Help choosing Mara camp for family holiday
 

We are looking at planning a short family safari (travelling with a 14 and 16 year old) in Kenya this September and considering Porini Mara camp vs Saruni camps. We are hoping to stay 3 nights in Mara.

Does anyone have experience with Saruni Mara and Saruni Wild? I have read many comments that Saruni Mara is quite a bit away from the animals and that you have to drive about 30 mins through the villages before getting to the wildlife areas but that Saruni Wild is located much better, bordering the Mara North conservancy.
However, I am unable to find any recent reviews for Saruni Wild and is concerned of the comfort level/ safety as it is a very small camp, although we are keen to be closer to the animals.

Our other option is Porini Mara. Porini camps are known to have great safari guides and have many safari options/ night drives etc. Is Saruni comparable in this regard. Saruni seem to have more kids activities to entertain the teens we are travelling with.
Any help to choose between the two will be appreciated!

If you visited Porini Mara with teens ,would love to hear your thoughts on the camp.

No camp in the Mara is “far from the animals”. You’re staying in their natural habitat. The animals are literally everywhere. Saruni Mara is located further north in the conservancy, which would be a pain if you drive to the Reserve, but I’d suggest unless you’re going for the great migration, just stay in the conservancy, the game viewing is far better, more relaxed and stress free. A bonus of Saruni Mara is being able to also game drive in Lemek Conservancy nearby, which is less traveled and populated by camps so an even less trafficked safari experience!

Saruni is very well respected. Saruni Mara is in the Mara North Conservancy, which is private land where only those who are staying in camps there can do game drives. The conservancies all abutt the main reserve, which is public. The biggest benefit to you staying in conservancies is the lack of vehicle traffic and insanity at some sightings. A leopard sighting in the Reserve may draw upwards of 50 vehicles; in the conservancies that is limited to 4 or 5. I have not stayed at any Saruni camp, but was considering Saruni Rhino in the north for my last safari; I abandoned the idea when I learned they no longer track rhinos on foot with guests. Otherwise I still would have gone.

Saruni Wild is in Lemek Conservancy, and it has game drive rights in Lemek, Mara North and Ol Choro conservancies, so you have a very wide swath of land to explore on game drives. As a veteran safari goer, this would be hugely attractive to me. Anywhere there aren’t a million other vehicles is a bonus!

The same benefits you list for Porini you will get at either Saruni. Walks, night drives, etc. are allowed in those two conservancies.

I have stayed at Porini Mara on my first Kenyan safari and didn’t choose to return. I had issues with them in terms of guiding and vehicle problems (broke down twice with them). I chose to take my business elsewhere going forward and have been better served for that.

If you are interested in Mara North, I can highly recommend both Offbeat Mara and Offbeat Ndotto, where I have been twice. The guiding is outstanding and the accommodations are wonderful. The price point is similar to Saruni and you may get a long stay discount 4 nights for the price of 3 or 6 for 5. I’ve seen their guides with kids and they really know how to keep them engaged. A family I met on my last safari were taking their 10 year old son on his second visit to Offbeat Mara. I can share her Trip Advisor review with you if you’d like it.

I can also recommend the Kicheche camps. I’ve just returned from Kicheche Valley and Kicheche Bush, both of which had excellent guiding and even better accommodations than most other camps I’ve been to. Kicheche Valley is in Naboisho conservancy, which is chock a block with lions right now and Kicheche Bush is in Olare Motorogi Conservancy and had a great balance of lions, leopard and cheetah when I was there. They have Kicheche Mara in Mara North. Kicheche is priced slightly higher than Porini but the difference is noticeable and worth it, in my opinion.

Sorry for so much info, I hope this helps.

Thanks Amyb, Lots of helpful information. Kicheche and Off beat camps are over budget however we are able to consider Saruni Camps. The location of Saruni Mara put me off due to the distance to Mara North conservancy, mentioned in quite a few trip advisor reviews - bumpy and dusty drive of 25 mins both ways for every safari drive! Saruni wild off course is perfectly located however there're no recent reviews and with only lamps at night and 3 tents, I was wondering how this experience compares to a Porini camp.

