As you may know from my last post, Dan and I spent a week at the JW Marriott Masai Mara last month on safari. We began our trip in Nairobi and then flew from Nairobi to the Masai Mara on Safarilink Aviation for our safari. This post describes our experience with Safarilink Aviation, as I could not find much information online before our trip.

SAFARILINK AVIATION & BOOKING ON SAFARILINK AVIATION

As an initial matter, to get from Nairobi to the Masai Mara National Park area, you either need to drive several hours or take a 30 minute flight from Nairobi. We opted for the later. In booking our flight, a few airlines fly this route, including Safarilink Aviation and Air Kenya (who we flew from the US). I was going to book on one of these airlines directly, but I emailed the JW Marriott first to confirm the airport, and our hotel offered to book the roundtrip flight for us at a cost of $420 USD per person.  This was generally the price I saw online, so I paid the hotel to book on our behalf.  Our hotel selected Safarilink Aviation over Air Kenya and gave us the option of three times – early morning, mid-morning, and afternoon. Safarilink Aviation emailed us a confirmation like any other airline as soon as the hotel booked our tickets.

If your hotel is not booking the flight for you, know that you are flying to the “Mara” destination, but you will also need to know at which “airstrip” to deplane. Yes, that’s right! The Masai Mara is a thirty minute flight from Nairobi, but it does not have one main airport. Instead, it has several air strips, or literal dirt strips in the middle of nowhere where planes drop off and pick up passengers. Our stop was Keekorok, which was the third of three stops our flight made. You must confirm with your safari lodge or tour which stop to book. Don’t worry – it’s not as confusing as it sounds, and the flight attendant will ensure you deplane at the correct stop.

SAFARILINK’S AIRPORT

Safarilink Aviation flights depart from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport. Wilson Airport is 20 kilometers, or 30ish minutes, from Nairobi’s Jomo International Airport, which is where most tourists coming to Kenya land. If you are flying directly to the Masai Mara from the US, Europe, or any destination more than an hour or two away from Nairobi by air, keep in mind that you will very likely need to move airports (Jomo to Wilson), in addition to clearing customs, collecting your luggage, etc. Be sure to leave ample time for this transfer.

Unlike most airports, Wilson is not one or two terminal buildings, but numerous small (old) buildings cobbled together around some runways. Each building is its own “terminal”; some are airline terminals, others are cargo, and others are private companies.  Safarilink Aviation has its own terminal (or really, building) at Wilson Airport. Keep this in mind if you are taking an Uber or driving yourself (which I would not recommend). You will need to tell your driver at which terminal to stop. The Safarilink Terminal was well into the airport, although most taxi and Uber drivers should be familiar with it.

ENTERING THE SAFARILINK AVIATION TERMINAL AT WILSON AIRPORT

Guests are dropped just outside the small Safarilink Aviation Terminal. Once dropped off, guests send all luggage, including checked, carryon, and purses, through an X-Ray machine and walk through a metal detector. There was no security line when we were there, and I imagine there is not often a line.

CHECKING IN TO SAFARILINK AVIATION

Since Safarilink Aviation has its own terminal, guests checkin at the one of the two checkin desks by presenting an ID and telling the agent where you are traveling. Guests receive a paper ticket and are designated a boarding color group; ours was purple. The checkin agent also writes your stop on your ticket if there are multiple stops on your flight. The checkin agent will also weigh your luggage and take and tag any checked luggage. Side note, Safarilink was not strict about baggage weight on our flight, but weight is technically limited to 33 per person, including carry ons (our carry on was not weighed in March 2024).  I would also note that there was no option to checkin online.

Once you have your ticket, guests wait in the terminal for their boarding group to be called. This whole process is rather quick. We arrived around 90 minutes before our flight and had PLENTY of time.

I would also note that on our way back from the Masai Mara, the checkin process was even easier; our safari lodge took care of confirming our flight time and checking us in, etc. We simply were dropped off at the same time the Safarilink plane landed from Nairobi, we gave our luggage directly to the people placing it on the flight, gave our names to the flight attendant, and walked aboard. We were the last stop that day, so it was only 30 minutes back to Nairobi. We collected our luggage in Nairobi shortly after deplaning.

THE SAFARILINK AVIATION TERMINAL’S AMENITIES

The Safarilink Aviation Terminal is TINY. Aside from the checkin desk and a few tables and seats, the terminal only has a small gift shop, a decent coffee bar with a few snacks, pastries, water, soft drinks, beer, and wine, and a cannon camera stand that was closed. Credit card accepted in the store and coffee shop. There is no ATM in the terminal – go before you leave Nairobi (although there is one at the Wilson airport, just not in the Safarilink Terminal). Wifi is free and good.

Mens and womens restrooms are in the terminal, as is an upstairs lounge that was closed on our visit. In any case, don’t arrive here early, as there is nothing to do and nowhere to go.

BOARDING OUR SAFARILINK FLIGHT

When its time for your flight, the checkin desk makes a boarding announcement via your color code (recall the purple designation) and passengers line up at the door and present their physical ticket. Guests then walk to the plane, confirm that their carryon luggage is present, and board the flight, checking in with the air stewardess right before boarding. The air stewardess also assigns your seat based on the plane and number of passengers.

THE SAFARILINK AVIATION FLIGHT TO THE MASAI MARA

Safarilink Aviation flies small planes of various small sizes – ours was a DeHaviland Canada Dash 8 (200 or 300) and sat about 40 people. This is one of the largest planes in the fleet, which consists of multiple Cessnas (so you could very well get a much smaller plane).  Our flight had two pilots and one flight attendant who gave a safety briefing and explained that the flight to the Masai Mara is 30 minutes and after arriving, that there would be three stops. She also gave everyone a bottle of water. At each stop after reaching the Masai Mara, or the “Mara” as she called it, the plane landed on a dirt landing strip, some passengers deplane and others board, and the flight takes off to the next destination. The flight attendant ensured that all passengers departed and boarded as appropriate. The plane was on the ground at each stop for about 15 minutes, and time between “stops” was 5 – 10 minutes.

DEPARTURE FROM SAFARILINK AVIATION

When we reached our final destination, Keekorok Airstrip, we were immediately met by our safari guide, Festus from the JW Marriott Masai Mara. Festus helped us grab our bags and had a whole spread set up for us as we watched our Safarilink plane depart to fly back to Nairobi.

A FEW TIPS FOR FLYING ON SAFARILINK AVIATION

1. Yes, there is a restroom on the plane.
2. Yes, there is a [dirty] restroom at the airstrip.
3. We booked our flight directly via our safari lodge, the JW Marriott Masai Mara. I recommend this if possible.
4. Our flight was 420 USD round trip per person, luggage included. I found this to be comparable to flight prices online, but who knows.
5. Luggage is limited to 33 pounds, including carryons. I would really try to meet this to avoid additional fees or having your baggage delivered later.
6. Yes, we felt safe.
7. Yes, we would fly them again.
8. I read that there is luggage storage at the Wilson Airport, but I didn’t see any in the Safarilink Terminal. We left our larger bags in Nairobi at our hotel for free.
9. You can see animals when flying over the Masai Mara if you have a window seat and look really closely.
10. There is on wifi on the plane.

STEAL OUR FLIGHT

Safarilink Aviation: This is Safarilink’s English website.