How to Spend 3 Days in Maasai Mara National Reserve: A First-Time Safari Itinerary

If you’re planning a safari in Kenya and wondering how to spend 3 days in Maasai Mara National Reserve, this itinerary walks you through exactly what to expect—from game drives and cultural experiences to where to stay and what surprised us most.

During our 12-day trip to Kenya, my boyfriend Tim and I, along with our friends, Allison, Ryan, Emily, and Bryan, spent three unforgettable days in the Maasai Mara, exploring the reserve on multiple game drives, visiting a Maasai village, and staying at Mara Serena Safari Lodge.

This 3-day Maasai Mara itinerary reflects our real experience, including early mornings, long game drives, and even two failed hot air balloon attempts—because well, that’s safari life!

This post breaks down our experience day-by-day, so you can use it as a realistic planning guide—especially if this is your first African safari.

Let’s dive in!

If there’s one place that defines the classic image of safari in Kenya, it’s the Maasai Mara.

It’s the park many people picture when they imagine their first African safari—and for good reason!

This vast reserve is where rolling, golden savannahs stretch endlessly toward the horizon, big cats roam freely, and wildlife sightings feel almost cinematic.

What makes the Maasai Mara especially meaningful within a Kenya itinerary is how different it feels from other regions.

After the rugged remoteness of Samburu National Reserve, the forested landscapes of Mount Kenya National Park, and the concentrated wildlife encounters in Lake Nakuru National Park, the Mara feels wide open and alive in a completely new way.

This is the heart of Kenya safari country—and the place where everything you’ve experienced up to this point comes together.

Located in southwest Kenya along the Tanzanian border, the Maasai Mara National Reserve forms the northern extension of the Serengeti ecosystem.

Together, they create one of the most important wildlife corridors in Africa.

The Mara is best known for:

• Its high concentration of big cats, including lions, cheetahs, and leopards
• Open grasslands that make wildlife spotting easier than in more forested parks
• The Great Migration (typically July–October), when millions of wildebeest and zebras move through the region

Even outside migration season, the Maasai Mara delivers year-round game viewing and some of the most dramatic safari landscapes in East Africa.

For first-time safari travelers especially, the Mara offers a sense of scale, abundance, and classic safari scenery that’s hard to match elsewhere.

Our time in the Maasai Mara was designed to balance full game-drive days with moments to slow down and simply take it all in.

We spent three full days exploring the reserve, with early morning and afternoon drives that let us experience different light, animal behavior, and moods across the landscape.

From sweeping, wildlife-filled plains to quieter moments watching elephants and giraffes wander past, the pace here felt intentional rather than rushed.

The sheer size of the reserve meant every outing brought new surprises, from unexpected predator sightings to quiet moments watching herds move across the plains.

While the Maasai Mara is a place you could easily spend much longer, three days gave us an incredible introduction and delivered some of the most unforgettable sightings of our entire Kenya trip.

Here’s exactly how we spent our three days in the Maasai Mara, what we saw, and what made each day distinct.

After breakfast at Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp, we departed around 9:00 am and made the roughly five-hour drive to Maasai Mara National Reserve.

The drive itself was scenic, with a few planned stops along the way, including lunch at Sarova Mara Game Camp, before officially entering the reserve in the early afternoon.

One of our first stops before fully immersing ourselves in safari life was a Maasai village visit, which ended up being one of the most memorable cultural experiences of our entire Kenya trip!

We learned about Maasai traditions, watched the men perform their famous high-jumping dance, joined in singing and chanting, and even went inside a traditional Maasai home, all while hearing about daily life and nomadic routines.

One detail that really stood out was how often villages relocate with the seasons.

Each time they move, the women rebuild the homes, a responsibility passed down through generations.

We also learned how central cattle are to Maasai life—not just as a food source, but as a measure of wealth, status, and community.

Before leaving, we supported the village by purchasing a few small souvenirs—simple but meaningful keepsakes from the experience (I always buy an ornament when I travel, and Tim went with a magnet).

From there, we officially entered Maasai Mara National Reserve, the only region in Kenya where it’s still possible to see the same amount of animals that existed a century ago, and the wildlife sightings started almost immediately.

Over the course of the afternoon drive, we saw giraffes, impalas, elephants, hippos, zebras, birds, hyenas, a black-back jackal, a Topi, aka the Blue Jeans antelope, and even a boa constrictor. 

Dennis, our guide from Sense of Africa, shared his extensive knowledge of African wildlife and introduced us to the different “fives,” and we even came up with some of our own.

