The camp is intimate and personal without being fussy. We were fortunate to have Tent 4 with the antics of our hippo and baboon neighbours to watch from the lovely outdoor bath. Remember to have wine or a cocktail served to your tent to enjoy in the bath! If, however, you prefer complete quiet at night, this may not be the tent for you. It is also the tent furthest from the common area. I would also agree with previous reviewers that the mattresses are quite hard, but that's a very small complaint. Steve is an excellent host, the waiting staff is very well trained and the food delicious and varied. Vincent was a knowledgeable guide who obviously loves his work and the bush. It was wonderful to travel the length and breadth of the Mara, and not just chase the big 5. He was happy to answer questions about birds and the flora. He is also keen on photography, so will position the vehicle for the best shots. Fortunately our vehicle companions also wanted to see the whole area. We combined the two morning drives and had boxed breakfasts out in the bush, which I can recommend.
This camp is simple enough that I felt I was out in the bush. The Mara always delivers when it comes to animal sightings - 4 leopard sightings, lions, hyaenas and cheetahs every day, herds of antelope and zebra out on those spectacular plains. What more could one want?

We stayed at Mara Explorer Camp in January for 4 nights. There are only ten tents and we stayed in Tent #7. All of the tents overlook a river that is populated with herds of hippos. The tents are spaced far enough away from each other that you have complete privacy from other guests.

The camp host, Steve, treated us like royalty our entire stay. He was gracious, knowledgable and wickedly funny. We felt as if we had known him for years within minutes of meeting him. Our tent was beautifully appointed, it was actually hard to remember we were in a tent with all the wood trim in the bathroom. The shower had hot running water at three intervals a day, better than a bucket shower because the water was unlimited, but you had to make sure you remembered to shower during the hours hot water was available. The tent had electrical plug ins for charging batteries which was convenient to have between game drives and at night. The one and only complaint I had about this camp is the quality of the beds and bedding. The beds are very hard, not just firm, but hard. We actually peeled back the sheets to check if we were sleeping on a boxspring rather than a mattress. It didn't detract from our stay overall but I would recommend asking them to layer a blanket or two under the sheets for some padding.

Each night the staff leaves a hot water bottle under the coverswhen they turn down the room. Such a treat! Notable for some, there is no internet or wifi access from the camp. However, there is a sister camp called Intrepids approximately five minutes away and a driver was always available to take you there if you wanted to get connected.

There was a menu with various choices for each meal and you were served as if you were in a five star restaurant. Warm towel to clean your hands, very proper service, several courses and excellent food. We arranged a breakfast in the bush day and were able to blend the two morning game drives together to get further away from camp. Highly recommend this experience (it was included free of charge), nothing like stopping for breakfast on the hood of your truck within a mile of seeing a pride of lions eating their breakfast! Unlimited beer, wine or gin is included and available any time and of course you can arrange a sundowner (again free of charge) in the bush which I highly recommend as well. The sunsets in the Masai Mara were spectacular. After dinner there is a bonfire with the sounds of hippos keeping you company.

Far and away the highlight of our stay at Mara Explorer was our guide/driver, Joseph. Not only was he excellent at spotting animals and providing detailed information about animals and the habitat, he was a great conversationalist with a great sense of humor which is essential when you spend 4-8 hours a day together in a truck. This was our second safari in Kenya and Joseph was by far the best all around driver/guide/spotter we encountered and we would insist on having him again if we return. He knows the Masai Mara like the back of his hand and knew exactly when and where to be to see certain animals.

The people that work at Mara Explorer Camp are friendly and sincere in their efforts to make your stay perfect. We expected to see animals and beautiful scenery on our visit to Kenya, what we didn't expect was to fall in love with the people. In contrast to Tanzania and South Africa, we hardly went 15 minutes on a game drive in the Masai Mara without seeing animals. Often, close enough to the truck you didn't even need a zoom lens on your camera. January is a perfect month to visit the Masai Mara, it was baby season - we saw baby lions, zebras, hartebeest, hippos, giraffe, elephant, cheetah and baboon. We also saw a cheetah stalk and run after her prey, a leopard in a tree with a recent kill and several prides of lions eating breakfast with hyenas circling. Even better, since it was off season, we often were viewing the animals without any other trucks in sight. Kenya is a spectacularly beautiful country with delightful people and we felt nothing but safe and welcome from the moment we landed in Nairobi.

Jan 2013. 5 star experience. The camp was gorgeous. The service ( Godfrey, our wonderful server) and food was impeccable. I never heard the word No from anyone. Steve, our host, made it a fun experience even with his White Rhino joke. ;). The best part were the game drives. Our guide, Joseph, was FANTASTIC and extremely knowledgable about the animals, birds, vegetation, Ecco system, seasons.......He was a heck of a spotter and a great person to learn from. Joseph made our vacation. So glad we chose Kenya and the Mara. Very safe the the Kenyans are the nicest people I have ever met on vacation and we are well traveled.

I visited the Mara Explorer at the end of an eight day safari booked through Gamewatcher. On the recommendation of Julie from Gamewatchers, I stayed here for two nights in August 2012. This is a nice camp in the Mara Reserve. The nice thing is that it is only 5 minutes from the airstrip.

This was a different experience from the Porini Camps I had stayed at (Rhino, Amboselli, Lion) but I am glad I came.

I arrived at the camp after being in the Mara for 3 nights a the Lion camp. I was greeted by Steven the camp manager. He was really nice and pleasant. This place is 5 stars and definitely has the feel. Unlike other camps, you have the ability to dine and order off a menu. This is good and bad. You can eat when you want but you lose the group feel you get when everyone eats together. Luckily, the people at my camp were really social and we all sat around the fire before dinner and talked. I was traveling alone and was invited each night to sit with other people.

What is great about the Explorer is that it is small. I talked to some people who stayed at the Intrepids and that camp has far more tents. The Explorer is really intimate!

The game drives are different than Porini in that they are "scheduled" at 6:30, 10 and 3. Porini takes you out and its less structured and you stay out as long as you want. What I gathered is that the reason for the structure is that the drives are scheduled around the dining room times. However, they will pack a breakfast if you go on an early drive and take you out longer to 1 or so.

I enjoyed the game drives and the jeeps are really comfortable. I am going to go out on a limb and say this camp is for the less adventurous vs the Porini camps. However, it was GREAT to have a long hot shower and a bath tub to soak in at the Explorer. I even had a message in my tent on day! The tents are BEAUTIFUL and on the Mara River. You can see and hear the hippos all day and night! It is really special. The other thing that is nice about the Explorer is that they do you laundry for free. This was much needed after washing my clothes in the sinck for 8 days!

On our game drives, we saw three total male lions, leopards, a rhino (only one of 83 in the park) and many other animals. We also saw the migration.

The last night, Steven surprised us with a bush party! I was really special. I really enjoyed my stay but it was really different than the Lion Camp. I have posted my review separately on Trip Advisor along with tips for travel on your safari. Have Fun!