Kicheche Mara North

We stayed here as a family of four just before Christmas. Set in the Mara North conservancy there are some great advantages of this; namely plenty of game without the hoards of vehicles. With a five vehicle rule around game it is never too crowded.|The camp itself is lovely and very much within the Kicheche model. You can see that there is a staff guide for the Kicheche routine. And the reason I only gave this review four stars was that it felt at times that staff were just going through the mandated routine. The manager and his deputy were in the places they were directed to be but they weren’t really present. Having stayed at the Laikipia sister camp directly before this one, we could feel the difference. Liakipia had much better attention to detail, was friendlier and felt more special. That’s not to say the Mara North camp wasn’t great - it was, but it wasn’t as good. |For example we didn’t have hot water during our stay; it was tepid at best. The ‘photography tent’ which they made a big play about didn’t have any leads to plug cameras into their computer and the card reader didn’t take a CF card for the more professional cameras. |Game drives at times felt a little mechanical too but on the whole were great. The guides know exactly where each of the big cats are (apart from leopard obviously) so you are almost guaranteed to see lion and cheetah. You are likely to see the same ones every day.|Overall a great camp, just a little disappointing compared to their sister camp at Liakipia.

From the moment we arrived till we left the experience at this camp has been first class. We were just off our plane when we saw our first cheetah hunt.|The camp its self is well kept and the staff are excellent. They cannot do enough for you. Our tent was beautiful and very functional. Plenty plugs and usb connections with great wifi if required. You have a great view from the balcony watching the passing animals. The food was superb and always well presented. The chef is excellent and all dietary issues catered for. This camp has been well thought out and everything covered. Your wake up coffee comes with take away cups so you can take out on game drive. The vehicles for the game drives are good and in the early morning you even get a hot water bottle. The game viewing is superb with lots of cats, our guide Tula was brilliant at spotting them. Plenty of animals to see. Breakfast was taken out in drives with good varied menus and in beautiful surroundings. Sitting drinking a sundowner watching lion cubs was just the best. All the staff were great from management to the Masai guards.

I don’t normally provide reviews since I’d like to keep a private profile and do not participate in social medias. However, the “Exceptional Experience at Kicheche Camps” is an exception. My wife and I are celebrating Christmas with our daughter and granddaughter currently living in Nairobi and had the pleasure of staying at Kicheche Camps for two nights, and it was truly an unforgettable experience. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with warmth and professionalism by the entire team, who went above and beyond to ensure our stay was nothing short of extraordinary. The accommodations of the luxurious tents were incredibly comfortable and thoughtfully designed, offering a perfect balance of luxury and immersion in nature. We were continually impressed by the impeccable service—whether it was the personalized attention during meals or the expert guidance on our safari excursions. The staff’s extensive knowledge of the local wildlife and their genuine passion for conservation made our safari experience truly special. Every detail was handled with care, allowing us to relax and fully appreciate the stunning surroundings of the Mara. A heartfelt thank you to everyone at Kicheche Camps for making our stay so memorable. We highly recommend this wonderful destination and look forward to returning!

LOVED Kicheche Mara North! Okay, first, yes, this is a tent camp. But, shift your thinking because these tents are heavy duty, permanently positioned for beautiful views, wired for all their lighting (one switch), and were among the most spacious accommodations we had on our whole trip. Beautiful styling, comfortable furnishings, large bathroom area with double sinks, and even a seating area for relaxing. The tents are along the river, and have outside chairs for relaxing and enjoying the views. We came back one evening to our tent (with our ranger) to find a huge giraffe in our "yard"! And one day, an elephant was right on the pathway. Within the camp, wait until you see the multiple lovely "lounge" tents, each with a different theme, art, and displays, and all evocative of Africa. The dining area is a large paved patio, with large trees overhead, candlelight and tablecloths, and amazing food by Chef Dickson. Truly, this was fine dining we can't even always get back in the states. Wonderful service, friendly staff, and well-managed by Andrew and Makenna, this is a great camp.||Our guide, Twala, was very knowledgeable and professional, and found us the greatest variety of animals we saw on our trip. He found beautiful locations for breakfast, lunch, and even happy hour, (treats and drinks from camp) and was the best of all our guides in setting up fantastic backdrops for pictures. Twala gave us detailed information about each of the animals and always monitored for our safety. ||Lastly, we really liked the Foundation this camp has set up to help area Maasai women and families. And we wish we could have taken advantage of the demonstrations that are done in camp; they sounded very interesting. There was also a small shop on site with nice, high-quality locally-made products at very affordable prices. Sometimes we found these highly priced elsewhere.||Highly recommend Kicheche Mara North - the camp, land, and animals were all well worth the trip!

Kicheche is a top quality camp: beautiful tent accommodations, fantastic food beautifully prepared and presented (with excellent vegetarian options), friendly and professional staff, and experienced friendly guides. This camp offers a glimpse into the Maasai culture as well as terrific game drives. Kicheche has it all! From the friendly and competent management (Andrew and Makenna) to the knowledgeable guides - it was a wonderful experience. Our guide George has years of knowledge and experience in the Maasai Mara; we learned so much from him and saw a breathtaking variety of wildlife. The tent accommodations are beautifully decorated and the bathrooms are an upscale version of the usual bush camp ensuite bathroom. The setting is also beautiful. We appreciated the incorporation of Maasai culture into our experience - we are still wearing the beaded bracelets we made with the women from the village who came to teach us!

The airport in Mara North is very busy for a bush airport, but we were met promptly by our guide for the last few days, David. He whisked us off to the Mara preserve next to the airport right away to see the cheetah that had been hanging around there. What a way to start our visit to the Mara area! As we learned, Mara is so named for the river; Masai Mara is named for the Masai tribe that lives on or near the preserve; to the north, Mara North is less visited and thus we were able to see all of the great animals without as many crowds further south. It was the best of all worlds.||Kicheche is part of a group of camps; the one we stayed at in Mara North was nothing short of luxurious. We were greeted by Makena, who manages the site, and run through all of the general rules including no wandering on our own after dark. This became evident when we were being escorted to our tent in the evening and a cape buffalo (one of the three “Generals”) wandered across the path. Makena ensured my diet was accommodated and everything was to our liking.||The tent was gorgeous. If we didn’t have to open the zipper at each arrival and departure, we never would have known we were in a tent. The shower has a lovely wood lattice floor, and the room had a large urn of drinking water. Even though you can’t drink the water from the taps, it appeared to be clean. Laundry is included in the service, which was helpful. The camp has an on-site spa, which we didn’t use but I’m sure was wonderful. The food was Michelin-star quality, as was the lovely evening bonfires and happy hour.||When we weren’t in camp, we were on safari. David had planned a great itinerary that included lots of bird-spotting on the first couple of days as we would have another couple joining us half-way through the safari. He took us to see a white-fronted bee-eater, which is only found in a location on the Mara river. He ensured we were positioned for great sunrises, and he did his best to help us see all of our targets (and our fellow-travelers when they joined us). He was good-humored and very enthusiastic.

We had a wonderful stay at Kicheche Mara North Camp for our honeymoon and my birthday. The staff were brilliant, and on our last night, they surprised us with a special celebration that made the trip even more memorable. Our guide, Peter, was incredibly knowledgeable and made each game drive a fantastic experience. Thank you for making our stay so special!

A truly amazing place. I couldn’t have been given a warmer welcome from everyone there they were so friendly and attentive. The food was great and my guide Esther fantastic. It was a great way to start my trip and actually I don’t think I could’ve seen better wildlife than I did there even after a wonderful trip two years ago to Botswana.