Mara Triangle fees depend on the visitor category, age and season. Use the rate table first, then check the ticket dates, accommodation location and cashless payment arrangement. This guide separates passenger entry from vehicle and other charges so your Triangle booking has a clear admission budget.
Mara Triangle fees by visitor category
| Visitor | January–June | July–December |
|---|---|---|
| Non-resident adult | USD 100 | USD 200 |
| Non-resident child, 9–17 | USD 50 | USD 50 |
| Kenyan citizen adult | KSh 1,500 | KSh 3,000 |
| Kenyan citizen child, 9–17 | KSh 300 | KSh 500 |
| East African resident adult | KSh 2,500 | KSh 5,000 |
| East African resident child, 9–17 | KSh 1,000 | KSh 2,000 |
| Narok resident adult | KSh 1,000 | KSh 2,000 |
| Narok resident child, 9–17 | KSh 200 | KSh 500 |
| Children aged 0–8, all categories | Free entry | Free entry |
The adult non-resident rate applies whether accommodation is inside or outside the park. Children’s accommodation and travel charges are separate from entry. Resident concessions require appropriate identification. Confirm the applicable schedule for your actual travel date before payment.
Find the part you need
The Triangle is part of the National Reserve
Mara Triangle fees apply to the western sector of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, managed by the Mara Conservancy. The word “Conservancy” in the manager’s name does not turn this Reserve sector into one of the neighbouring community conservancies. That distinction matters when comparing admission, accommodation and permitted activities. A camp advertised as near the Triangle may still stand outside its boundary.
Use the Mara Triangle area guide to choose a safari base. This page concentrates on the entry charge and the arrangements around paying it. The wider Maasai Mara entry fees guide covers Reserve categories and additional charges; the conservancy fees comparison covers camps on neighbouring land.
Start a booking comparison with the actual property and planned viewing area. The label “Mara” on an accommodation description does not tell you which fee collection point applies, whether drives take place in the Triangle, or how much useful time a transfer leaves. Keep the lodging location, ticket destination and scheduled outings aligned in the written itinerary.
Cashless payment for Mara Triangle fees
The Mara Triangle accepts M-Pesa and credit card for park entry and does not accept cash for that payment. Tickets are available through the KAPS park-ticket portal, or from authorised KAPS staff at Purungat Bridge, Oloololo Gate and Serena Airstrip. Use the destination and accommodation details that match the booked journey.
A Triangle guest arriving through Sekenani is directed to pay at Purungat Bridge rather than pay the park fee at Sekenani. Arrange the correct passage with the driver before arrival. This is an accommodation-specific payment instruction, not permission to start an unpaid game drive in another sector. Visitors based elsewhere should have their route and fee treatment confirmed for their own programme.
Prepare the ticket purchase
Step 1
Confirm the booked property, travel dates, viewing sector and entry route.
Step 2
Check every traveller’s citizenship or residency and age against the correct category.
Step 3
Agree which entry and vehicle charges the safari organiser has already included.
Step 4
Use the matching KAPS destination and accommodation selection, or the authorised arrival collection point.
Step 5
Retain the payment confirmation and have the identification and ticket available for entry checks.
A reliable payment arrangement before departure
The practical aim is to arrive with an understood payment method and a clear record of what has been bought. An online confirmation, a camp invoice and a complete safari quote serve different purposes. Keep the ticket evidence alongside the itinerary so that the person accompanying you can match the booking to the correct entry date and visitor category.
If a card payment is declined or an M-Pesa transaction does not complete, establish its status before attempting another payment. A failed connection is not proof that the payment was unsuccessful, and an account debit alone may not identify the right ticket. Ask the authorised payment staff to reconcile the transaction and obtain the appropriate confirmation. Never rely on an informal cash substitute for a cashless park-entry payment.
For an arranged private safari, ask who buys the tickets and who keeps the receipts. A complete quote should make the inclusion clear without requiring you to guess whether park admission will be collected again during the journey. Accommodation-only bookings need a separate explanation of drives, entry and transfers. The fees payment guide explains the wider payment arrangements.
