Maasai Mara in December: weather, wildlife, crowds and prices
Maasai Mara in December brings the short rains, a very quiet first half and a busy Christmas and New Year, with festive camp rates late in the month and the migratory herds usually back in Tanzania.
December in the Maasai Mara falls in the short rains, but how wet it is changes from year to year: Governors’ Camp at Musiara recorded 200.8 mm in 2023, 205.5 mm in 2024 and only 67.5 mm in 2025. The migratory herds have usually gone back south to Tanzania, so the Mara’s resident wildlife is the draw. The park fee is in its high season, USD 200 per non-resident adult a day until 31 December. The first half of the month is very quiet; Christmas and New Year are busy, and many camps charge festive rates from mid to late December.
Park tickets for both the Main Reserve and the Mara Triangle are sold on the KAPS ticket portal.
The observations below come from the Mara Conservancy, which manages the Mara Triangle, and from Governors’ Camp at Musiara, in the north of the Reserve, for each December from 2023 to 2025, the latest with published reports.
Maasai Mara in December at a glance
Rain: 67.5–205.5 mm
Governors' Camp totals at Musiara for 2023–2025: two wet years, one dry.
Herds usually in Tanzania
In recent years most left the Mara by early November; the resident wildlife stays all year.
High-season park fee
USD 200 per non-resident adult a day until 31 December; USD 100 from 1 January.
Quiet, then busy
Very quiet in the first half; busy over Christmas and New Year, mainly with Kenyan visitors in 2023.
Festive camp rates
At the camps on this page, festive rates start between the 16th and the 23rd.
Three public holidays
Jamhuri Day on 12 December, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
What is the weather like in the Maasai Mara in December?
Long-term Mara rain-gauge records put December in the short rains (November–December), part of the wet season, when months average 96 mm of rain. Recent years have mostly been wetter than that. Governors’ Camp at Musiara recorded 200.8 mm in 2023 and 205.5 mm in 2024, but only 67.5 mm in 2025, similar to the dry December of 2021. The Mara Triangle measured 253 mm in 2024, and in 2025 it had 126.8 mm in several days of heavy rain after a drought that lasted well into the month.
Rain varies sharply over short distances, and within the month it can come in spells: in 2024 Governors’ Camp had rain on the first four days, then a six-day dry spell, rain again from the 18th to the 24th and a dry spell from the 25th to the 30th. We found no reliable temperature range for this month; in November 2024 Governors’ Camp recorded mornings averaging 16 °C and highs up to 30 °C. Pack a warm layer for early drives and a waterproof for the storms. Our Maasai Mara weather guide compares every month.
How much rain fell in recent Decembers?
Measured totals for the month, in millimetres, at two gauges in different parts of the Mara. A dash means we have no total for that gauge.
| Year | Mara Triangle (Serena) | Governors' Camp, Musiara | What it meant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | — | 200.8 | A very heavy storm between Mugoro and Oloololo Gate flooded the Olpunyatta Plain on the 6th; a similar storm followed on the 25th |
| 2024 | 253 | 205.5, including 36 mm on the 18th | Heavy storms early in the month and before Christmas damaged roads and part of a box culvert near Oloololo |
| 2025 | 126.8 in several days of heavy rain (month total not given) | 67.5, far less than in 2022–2024 | Drought well into the month, then heavy, widespread rain; dry roads and clear views at Musiara |
Where is the migration in December?
The migratory wildebeest herds are usually back in Tanzania by now. GPS tracking of the herds shows the rains generally return by November, and the herds then go back south to the Serengeti, where calving begins on the southern short-grass plains in late January. In recent years most herds had left the Mara between late September and early November; in 2025 a thousand or so were still near the border after most of the rest left in early November. See our month-by-month guide for when they usually return to the Mara.
The Mara’s resident wildlife stays all year: resident lion prides hold the same territories for generations, and lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants and buffalo breed all year round. Elephants move about: in 2024 the Mara Conservancy saw elephant numbers in the Triangle drop around Christmas as many crossed into the Main Reserve. Kenya also has its own, much smaller wildebeest herd, the Mara-Loita herd, about 26,700 animals in 2024, and many of them now stay in the conservancies north and east of the Reserve.
What did observers see in the Mara in December?
December 2023. The Mara Conservancy reported a very heavy rainstorm between Mugoro and Oloololo Gate on the 6th that flooded the Olpunyatta Plain, and a similar storm on Christmas Day. The first half of the month was very quiet; it became busy towards Christmas and New Year, mainly with Kenyan visitors. Governors’ Camp at Musiara recorded 200.8 mm of rain.
December 2024. Heavy storms early in the month and again just before Christmas damaged roads and part of the box culvert near Oloololo, the Conservancy reported, and elephant numbers in the Triangle dropped around Christmas as many crossed into the Main Reserve. It was very quiet in the first half, then busy for Christmas and New Year. Governors’ Camp recorded 205.5 mm, including 36 mm on the 18th, with light showers on the 11th to 14th.
December 2025. The drought continued well into the month: on the 11th the Conservancy agreed to let community cattle graze a strip along the escarpment between 10 am and 4 pm. Then several days of heavy, widespread rain brought 126.8 mm. At Musiara, Governors’ Camp recorded 67.5 mm, far less than in 2022–2024, with dry roads, clear visibility, daytime temperatures in the mid-20s °C and dense fog on some early mornings.
How busy is the Maasai Mara in December?
