​User Reviews – Masai Mara NR

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Maria Arreba   –  
Spain ES
Visited: October 2023 Reviewed: Nov 6, 2023

Email Maria Arreba  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Maria Arreba and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

In October, there were very few animals around. Migration had already ended. However, the amount of lions we saw was very big, and we had the opportunity to watch how they behaved. The fact than migration wasn't on, reduced the number of vehicles around and we could see some lions and other animals alone.

Mike   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Oct 10, 2023

Email Mike  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of Mike and not that of SafariBookings.
Beatiful Park but watch out for corruption
Overall rating
3/5

We flew into Masai Mara and were held up for some time from entering the park as the agents said the network was down and they could not verify our pre-paid fees. When our guides refused to pay the bribe the network suddenly was back up and we were allowed entry. Almost immediately upon entry we were pulled over by a "ranger" who stated we had driven in an area where we should not have. Even though there were at least 7 other vehichles doing the same thing and one that was still stuck in mud, we were the only ones stopped. Our guide was threatened that we could lose our access to the park for the entire time we were to be there (2 days). In the end our guide paid the bribe and we were on our way. I stongly suspect that the officals at the airport contacted the ranger to extract our "Fee" since we hadn't paid the bribe at the airport.

We stayed in 3 other parks and never saw anything close to this corruption. It made us not feel safe in this park. While the park itself was amazing I would not go back to this park and would advise anyone wanting to visit Masai Mara to reconsider or just know that there will be "Fees" to pay.

Halee   –  
Zimbabwe ZW
Visited: September 2022 Reviewed: Nov 1, 2022

Email Halee  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Halee and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

Being a popular tourist destination it’s hard to enjoy the sightings as there are marred by the dozens of other vehicles maneuvering for the best shot. This takes away from the wild element unless you’re the first vehicle to spot the animal. But the changing landscapes are breathtaking, especially for sundowners or morning coffee in the bush.

Rick   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: September 2019 Reviewed: Sep 20, 2019

Email Rick  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Rick and not that of SafariBookings.
Use to be fantastic for wildlife, now saturated with noisy disrespectful tourists vehicles
Overall rating
3/5

I first came to the Masai Mara 13 years ago, where it hooked me for life on wildlife and photography. Subsequent visits over the years, this was the forth, has shown a continuing decline in wildlife and a explosive increase of vehicles and the type of tourist that has little or no respect for the animals or landscape. Every spotting was swamped in minutes and upwards of 40 vehicles corralling the animal. Stressed animals, disrupted hunts and animals forced off rest-ups where common, and the norm. I would be surprised if you saw a hunt these days by any of the much rarer cheetah or leopard.

Parts of the reserve now seem devoid of wildlife, Rhino Ridge, Paradise Plains, Talek river, this was strange to us as these areas have always been good for wildlife. This could be seasonal but our guide, very experienced and many years in the Mara as a guide, indicated that it was rare to bother going over to these areas now unless a migration crossing was happening. So it sounds liked something else is happening to the wildlife. He indicated that a lot of resident wildlife is heading to the surrounding conservancies for a more peaceful life.

The lion population is still very good. Lions being lions spend most of the time sleeping so easier to find, although again if they had cubs they tended to hide much deeper in the bush.

The landscape is still beautiful and with the right timing you can get a vista without the ubiquitous white top safari van marring the view (why can't these trucks be in muted colors that blend?)

One of most my most loved parts of Africa seems to have become a victim of its own success, hopefully more controlled access and a cap on new developments will be implemented soon.

Nicholas You   –  
Kenya KE
Visited: February 2019 Reviewed: Feb 9, 2019

Email Nicholas You  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Nicholas You and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

Too many vehicles chasing the same animals - almost quasi chaos

Rajiva Wijesinha   –  
Sri Lanka LK
Visited: August 2018 Reviewed: Sep 14, 2018

Email Rajiva Wijesinha  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Rajiva Wijesinha and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

Fascinating to be there and the animals were all present, but not so easy to see given the size and also the sad state of our vehicle. The driver was young and followed the herds, so we missed out on cheetahs and rhinos, but still we did see a great deal in the short time we had.

Jamie Foley   –  
United States US
Visited: July 2018 Reviewed: Aug 26, 2018

Email Jamie Foley  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Jamie Foley and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

Was expecting to see the wildebeast migration, but they were very late. Without that volume of animals it was actually very empty. I've just seen better wildlife in other parks.

Emma   –  
France FR
Visited: July 2018 Reviewed: Aug 16, 2018

Email Emma  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Emma and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

see previous comment

Becky   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2016 Reviewed: Sep 15, 2016

Email Becky

The review below is the personal opinion of Becky and not that of SafariBookings.
Ok game viewing but pale in comparison with Serengeti
Overall rating
3/5

The best part - migration and crossing of the Masai River

The less desired part - cars driving off road and very close to animals to the extent impacting their hunting.

No Rhino sighting in 2 days - sad to not have a complete big 5 viewing

WW   –  
United States US
Visited: October 2008 Reviewed: May 25, 2012

50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of WW and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

Have been both during and after the "great herd migration". Wonderful for both wildlife (all the big 5 plus cheetahs, hippos, and more) and local Masaai village visits. The accommodations were lovely. Don't remember where we stayed the 1st time, but the 2nd was associated with the Fairmont hotels.

Average User Rating

  • 4.8/5
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star 381
  • 4 star 46
  • 3 star 12
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 1
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