Ticket hours and the final morning
The published 12-hour park-entry ticket covers 6:00 am to 6:00 pm on the entry date, irrespective of the time you enter. It does not roll forward overnight. An afternoon arrival therefore does not create a fresh rolling allowance extending into the next morning. Plan the arrival day according to the useful viewing time left, rather than just the nominal length of the ticket.
An overnight stay requires the organiser to confirm the applicable accommodation and departure treatment. Do not assume that a final morning drive is free, that leaving before a particular hour always removes a charge, or that a ticket bought in one sector automatically settles every part of a cross-sector programme. Put any optional departure viewing and applicable entry in the quote.
For the standard road packages offered through MaasaiMara.ke, the base departure plan has no game drive or departure-day Reserve entry. Additional morning viewing is an optional quoted change and must suit the return itinerary and the selected camp’s conditions. Flying guests need an equally clear arrangement around their departure flight, pickup and any proposed viewing.
Citizenship, residency and children’s documents
Carry the documents that support the category being requested. Kenyan citizens use a National ID or passport; citizen children can use a birth certificate. For residency, the Triangle requires a passport showing a work permit or appropriate visa. A driving licence is not accepted for this purpose. A lower rate selected during planning is not secure unless the traveller can prove eligibility at entry.
The Triangle’s published resident definition names Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Do not assume every passport from a regional country establishes residence, or that a temporary visitor automatically receives a resident concession. Ask the authorised ticket staff how your own documents are treated before fixing a family budget. Narok residence also needs confirmation of the accepted supporting proof.
Use each child’s age on the visit date. The park’s child-entry band and a camp’s child-accommodation band can differ, and free park entry does not mean a free room, flight seat, vehicle place or activity. Give the organiser the travelling party’s actual ages so that admission and accommodation are calculated on their own correct bases.
Entry-only worked examples
| Illustrative party and visit | Calculation | Admission subtotal |
|---|---|---|
| Two non-resident adults; one January–June entry day | 2 × USD 100 | USD 200 |
| Two non-resident adults and a child aged 10; one July–December entry day | 2 × USD 200 + USD 50 | USD 450 |
| Two Kenyan citizen adults; one January–June entry day | 2 × KSh 1,500 | KSh 3,000 |
Vehicle entry, accommodation, transfers, guiding, flights, optional activities and any further chargeable entry are excluded. Each example assumes the stated visitor category is accepted.
Use examples without mistaking them for quotations
The examples isolate the park-entry component so that a visitor can understand the arithmetic. They do not describe a bookable package, a required stay length or the total cost of reaching the Mara. Treat the resulting amount as one line in a complete travel budget. A journey that includes more chargeable dates or another viewing area needs its own calculation.
When comparing two safari proposals, first bring their scope into alignment. A lower headline may exclude entry while another proposal includes it. A road trip and a fly-in stay can have different arrival windows and departure arrangements even when the accommodation nights look similar. Compare the scheduled wildlife outings, the compulsory charges and the actual vehicle arrangement alongside the admission subtotal.
For a complete private trip, use the safari cost guide and request a date-specific quotation. MaasaiMara.ke quotes and books safari trips through authorised tour operator partners; the client pays the operator that plans and fulfils the trip. Scheduled park fees and compulsory selected-property charges belong in the all-inclusive land quotation.
Vehicle entry is a separate charge
| Vehicle seating capacity | Charge |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 6 seats | KSh 1,000 |
| 6–12 seats | KSh 1,500 |
| 13–24 seats | KSh 3,500 |
| 25–44 seats | KSh 4,500 |
| 45 seats and above | KSh 5,000 |
Passenger admission is separate. Ask the driver or organiser to confirm the booked vehicle’s applicable category and whether the quote already covers it.
Accommodation, camping and air arrival
Mara Triangle fees do not purchase a room or a campsite. Camping has separate permissions and charges, while any compulsory security arrangement must be included in the camping plan. A camper cannot simply park overnight wherever a wildlife drive ends. Confirm the authorised campsite and its arrangements before travelling; the main entry-fees guide retains the additional camping and ranger information.
