Entim Mara Camp is built for one thing above all others: to put you as close as possible to the Mara River crossings. It sits on the banks of the river inside the Masai Mara National Reserve, a short drive from several of the main crossing points, so when the wildebeest start to mass on the banks between July and October you have one of the shortest runs in the Mara to the front row. The camp's name comes from the Maasai word for forest, and the twelve tented suites are tucked into riverine trees that look straight out over the water.
It is an intimate place — twelve suites, around 24 guests at full capacity — with a separate eight-tent private wing a little way off for families and groups who want their own corner of the bush. The style is classic safari rather than design-led: canvas, timber decks, earthy tones, and a main mess tent open to the river. What sets it apart is not the decor but the geography, and a quiet focus on photography that runs through the whole operation.
This 2026 review covers the twelve riverside suites and the private wing, what the front-row crossing position actually means on a drive, the photographer's media tent, the power and water setup, seasonal rates and fees, and how Entim Mara Camp compares with other camps in the greater Mara.
- Where: On the Mara River inside the Masai Mara National Reserve, a short drive from the main crossing points, reached via the Ol Kiombo airstrip.
- Rooms: 12 tented suites on raised river decks (around 24 guests), plus a separate 8-tent private wing for exclusive-use stays.
- Rates 2026: From about USD 490 pp/n sharing in low season to USD 900 in high season, full board with drinks and game drives included.
- The edge: Front-row access to the Mara River crossings in migration season, plus a dedicated media tent built for photographers.
A Camp on the Banks of the Mara River
Entim Mara Camp is set along a forested stretch of the Mara River, where riverine trees give way to the open grassland of the reserve. The twelve suites are spaced out among the trees and raised on wooden decks so each one looks over the water, and the sound of the river, the hippo at night and the birds at first light become part of the stay rather than something you drive out to find.
The structures are canvas and timber, kept deliberately understated — neutral, earthy tones inside, with the river doing the talking. There is no swimming pool and no network of paved paths; this is a camp that keeps the focus squarely on wildlife rather than resort comforts. The main mess tent is open-fronted and faces the river, holding the dining area, a lounge, a small library and a bar, so game-viewing carries on over breakfast and again at sundowners.
Evenings gather around a sunken fire pit near the main tent, where guides and guests swap the day's sightings before dinner. Because the camp sits unfenced inside the reserve, Maasai guides walk guests between the main area and their tents after dark — a small ritual that is also a reminder of exactly where you are.
The Twelve Suites and the Private Wing
The main camp has twelve tented suites, each on a raised timber deck above the river and set up as a double or a twin. The canvas, the earthy fabrics and the timber floors keep things simple, and every suite opens onto a private veranda with seating that faces the water. Inside there is a lounge area, storage, bedside tables and fans, with an en-suite bathroom behind — a flush toilet and a hot shower fed by the camp's solar-heated supply.
Because the suites sit right on the bank, it is common to watch elephant come down to drink, hippo surface in the pools below, and a long cast of birds work the riverine trees without leaving the deck. The spacing between tents gives each one a real sense of privacy, which matters in a camp that stays full through the crossing months.
A short way from the main camp is the Entim Private Wing — eight tents in a quieter patch of bush near a small spring, bookable on an exclusive-use basis. For a family or a group travelling together it means your own guide, your own vehicle and your own dining, with the independence to set the pace of each day. It is the natural choice for travellers who want the camp's river access without sharing a drive, and for multi-generational trips where one flexible base beats splitting across rooms.
Front-Row River Crossings
The reason to choose a camp in this exact spot is the crossings. Entim Mara Camp sits inside the reserve on the Mara River, a short drive from several of the main crossing points, which changes the rhythm of a migration-season day. When wildebeest and zebra mass on the banks — and they often gather and hesitate for a day or more before they commit — being this close means you can reach the build-up quickly, settle in, and wait it out rather than arriving after the dust has cleared.
From roughly July to October the herds are in the reserve and the big crossings are on. Nobody can promise a crossing on a given morning; the animals move on instinct and weather, not on a timetable. But proximity stacks the odds in your favour, and a camp a short run from the river gives you more chances to be there at the right moment than one an hour away. Guides here spend the season reading where the herds are concentrating and timing drives around them.
Outside the crossing months, the Mara does not go quiet. This part of the reserve carries some of the highest big-cat densities in Africa, so lion, leopard and cheetah are the year-round draw, and the river itself keeps elephant, hippo and plains game in front of camp. Game drives run morning and afternoon, with full-day drives and bush meals easy to arrange, and dawn balloon safaris over the plains available at extra cost.
The Photographer's Camp
Entim Mara Camp has quietly built a name with photographers, and the setup shows why. There is a dedicated media tent fitted with computers for downloading and editing images, so you can back up a memory card and work through the day's take before the next drive rather than waiting until you are home. Wi-Fi in the lounge and media areas makes it easy to clear storage and keep shooting hard through the crossing season.
The location does the rest. River crossings, big-cat action and good light on the open plains are the raw material every wildlife photographer is after, and a camp a short drive from the crossings means more time behind the lens at the river and less time in transit. Guides are used to working a sighting for the photography — angles, light, patience — rather than ticking it off and moving on.