The month has two halves. The Mara Conservancy found the first half very quiet in 2023 and 2024, and the Mara busy over Christmas and New Year, mainly with Kenyan visitors in 2023; in November 2025 it expected a rise in visitors for the holidays. Three Kenyan public holidays fall in the month: Jamhuri Day on 12 December, Christmas Day on the 25th and Boxing Day on the 26th. For Kenyan families, the 2026 school holiday runs from 26 October to 1 January 2027.
Ticketing figures quoted by the Conservancy show visitor numbers fell most steeply, by 30.6%, in July–December 2024, the first high season at the higher park fee; it said it was unclear whether the fee was the only cause.
How much does a Maasai Mara safari cost in December?
Park fee. This is the last month of the high season, which runs from 1 July to 31 December. Non-resident adults pay USD 200 a day, falling to USD 100 on 1 January; children aged 9 to 17 pay USD 50, and children aged 8 and under enter free. Kenyan citizens pay KSh 3,000 and East African residents KSh 5,000 per adult a day, falling to KSh 1,500 and KSh 2,500 on 1 January.
Camps. The month has two price seasons. Many camps keep lower rates for the first half, then charge festive rates from a date between the 16th and the 23rd until the end of the year or into January. Published 2026 rates per person per night sharing:
- Basecamp Masai Mara (with meals and shared drives): USD 300 until the 19th, USD 500 from 20 December to 2 January.
- Saruni Mara: USD 700 until the 19th, USD 900 from 20 December to 2 January.
- Kicheche Bush Camp: USD 765 until the 19th, USD 1,095 from 20 December to 2 January.
- Governors’ Camp: USD 623 until the 20th, USD 998 from 21 to 31 December.
- Angama Mara (park fees extra): USD 1,850 until the 22nd, USD 2,750 from 23 December to 4 January.
Other camps switch earlier or later. In 2026 Offbeat Mara Camp goes from USD 670 to USD 865 on the 16th, and Mara West’s inclusive package (no game drives) from USD 350 to USD 438 on the same day, until 9 January. Ol Seki Hemingways Mara rises from USD 810 to USD 1,305 on the 18th, and Kandili Camp from USD 240 to USD 390 full board on the 23rd.
Mid-range camps follow the same calendar in 2026: Julia’s River Camp takes 10% off its high-season rates until the 19th, and charges them in full, from USD 146 full board, from the 20th to 6 January. Extras rise too. A balloon flight with Governors’ Balloon Safaris costs USD 430 per adult until the 15th and USD 490 from the 16th, plus a USD 80 landing fee and a USD 20 community levy, and an exclusive-use vehicle at Governors’ Camp goes from USD 385 to USD 512 a day on the 16th.
Conservancy and community fees. Conservancy camps add a conservancy fee per adult: USD 130 a night at Kicheche Bush Camp and Ol Seki Hemingways Mara (plus a USD 5 Naboisho Reserve Fund fee at Ol Seki), USD 50 a day at Kandili Camp, and USD 130 or USD 150 a night at Mara North camps such as Saruni Mara and Offbeat Mara Camp; confirm with your camp. Camps inside the Main Reserve may also add a nightly Narok County bed-night or community charge of USD 40–80 per adult, on top of the park fee; the amount differs between camps, so ask your camp.
A shared three-day group safari by road from Nairobi is published at USD 1,065 per person for 1 October–22 December and USD 1,200 for 23 December–2 January, park fees included. Porini Mara Camp’s two-night fly-in package from Nairobi is USD 1,890 per person until 19 December 2026 and USD 2,620 from 20 December to 2 January 2027. For East African residents, Mara Serena Safari Lodge’s 2026 resident package runs until 22 December at KSh 35,550 per person for the first night and KSh 31,550 for each extra night, park fees extra.
Our guide to what a Maasai Mara safari costs has worked budgets for every style.
Are the camps open in December?
The seasonal camp closures we found are in the long rains of April and May, not this month, but the Mara Triangle’s seasonal camp, Enkishui, opens only from July to November. Some closures are one-offs: in December 2025 Little Governors’ camp in the Triangle was closed for a complete makeover, and by July 2026 the Mara Conservancy listed it as Mara Wilderness. Keekorok was listed as closed in September 2026, which lowered the Conservancy’s count of beds in the Reserve, and no reason or reopening date was given. Ask your camp whether it is open for your dates.
Is December a good time to visit the Maasai Mara?
- Good for: quiet game drives and lower camp rates in the first half of the month, the Mara’s resident wildlife, and a Christmas or New Year safari.
- Less good for: the wildebeest migration, which is usually back in Tanzania; and in a wet year, storm-damaged roads.
- Plan for: busy days over Christmas and New Year, with festive rates starting between the 16th and the 23rd, depending on the camp; the USD 200 park fee until 31 December; and rain that has ranged from 67.5 mm to 205.5 mm at Musiara in recent years.
Planning a December safari
- Book early if you are travelling over Christmas and New Year, the busiest part of the month.
- Check the date your camp's festive rate starts: between the 16th and the 23rd at the camps above.
- Budget the park fee: USD 200 per non-resident adult a day until 31 December, USD 100 from 1 January.
- Pack a warm layer for early drives and a waterproof for the short rains.
- Ask your camp how recent rain has affected the roads and river crossings.
More help choosing your month
- Best time to visit the Maasai Mara – all 12 months compared
- Maasai Mara in January – the next month
- Maasai Mara in November – the month before
- Maasai Mara weather – rain and temperature month by month
- Maasai Mara park fees – rates for every visitor and season
- How much a Maasai Mara safari costs – worked budgets
Thinking of a December safari?
Tell us your dates and what you want to see. MaasaiMara.ke quotes and books safaris through authorised, highly rated tour operator partners, and we will suggest camps that suit the season.
