Mara Crossing Luxury Camp — Hotel in Mara ward

My family stayed at Mara Crossings Camp in early July, and we would strongly recommend planning your safari with them. The campsite itself is absolutely stunning, with a peaceful central deck area for lounging and meals that overlooks the spectacular rapids of the Mara River; each morning, you can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while watching a family of hippos cool off in the water and crocodiles sprawl out on the riverbed. The tents are incredibly comfortable, with plenty of space to move around, a full bathroom with hot, running water, two layers of insulation to maintain a comfortable temperature and keep bugs and animals away, and cozy beds with a hot water bottle tucked under the covers each night to keep us extra warm. We also had consistent electricity throughout our stay and had no issue charging our devices before each safari trip.

We were incredibly impressed with the food at the camp — every meal was truly delicious. There were plenty of options every time we sat down to eat — we either had our pick of a full buffet (some breakfasts and lunches) or chose between 2-3 options for appetizer, entree, and dessert ahead of the meal. Rarely did we finish a meal with food left on our plates.

But by far the most impressive aspect of our stay at Mara Crossings Camp was the attentiveness and kindness of the staff. Every single member of the staff went above and beyond to accommodate us, from adjusted meals for my brothers’ dairy allergy to special check-ins when I was dealing with a medical issue (completely unrelated to the location). Gordon, the camp manager, is always around and available to help. Caroline answers every question about shop items with a smile and, as the massage therapist on site, helped us unwind after long days out on our safari truck. Freddy, the bartender, always greeted us with his warm smile, infectious laugh, and delicious dawas. He also made our sundown experience — watching the sunset over drinks and light bites out in the savannah — so special. The chefs and waitstaff worked tirelessly to make our experience great, and they were always very friendly and accommodating. The Maasai who helped escort us around camp, particularly at night, were very nice and helpful as well.

Our designated point-of-contact (who doubled as our waiter), Kelvin, was such a bright spot of our visit. He was there to greet us each morning, regardless of how early our wake-up call was, and saw us off to our tent each night. It didn’t take him very long to remember our coffee orders and food preferences — he always went above and beyond to ensure my brother knew what he could and could not eat due to dietary restrictions and took it upon himself to have the chefs prepare alternatives for him. When I was dealing with my aforementioned medical issue, he checked on me several times, delivered food and water to the tent, and adjusted our scheduled activities as needed. He was exceptional: thoughtful, kind, caring, friendly, and informative. We were sad to say goodbye at the end of our stay.

And, of course, what you come to Maasai Mara for: the safari. We LOVED our guide, Joshua. He showed us time and again that he was the most experienced and informed safari guide out on the roads each day. Not only was he able to successfully locate and spot all of the animals we were hoping to see during our time in Maasai Mara, but he also expertly navigated the terrain to bring us within mere feet of lions, elephants, giraffes, hyenas, cheetahs, antelopes, hippos, and more. He had an uncanny ability to predict which way the animals would move and how they would behave in any given situation, and he would move the truck to give us the best view of the action. He was SO smart and knowledgeable, and he answered all of our questions and taught us so much. We felt very lucky to have Joshua as our guide, and if you can request him as yours, we would highly recommend doing so.

This was the trip of a lifetime for our family, and we could not imagine a better experience than the one we had at Mara...