On a fly-in journey, distinguish the passenger’s park admission from the aircraft’s landing charge and the camp’s ground transfer. Ask the airline and organiser which components are included in the fare or land quote. An airstrip name alone does not establish the camp’s boundary location or settle the visitor’s admission. Use the booked camp’s confirmed collection arrangement.
The Mara Serena Airstrip guide and flights guide help with arrival planning. Road travellers can compare Oloololo Gate and Purungat Bridge with the selected accommodation. Keep route timing flexible for actual weather and local conditions.
Student concessions and organised visits
Student concessions are an organised-visit arrangement rather than a discount for any traveller carrying a student card. The published conditions require institutional sponsorship, a valid student ID and a qualifying school trip or authorised research visit. Personal holidays do not receive the concession. Advance authorisation is part of arranging the trip.
For a school, college or conservation-club visit, submit the complete proposed party and programme to the Mara Conservancy before ticket purchase. Obtain confirmation of eligibility and the applicable category instead of applying an adult tourist discount in a spreadsheet. The Triangle’s table includes distinct student and club rows; some wider county student wording differs, so the authorised classification should be settled directly.
Useful time in the Triangle
Choose a Triangle stay because the camp, landscape and planned drives fit your interests. An entry payment allows an authorised visit under the rules; it does not guarantee a river crossing, a predator hunt or an empty sighting. The migration is a seasonal wildlife movement, and viewing plans must adapt to where animals actually are.
A well-designed programme makes room for resident wildlife and varied habitats instead of treating admission as a race to a single photographic target. Use the migration guide for seasonal context and the best-time guide to compare travel conditions. If night drives or guided walking are central to the trip, compare an appropriate conservancy stay rather than assume those activities come with Triangle entry.
The Reserve-versus-conservancies comparison helps separate those choices. A combined programme should name the location of each experience and the corresponding access charge. Stay flexible around animal movement and ranger directions; a fee does not override habitat protection or viewing restrictions.
Travel dates and a clear admission budget
The seasonal columns apply to the date of entry, not to the date on which a room was reserved. If your programme crosses the change between the published seasons, have the organiser calculate each chargeable date on its own basis. Keep the quoted room period and the park-entry season distinct. A camp’s accommodation season can differ from the admission schedule, so a “low season” room description does not by itself identify the correct park fee.
Before paying for travel planned beyond the current confirmed schedule, ask for the applicable admission position and how any compulsory rate change would be handled. Do not treat a rate table as proof that a future authority decision has already been made. A clear quote can specify the admission basis it uses without promising that every published amount remains unchanged indefinitely.
For a party arriving separately, check the ticket dates and routes for the individual travellers rather than assume everyone enters together. If some guests join later, or a child travels under a different documented category, keep their admission line separate. That makes the final budget easier to check and prevents a group summary from hiding a mistaken visitor classification.
Retain the confirmed itinerary, inclusion list and ticket evidence together. They answer different practical questions: where the party is staying, what the operator has agreed to provide, and what admission has been paid. A tidy record is especially useful when a road transfer passes through one collection area to reach another, or when the programme changes before departure.
Before confirming the Triangle booking
- The named property and viewing sector match the ticket destination.
- The correct visitor categories are supported by travel documents.
- Entry dates and departure viewing are explicit.
- Passenger admission and vehicle entry are included or separately itemised.
- Payment is arranged through the authorised cashless channel.
- Any camping, aircraft or optional activity charges have their own treatment.
- The complete private safari quote has no unspecified compulsory extras.
Explore safari packages
From USD 2,000 per person sharing
From USD 2,350 per person sharing
From USD 1,950 per person sharing
From USD 2,350 per person sharing
From USD 1,700 per person sharing
From USD 2,900 per person sharing
From USD 3,800 per person sharing
From USD 4,550 per person sharing
From USD 3,000 per person sharing
From USD 3,150 per person sharing
Plan a private Mara Triangle safari
Tell us your dates, travelling party and preferred stay. We will arrange a quote with the accommodation, private guiding, transfers and applicable entry clearly included.