PARK FEES

Maasai Mara entry fees: park fees for every visitor, and how to pay

Maasai Mara entry fees per person per day: non-residents USD 200 from July to December and USD 100 from January to June; Kenyan citizens KSh 3,000 or KSh 1,500; East African residents KSh 5,000 or KSh 2,500. Children 8 and under enter free.

Park fees for the Maasai Mara National Reserve are set by Narok County, and the Mara Triangle, run by the Mara Conservancy, charges the same per-person rates on its side of the Mara River. The rates below are the current ones for every visitor category.

Park fees are charged per person for each day you spend in the Reserve, on a ticket that runs from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. Low season runs from 1 January to 30 June and high season from 1 July to 31 December, and each day is charged at the rate for its own season. Below you will find the full fee table, who counts as a resident, how the 12-hour ticket works, worked examples, our fee calculator, vehicle and camping charges, the gates, how to pay and the park rules.

KEY FACTS

Maasai Mara park fees at a glance

12-hour ticket

Valid from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, whatever time you enter. It does not carry overnight.

Two seasons

Low season 1 January to 30 June; high season 1 July to 31 December.

Children 8 and under free

Children aged 9 to 17 pay the child rate in every visitor category.

Bring your ID

A passport or Kenyan National ID. The Mara Triangle asks for proof of residence for resident rates and does not accept driving licences.

Card or M-Pesa

Buy online through KAPS, or pay by M-Pesa or card on arrival in the Mara Triangle. No cash in the Triangle.

Out by 11:00 am

Staying inside? You pay nothing on your departure day if you leave by 11:00 am without a game drive.

FEE TABLE

Maasai Mara entry fees by visitor category

Park fees per person per day in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, including the Mara Triangle. Non-resident entry fees are in US dollars; all other categories pay in Kenya shillings (KSh).

Maasai Mara National Reserve entry fees per person per day
Visitor	Adults, Jan to Jun	Adults, Jul to Dec	Children 9 to 17, Jan to Jun	Children 9 to 17, Jul to Dec	Students
Non-residents	USD 100	USD 200	USD 50	USD 50	USD 50
Kenyan citizens	KSh 1,500	KSh 3,000	KSh 300	KSh 500	KSh 300 (Jan to Jun), KSh 500 (Jul to Dec)
East African residents	KSh 2,500	KSh 5,000	KSh 1,000	KSh 2,000	KSh 1,000
Narok residents	KSh 1,000	KSh 2,000	KSh 200	KSh 500	Pupils in uniform: KSh 300 per bus load (Jul to Dec), free (Jan to Jun)

Children 8 and under are free in every category. East African resident students’ conservation clubs pay KSh 300 per certified club from July to December and nothing from January to June. The Mara Triangle has no separate East African resident student rate, only the conservation-club rate.

VISITOR CATEGORIES

Choosing the correct visitor rate

Non-residents pay in US dollars. This covers everyone who cannot show Kenyan citizenship or East African residence, and visitors without a valid passport.
Kenyan citizens show a Kenyan National ID; citizen children can show a birth certificate.
East African residents: the Mara Triangle gives resident rates to residents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi who show a passport with a work permit or an appropriate visa. Narok County’s schedule does not define the category further.
Narok residents pay the lowest adult rate. The County’s schedule does not say what proof of residence it accepts, so ask at the gate or your camp before you travel.
Students: in the Mara Triangle, student rates are only for organised groups of 12 or more students aged up to 23, sponsored by a recognised school or college and authorised by the Mara Conservancy at least two weeks ahead. Students on a personal holiday pay the full rate.

The Mara Triangle does not accept driving licences as proof. Without the right document, you pay the non-resident rate.

TICKET RULES

The daytime ticket and overnight-stay conditions

Every Maasai Mara entry ticket runs from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, whatever time you enter, and it does not carry overnight. If you enter at 2:00 pm, you pay the same day rate as someone who entered at 6:00 am.

If you stay at a camp or lodge inside the Reserve, you pay park fees for each day you are there. On the day you leave, you pay nothing more if you are out of the Reserve by 11:00 am and do not take a game drive. A morning game drive on your departure day needs another day’s ticket. When the 12-hour ticket started in July 2023 the cut-off was 10:00 am, so some older guides still give that time.

Plan your days around the Reserve’s hours as well. In the Main Reserve, visitors staying outside must leave by 7:00 pm and visitors staying inside must be back at their camp by 7:00 pm, and no one may enter after 6:30 pm. The Mara Triangle has the same 7:00 pm rule. Night game drives are not allowed in the Reserve.

WORKED EXAMPLES

Worked park-fee examples

Each example multiplies people by days with a park ticket, at the rates in the fee table above.