My family stayed at Mara Crossings Camp in early July, and we would strongly recommend planning your safari with them. The campsite itself is absolutely stunning, with a peaceful central deck area for lounging and meals that overlooks the spectacular rapids of the Mara River; each morning, you can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while watching a family of hippos cool off in the water and crocodiles sprawl out on the riverbed. The tents are incredibly comfortable, with plenty of space to move around, a full bathroom with hot, running water, two layers of insulation to maintain a comfortable temperature and keep bugs and animals away, and cozy beds with a hot water bottle tucked under the covers each night to keep us extra warm. We also had consistent electricity throughout our stay and had no issue charging our devices before each safari trip.||We were incredibly impressed with the food at the camp — every meal was truly delicious. There were plenty of options every time we sat down to eat — we either had our pick of a full buffet (some breakfasts and lunches) or chose between 2-3 options for appetizer, entree, and dessert ahead of the meal. Rarely did we finish a meal with food left on our plates.||But by far the most impressive aspect of our stay at Mara Crossings Camp was the attentiveness and kindness of the staff. Every single member of the staff went above and beyond to accommodate us, from adjusted meals for my brothers’ dairy allergy to special check-ins when I was dealing with a medical issue (completely unrelated to the location). Gordon, the camp manager, is always around and available to help. Caroline answers every question about shop items with a smile and, as the massage therapist on site, helped us unwind after long days out on our safari truck. Freddy, the bartender, always greeted us with his warm smile, infectious laugh, and delicious dawas. He also made our sundown experience — watching the sunset over drinks and light bites out in the savannah — so special. The chefs and waitstaff worked tirelessly to make our experience great, and they were always very friendly and accommodating. The Maasai who helped escort us around camp, particularly at night, were very nice and helpful as well.||Our designated point-of-contact (who doubled as our waiter), Kelvin, was such a bright spot of our visit. He was there to greet us each morning, regardless of how early our wake-up call was, and saw us off to our tent each night. It didn’t take him very long to remember our coffee orders and food preferences — he always went above and beyond to ensure my brother knew what he could and could not eat due to dietary restrictions and took it upon himself to have the chefs prepare alternatives for him. When I was dealing with my aforementioned medical issue, he checked on me several times, delivered food and water to the tent, and adjusted our scheduled activities as needed. He was exceptional: thoughtful, kind, caring, friendly, and informative. We were sad to say goodbye at the end of our stay.||And, of course, what you come to Maasai Mara for: the safari. We LOVED our guide, Joshua. He showed us time and again that he was the most experienced and informed safari guide out on the roads each day. Not only was he able to successfully locate and spot all of the animals we were hoping to see during our time in Maasai Mara, but he also expertly navigated the terrain to bring us within mere feet of lions, elephants, giraffes, hyenas, cheetahs, antelopes, hippos, and more. He had an uncanny ability to predict which way the animals would move and how they would behave in any given situation, and he would move the truck to give us the best view of the action. He was SO smart and knowledgeable, and he answered all of our questions and taught us so much. We felt very lucky to have Joshua as our guide, and if you can request him as yours, we would highly recommend doing so.||This was the trip of a lifetime for our family, and we could not imagine a better experience than the one we had at Mara...

A hidden gem. Perfect.

We spent 3 nights/4 days at Mara Crossings in mid-October 2022. The camp was perfect - luxurious, excellent food, attentive staff, and an amazing location just above two cascading waterfalls full of hippos. The white-noise sound and grunting hippos were lovely at night. The tents were spacious, private, and well-appointed, with comfortable beds, rainfall hot water showers and electricity/plug-ins, both 24 hours. The location was ideal: abundant wildlife just outside of camp (sometimes in the camp too).

We were assigned a private land cruiser and an excellent driver. Our driver, Joshua, had an uncanny knack for knowing where to go to get us the best views of rare animals and views. We were very happy that we booked this camp.

I had a lot of questions before coming to my first safari, so I’ll share some of what I learned:

Location: there’s a reason all the camps are in this section of the park - it’s an excellent location for game drives. Mara Crossings shares the same airstrip with Governor’s and is just south of that area. We came across herds of elephants and several giraffes on the way into camp. Immediately after leaving camp on our first morning game drive, we found three giraffes and an elephant against the sunrise, and then followed around multiple groups of lions that were just around the corner. Migration had left the area behind at this time of year, leaving the “regular” wildlife behind - and that was plentiful. We were alone with the animals most of the time - no other guests or vehicles around. We were able to be as close to the animals as we wanted to be.

Crowds: In mid-October, we had near isolation and were often the only vehicles around when observing animals. I think this is partly because we were at Mara Crossings, which is much smaller and more private than other camps. The migration tourists were gone. We spent most of our time alone observing the animals and had a vehicle and driver to ourselves,

Mosquitoes: we didn’t notice any mosquitoes at this time of year. The camp was in the low 80s during the day, low-60s at night. Perfect temperatures/weather.

Fly or drive in to the safari? It seems like you can only get the truly open-sided safari vehicles if you fly in. Those vehicles stay in the park; if you drive in from Nairobi you may be in a pop-top van or a land cruiser that is enclosed with windows and may share with other guests. Be sure to ask about the vehicle and driver you will get with whatever safari you book.

Length of stay: three nights felt just right for a first safari. We would have been disappointed to leave after only one full day. We had two full days in the park and were able to see a lot of variety in animals and scenery.

All in all, we were very happy that we made the choice to stay at Mara Crossings and hated to leave it behind. I imagine it’s a good spot for migration season, even though it will be crowded then, because it’s near some of the most interesting crossing points. You can’t...