Step 01/03 Plan
Tell us your dates and who's coming.
The planner drafts your route park by park and prices the lodge nights from our tariffs. Not sure which parks? Start with how long and who's coming.
About a minute
Private Kenya safaris · For couples & families
Kenya.
Planned properly.
A private safari shaped around your dates, budget and pace. Get a priced itinerary in about a minute, then refine it with our team in Kenya. We confirm every lodge and your driver-guide before you pay a thing. Built by the team behind Mara Hilltop, our own lodge in the Maasai Mara, 5.0 on Google.
The first price is an estimate. Availability and the final price are confirmed by a person.
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Kenya time · --:--
5.0 Google · Mara Hilltop
9.6 Booking.com
Lonely Planet 2026
5.0★
Google rating · Mara Hilltop · 100+ reviews
9.6/10
Booking.com · Mara Hilltop
100+
Trips planned & run through Mara Hilltop
50%
Deposit holds it · balance paid in Kenya
Curated trips
Eight trips. The ones people actually take.
Private trips we've planned and run for Mara Hilltop guests, priced this minute from our lodge tariffs for the party shown. Open one and it lands in the planner ready to make yours: add days, swap lodges, add the kids' ages.
Most booked 01 
Classic Kenya
Rift lakes · Maasai Mara
From $— / person
For families 02 
Family Safari
Rift · Maasai Mara · Diani
From $— / person
Bush + beach 03 
Honeymoon
Rift · Maasai Mara · Diani
From $— / person
04 
Mara Migration
Naivasha · Maasai Mara
From $— / person
Short window 05 
The Long Weekend
Naivasha · Maasai Mara
From $— / person
06 
The Big Ones, Properly
Rift · Mara (5 nights) · Amboseli
From $— / person
07 
The Wild North
Aberdare · Ol Pejeta · Samburu
From $— / person
08 
Photographer's Kenya
Rift lakes · Maasai Mara
From $— / person
Lodge nights priced from our tariffs · fees and vehicle estimated · a person confirms the total before you pay
Build a custom trip
Quick start
Start with a sketch. We check it before you book.
How it works
Three steps. One person responsible.
No long forms, no week of back-and-forth. The planner gets you a priced draft; a named human in Kenya takes it from there.
Step 02/03 Refine
Talk to a person in Kenya.
Anupam in Nairobi, on WhatsApp, with your draft in front of him. He checks availability, fixes what the planner got wrong, and confirms the price.
Reply within 2h · 7am–10pm EAT
Step 03/03 Book
Half holds it. Land in Kenya.
Fully refundable until 30 days before you fly. The balance is settled in Kenya, by cash or card. Your driver-guide meets you at Nairobi airport with your name on a sign.
Deposit → confirmed
Who's responsible
Built by people on the ground.
We're brothers. We built Mara Hilltop in 2025 and have hosted 1,500+ guests there since. Now we plan private trips that include it — and the rest of Kenya. When something needs sorting at 6am, it's one of us on the phone.
NJ
Tech, pricing, the AI you'll talk to. Building the planner from the
data we already run.
Nikhil
Runs Mara Hilltop. On the ground every day. The reason the lodge is
5.0 on Google.
Anupam
Operations, suppliers, the human on the WhatsApp. Replies within
two hours, 7am–10pm EAT.
How we price
We'll show you the math.
Most operators give you one number. Your itinerary shows every line, says which are quoted from a tariff and which are estimates, and a person confirms the total before you pay anything.
Three kinds of number. No surprises.
- 01 · Estimate What the planner shows in about a minute. Lodge nights are quoted from our tariffs; park fees and the vehicle are estimates, and the card says so line by line.
- 02 · Confirmed quote A person checks availability at every lodge and every line, then sends the firm price. Usually within two hours, 7am–10pm EAT.
- 03 · Booked Half holds it, fully refundable until 30 days before travel. The balance is settled in Kenya. The total you were quoted is the total.
In your price
01 Lodge nightsFull or half board, stated per lodge. Bar drinks are extra everywhere in Kenya. Tariff
02 Driver-guide & 4×4Your own vehicle for the whole trip, plus road transfers and the airport pickup. Estimate, then confirmed
Paid at the gate, per person per day
03 Park & reserve feesMaasai Mara: $200 high season (Jul–Dec), $100 low season (Jan–Jun). Children reduced. Charged for the days you're inside a park, itemised separately on your card. Public schedule
Never in the package
04 Flights, drinks, tips, visaInternational flights you book yourself. Internal hops we arrange and quote separately, only where the road is unreasonable. Yours
Fee schedules change · the confirmed quote carries the current figure See the full breakdown on a real trip →
KARIBU
Why you can trust us
We run a lodge here.
