Luxury Safari & AccommodationMid-range camps in the Masai Mara are tented camps that sit between budget and luxury: an en-suite tent, meals included and game drives from camp. Safari directories list 14 camps with a mid-range or upper mid-range tier and a known location: five near Sekenani Gate, six near Talek Gate and three around the Ol Kiombo and Keekorok airstrips. Where a camp sits matters as much as its tier, and this page, part of our Masai Mara safari guide, shows you how to read both.
If you want to see what a mid-range stay costs before reading on, our 3-Day Maasai Mara Roar & Roam Safari is priced on the midrange tier from USD 1,420 per person, low season, two sharing. Prices depend on season, group size and lodge choice.
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Mid-range Masai Mara camps at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What does mid-range mean? | A directory grouping between budget and luxury, shown as mid-range or upper mid-range. It is not an official star rating, and directories sometimes disagree. |
| What you normally get | An en-suite tent, full board (meals included) and game drives from camp. Confirm the exact inclusions camp by camp. |
| Where the mid-range camps cluster | Beside Sekenani Gate, beside Talek Gate, and on the Talek River side around the Ol Kiombo and Keekorok airstrips. |
| Walking safaris | Not permitted in the Reserve. Offered in conservancies. |
| Mara Triangle | Only two places to stay: Mara Serena Safari Lodge and Little Governors’ Camp. |
| Our from-price | 3-day trip from USD 1,420 per person (midrange tier, low season, two sharing). |
What mid-range means in the Masai Mara
There is no official star rating for Mara camps. Directories sort them into luxury, mid-range (sometimes labelled upper mid-range) and budget using their own judgement, and they do not always agree. Ashnil Mara Camp is luxury on RoadTrip Africa and upper mid-range on masaimara.travel. Read a tier as a prompt for questions, not a promise.
In practice a mid-range stay usually comes down to three things:
- An en-suite tent. A proper bed and your own bathroom attached to the tent.
- Full board. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the camp. Ask whether drinks, laundry and park fees are included, rather than assuming.
- A trade on location. Eleven of the 14 mid-range camps are listed beside the Sekenani or Talek gates, not deep inside a conservancy. That shapes your mornings more than the tier label does.
The Mara now has far more places to stay than it once did: fewer than 10 lodges in the late 1970s, 140 in 2008 and nearly 200 in 2016, according to Wikipedia. A shortlist by area helps more than comparing names. For the wider choice between lodges, tented camps and budget options, read where to stay in the Masai Mara, and for other parks see our guide to choosing a Kenya safari lodge.
Where the mid-range camps are
Mara camps are usually described by the gate or airstrip they sit closest to, so this section groups them that way. The names come from safari directories checked in October 2026. A listing is not confirmation that a camp is open or has space on your dates, so check availability with the camp, or ask us, before you plan around one.
| Area | Camps listed as mid-range or upper mid-range |
|---|---|
| Beside Sekenani Gate, outside the Reserve | Tayari Luxury Camp, AA Lodge Mara, Sekenani Camp, La Maison Royale, Oseki Masai Mara Camp |
| Beside Talek Gate | Zebra Plains Camp, Mara Siligi Camp, Mara Napa Camp, Basecamp Adventure Camp, Kicheche Bush Camp, Mara Nyika by Great Plains |
| Talek River side and the airstrip areas | Fig Tree Camp, Tipilikwani Mara Camp, Sarova Mara Game Camp (all upper mid-range) |
Near Sekenani Gate
All five camps here are listed as outside the Reserve. Tayari has luxury in its name, yet the directory files it as mid-range, which shows how little a label alone tells you. Oseki Masai Mara Camp is a different camp from Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, which is in Naboisho Conservancy.
Near Talek Gate
Two of the six come with a caveat. Kicheche Bush Camp is placed near Talek Gate by RoadTrip Africa but in Olare Motorogi Conservancy by Expert Africa, and Mara Nyika by Great Plains is placed near Talek Gate by one directory and in Naboisho Conservancy, which Expert Africa calls “technically just outside”, by another. Basecamp Adventure Camp is mid-range on RoadTrip Africa but filed under a different heading on masaimara.travel. Where two sources disagree, ask the camp for its gate and for the drive from camp to that gate.
Talek River side and the airstrip areas
Fig Tree Camp and Tipilikwani Mara Camp are listed around the Ol Kiombo airstrip. Sarova Mara Game Camp is placed in the central-east and appears at both the Ol Kiombo and Keekorok airstrips, so confirm which side it is on. A nearby airstrip matters if you plan to fly in rather than drive. Two more upper mid-range names, Mara Crossings Camp and Mara Bush Camp, appear on masaimara.travel without a reliable location, so ask us where they sit before shortlisting them.
