Aruba Mara Camp & Safaris

Beautiful camp, newly rebuilt in May 2024 after severe flood. Directly located at Talek River, run by a warm-hearted Masaai family. Tents are very clean, comfortable and spacious - feels more like an actual hotel room. |Great food, very tasty, better than most Kenyan restaurants we‘ve been to. Lovely breakfast with different options of egg and worlds best pancakes ;) ||And the most important thing: The best safari guides that will provide you with an unforgetable experience. Thank you Jessy and Kerry!!

A lot has changed in the camping area of Aruba Mara since the floodings of 2024. Self sufficient campers now have the beautiful views of the river whereas most of the tented camp rooms have moved to "safer" area a bit further from the river. They still have some work to do in leveling the ground for campers. We saw hippo, elephants, hyenas, genets, bushbabies and baboons from the campsite and heard leopards just on the other side of the river during the night. There's a shelter with cooking area for campers and you won't have to do dishes crouching down as in most campsites in East Africa! 😅 Flush toilets are available and we had very hot showers during our 4 night stay. One power plug is also available at kitchen area which was very useful. We hired a guide/driver + car from the camp and it was great. Only disappointment was that the car power plugs didn't work during our 3 day safari. The staff is very kind and helpful, and that includes the owner. Definitely recommend it!

We had the pleasure of staying at Aruba Mara Camp a month ago, and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. From the moment we arrived, the staff made us feel incredibly welcome and were so accommodating to all our needs. As vegetarians, we were especially grateful that they went out of their way to prepare delicious vegetarian meals for us. The camp itself is stunning—beautifully designed, luxurious, and surrounded by nature. It’s only a 5-minute drive from the Masai Mara National Reserve, making it incredibly convenient for safari excursions. The view of the Talek River from the camp is breathtaking, adding to the serene atmosphere. We also felt very safe throughout our stay, as the staff were always present and attentive. Overall, our time at Aruba Mara Camp was beyond our expectations. We highly recommend it!

Our stay with Aruba Mara was excellent from beginning to end! We went camping with our own tents but we ate meals in their restaurant and also booked their guide and car for game drives.||The campsite is beautiful with some spots overlooking the Talek River. There are nice trees providing shade and the facilities are great. Flush toilets and hot water showers!||The food in the restaurant was delicious and the staff was extremely nice and helpful. ||The best part, however, were the game drives! Their guide Alfred was excellent! Super friendly and very motivated to give us an amazing experience. My husband and I have been to the Mara often, our two friends went for the first time and we were all equally amazed. We got to see many lions (even with cubs), cheetah and leopard! Alfred was always ten steps ahead of the other guides and cars and made sure we got the best viewing spots. It was truly a wonderful experience and we will surely come back.

Wonderful experience in a beautiful camp! My husband, two friends and I were camping at Aruba Mara Camp in our own tents but enjoyed meals at the camp restaurant. The camping facilities were great, clean and hot water showers. The restaurant was also great, excellent food and friendly staff. Best of all, however, were the game drives. We hired a car from Aruba Mara together with one of their guides. Truly excellent! We had one of the best wildlife sightings ever! 10 out of 10 - we can wholeheartedly recommend this camp and we will surely come back!

What an amazing place with a great story as it was one of the pioneer camps in the region and you can feel it in the wealth of expertise and professionalism this camp and all of its staff conveys … We loved every moment of our stay!! First of all the wonderful people we met here which made us truly feel comfortable in such a new (for us Europeans) and unfamiliar ground. We felt safe and truly cared about in every moment. We loved that there were so many local Masai people involved in running the camp , we enjoyed listening to their fireside tales of the savanna, and the best game viewing drives ever with our Masai drivers (they put so much effort into it , really taking care of what we wanted …) . The food was super yummy (and we always got a second portion) and the comfort of the tents were remarkable (spacious, always enough hot water, spotlessly clean). We can’t wait to come back !! Thank you so much again for this unique experience 😍🤩

Great location right next to Talek Gate! On banks of the Talek River. Good camping grounds with piping hot water showers. Brought my own tent. Thought the lunch and dinner prices were quite expensive so only had breakfast, which was good. Very friendly staff. Only issue was that I requested the soap bottle at the bathrooms to be filled with soap (someone had filled it with water only), and I asked for this during the two days I was there, but unfortunately no action was taken by any staff. The barman said he had passed on the request but didn’t know why it wasn’t fulfilled. Important to provide soap for hygiene and ensure the guest’s request is acted on! Other than this issue, 5 stars!

Gerda will make it her mission to make you feel at home. And you will. The tents are spacious, the mattresses are very comfortable, and all is very clean. The grounds are just lush, and well organized and the common areas are very inviting. You will be able to really enjoy a HOT, did I say HOT, shower. Gerda hits her hot water with firewood, unlike most hotels in the area, who work with solar panels. Well, the shower is just tops.||The food was delicious, ample portions and wonderful bread and desserts. Gerda was also the only one that served Kenyan coffee, rather than instant Nestle. Kudos for that!||We enjoyed the hospitality and the service of the staff. You will enjoy the beautiful view on the river and the accommodation, do not hesitate to stay there! Can only recommend.||BTW -Gerda knows her wines - try her Rose, best I have ever had!