• Big Five: Lion, African elephant, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, and leopard
• Small Five: Elephant shrew, antlion, rhinoceros beetle, buffalo weaver, and leopard tortoise
• Shy Five: Porcupine, bat-eared fox, aardvark, meerkat, and aardwolf
• Ugly Five: Hyena, warthog, marabou stork, wildebeest, and vulture
• Samburu Special Five: Grévy’s zebra, Somali ostrich, gerenuk antelope, Beisa oryx, and reticulated giraffe
• Scaly Five: African rock python, black mamba, green mamba, crocodile, puff adder (the snake that kills the most people in Africa), vipers, etc. (okay, I guess there’s more than five of these, and luckily, we didn’t see most of them—I hate snakes!)

We arrived at Mara Serena Safari Lodge around 6:30 pm and were immediately blown away by the views.

Perched on a hill deep within the reserve, the lodge offers sweeping views of the plains—and during migration season, it’s an incredible vantage point for wildebeest crossings.

After settling into our rooms, we met for dinner on the outdoor patio, enjoying a buffet meal and watching the sun fade over the savanna.

After dinner, we grabbed some drinks and enjoyed another Maasai tribe demonstration, similar to the one we had seen earlier in the day, before calling it an early night.

We needed to rest up for our first full safari day in the Mara!

A Broad Recommendation: Always lock your balcony doors. Baboons can (and will) try to let themselves in—Allison and Ryan caught one mid-break-in attempt. Thankfully, the lock held.

Lizards, however, are another story. Allison and Ryan had one of these living in their room for several days here, haha.

Day two started early with a 6:30 am pickup—and it was one we’d been excited about for weeks.

Drum roll, please! It was shirt day.

Allison’s friend had custom-made “Safari Squad” shirts for the group, which meant lots of photos throughout the day and peak group-trip energy.

After taking our time and enjoying the drive and scenery, we arrived at our hippo breakfast spot—a shaded setup overlooking the river, complete with champagne, juice, and a full breakfast spread.

I posed the question, “on a scale of one to hippo, how hungry are you guys right now?” since it was getting late into the morning by now, and I was starving.

Do you get my reference and remember the game Hungry Hungry Hippos?

Breakfast, of course, was delicious, and as we ate, we watched hippos lounging along the riverbank, occasionally surfacing with grunts and splashes.

Note: there were bathrooms here, and they were nicer than some of the others we had encountered on our long drives, so it’s totally okay to go all out on the champagne and various juices they offer at breakfast.

After breakfast, we made our way back to the lodge with a short game drive along the way, spotting ostriches, zebras, tommys, and more antelope species before returning around midday.

The afternoon was intentionally slow-paced. We spent time lounging by the pool, soaking in the views, grabbing lunch, and resting, which ended up being much needed after the early morning.

A Broad Recommendation: Don’t forget to bring your bathing suit and wear lots of sunscreen—that African sun is no joke!

Safari days are long, and the downtime helped us recharge for the afternoon.

Later in the day, we headed back out for another afternoon game drive, which delivered some incredible sightings.

We saw lions again, several hyenas (including one standing right in the middle of the road), a lone endangered black rhino, and a baby elephant crossing the road right in front of our vehicle.

Funny side note: Allison and Ryan had multiple close encounters with wildlife near their room throughout the trip, including “almost getting eaten by a hyena” one night, which made us joke that animals were just inexplicably drawn to them.

By early evening, we returned to the lodge for dinner and another early night, knowing we had an especially early morning planned for Day 3.

There was just one last thing we needed to do, and that was for the fake Iceland crew to take some shots with our “I was in Iceland” bag in our Safari Squad shirts!

If you don’t know what I’m referring to, check out my full Kenya post to read about how the four of us randomly ended up in Iceland on this trip.

Day three started very early—around 4:00 am—as we geared up for a hot air balloon safari over the Maasai Mara.

We were set up with a different driver and safari vehicle for this excursion, and the drive to the launch site took about an hour and was chilly but eventful.

Along the way, we stopped in the road and watched two lionesses walk directly past our vehicle, which was both thrilling and slightly nerve-wracking given the open design of the safari vehicle.

Luckily, they walked right past us without a care in the world. That all would’ve been fine if we hadn’t gotten stuck in the mud about thirty seconds later. Not gonna lie—this is when we all started panicking.

Luckily, our driver fearlessly got out of the vehicle and successfully pushed it free, and we were able to continue on our journey.

Unfortunately, once we arrived, we were told the wind conditions were too strong and the balloon ride was canceled for the morning. Talk about a case of the Mondays!