I’m surprised Offbeat is not in budget because according to the rates I see, they are very similar, and with mult-night stays you get a night free.

I would look at Africa Travel Resource and Expert Africa’s sites for honest reviews by experienced people (not by first time travelers, but by safari planners) of your camps. I tend not to put much credence in a lot of Trip Advisor reviews only because when it’s people’s first safari they don’t know any better and have nothing to compare with.

Anyway, ask your tour operator to look at Basecamp Eagle View, which is known to be the most budget friendly in the Mara conservancies. Several people I know who go to Kenya a lot seem to like them. I have not been there myself so cannot vouch for them.

Niki, one more thing, if you are not already, you should work with a safari planner to do all this for you. Any prices you are seeing on the camps’ websites are “rack rates” which is before any discounts a safari planner or tour planner can get for you. Many have been recommended here, but I would strongly advise you to leverage what they can pull together for you (including internal air and road transfers) at prices much better than you can do on your own.

we have stayed with our teens at kicheche mara camp twice. private vehicle guaranteed for a party of 4. could you stay at a family tent? can't recommend kicheche more highly.

I stayed at Porini Lion Sept. '22 -- and it could not possibly have been more incredible on every level.

safari 2026
 

Hi Amy! I came across this thread after researching on kenya safari. After checking out many camps. I have narrowed down to Offbeat Ndoto (10K) or Kicheche Bush (12k). I am going in early June 2026. Ndoto seems to have a good varieties of actives for downtime (fishing, school visit, archery, etc.) so it would make my teen daughter happy. Kicheche Bush seems to have better animal viewing and less crowd on drives (based on reviews). Which would you go prefer and why?

Hi Maimorgan,

Of the two, I think Offbeat Ndoto is the better choice. Personally I find the guiding stronger at Offbeat and I think the wildlife is more plentiful in Mara North (I was just in both conservancies in late January). One thing about Kicheche Bush that I didn’t like was that the guides will call each other as soon as they see a sighting, so I didn’t really have a chance to have a sighting to myself before all the Kicheche vehicles were there. That sort of annoyed me. And it’s not how the other Kicheche camps I’ve stayed at operated, so it wasn’t typical of the Kicheche experience for me. With Offbeat I never found that. My guide (I had David both times) really liked finding things on his own and letting me enjoy them. I also think Offbeat is really better with kids. I didn’t see any kids at all at any of the Kicheche camps. I’m not sure if it just caters to a different demographic or if it was just coincidence. So between the two right now I’d go with Offbeat. I’d return there tomorrow if I could afford it right now! Don’t get me wrong, Kicheche does safari extremely well (Valley and Laikipia are favorites of mine) but I’d give the edge to Offbeat between the two you’re looking at.

Now if you made me choose between Valley and Offbeat….that’s a tougher decision! LOL.

Let me throw a wrench in this though….in January I stayed at Mara Plains in Olare Motorogi (where Kicheche Bush is). It has game drive rights in both Olare Motorogi and Mara North, so we were freely crossing between both. Mara Plains is really a step above both Kicheche and Offbeat, and I had my own vehicle. There was a stay 4 pay 3 special which cuts their much higher rate down. Let me tell you though, it really was worth it. It’s a super splurge but I had a wonderful experience and many many sightings all on my own. The math may not work out for you but I didn’t think I could afford MP until my safari planner ran the numbers and with the special (which also included the airfare from Nairobi) it worked.

Let me know how you make out!

Thank you so much for your reply.I was very torn between Ndoto and kicheche bush. You had helped me make a decision! I will look into Mara Plains too and see if my budget allows. I am planning to get quotes direct and with an agent (go2africa) to see which one is better.

You might want to check with another safari planner or two just to comparison shop. I used Wild Source for this last safari (as well as mine in 2018) and they were the ones who came up with the Mara Plains special package. They are based in the US but co-own a camp in the Mara (which is also quite good!) and can book you anywhere you have your eye on. Different operators have access to different rates based on their relationships with camps and how much business they send to the camps. You don’t pay them for their services, the camps do. I’ve also had very good safaris with Expert Africa and Extraordinary Africa.

