Anatomy
Very little of it is margin
Which is why a much cheaper quote is not a cheaper camp. It is a different set of choices.
What a night is built from
- Park and conservancy fees. Charged per person per day, and rarely small: $200 a day in the Masai Mara reserve between July and December, $110 at Ol Pejeta, $90 at Amboseli. In the Mara conservancies the fee is the lease payment to the Maasai landowning families, and it is the reason the land is not fenced or farmed. Table below.
- The camp. Staff, food flown or driven a long way, generators, water, and maintenance in a climate that destroys things. Small camps often rebuild every few years.
- Vehicle and guide. The guide is the biggest single determinant of your experience and is paid accordingly. Fuel in a remote park is not cheap.
- Transport between parks. Internal flights or long road transfers, frequently 10–20% of a whole trip.
- The agency. Planning, availability checks, contracting, payment handling, and somebody answering the phone at 11pm when a flight is cancelled.
The four ways a cheap quote is made cheap
- A shared vehicle. You will see everything, on five strangers’ schedule. Frequently the entire price gap between two quotes.
- A camp outside the boundary. Lower headline rate, an hour to the gate each way, and a park entry fee charged every time you drive in.
- Driving a leg that should be flown. Nairobi to the Mara is five to six hours. Real savings, and most of a day each way.
- Rate periods that do not match your dates. Check the quoted season against your travel dates.
Test any quote with one question
"Is this fully inclusive of park and conservancy fees, and is the vehicle private to my party?"
A clear yes or no to both tells you most of what you need to know. Hesitation on either is itself the answer.
Why we itemise
Because an itemised quote can be compared and a total cannot. If another agency comes in lower, we would rather you could see exactly which of the four choices above they made, and then decide.
Sometimes the answer is that theirs is genuinely better value for what you want. We would rather you found that out from a comparison than from a shared vehicle in the Mara.
What the gate costs
What the gate actually charges
These sit inside an inclusive quote rather than beside it, which is why they are easy to miss and easy to leave out. Non-resident adult, per person per day, in US dollars.
| Park or reserve | Adult, per day |
|---|---|
| Masai Mara National Reserve | $100 January to June, $200 July to December |
| Ol Pejeta Conservancy | $110 |
| Amboseli National Park | $90 |
| Lake Nakuru National Park | $90 |
| Samburu National Reserve | $85 |
| Tsavo East and Tsavo West | $80 |
| Nairobi National Park | $80 |
| Meru National Park | $70 |
| Aberdare National Park | $70 |
In the Mara reserve, $50 for children 9 to 17, under 9 free. Tickets run 6am to 6pm. Leave the reserve after 10am and a second full day is charged. The Mara conservancies are separate ground: Mara North, Naboisho, Olare Motorogi, Ol Kinyei charge $80 to $150 per adult per night, usually inside the camp rate rather than charged at a gate. That fee is the lease payment to the Maasai families who own the land, and it is what buys a cap on how many vehicles may attend a sighting, off-road driving to an animal, night drives and walking with an armed guide. Indicative 2026/27 rates. Your quote confirms exact pricing for your dates.
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