To make up for it, our driver graciously took us on a bonus game drive, where we spotted the same lionesses, this time actively hunting.

Afterwards, we returned to the lodge by mid-morning for breakfast.

Later that morning, Dennis picked us up for another game drive, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip!

We spotted two cheetahs resting in the bushes—tricky to see at first, but incredible once we finally spotted them.

Then, we stopped at the marker dividing Kenya and Tanzania, and Dennis let us step out for photos straddling the border. We even got a photo with Dennis, the man himself!

This was my own real-life A Walk to Remember moment—do you remember that book or movie? It was one of my favorites growing up!

If so, you may recall when Landon helps Jamie cross “being in two places at once” off her bucket list by taking her to straddle the state line.

We straddled the line between Tanzania and Kenya and were technically in two countries at once—how cool!

After lunch back at the lodge, we spent a little time relaxing and wildlife watching from the bar area before heading out for our final afternoon game drive.

Exhausted, happy, and thoroughly safari-ed out, we returned to the lodge for dinner and an early night.

We had another buffet dinner and headed to bed after an exhilarating, animal-filled day.

But wait, there’s more! Technically, we had one more morning in the Maasai Mara—and it ended up being a quiet, reflective sendoff to an unforgettable stay.

The evening prior, Dennis worked his magic and managed to reschedule our balloon ride attempt for the following morning.

So, we woke early with plans for a hot air balloon safari…again. But once again, due to weather conditions, the balloon flights were canceled.

While disappointing in the moment (especially since this was our second missed attempt in Kenya), it didn’t take long to remember how lucky we were just to be there.

Despite our momentary heartbreak, we had an eventful, final early-morning game drive as the sun rose over the plains and we headed back to our hotel.

The pace felt slower than previous days—less about chasing sightings and more about soaking in the scenery.

We watched animals stir in the cool morning air, saw a hippo walking through the tall grass (hippos are Allison’s favorite!), some more giraffes, elephants and Cape buffaloes, and reflected on just how much we’d experienced over the past few days.

It was a calm, grounding end to our time in the Maasai Mara—and a reminder that even when plans don’t go exactly as expected, safari has a way of giving you exactly what you need.

Traveling from Lake Nakuru National Park to Maasai Mara National Reserve is a full-day journey, but it’s a manageable and scenic one, especially if you’re traveling with a driver or on a guided safari itinerary.

We departed Lake Elmenteita (just outside Lake Nakuru) around 9:00 am and reached Maasai Mara in the early afternoon, with a total drive time of roughly five hours.

Along the way, we stopped for lunch and a few short breaks, which helped break up the drive.

The final stretch into the reserve is slower and bumpier, but once you enter Maasai Mara, the drive itself becomes part of the experience—wildlife sightings can start immediately, even before reaching your lodge.

Good to know:

• Roads can be rough, especially after rain
• A 4×4 vehicle is strongly recommended
• If you’re not self-driving, hiring a private driver or booking a safari package makes logistics much easier (we went with Sense of Africa for our entire 12-day Kenyan safari)
• Expect limited cell service once you get closer to the reserve

If you’re coming directly from Nairobi, the drive time is similar (around five to six hours), depending on traffic and road conditions.

Choosing where to stay in the Maasai Mara can shape your entire safari experience.

The biggest decision is whether to stay inside the reserve or just outside the gates.

Lodges inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve offer earlier access to game drives and fewer long commutes, while properties outside the reserve can be more affordable but often require longer daily drives.

For first-time safari travelers especially, staying inside the reserve makes a noticeable difference.

We stayed at Mara Serena Safari Lodge, located inside Maasai Mara National Reserve and perched on a hill overlooking the savanna.

This elevated setting gives the lodge sweeping, panoramic views of the plains below—and during the Great Migration, it’s known as a prime vantage point for watching wildebeest herds move across the landscape.

Why we liked it:

• Located inside the reserve (less driving, more wildlife time)
• Incredible views from every room
• Private balconies overlooking the savanna
• Large swimming pool with a view (perfect for midday downtime)
• Buffet-style meals with plenty of variety
• On-site spa, gym, bar/lounge, and gift shop

Good to know before booking:

• WiFi is available but unreliable (especially in rooms)
• Wildlife regularly wanders near guest areas (lock balcony doors!)
• This is a large lodge, so it feels more social than ultra-intimate

👉 Best for: First-time safari travelers who want comfort, great views, and easy logistics without going fully ultra-luxury.

If Mara Serena Safari Lodge isn’t the right fit—or availability is limited—here are a few other well-reviewed options to consider based on travel style and budget.

