&Beyond Bateleur Camp

Old-school safari in the Masai Mara: fireside evenings, a slower clock, and Out of Africa over the next hill.

The essentials

Where: Masai Mara, KenyaOn the &Beyond Kichwa Tembo concession below the Oloololo escarpment, at the edge of the Masai Mara National Reserve
The camp: Two camps, nine tents each17 Luxury Tents and one Luxury Family Tent: two tents joined by an interior passage and a private lounge
Basis: All-inclusiveThree meals daily, drinks, laundry and airstrip transfers are part of the stay; champagne, cognac and fine wines, gratuities and park fees are extra
The tents: Hardwood floors, a copper bath87 m² Luxury Tents with polished silver, a private veranda with built-in daybeds, and a butler; the Family Tent is 185 m²
Guests: Two to a tentThe Family Tent sleeps two adults and two children; three children on request, at an additional cost
Activities: Two safari activities a dayGame drive and/or nature walk are included, with a pair of Swarovski binoculars per room to share. Balloon flights, night drives, Maasai cultural visits and wellness treatments are at an additional cost

&Beyond Bateleur Camp is two small tented camps of nine tents each, on the &Beyond Kichwa Tembo concession below the Oloololo escarpment, at the edge of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Every tent has a butler. Meals, drinks and two safari activities a day are part of the stay; balloon flights and night drives are extra. We were there in Dec-2025.

Updated 20-Oct-2026

Crossing into Kenya and landing in the Mara felt like stepping into a sepia-toned photograph. Bateleur leans into that on purpose: Chesterfield sofas, vintage trunks and antiques, fireside corners made for storytelling, and the filming location of Out of Africa just over the next hill. A sense that time has politely slowed down, and that nobody is going to hurry you back up to speed.

Seen from a balloon basket, the sun rises through mist over dark treetops while a passenger looks down at the ground below — First light, from a wicker basket. The family's December safari.

Africa is even more impressive when she knows you're not in a rush.

One morning we traded tyres for a wicker basket and took to the sky in a hot-air balloon over the Mara. Drifting above the plains at first light, we watched the herds stitch patterns across the savannah while the world woke up beneath us. No engine noise, no commentary. Just altitude, perspective, and the quiet realisation that Africa is even more impressive when she knows you are not in a rush.

There was adrenaline too. This was where we tracked a lion hunt at night, the Mara revealing a darker, more electric version of itself: spotlights cutting through the black, the air taut, zebra yelping warnings somewhere behind us. Raw, intense, and a useful reminder that none of this is a theme park.

A day

What a day at Bateleur looks like

The morning drive leaves at first light in a 4x4 and stops for coffee once the sun is up. Because the camp sits on the Kichwa Tembo concession, guided bush walks are on offer as well as drives (two safari activities a day, game drive and/or nature walk, are part of the stay), and &Beyond lends a pair of Swarovski binoculars per room for the length of the visit. Night drives run with a spotlight and cost extra; on our Dec-2025 stay this is how we followed a lion hunt after dark.

A hot-air balloon flight (at an additional cost) lifts off at sunrise, spends about an hour over the Mara and lands to champagne and a full English bush breakfast, served family-style. If you would rather stay out all day, &Beyond also offers al fresco picnics: your guide finds the spot and sets the table.

In between: the daybeds on the veranda, a pool with the plains in front of it, the massage sala (treatments are extra), and then dinner on the deck under lanterns or by the boma fire. Bateleur manages the increasingly rare trick of feeling glamorous without insulating you from the bush. You can spend the afternoon following lions, come back to a copper bath, and hear the same lions somewhere beyond the canvas after dark.

The camp

Each tent has hardwood floors, polished silver, a copper bath, and a veranda with built-in daybeds looking out over the plains. Candles flicker and petals float in the bath, and the night sky is not on request; it simply turns up. Your butler looks after everything from early coffee to candlelit turndown.

A guest area under a high roof, tall standing lamps and glass pendants glowing over layered rugs and deep seating — Lamplight in the guest area · Photography courtesy of andBeyond.com, Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara

A butler sets out sundowners on a deck under canvas, storm lanterns lit along the edge, the Mara plains stretching away behind — Sundowners on the deck · Photography courtesy of andBeyond.com, Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara

Lunch table set on the North Camp deck at &Beyond Bateleur Camp overlooking the plains — Lunch on the North Camp deck. Nobody hurries lunch here. · Photography courtesy of andBeyond.com, Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara

Copper bathtub inside a Luxury Tent at &Beyond Bateleur Camp — The copper bath. · Photography courtesy of andBeyond.com, Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara

Dinner table on the deck under lanterns at &Beyond Bateleur Camp at dusk — Dinner where the plains start. · Photography courtesy of andBeyond.com, Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara

Out on the plains

A group of giraffe among green trees on grassland, a lion walking in the open in front of them — Giraffe, and one lion among them. Elsewhere on the trip.

Morning game drive coffee stop at sunrise on the Masai Mara near Bateleur Camp — Coffee at first light. The drive leaves at dawn and stops once the sun is up. · Photography courtesy of andBeyond.com, Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara

Coffee stop beside a river on the Bateleur Camp concession, Masai Mara — Coffee beside the river, on the camp's concession. · Photography courtesy of andBeyond.com, Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara

Good to know

Is Bateleur Camp good for families?

Yes, with one caveat. There is a single Luxury Family Tent in the whole camp: two tents joined by an interior passage and a private lounge, sleeping two adults and two children (three children on request, at an additional cost). Everything else sleeps two, so if you are travelling with children the family tent is the first thing to secure, well before flights. &Beyond runs offers for families from time to time and the terms change, so ask us what is current.

When to go

The Great Migration is in the Mara roughly July to October, and &Beyond treats roughly June to October and the Christmas to New Year stretch as peak season. We went in December: fewer vehicles, green grass, and the resident cats busy. If you want the river crossings, go in the migration months and book early. If you want the Mara mostly to yourself, go when we did. Tell us which you prefer and we will tell you honestly which suits.

&Beyond Bateleur Camp

Ask us about Bateleur.

We put together safari itineraries built around places like this one. Bateleur was the Kenya leg of our own Dec-2025 trip; the full story, balloon and night drive included, is in The Serengeti and Masai Mara. Tell us when you are thinking of travelling and we will come back to you with options. Rates change with the season, so we would rather quote you properly than print a number here.

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