Responsive image

Mara Bush Houses

Our rating

9/10

Price guide

Highlights

- Exclusive Bush House
- Family Friendly
- Swimming Pool
- Superb Guides

Speak to someone who's been there

Start planning your tailor-made trip by calling one of our specialists on 0203 291 2907

Enquire

Overview

Mara Houses is a collection of three bush houses within private reserves adjoining the Masai Mara. The sense of privacy, wilderness, variety of activities and the tailored daily itineraries mean these houses are perfect for families.

We stayed in Acacia House which has three large bedrooms, one large double with beautiful ensuite bathroom, one twin and a loft room upstairs for the children. It will sleep up to 4 adults and 3 children very comfortably. Acacia House shares a pool with its twin property Mara House. Although the two properties are less than 100m away from each other, you could easily stay in one and be unaware of the other – you get a real feeling of privacy and being very much out in the wild. Mara House and Acacia House overlook a thriving water hole, in the space of a couple of hours spent on the veranda, we saw giraffe, impala, warthog and dik dik.

Each house gets its own dedicated guide, so the pace and activities each day are tailored to suit – perfect for families. Situated on the private Mara North Conservancy, the houses are a fair distance from the main reserve. But don’t let that put you off, you are only a short drive from the vast Mara North plains which are teeming with wildlife during the migration season. It is not unusual to see greater densities of wildlife here than in the reserve and the only real reason to make it over to the main reserve would be to try and catch sight of a river crossing during the migration season.

The guides are well used to looking after families, a typical day will involve an early start for a morning game drive with a bush breakfast, returning to base for lunch. After lunch, the houses are perfect for a couple of hours of downtime to use the pool or laze on the verandah overlooking the waterhole. Later in the afternoon, the kids (and adults) can learn how to shoot bow and arrows maasai style before afternoon tea and a late afternoon game drive to a scenic spot for a sundowner. If you are staying more than a couple of days, it is likely you will visit the local school, which is cited by many visitors as a highlight of their stay and guests can enjoy escorted waking safaris with an armed ranger from the Conservancy.

Mara Houses are a fantastic experience and come highly recommended, but please get in touch early as they do book out quickly!

Nearby Alternatives

Suggested Itineraries for Mara Bush Houses

What customers are saying after travelling with Tourdust

Average Rating

based on 534 reviews

(5.00/5)

  • We had a great time - even with the flight between Governors and the coast being two flights and a car! We also experienced a power cut At Nairobi airport on the way home so 2+ hours late taking off. Governors. Wonderful people and dealt with the flight delay very well - taking us back and letting us know that we could stay there if the flight was delayed overnight. The game drives were excellent and our guide (Erick) obviously very experienced and managed to find all the key animals - no rhino in that part of the Masai Mara but everything else in abundance - never seen so many herbivores (many many elephants as well as all the others) as well as two prides of lions. Could not have asked for more. The ‘tent’ was excellent and comfortable and well serviced. The only ‘complaint’ would be that the food - especially dinner - could be improved (I think we got a bit bored of soup as a starter for every meal bar one) and the main courses were not at the same level as Kinondo Kwetu and while all were explained there was no choice offered. The breakfasts were just what was needed after an early game drive. Kinondo Kwetu. What a great location and the welcome when we arrived at just gone 11.00pm was better than you could have ever thought possible - they we’re disappointed that we did not at that time want the full dinner experience! The rooms we’re comfortable. The food was excellent but again no choice was offered - other than for allergy reasons (which we do not have). May be some choice would be nice. Having said that the food we did have was excellent as were the wines (albeit a short list!) and other drinks. There were (as you know) lots of facilities/sports options - but we spent our time relaxing which was exactly what we needed and there were lots of places to do that. Overall. We would go back to both places - perhaps a few more nights at Kinondo Kwetu next time but 3 nights at Governors was perfect for us. Thank you for organising and recommending both places. That you and your colleague for trying to find out about the plane (flat tyre) but communication by the flight company left a lot to be desired (Governors were furious that they were not told and had taken us to the airstrip). Phil

    MissingPhilip R reviewing Masai Mara Safari & Kenya Beach on 01 September 2023

  • We had the most incredible time thank you. We loved Karen Blixen camp and felt part of a family there, it was incredibly special. And Breezes was very relaxing.
    We can't fault all the transfers and the moment we were greeted on the tarmac at Nairobi airport we knew we were going to be well cared for.

    Thank you so much to you and all the Tourdust team for making it such a happy and memorable trip.

    MissingZoe A reviewing Masai Mara Safari & Kenya Beach on 27 August 2019

  • We had an amazing trip. Everything was well thought out and so much fun. What a great way to truly see the country and learn the culture.

    Joseph was the perfect guide. Very kind, professional, knowledgeable and patient. The kids loved Joseph and keep asking when will they meet him again. He found the Big 5 for us which was unforgettable! Please pass along our appreciation to Joseph.

    Maji Moto was also another incredible experience. They had great customer service and we loved experiencing their culture.

    Sunbird was absolutely beautiful and I wish we had more time there. We loved the view of the lake!

    One suggestion to make the trip even better for other guests in the future would be to have a cooler with drinks and snacks in the Jeep at all times because a ton of driving is involved and it would be helpful to have a cold drink and snacks during the long trip.

    Thanks again for organizing this experience of a lifetime for us!

    MissingBrandon H reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 12 June 2019

+
See more reviews

Decisions...

Stop searching and speak to someone who knows.

Enquire Now