What a Kenya safari costs
We are not going to give you a headline per-person figure, because any number quoted without knowing your dates, parks and accommodation level would be invented. Here is what the price is actually made of.
The fixed costs
These are set by government and no operator can undercut them. If one quote is much cheaper than another, the difference is never here.
- Masai Mara reserve entry — USD 100 per non-resident adult per day from January to June, USD 200 from July to December. Children aged 9 to 17 pay USD 50 year-round.
- KWS park entry — Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and the Tsavos, paid through the eCitizen system. We quote the current rate for your dates rather than publishing figures here that have not been checked against the live KWS tariff.
- Kenya eTA — USD 30 per person, including infants.
Note that Mara fees are per day and seasonal, so four nights in the reserve in August costs substantially more in park fees alone than the same four nights in March.
Where quotes actually differ
Accommodation
The widest single variable, by a distance. Kenya has everything from simple tented camps to lodges charging several times as much, and two itineraries with identical routing can differ enormously on this line alone.
Flying or driving
Nairobi to the Mara is about 45 minutes by light aircraft or five to six hours by road. Flying costs more and buys you the better part of two days across a round trip. On a short itinerary that trade is usually worth making; on a longer one the road gives you the Rift Valley escarpment.
Private or shared
A private vehicle with your own driver-guide against a seat in a shared minibus. This changes the experience more than most people expect — a private vehicle means you decide when to stay with a sighting.
Reserve or conservancy
Conservancy lodges fold their conservancy fees into the nightly rate, so they look dearer on paper while sometimes costing less once reserve park fees are added to the alternative. Compare the total, not the room rate.
How to compare two quotations properly
Ask both operators to show park fees, permits and internal flights as separate lines rather than folded into one per-person figure. Those are fixed costs. Once they are visible, the real comparison — accommodation tier, vehicle arrangement, whether you fly or drive — becomes obvious. An operator who will not itemise is usually hiding a substitution somewhere.
Adding gorilla trekking
If you are extending to Uganda, the gorilla permit adds USD 800 per person in high season, or USD 600 in April, May and November. Rwanda's permit is USD 1,500. Add the Nairobi to Entebbe or Kigali flight, and the Entebbe to Bwindi charter if you take it.
What we will not do
We do not publish indicative per-person prices on this site, and we would treat any operator's headline figure with caution. A number quoted before anyone knows your dates, your parks or your accommodation level is either an anchor or a guess, and the version you eventually pay is rarely the version you were shown.
Tell us the shape of trip you want and we will send an itemised quotation.
This page needs expansion before launch
KWS park entry figures for Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Tsavo to be added once verified against the official tariff. Once real itinerary prices exist, a from-price range per trip style can be added here.
Plan your Kenya and gorilla safari
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and how long you have. We will send a written itinerary and a quotation.