These offer a more intimate experience than large lodges while still providing comfort and excellent wildlife access.

• Ashnil Mara Camp: Riverside setting, good balance of comfort and price
• Sarova Mara Game Camp: Popular, reliable option with solid amenities
• Basecamp Maasai Mara: Eco-focused and community-oriented

👉 Best for: Travelers who want a classic safari camp feel without luxury pricing.

These camps offer top-tier service, fewer guests, and immersive safari experiences.

• Angama Mara: Iconic views overlooking the Great Rift Valley
• Mahali Mzuri: Ultra-luxury with exceptional guiding
• Sand River Masai Mara: Elegant, classic safari atmosphere

👉 Best for: Honeymooners, special occasions, or travelers prioritizing exclusivity.

Some lodges sit just outside the Maasai Mara gates and can be more affordable, but they require longer daily drives into the reserve.

• Jambo Mara Safari Lodge: Comfortable rooms, friendly service, and good value for the price
• PrideInn Mara Camp: Classic tented safari feel at a lower price point
• Maasai Mara Sopa Lodge: Lodge-style comfort at a slightly reduced cost

👉 Best for: Budget-conscious travelers who don’t mind earlier wake-ups and longer transit times.

• Book early if traveling July–October (Great Migration season)
• Prioritize location inside the reserve if budget allows
• Ask whether game drives, park fees, and meals are included (drinks were not included at most lodges)
• Confirm cancellation policies (especially during shoulder seasons)

If you’re visiting Maasai Mara as part of a longer Kenya safari, many tour operators (like the one we used) can bundle accommodations, transfers, and game drives into one seamless itinerary.

We attempted the Maasai Mara hot air balloon safari twice—and both were canceled due to wind.

While disappointing, this is very common and worth planning for.

What to know before booking:

• Weather cancellations are frequent
• Pickups are extremely early (around 4 am)
• You may still get a game drive as a backup
• Not guaranteed, even if prepaid

A Broad Recommendation: Book with a provider that offers flexible rescheduling or refunds. Luckily, ours did!

Packing well can make or break your safari experience, especially with early mornings, long drives, and changing temperatures throughout the day.

Here’s what I was especially glad to have in Maasai Mara:

• Sunscreen (and reapply—being near the equator is no joke)
• Bug spray or insect repellent (I personally like these bracelets)
• Motion sickness remedies (especially for bumpy roads)
• Personal medications + basic first aid
• Lip balm and moisturizer (the air can be dry)
• Hand sanitizer and wipes
• Female Urinal for long drives/rest stops with squat toilets

👉 For a complete packing list and more planning tips, check out my Kenya Travel Tips

Q: Is Maasai Mara National Reserve worth visiting?

Absolutely. It’s one of the best safari destinations in Africa, known for dense wildlife populations and the Great Migration.

Q: How many days do you need in Maasai Mara?

Three days is ideal for first-time visitors. It allows for multiple game drives, rest time, and a chance to see the Big Five without feeling rushed.

Q: What is the best time to visit Maasai Mara?

July–October is peak season for the Great Migration, but wildlife viewing is excellent year-round.

We visited in February and had an amazing time! Plus, this time of year offers lots of baby sightings.

Q: Where should you stay in Maasai Mara?

Staying inside the reserve (like Mara Serena Safari Lodge) maximizes game drive time and early morning access.

Q: Is a hot air balloon safari guaranteed?

No. Weather conditions often lead to cancellations, so consider it a bonus experience rather than a must-do.

Maasai Mara National Reserve was, without question, one of the most unforgettable stops of our entire Kenya trip.

From sunrise game drives and champagne breakfasts overlooking hippos to unexpected leopard sightings and endless savanna views, the Mara delivered moment after moment that felt straight out of a documentary—only we were actually there.

While the early mornings, long drives, and unpredictable weather can be tiring, the wildlife density, scenery, and sheer magic of this place make it absolutely worth the effort.

If you’re planning a Kenya safari and deciding where to spend your time, Maasai Mara deserves a spot on your itinerary.

If you’re continuing your journey through Kenya, you may also enjoy:

• Lake Nakuru National Park & Lake Elmenteita Safari Experience
• Mount Kenya National Park & Serena Mountain Lodge Stay
• Samburu National Reserve Safari Experience
• How to Spend One Day in Nairobi

Together, these stops create a well-rounded Kenya itinerary that balances iconic wildlife, varied landscapes, and meaningful cultural experiences.

Safe travels!

XOXO Sara at Travel A-Broads