Little Governors Camp

Wow! This lodge is fabulous. It is a relatively small camp with 17 tents, located in the Maasai Mara National Park. The lodge and all 17 tents border a marsh where you can permanently see elephants, hippos, warthogs and a variety of birds. The service is great, very polite and attentive. The food is out of this world, many international dishes cooked to the greatest standard. Serving is individual in your own table during the specific timeframes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Kenneth the chef is so talented and friendly! The rooms are individual tents, all overlooking the marsh, with a beautiful view and so much comfort. The tents in itself are not luxurious, but very comfortable and have running drinking water which is highly uncommon in Kenya (and so convenient). The sounds in the tents at night are priceless, with all the wildlife of the marsh being active specially at night. I stayed at tent 17 which I highly recommend for a Safari experience. It is the last tent in the compound, so it is a bit of a hike from the common areas, but given this distance, you rarely hear in any human noises and at night you have several animal visitors. I had elephants feeding righ outside my tent at one night, and 6 hippos the next. Sleeping with the sound of their grazing has been unforgettable for me. There is laundry available for free. The tents were kept spotless at all times. Wifi is avaible in all rooms (tent 17 was a bit more unreliable in the signal given the distance but still worth staying there!) and you can get cell phone signal as well. If you do the balloon ride with the Governors Balloon Company (not arranged by the lodge, its a separate but related entity), the balloon departs from this lodge so it is super comfortable (as opposed to other lodges that have to drive to Little Governors at 5 am). The only downside I could see is that the game available in the areas closer to this lodge did not seem to be the best. I had acquantances located in other areas of the Mara at the same time and they all got much more spectacular game sightings, especially big cats. However this might have just been unlucky timing on my part. This certainly does not diminish the excellency of the lodge. Overall this lodge was a highlight in my Kenya trip and would certainly recommend it! All my best to Geoffrey, Moses, Ken, Julius and Helen for their friendly and dedicated service.

Little Governor’s is a delightful escape that offers everything you dream of in a classic safari. I’ve been on safari before in South Africa, but Maasai Mara is more of a wilderness experience. The tents at Little Governors are situated around a marsh frequented by wildlife. I saw two elephants, a giraffe, a hippo and many baboons from my tent or while having lunch on the main deck. I visited the main Governors’s Camp and Il Moran, both of which are on the banks of the Mara River - but I liked the marsh setting of Little Governors better. The staff at Little Governor’s are wonderful! Everyone is very friendly and efficient, and I must make a special mention of Helen and Duncan. The manager, Hillary, is exceptional and takes very good care of his guests. The game drives were good - saw two prides of lions, a leopard on a tree with its kill, and a pair (mother and baby) of black rhinos. African black rhinos are critically endangered and seeing them in the wild is very special. The tents are comfortable, the food is great with a range of options and everything was efficiently run. I will be back!

Safaris are all about the wildlife and we had a good experience on our game drives. We have been on safari before so hadn't gone wanting to see anything in particular but wanted to enjoy the excitement of spotting various game. The tents and the camp were excellent and the food really good. What stood out was the service and friendliness of the staff. It was relaxing sitting looking over the marsh and seeing wildlife wandering in front of you. Would recommend it to other travellers.

Little Governor’s Camp is the best safari experience I’ve encountered. Everything from the flight in from Nairobi to the twice daily safari drives was excellently run and delivered with charm. The tented accommodation is perfect with an amazing view and every facility imaginable. Food is top class and service as good as I’ve met. The knowledge and experience of our Wild Life Guide, Bernard was top class. We even had an in house Wart High family and nightly visits by the camp elephant. Highly recommended.

