Why pair the Maasai Mara with Amboseli on a first safari?

They show two different Kenyas: Amboseli’s elephant swamps beneath Kilimanjaro, and the Mara’s open plains and predators. A morning flight joins them, so even the day you move ends with a drive on the plains.

Will I see elephants and Kilimanjaro on this safari?

Elephants are Amboseli’s signature, but no sighting is promised, and no month guarantees the mountain; it is more often clear at dawn and late afternoon. The Mara adds lion, leopard and buffalo, with rhino scarce.

When is the best time for Mara & Amboseli Classic?

July to September is the dry season in both parks, and a busy one: the Mara fee doubles on 1 July. January and February are drier and quieter. April is the peak of the long rains, when some Mara camps close.

How many nights does Mara & Amboseli Classic need?

Six to eight: two or three in Amboseli, enough for a second dawn with the mountain, and four or five in the Mara. A Nairobi night comes on top if you arrive the day before your early flight to Amboseli.

Is there a flight from the Maasai Mara to Amboseli?

Not directly: neither airline’s 2026 timetable lists one. Safarilink flies Amboseli to the Mara, so we open in Amboseli. Going Mara first means connecting through Wilson, often with a Nairobi night; by road it is two days via Nairobi.

Who is Mara & Amboseli Classic not right for?

Choose Into the Wild Mara if the herds are the point, with more Mara nights. Choose Mara & the Lakes for rhino and water instead of Amboseli, or Kenya in Two Weeks if you have time for the north. If small aircraft worry you, tell us early.

Baby elephant reaching for its mother's tail in bright grass

Safari / Kenya

Mara &
Amboseli Classic

Price on request

A first safari from Amboseli’s elephants beneath Kilimanjaro to the Maasai Mara’s open plains, flown between.

6–8 nightsSafariAmboseli · Maasai Mara

The journey

Elephants first. Amboseli’s herds feed in green swamps below Kilimanjaro, which stands across the border in Tanzania.

Then a light aircraft carries you to the Maasai Mara by late morning, a flight that replaces two days on the road. The grass runs to the horizon, and lion and leopard are most active at dawn and dusk.

Mara & Amboseli Classic suits a first safari: two very different parks, no long road days and a clear order to follow. The trade-off is the small aircraft, and a mountain that cloud may hide. If the migration is your reason to come, Into the Wild Mara gives it more nights.

Mountain first, plains second: two parks and the sky between, paced and shaped entirely on your terms.

Moments along the way

Mountain light,
then open sky.

Elephant family with calf on bright green grass, close

Elephants at the swamp

In the dry season elephants concentrate around Amboseli’s spring-fed swamps, family groups wading together.

The mountain at first light

Kilimanjaro is often clear at dawn, before cloud builds around the summit as the day warms.

A hill above the swamps

From Observation Hill, the park’s viewpoint, the swamps and plains lie spread out below.

Mountain to plains by air

Amboseli’s swamps shrink to green threads below the wing, and then the Mara’s grass takes over.

Two male lions walking side by side through green grass, square

First light on the plains

You leave before sunrise, when lion and leopard may still be moving after the night.

Dusty crush of wildebeest and zebra at a river crossing

Herds on the open grass

Wildebeest and zebra usually fill the Mara from July; a river crossing is luck, not timetable.

Where you’ll stay

Each stay adds to the story.

Choose your level, from Essential to Private Collection, and we hold it across both parks. In each, the bigger choice is inside the park or reserve, or a conservancy next door: only conservancies offer guided walks and night drives.

Flamingos lined along shallow lake under vivid sunset sky

AMBOSELI

A veranda facing the mountain

Serval sitting in dark golden grass, moody low key portrait

MARA RESERVE

Canvas on the open plains

Male lion and lionesses with cubs walking across wet grass

MARA CONSERVANCY

Camps on Maasai-leased land

Your planner confirms each stay for your dates.

EssentialPrivate Collection

Add to your journey

Make it yours.

Select an idea to carry into your brief. Nothing is added to a booking or priced automatically.

BEFORE YOU ENQUIRE

A route with room to breathe

Here’s how it comes together.

Nairobi → Amboseli → Maasai Mara → Nairobi, by light aircraft through Wilson Airport. No scheduled flight runs Mara to Amboseli, so we open in Amboseli. Times are confirmed in your proposal.

Preparing the route map…

A sense of the days

The rhythm of the journey.

Typically two or three nights in Amboseli and four or five in the Mara, six to eight in all. We shape the split around you.

Clear from the beginning

What’s included.

Typically included

Park, reserve and conservancy fees
Expert driver-guide
4x4 safari vehicle
Accommodation at your chosen level
Meals as set by each camp
Light-aircraft flights as routed
Transfers to and from each airstrip
Game drives and drinking water

Not included

International flights
Kenya eTA and travel insurance
Premium drinks
Gratuities
Balloon and other add-on fees

Every journey is quoted in full, with no surprises.

Good to know

Amboseli and the Mara,
in context.

Amboseli lies in Kajiado County, in southern Kenya near the Tanzanian border, with Kilimanjaro (5,895 m by the figure usually given) rising on the Tanzanian side. Kenya Wildlife Service lists US$90 a day for non-resident adults, but that fee and the park’s handover to the county are both before the courts, so fees are confirmed at booking. The Maasai Mara, in south-west Kenya, is the northern end of the Mara–Serengeti ecosystem, with fees set by Narok County. Together they make a classic first safari, joined by light aircraft.

Parks on this journey

Maasai Mara Amboseli Kenya →

Before you go

Before your Amboseli journey Before your Kenya journey

Read before you decide:

Best time to visit Amboseli Hot-air balloon safaris First safari planning

Last checked: October 2026.

When to go

Pick your moment.
Not just a month.

Guidance for Amboseli and the Mara, not a forecast: the camps you choose and what you want to see count as much as the month.

Typically drierLonger rainsMore variable

Aug / The busy dry season

Open plains, busier camps.

Both parks are drier and the herds usually reach the Mara in July. The Mara reserve fee doubles to US$200 a day on 1 July, which shows in your quote. Kilimanjaro shows more often.

Broad seasonal guidance — not a forecast, availability calendar or migration promise. Picking a month sets it in your plan.

Travel with Nobu

The logistics handled quietly,
so your week stays effortless.

Temporary image: guide and two guests on a hilltop looking over open plains

Licensed Kenyan tour operator

Based in Kenya, arranging journeys across East Africa.

Temporary image: open safari vehicle with zebras on a grass plain

Our own guides and 4x4 fleet

Your guide and vehicle are arranged for the route you choose.

Temporary image: a night game drive with a spotlight illuminating a tree ahead

24-hour on-safari support

Help is a call or message away, day or night.

Temporary image: a couple beside a river at sunset next to a safari vehicle

Financial protection on every journey

Your proposal sets out the agreed arrangements for your journey.

East Africa, your way

A little closer to Kenya

Your way to explore

Look a little deeper

Mara &
Amboseli Classic