Worked examples of Maasai Mara park fees
Trip	Working	Park fees
2 non-resident adults, 3 days in the Reserve in August	2 × 3 × USD 200	USD 1,200
The same trip in March	2 × 3 × USD 100	USD 600
Non-resident family, 2 days in July: 2 adults, a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old	Adults 2 × 2 × USD 200 = USD 800; the 12-year-old 2 × USD 50 = USD 100; the 6-year-old is free	USD 900
2 Kenyan citizen adults, 2 days in December	2 × 2 × KSh 3,000	KSh 12,000
East African resident couple, 3 days in May	2 × 3 × KSh 2,500	KSh 15,000
Self-drive in the Mara Triangle in a 4×4 with fewer than 6 seats, 2 days	2 × KSh 1,000 vehicle entry charge, on top of each person’s park fees	KSh 2,000

Days are days with a park ticket. Staying three nights inside the Reserve with game drives on the first three days, and leaving by 11:00 am on the fourth morning, is three days of tickets. Conservancy fees, camp rates and balloon flights are extra: see what a Maasai Mara safari costs.

FEE CALCULATOR

Estimate your park fees with our calculator

Estimate Your Park Fees

Trip Logistics

Arrival Date

Days in the Reserve

Departure Date

Vehicle Type

Qty

Traveller Breakdown

Estimated Total Breakdown

Non-Residents Total$0
USD

Residents / Citizens

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Vehicle Fees

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Safari Entry Fees Estimate

MAASAIMARA.KE

Generated: -

Currency: USD & KES

Trip Details

Arrival Date	Departure Date	Duration
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Vehicle Details

Vehicle Type	Quantity	Total Fee (KES)
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Traveller Breakdown

Category	Adults	Children	Students

Non-Residents Total

Residents / Citizens Total

KES 0

Vehicle Fees Total

KES 0

Choose your arrival date and the number of days you will spend in the Reserve, add a row for each group of travellers, and pick a vehicle if you are driving yourself. The calculator charges each day at its own season’s rate, so a trip that runs from late June into July is split correctly. Narok resident pupils pay per bus load rather than per person, so the calculator does not count them; see the fee table. It gives an estimate: final charges are set at the gate by Narok County or the Mara Conservancy.

VEHICLE FEES

Vehicle entry charges

If you drive yourself or travel in a tour vehicle, the vehicle pays a daily entry charge on top of each person’s park fees. The charge depends on the number of seats, and it is the same in the Main Reserve and the Mara Triangle up to 44 seats.

Self-drive is allowed in the Mara Triangle in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. In the Main Reserve, private vehicles may not be used for game drives: only safari trucks, safari Land Cruisers and safari vans are allowed.

In the Mara Triangle, a vehicle ticket lasts 12 hours and allows unlimited exits and re-entries, and vehicles crossing the Triangle on their way somewhere else get two hours’ transit before fees apply. Public service vehicles are not allowed in national reserves.

Vehicle entry charges per vehicle per day
Vehicle	Main Reserve (Narok County)	Mara Triangle
Fewer than 6 seats	KSh 1,000	KSh 1,000
6 to 12 seats	KSh 1,500	KSh 1,500
13 to 24 seats	KSh 3,500	KSh 3,500
25 to 44 seats	KSh 4,500	KSh 4,500
45 seats and above	Not listed	KSh 5,000
Trucks, 1 to 3 tonnes	See note	KSh 1,500
Trucks, 4 to 7 tonnes	See note	KSh 3,000
Trucks, 8 tonnes and above	See note	KSh 4,000

Narok County lists the same truck amounts for the Main Reserve, but its schedule does not make clear whether each is charged per entry or per night.

OTHER PARK CHARGES

Camping, rangers and balloon-landing charges

These charges apply on top of park fees when you camp in the Reserve, hire a ranger or land in a balloon or aircraft.

Other Maasai Mara park charges
Charge	Rate	Notes
Camping, adults	Kenyan citizens KSh 1,000; East African residents KSh 2,000; non-residents USD 40	Per person per day, at public and private campsites
Camping, children 9 to 17 and students	Kenyan citizens KSh 200; East African residents KSh 1,000; non-residents USD 20	Children 8 and under free
Ranger on a game drive	KSh 1,500 for up to 6 hours; KSh 3,000 for longer	Main Reserve: up to 12 hours for KSh 3,000
Night security at a campsite	KSh 5,000 per night	Campers in the Mara Triangle must hire two rangers for night security
Balloon landing fee	USD 80 per adult; USD 35 per child	Per person per landing
Aircraft landing	Up to 3 seats KSh 1,000; 3 to 6 seats KSh 2,000; 7 to 14 seats KSh 3,000; 15 to 20 seats KSh 4,000; 21 seats and above KSh 6,000	Per aircraft per landing
Commercial filming (Mara Triangle)	From KSh 500,000 per week for 1 to 5 people; drones KSh 30,000 per week	Still photos and private videos are free

Campsite booking in the Mara Triangle: public campsites (Oloololo, Iseiya and Eluai) are free to book; private campsites cost KSh 15,000 to book for non-professional campers (stays of up to 7 days) and KSh 50,000 for professional operators (up to 14 days), non-refundable.