Little Govenors was our second stop on our honeymoon in Kenya. I honestly couldn’t have better things to say. The staff was amazing. The food was better than anything I could have ever expected. We saw so many animals (although cats were tough due to the unexpected rains/high grass) and had the BEST time on the hot air balloon. Every night we’d go to bed early and fall asleep listening to hippos and elephants grazing right outside our tent. We felt very safe the entire time and I cannot wait to return. Thank you all ❤️

This has to be on your bucket list! To visit here is a once in a lifetime experience. Little Governors Camp is not a fenced compound, meaning you might walk out on the deck outside your tent and have an elephant walking by or a pack of Mongoose. See their X page: @governorscamps . In the middle of the night we had Hippos grazing on the grass next to our tent. When I say tent, It is a very large tent with wooden floor, comfy bed, bath, shower, "indoor toilet and Bidet butt washer", so it's a very nice tent. Not brand new but great. At night you are escorted to/from the dining tent by a guard protecting you from animals in the area. Please understand that at NO TIME did we ever feel unsafe. Our game drives happened twice a day with quite articulate, well spoken guide, always concerned with our comfort and safety. I am not a camper or an outdoorsy type but this was fabulous. Note: Once you land in Maasai Mara on Governors Camp's air*****, You travel by Range Rover to the Mara River, passing by and witnessing animals that will blow your mind, whereby you walk down a bank, get in a boat to cross the river, proceed up the opposite bank and proceed a couple hundred yards to the camp. I would highly recommend you have the Camp arrange your travel connections from the time you arrive at the international airport in Nairobi, transfer to a small regional airport to catch your flight to Little Governors Camp. We did it ourselves, and in a city of 4.5 million people with overpacked roads and no traffic rules followed, it can be quite daunting.

This is a true tented camp in the heart of the Mara Triangle. Guests can fly in with Governors own fleet of small planes (10 seaters) from different locations. We arrived from Loldia House at Lake Naivasha, and left after 5 nights to Wilsons Airport in Nairobi. Both are c. 45 min flights, and serve to underline that this is a safari set deep into a true African location. Little Governors camp is accessed across a river by boat linked to a large suspended rope tether, and you are pulled by hand across by the ferryman standing at the front. That alone is a remarkable start. 17 tents are cleverly sited for privacy, and set either side of a central tented dining, sitting and bar area with a large deck for tables overlooking the marsh. The tents are well appointed with excellent facilities, individual tiled bathrooms attached to each, piping hot water - and the privacy of individual decked sitting space under overhanging canvas at the front to give peaceful views of the marsh teeming with game and birds from dawn ‘til dusk. The setting attracts large game to the site with bushpig, giraffe, hippo, impala, baboon and elephant all regular visitors that wander through the outskirts of the camp in full and close view of guests. The decking and grounds provide a clear view of the game, and the topography and staff ensure this is a safe environment throughout. You need to keep tents closed when empty (they are all double lined with mosquito proof ‘window sections’ and flaps) to also ensure Baboon and vervet monkey stay out, and at night you need to signal for an armed guard to guide you from your tent to dine as hippo and the occasional lion are not infrequent wanderers around the grounds. Fabulous food, fantastically warm and welcoming staff (100 apparently) and the comfort of these amenities do not detract from the experience of living under canvas. And, of course, the game is exceptional. Then - bearing in mind all of the above - lets not forget that balloon safaris fly from the camp every morning at dawn, and the guests are provided with the best guides in open sided Toyota Land Cruisers (the seats provide for 6 with commanding raised views). And, of course, Games Drives are the real reason everyone comes to the Mara Reserve. The game drives are available all day - ranging from 3 a day, or (like for us) combined into longer excursions with either picnic breakfasts, or lunch. Our Guide (Oliver) managed to find everything we wanted to see - Cheetah, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino, and Lion are plentiful and such a thrill to find - with the latter now famous through the BBC’s documentaries charting the life of the large prides in the area. Plus herds of buffalo, Giraffe, Topi, Zebra, Impala, Thomson’s Gazelle, wilderbeest, water buck, Eiland, and a cornucopia of raucous bird life and other game from Monitor Lizard, to the biggest catfish I have ever seen emerging from hibernation in the mud. I even found a Reed Buck (twice) - a personal favourite for me and rar

It was amazing stay. We didn’t expect that we will enjoy it as much to be honest, we stayed for 3 nights and it was amazing experience. We have 3 days game drive with Bernard and he has a very sharp eye, he can spot basically everything and we manage to see all the big 5 and amazing spot. It was my son’s birthday and the staff prepare cake for him. The chef, Helen and Solomon are our waitress during our stay make sure that our son’s meals are well prepared since he is a picky eater. The staff are really thoughtful and they always make sure that everything that we need are fulfilled. We definitely will come back