Basecamp Masai Mara

Saruni Basecamp Mara is a luxury eco camp located in the heart of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Location - Situated along the Talek River in a lush forest, the camp has a serene atmosphere. Birds and monkeys live just outside the tents, all built along the banks of the river on the border with the national reserve. The camp's location allows you to see across onto the plains and watch zebras and topi in the distance. We were able to access the park by simply walking over a cable bridge across the Talek River to the land cruisers and immediately see animals. One day a giraffe was standing in the parking spot for the land cruiser when we got back to the camp. Camp - Our tent had an en-suite bathroom with hot water shower, comfortable king size bed with warm blankets and fluffy pillows and a private terrace. Enjoy the amazing wildlife from the comfort of your tent, or the fig-tree platform. Wildlife - The game drives were spectacular. Our guide Bandi and tracker, Louis, were excellent at locating wildlife and getting us in position for a great photo opportunity. I loved the open air dining room at the edge of the river where you could watch zebras come to drink, giraffes stroll by or the buffalo stare at you from across the river. Staff - The team who manage Basecamp Masai Mara are from the local community and are the proud landowners who benefit from tourism and conservation. The Camp Manager made it a point to be very available for any questions or issues.The staff was beyond gracious, friendly and helpful. When it was dark, you always had a Maasai warrior to escort you around as the camp is not fenced. I always felt very safe! In the evening there is a turndown service that provides hot water bottles when it is cool. They also handled our flight and transfers to and from the camp for a worry free stay. Recommend! Asante sana

We stayed here for two nights whilst on a safari trip. The location is great here, to get to the Masai Mara reserve you just walk across a bridge and you’re there! This also means at night whilst in your tent you can see the animals across the river. The tents are comfortable and have everything you need, they felt very luxury. At night the team also put hot water bottles in your bed which is great. The staff were amazing. They walked us to our tents when it was dark and happily chatted and taught us about their culture. The waiter who served us our meals was really kind and friendly and enjoyed chatting to us. Food was great - on safari days they packed us a lovely packed lunch picnic and the evening meals were delicious. My only wish is that at night when it gets late the guards asked guests to keep noise down as we were kept awake quite late by some very noisy guests one night when we had an early start. I would recommend this place for sure to others - a great experience of the Masai Mara!

Fantastic place and the staff here were exceptional. Great experience. First ever experience of camping/glamping and we were very surprised at the experience and our “room”. We didn’t really know what to expect having not done anything like this before and found the base camp to be extremely comfortable, secure and in a great location. The room is spacious and has everything you need. The bed extremely comfortable and although hot water was a little hit and miss, this was something we expected given where we were staying. We had a river view with seating outside and often sat outside just to read and enjoy the piece and quiet. The team here have been exceptional and look after everyone at such a high level. And our thanks to Ben especially who looked after us every meal time and was a pleasure to get to know. All the team here were friendly and made sure we were always safe especially at night time. We highly recommend staying here. We’ve had a great time and is an unforgettable experience.