Four nights in a 379 square metre villa that belongs to your family alone, with your own guide, your own Land Cruiser and your own infinity pool above the Talek River. Then two nights at Hemingways Nairobi.
A luxury family safari in Kenya built around one idea: your family gets the whole villa, and the whole villa gets its own guide, its own Land Cruiser and its own infinity pool.
Ishara Mara sits along the Talek River at the heart of the Masai Mara. The Private Villa Suite is 379 square metres of private ground: two river facing suites opening onto a shared lounge, a private dining area, a deck, a fireplace and your own pool. It sleeps four, and while you are there it belongs to nobody else.
Every meal, every drink, every game drive and your own guide are included in the villa rate. Childminding runs from 6pm to 10pm, so parents can have an unhurried dinner. And the Taswira Photo Studio, the first Canon studio in the Mara, holds professional cameras, lenses and a resident professional, which tends to change everything for a child who has taken up photography.
You finish with two nights at Hemingways Nairobi in two interconnecting Deluxe Suites, one for the parents and one for the children, with a full day of a private vehicle, the Giraffe Centre, the elephant orphanage and dinner at Cultiva.
Why we love this journey — Ongeri Expeditions holds contracted rates with both Ishara Mara and the Hemingways Collection. This is priced at trade level and confirmed direct. You are not booking through a middleman, and you are not paying for one.
Prices are for a family of four sharing the Ishara Villa Suite on exclusive use. Green Season is the value window. Migration Season is when more than a million wildebeest cross the Mara River, and it prices accordingly. The villa is a single unit, so it sells out first. For Migration Season, reserve nine to twelve months ahead.
The whole villa, yours alone — 379 square metres on the Talek River. Two river facing suites, a shared lounge, a private dining area, a deck, a fireplace and your own infinity pool.
No child supplement — The villa is sold on exclusive use, so a family of four pays the villa rate rather than four individual rates.
Your own guide and Land Cruiser — Every single day. You leave when your children are ready, and you come back when they have had enough.
The Taswira Photo Studio — The first Canon studio in the Mara, with professional cameras, lenses, binoculars and a resident professional on hand.
Childminding, 6pm to 10pm — Included in the villa rate, so parents can have an unhurried dinner while the children are looked after.
Fly in throughout — Scheduled flights between Nairobi and the Mara. No eight hour road transfer, which is the fastest way to ruin a family safari.
You are met and assisted on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transferred to Wilson Airport for your scheduled flight to the Masai Mara. You are collected from the airstrip in your own panoramic Land Cruiser, and the drive to camp is your first game drive. Lunch at the villa, then an afternoon drive as the heat drops. The children will find the infinity pool before you have finished unpacking.
Coffee at the fire in the dark, then out at first light in your own vehicle, with hot chocolate and a blanket each. A bush breakfast laid out on the plains. Back to the villa through the hot middle of the day, for the pool and lunch and nobody going anywhere. Out again in the afternoon, ending with sundowners somewhere with a view and nothing else in it.
In between, the Taswira Photo Studio, an evening at the telescope under a sky with more stars in it than your children knew existed, and, if they want it, a night in the first star bed in the Masai Mara. Childminding runs from 6pm to 10pm, so dinner can be yours.
A final drive at dawn and breakfast at the villa, then your scheduled flight back to Wilson Airport, where you are met and transferred to Karen. Two interconnecting Deluxe Suites at Hemingways Nairobi, one for the parents and one for the children, with a door between rather than a corridor. The afternoon is yours, and the pool is heated.
A full day with a private vehicle at your disposal. The Giraffe Centre first, where a giraffe will take a pellet from your child's hand and they will talk about it for a decade. Then the elephant orphanage, and the story of every calf in it, which lands differently on a child who watched a herd from a vehicle four days ago. Dinner at Cultiva to finish.
Breakfast at leisure, then a private transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with meet and assist and departure lounge access. Your children will fall asleep before the plane levels off, and they will still be talking about the Mara at Christmas.
The Private Villa Suite. 379 square metres on the Talek River, with two river facing suites, a private dining area, a fireplace and your own infinity pool. Yours alone.
Two interconnecting Deluxe Suites, one for the parents and one for the children. Colonial calm, manicured gardens, and the Ngong Hills beyond.
Share a few considered details, and your Safari Advisor will be in touch within 24 hours.
Elevated bridges connect the camp and give astonishing views over the surrounding plains and the river. Safari suites are tucked in the bush facing the savannah, while the river suites and the family suites are nestled along the water. For a night under the stars, Ishara holds the first star bed in the Masai Mara.
379 square metres of private ground. Two river facing suites open onto a shared lounge, a private dining area, a deck, a fireplace and your own infinity pool. It sleeps up to four guests, and while you are there it belongs to nobody else. Because it is sold on exclusive use, there is no per person supplement for your children.
Your own exclusive use panoramic Land Cruiser and your own guide, every single day. All meals, all beverages including premium wines and spirits, all guiding and all game drives are included in the villa rate.
Childminding runs from 6pm to 10pm, so parents can have an unhurried dinner. The Taswira Photo Studio, the first Canon studio in the Mara, holds professional cameras, lenses, binoculars and a resident professional, which tends to change everything for a child who has taken up photography.
Set against the Ngong Hills in the suburb of Karen, Hemingways Nairobi is an all suite boutique hotel known for its understated elegance and effortless service. It is a short transfer from the Giraffe Centre and the elephant orphanage, both of which are included in this journey.
One for the parents and one for the children, with a door between them rather than a corridor. Spacious suites blend classic furnishings with modern comfort, each with a private balcony, a marble bathroom and a butler on call. Garden and pool views look toward the Ngong Hills.
The brasserie serves refined international cuisine, with afternoon tea on the terrace. Dinner at Cultiva is included on one of your two nights.
Curated, tested, and refined over years — our most loved itineraries across East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands.