GATES

Gates and authorised ticket points

The Main Reserve, run by Narok County, has several road gates, including Sekenani, Oloolaimutia, Talek and Musiara. The Mara Triangle, run by the Mara Conservancy, has two road gates that sell tickets, Oloololo Gate and Purungat Bridge Gate, plus barriers at Little Governor’s, Angama and Kilo Two that do not sell tickets.

Mara Triangle fees are paid according to where you stay. If you are staying in the Triangle and drive in through Sekenani, do not pay at Sekenani: pay when you enter the Triangle at Purungat Bridge. Visitors who paid park fees in the Main Reserve can drive into the Triangle under “traversing rights”.

GATE MAP

Find your gate on our map

Interactive Guide

Select a Gate

Location & Access

Tap or hover over a gate or airstrip to see who runs it and where to buy your ticket.

Best For

Choosing the right entry point for where you are staying.

Quick Gate Finder:

PAYMENT

Park-fee payment methods

Step 1

Buy online from KAPS, the company that sells park tickets for Narok County and the Mara Conservancy. The KAPS portal asks for your dates, destination (Mara Triangle or the Greater Maasai Mara), entry gate, place of stay and group size.

Step 2

Pay online by M-Pesa or by credit or debit card.

Step 3

Or pay on arrival in the Mara Triangle: KAPS staff at Purungat Bridge, Oloololo Gate and Mara Serena airstrip take M-Pesa or card. The Triangle does not accept cash.

Step 4

Carry the passport or National ID you booked with, because resident and citizen rates are checked against it.

Step 5

Do not look for park tickets on eCitizen or the KWS website: Narok County and the Mara Conservancy sell them through KAPS.

Buy tickets on the KAPS park ticket portal, or read our step-by-step guide to how to pay Maasai Mara park fees for payment methods and contacts. If you book a safari, check with your tour operator whether the quote includes park fees.

PARK RULES

Park rules and dated fine schedules

Keep at least 25 metres from animals. No more than five vehicles may stay at a sighting; if five are there, wait at least 100 metres away.
The speed limit is 50 km/h on graded roads and 30 km/h on other roads.
Off-road driving is banned in the High Use and Mara River zones. In the Low Use Zone you may leave the road only to view a lion, leopard or cheetah seen from it, then return directly.
Walking safaris, horseback safaris and night game drives are not allowed in the Reserve; night drives and guided walks are offered in the conservancies around it.
Stay in your vehicle except at picnic sites, and do not shout, clap, chase or follow animals.

Fines in the Main Reserve include KSh 50,000 for off-road driving (KSh 70,000 for a repeat offence), KSh 30,000 per vehicle for disturbing animals and KSh 10,000 per person for littering. In the Mara Triangle, rangers can fine KSh 10,000 on the spot, remove a vehicle or ban people from the park.

Staying in a conservancy?

The wildlife conservancies around the Reserve charge their own conservancy fees, separate from Reserve park fees. For example, Ol Kinyei and Olare Motorogi charge non-residents USD 130 per person per day, and some camps there add a Wildlife Habitat Trust payment of USD 5 per person per night (2026 rates). You pay Reserve park fees only for the days you enter the Reserve.

FAQ

Maasai Mara entry fees: common questions

Do children pay park fees? Children 8 and under enter free. Children aged 9 to 17 pay the child rate: USD 50 a day for non-residents in both seasons, and KSh 200 to KSh 2,000 a day for the other categories, depending on category and season.

Are park fees charged per night or per day? Per day. Each ticket covers one visit from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, and you need one for every day you spend in the Reserve. Leave by 11:00 am on your last morning without a game drive and that morning is free.

Do balloon passengers pay extra? The Reserve charges a balloon landing fee of USD 80 per adult and USD 35 per child, per landing. Ask whether your balloon flight price includes it.

Can I pay at the gate in cash? Not in the Mara Triangle, which takes only M-Pesa or card. The simplest way everywhere is to buy online from KAPS before you travel.

When do the rates change? The season changes every 1 January (to low season) and 1 July (to high season). The rates themselves are set by Narok County; we check its schedule and update this page when a new one is published.

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