You really can’t go wrong with any camp you’re considering. Spoiled for choice is a good position to be in!

. I have contacted Mara Plains directly. They sent my request to tour company, and the agent mentioned if I am working with another tour company, I should stay with them to prevent confusion. So I was honest and told I would ask my agent at Go2africa to give me a quote instead. However, I will contact Wild Source just to see. I see the stay4pay3 deal at Mara Plains but is only good until mid Dec 2025. Not sure if they would run it again for 2026. Thanks again for all the tip!

Oh wow! Wild Source is so responsive. So much faster than Go2Africa! iThe deal for is still on until June 14, 2026! It works for my date! I have asked to for quotes to Mara Plains and Naoto and will compare than to direct pricing for Ndoto. =) Excited for my trip even though it is a year away! lol

Wild Source is really great with the personal touch and making sure they're matching you to your expectations. The itinerary I originally took to them last year after all my research (for this year's January safari) was nothing what I ended up with, and it was my most epic safari yet!! They really nailed it for me. I also think their pricing is likely to be better than a larger organization like Go2Africa, but I'll leave you to determine that! Good luck!!

I am glad you had a great trip! When I did my research, it always said to work with local tour African companies and stay away from US /European owned as their pricing isn't as competitve and they are not as good. I am glad I stumbled upon this post! I will get a quote for Mara Plains and Ndoto from Wild Source on Monday. It is taking longer than usual as one of the dates I need shows unavailable at Mara Plains. They will reach out to camp?? to confirm. Would you say you saw more animals in Mara Plains than Offbeat? I am going in June so I am not sure if it would be different by then. Can I ask you about tipping? What is the norm/amount for tipping guide, house keeping and waiters? Anyone else i am missing..manager/host???

That is a common misconception about needing to book locally to get a better price. I did an experiment a few safaris ago and got the itinerary and price I wanted from a non-local safari planner and asked a couple of local safari planners to match or beat it, and they can’t. A lot of them just do not deal with the level of camps you (and I) are considering. The savings a safari planner gets is usually due to the volume of business and long-standing relationship they have with camps. I’d say maybe the local planners are better at lower-budget accommodations, but I do not know that for sure.

I would say the wildlife is pretty comparable across all the conservancies. The last 3 years though Naboisho (which you haven’t mentioned) has been ridiculously plush with lions. In 2023, it was so thick with lions that they’d pushed the cheetahs and leopards out of the area. It remains very strong with lions but the cheetah and leopards have made their way back. I think the only caution about going in June is since it’s right after the heavy rains, you may find the tall grass a challenge especially for smaller animals or young cats.

The guidance on tipping is for your guide US$15-20 per person per day. The camps you are talking about have a staff tip box in a common area (or at Kicheche they leave you an envelope that you hand the manager as you leave) where you’d leave US$5-10 per person per day. You don’t tip the camp manager or anyone else individually. If you also have a spotter along with your guide, I tip them the same as the guide, but some tip them slightly less. Please always tip in local currency. These folks don’t get anywhere near an exchange desk for months on end especially with June going into high season, so the money isn’t usable by their families nearby. There is an exchange desk and an ATM right after immigration at NBO, you can exchange cash there.

I did hear good things about Naboshi too, and you have mentioned Kicheche Valley Camp above. Is that your favorite camp? I have noted everything you said in my planning sheet.. tip in shillings.

Hi. We have been to Kenya twice, both with our then teens. Have stayed at all the Kiecheche camps and can't recommend them more hightly. Smaller tented camps, stellar guides, private vehicles for a famlly of 4 which is a huge plus, and both guides and camp managers were wonderful with my then teens. Take a look at the family tents and any discounts they offer. If you stay with KIcheche camps, transportation is free between them in the Mara.

Our first time was spend between Laikipai and the Mara. Second time was all 3 Kicheche camps in the Mara-the Mara is the place to be.

Yes, Valley Camp is my favorite of the Kicheche camps. I had an excellent experience with them twice.