How to get to the Masai Mara
The Masai Mara Reserve lies 168 miles from the capital city of Nairobi. The trip takes at least 6 hours by car because the roads are quite poor and should not be attempted unless you have a 4WD vehicle. If you do plan to drive, avoid the rainy season since many of the roads become totally impassable. For further information on road routes see Kenyaology's very comprehensive guide to driving to the Masai Mara Reserve.
Many tourist choose to fly into the Masai Mara National Reserve because of the poor quality roads. But flying makes your safari quite a bit more expensive (since you have to then add the game drives to your tour) and you miss out on some of the adventure of traveling in one of Africa's more remote areas.
Many safari packages include air but you can also purchase a ticket locally. Safarlink offers two scheduled flights a day from Wilson Airport; the flight takes 45 minutes.