Oloololo, the Triangle and the conservancies
The camps that directories place on the Oloololo Gate side in the north-west (Kichwa Tembo, Kilima, Neptune Mara Rianta and Mara River Camp) are filed as luxury, so they belong in our guide to the best luxury lodges and camps in the Masai Mara. Inside the Mara Triangle the Mara Conservancy lists only two places to stay, Mara Serena Safari Lodge and Little Governors’ Camp. Conservancy camps such as Naboisho Camp, Kicheche Valley and Offbeat Mara appear in directories without any tier, so we do not call them mid-range here.
Outside the gate, inside the Reserve or in a conservancy
| Setting | What the listings show | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Beside Sekenani or Talek Gate | 11 of the 14 mid-range camps. Budget camps cluster here too. | You drive to the gate before a game drive starts. One directory notes that camps outside both the Reserve and the conservancies carry no extra bed levy; confirm this per camp. |
| Talek River side, airstrip areas | Fig Tree, Tipilikwani and Sarova, all upper mid-range. | Ask whether the camp is inside the Reserve boundary. Walking safaris are not permitted inside it. |
| Conservancy | Many camps, mostly with no tier stated. Mara North alone has 10 permanent camps. | Walking safaris are offered in conservancies, so choose one if you want bush walks. |
| Mara Triangle | Mara Serena Safari Lodge and Little Governors’ Camp only. | Guests pay a park fee towards the Triangle’s conservation. Bookings are made with each camp, not through the Conservancy. |
The directory masaimara.travel says almost all budget properties sit outside the main Reserve boundary, so at the edge of the park you can find several tiers side by side. Our guide to budget camps in the Masai Mara covers the lower end of that range.
What a mid-range Masai Mara safari costs
We do not print nightly rates for individual camps. The published package prices we found for luxury and mid-range camps conflict, so a single figure would mislead. What we can give you is our own from-prices, which use the midrange tier, low season and two people sharing: the 3-Day Maasai Mara Roar & Roam Safari from USD 1,420 per person and the 5 days Masai Mara Migration Safari from USD 2,750 per person. Prices depend on season, group size and lodge choice, so dates outside low season cost more.
An optional Masai Mara hot-air balloon flight is USD 550 per person. On the 3-day trip a Maasai village visit is USD 30, paid on the day. Fees last verified: October 2026.
Two mid-range ways to see the Mara
- 3-Day Maasai Mara Roar & Roam Safari: a short Mara break for travellers with only a few days to spare. From USD 1,420 per person.
- 5 days Masai Mara Migration Safari: more time on the plains, for travellers who want to plan around the wildebeest migration. From USD 2,750 per person.
How to choose between mid-range camps
- Find the gate or airstrip. Ask which one the camp uses and how long the drive from camp to that gate takes on your dates.
- Ask what the rate includes. Meals, drinks, game drives, laundry and park or conservancy fees are often priced differently from camp to camp.
- Check the tent. Confirm it is en-suite and ask what the bathroom has.
- Ask about children. Age limits vary by camp, and the directories we checked do not state one, so ask us.
- Ask for current opening dates. Some camps are seasonal or mobile, and listed dates can be out of date.
- Do not trust a label alone. Where directories disagree, as they do on Ashnil Mara Camp, ask what is actually in the tent.
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Frequently asked questions
What counts as a mid-range camp in the Masai Mara?
There is no official rating. Directories group camps as budget, mid-range or luxury, and a few appear in two tiers depending on the directory. Expect an en-suite tent and full board, then confirm the inclusions and the location for each camp.
Are mid-range camps inside the Masai Mara National Reserve?
Some are, some are not. Five of the 14 are listed outside the Reserve near Sekenani Gate, six close to Talek Gate and three on the Talek River side. One directory describes every property it lists as inside the Reserve, which is wrong for several camps, so ask each camp for its exact location.
Can I do a walking safari from a mid-range camp?
Not inside the Reserve, where walking safaris are not permitted. Conservancies offer them, so choose a conservancy camp if bush walks matter to you. Many conservancy camps have no tier stated in the directories, so tell us your budget and we will say which fit.
Are mid-range camps suitable for children?
Age limits vary by camp, so ask us before you book. Directories describe Offbeat Mara and Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, which has a two-bedroom family unit, as suited to families. Neither has a tier stated.
How much does a mid-range Masai Mara safari cost?
Our 3-day Mara trip starts from USD 1,420 per person and our 5-day migration trip from USD 2,750 per person, based on the midrange tier, low season and two sharing. Season, group size and lodge choice change the price, and a balloon flight adds USD 550 per person.
Can I stay in the Mara Triangle on a mid-range budget?
The Triangle has only two places to stay, Mara Serena Safari Lodge and Little Governors’ Camp. Little Governors’ Camp is listed as luxury, and the directories we checked state no tier for Mara Serena. Guests at both pay a park fee towards the Triangle’s conservation.
Photo: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya – 52515142411 by Ninara, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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