for breakfast, lunch and Dinner, depending on the safari arrangements, but if preferred the meals can be brought to the individual tents. Whilst we were here, all other guests were British and all were on honeymoon. This may alienate guests from other countries. There is electricity all day and decent Wifi to upload images. There is excellent hot shower (with extra boost in the evening).
Wildlife is excellent, we sighted a cheetah with a fresh kill, crocodiles, of course lions, giraffes and elephants and all the wildebeests, impalas, and gazelles. We had a one-day excursion to Masai Mara, which was to watch the large migrations, mainly zebras and wildebeest. David our driver was very experienced, and had lots of stories to tell. He knew the spots for photography and made stops when requested.
Overall this place was best for luxury, great food and service, great for wildlife, but less impressive for scenery than Meru.
Note, the masai mara has much less of a bush vibe than the Naboisho conservancy, where our lodge was. We made a day trip to the actual masai mara, which was full of minibuses, loaded with tourists and there was no feeling of solitude. The three stars for the bush vibe relate to that park, The Naboisho conservancy instead gets four stars for bush vibe!

An experience spoilt in one day.

Our visit to the Masai Mara was spoilt in one day by a visit to Observation Hill. Was a disgusting scene to behold. The area is used a toilet stop except that there are no toilets. Hundreds of people a day use this area as a viewing point and a makeshift toilet. As the only stop for the day, one had no option. I am told the female area was particularly disgusting. The area is a disgrace to the National Park system and to the Kenyan Government. Were does all the money collected as park fees go. One wonders.

The most famous national reserve of Kenya

Masai Mara is a great park with loads of wildlife. Lion sightings are basically guaranteed, cheetahs and leopards less so. The park is accessible around the year and more quiet and peaceful ourside the wildebeest migration, busiest months being July-September. Also, if you don't like seeing 20 cars chasing a cheetah, try to avoid going there on Kenyan holidays (esp. Christmas-New Year time), and even better, try to go in the middle of the week, when locals and expats in Kenya stay at work in Nairobi. The Mara Triagle is on the western side of the main park, accesible with the same ticket and more quiet.