None of this comes at the expense of the ordinary guest. If you have never picked up a serious camera, the same proximity and the same patient guiding simply mean better views and more time at the best sightings. The photography focus is a bonus on top of a straightforward, well-run migration camp, not a barrier to entry.
Power, Water and Comfort
The camp runs on solar power with a backup generator, giving 24-hour electricity across the tents and main areas, and draws its water from a local borehole with filtered drinking water provided in each suite. Hot showers are solar-heated, and the tents are built for the climate — canvas, fans and good airflow rather than air conditioning, which keeps the camp light on the land inside the reserve.
Dining is straightforward and generous, served in the open mess tent facing the river, with private dinners on your own veranda easy to arrange. A small spa tent offers massages and treatments for the gap between drives, and the sunken fire pit is where the day ends. There is no pool and no sprawl of facilities — the camp keeps itself small and pointed at the wildlife, which is the right call for its position.
Entim Mara Camp 2026 Rates & Seasons
Rates below are per person per night sharing, on a full-board basis. They include accommodation, all meals, soft drinks, beer, house wines and selected house spirits, shared game drives and return transfers from the Ol Kiombo airstrip. Masai Mara park and community fees are charged separately, as are balloon safaris and premium drinks.
| Season | Dates | Rate (pp/n sharing) |
|---|---|---|
| Low Season | 2 Jan – 31 Jan; 1 – 30 Apr; 1 Nov – 15 Dec 2026 | from USD 490 |
| Shoulder Season | 1 Feb – 31 Mar; 1 – 30 Jun; 1 – 31 Oct 2026 | from USD 560 |
| High & Migration Season | 1 Jul – 30 Sep 2026 20 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 |
from USD 900 |
Families & groups: The eight-tent Entim Private Wing can be booked on an exclusive-use basis, with its own guide, vehicle and dining. Private-wing and child pricing are available on request from your operator.
Included in the rate: Accommodation, all meals, soft drinks, beer, house wines and selected house spirits, shared game drives, and return transfers from the Ol Kiombo airstrip.
Not included: Masai Mara park and community fees, hot-air balloon safaris, premium spirits and champagne, spa treatments, gratuities, international and domestic flights.
How Entim Mara Camp Compares
Three ways to stay in the greater Mara, side by side — a reserve-based river-crossing camp, a reserve-based electric camp, and an escarpment conservancy lodge.
| Feature | Entim Mara Camp | Emboo River | Saruni Mara |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting | Mara River, inside the Masai Mara National Reserve | Talek River, inside the Masai Mara National Reserve | Mara North Conservancy (74,000 acres) |
| Accommodation | 12 riverside suites + 8-tent private wing | 8 riverside tented suites | 6 cottages (Eagle View) + 5 suites (Leopard Hill) |
| Game Drives | Classic 4x4 drives with Maasai guides | Silent solar-electric vehicles | Conservancy diesel vehicles |
| Night Drives & Walking | Walks yes; no night drives (national reserve rules) | Walks yes; no night drives (national reserve rules) | Yes (private conservancy) |
| Signature Feature | Front-row Mara River crossings; photographer's media tent | Kenya's first electric fleet; net-zero camp | Infinity pool, Maasai Wellbeing Space |
| 2026 High-Season Rate | from USD 900 pp/n | from USD 915 pp/n | around USD 1,650–2,200 pp/n |
Our take: Entim Mara Camp is the pick for travellers whose main reason for coming is the Mara River crossings, and for photographers who want a short run to the river and a place to edit at the end of the day — all at a price well below the top conservancy camps. Emboo River suits travellers who want a silent, low-impact safari and are curious about an electric game drive, also inside the reserve. Saruni Mara wins on escarpment views, spa, night drives and the space of a private conservancy. The deciding question is simple: if the crossings are the whole point of the trip, a camp this close to the river is hard to beat.
How to Book Entim Mara Camp
Book Entim Mara Camp through a specialist Kenya safari operator such as Beyond Africa Safaris. Most guests fly from Nairobi Wilson Airport to the Ol Kiombo airstrip — roughly a 90-minute light-aircraft flight — then transfer to camp in about 25 to 30 minutes, with the return transfer included in the nightly rate. If the migration is your priority, aim your dates at July to October and build in a few nights so the herds have time to deliver a crossing.
Entim works well as the Mara leg of a wider Kenya trip. Pair it with a night at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi on the way in or out, add Amboseli for elephant against the Kilimanjaro skyline, or combine it with Laikipia for rhino tracking before finishing on the Mara River. Three or four nights in camp is the sweet spot in crossing season — enough mornings at the river to give the wildebeest a real chance to run.
For more on planning a Mara trip, see our guides to the Masai Mara safari guide, the best Masai Mara safari camps, the Masai Mara private conservancies, and the best luxury safari lodges in Kenya. See our luxury African safari packages or speak to a Kenya specialist to plan your stay at Entim Mara Camp.
Entim Mara Camp earns its place on one clear strength: it is about as close as you can sleep to the Mara River crossings while staying inside the reserve. Twelve suites on the riverbank, a private wing for families, a media tent for the photographers, and a guiding team that lives for the season when the herds come down to the water — it is a camp with a single-minded purpose, and in crossing season there are few better places to point a trip. For travellers who come to the Mara for the migration above all else, Entim puts you in the front row.
