Mobile, tented, lodge or house

Mobile camps

Genuinely temporary: a handful of tents put up for a season and taken down again, leaving almost nothing behind. Bucket showers filled on request, lamps rather than mains power, a mess tent.

The closest thing to how safaris were run before lodges, and much the most atmospheric. The trade is comfort — you will be washing in warm water someone carried, and it will be cold at 5.30am.

Classic tented camps

The Mara standard and what most people mean by "camp": permanent canvas on a raised deck or plinth, en-suite bathroom with a flushing loo and a real shower, solar power, a bed you would happily sleep in at home.

Sizes run from six tents to thirty. Six feels like a house party; thirty feels like a hotel that happens to be made of canvas. Ask the number.

Lodges

Built structures — stone, thatch, glass. More rooms, more facilities, a pool, and usually a lower price per night than a small tented camp of similar comfort.

They are the practical choice on a tighter budget or with a group that wants a swimming pool, and the less atmospheric one. In the Mara most of the large lodges sit inside or just outside the reserve.

Exclusive-use houses

A whole property taken by one party — typically four to six bedrooms, with a cook, a guide and a vehicle dedicated to you.

Per person it can be no more expensive than a good tented camp once you are six or eight people, and the flexibility is total: you eat when you want, drive when you want, and nobody else is at breakfast. The best answer for families and for groups of friends travelling together.

What the labels do not tell you

• Number of tents — the single best proxy for how busy your sightings will be.
• Whether the vehicle is private — changes the day more than the bedroom does.
• Where it sits — reserve, conservancy or outside; see the comparison.
• Power hours — many camps run generators or solar with limited charging windows.
• Minimum age — varies widely, and some camps have none.

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