We run a lodge here.
We'll be there when you land.
We're not a website. We're the team behind Mara Hilltop, and when you arrive you're our guest. Half holds your trip, fully refundable until 30 days before you fly. The balance you settle in Kenya, in person. Mara Hilltop is our home, not a requirement: we hold rates at 40+ lodges across Kenya and book you where it's right for you — and we'll say so if a place isn't worth it.
Half holds it
100% refundable until 30 days before travel
Half in Kenya
Cash USD · KES · card. Once you've landed.
0 surprises
The total you're quoted is the total. Nothing added later.
Reviews
What guests say about our lodge.
RafikiGo is new. The lodge this team runs is not: 5.0 on Google across 100+ reviews, 9.6 on Booking.com. These are its guests, in their words.
★★★★★
The staff were warm and welcoming, the rooms offered beautiful views, and the game drives were well-coordinated. Highly recommend!
Fazil Nazer Mara Hilltop guest
★★★★★
Stunning views of the Masai Mara savanna, especially during sunset. The owners made the experience feel like home.
Mira Sabe Mara Hilltop guest
★★★★★
Simply incredible. Right from check-in to stay to hospitality to food to drives and activities. A fantastic experience!
Jaya Tandon Mara Hilltop guest
★★★★★
This is truly THE place to stay in the Mara. The room was gorgeous, food excellent, and the hospitality made all the difference.
Pavla Mijlic Mara Hilltop guest
★★★★★
Everything was perfect, and the hotel's scenery was stunning. The nature hike was amazing. Highly recommend!
Young Ki Seol Mara Hilltop guest
★★★★★
Breathtaking views and warm, welcoming people. The safari experience was truly out of this world at a very fair price!
Tal Elbaz Mara Hilltop guest
5.0 on Google · 100+ reviews · 9.6 on Booking.com
Read every review on Google Questions first-timers ask
Straight answers.
Ask anything else in the planner, or on WhatsApp — a person replies within two hours, 7am–10pm East Africa time.
Is this a private trip?
Yes. Your party has its own 4×4 and driver-guide for the whole trip, and in each park a local guide who knows where the animals are that day runs the game drives. Nothing is shared unless you ask for it.
We have kids. Does this work, and what should we tell you?
It works well — tell us their ages. Many lodges have family tents, pools and child rates; kids' meals and dietary needs are normal. Park fees are reduced for children and the youngest go free. Where a lodge publishes no child rate, the planner prices children as adults and the confirmed quote usually comes in lower.
How much driving is there?
We don't stack more than about four hours of driving on back-to-back days, and no seven-hour days unless there's no alternative. Nairobi to the Mara is 5–6 hours by road or a 45-minute flight. Long legs get broken with a night at Lake Naivasha, the train to the coast, or a flight. Your itinerary prints the hours for every leg.
Do we need to know which parks we want?
No. Tell us how long you have and who's coming. The classic first trip is Nairobi, the Rift Valley lakes, then the Maasai Mara — calm, no repacking every night. Add Amboseli for Kilimanjaro, or finish on the coast. Beach after safari, never before.
What's included, and what do we pay at the gate?
In the price: lodge nights on full or half board (stated per lodge), your driver-guide and vehicle, road transfers and the airport pickup. Park and reserve fees are paid per person per day at the gate and itemised separately on your card. Flights are never in the package: international ones you book, internal hops we arrange and quote separately.
When should we go?
July to October is peak: the Migration in the Mara, dry weather, the highest lodge rates. January to March is excellent and a little cheaper. April and May are the long rains — 30–40% cheaper and empty parks, but muddy and grey. November to mid-December is an underrated shoulder season.
How do we pay, and what if we cancel?
Half holds the trip and is fully refundable until 30 days before travel. The balance is settled in Kenya, by cash (USD or KES) or card. We don't ask for 100% upfront.
Is Kenya safe for a first trip?
The safari circuit and the coast are well-trodden; standard travel sense applies in Nairobi. We meet you at the airport with your name on a sign, and the same team is on WhatsApp for the whole trip. Our honest write-up on Nairobi is on the Mara Hilltop blog.
Is Nairobi safe, and where to stay →Also, if it's you
Off the safari script.
This company started as trips planned for friends: motorcycles into Maasai country beyond the park gates, day hikes with guides who know the trails, nights under canvas along the route. Not what the planner does — shaped in conversation, one trip at a time.