Is Kenya Expensive to Visit? (My Advice as a Local)

If you are reading this article, an African safari must be on your bucket list. However, one thing that may be holding you back is the assumption that it’s probably too expensive for you to travel to Kenya or one of the other Safari destinations. So, in this article, I will help you answer the question: Is Kenya Expensive to Visit? And provide you with the information you need to save money on your trip to Kenya.

Kenya is an expensive country to visit. It can cost you upwards of $4000 to visit Kenya. However, You can make it more affordable if you avoid attractions visited often by international tourists. If you will be going on a safari, you can save money by booking your safari when you arrive in Kenya and negotiate with the safari company to get a good deal. Let me break down the cost of visiting Kenya and give you some local knowledge to help you spend wisely when you come to Kenya.

How much you will spend per day when visiting Kenya

Cost of a safari

You can find a wide range of pricing options when going on a Kenyan safari but the least you expect to spend when going on a safari in Kenya is:

1. Budget Safaris: $150 per person per day. This would usually be in tented camps where you will share amenities like washrooms and showers. 
2. Mid Range Safaris: $350 per person per day. the amenities included in this kind of safari will be comfortable rooms with their own bathrooms and showers and a slightly better experience with your transportation within the park. 
3. Luxury safaris: these can cost upwards of 7000 dollars per person for a 10-day safari. They have some of the best accommodation and exclusive safari drives. 

I would recommend that you check out the safari listings on Safari Booking. The are a website that provide a great comparison tool for different safari operators and you can filter the safaris by price and experiences. I think it’s a really great tool.

I have written a more detailed article on the cost of doing a Kenyan Safari where I have broken down the cost of different safari tiers and the amenities and activities you expect to find in each tier. 

Cost of backpacking around Kenya

How much you spend when backpacking around Kenya will be dependent on three things

1. Transport
2. Accommodation
3. Meals

Transport

The most affordable way of backpacking around Kenya is using public transport. (Also popularly known as Matatu). 

While I have argued this article that it’s not advisable for tourists to use public transport in Nairobi, long-distance public transport to most towns in Kenya from Nairobi is comfortable and safe enough for me to recommend it as a good way to backpack around Kenya. 

Using public transport to backpack around Kenya will save you a huge amount of money since you’ll be paying what normal Kenyans would pay to get around.

You may be wondering if you can do a self-drive in Kenya. In this article I wrote, I discovered that it may be illegal to do a self-drive in Kenya without a license. Check it out for details.

Accommodation

As a foreigner, you want to ensure that you are safe first before you think about saving money. The kind of accommodation you use should primarily put your safety and the safety of your gear into consideration before trying to save money. 

You will need to use hotels that are in the mid or upper price ranges since they pay better attention to security and most of the average hotels in Kenya. 

At the time of writing this (2019), hotels that charge anywhere between $50 to $90 would be in the mid-range category (double room) and they pay more attention to security than some of the other budget hotels that charge less than this. 

Meals

The amount of money you spend on your meals will depend on where you are eating. As a tourist you want to avoid dingy looking places since your probability of getting sick from them is higher than more established food joints. You should also avoid supermarket food since it’s not as regulated as it should be. 

Expect to spend somewhere in the regions of $10 per meal as a backpacker in Kenya.

Eating at a fancy restaurant will cost you around $20 to $30 for lunch or supper and if your goal as someone seeking to save some money should be to have a balance between fancy and cost. 

How much money do you need to visit Kenya?

So with all of that said, how much money do you need for you to do a 10-day visit to Kenya? 

You will need: $3,0000

Let’s break this down into its constituent parts so that you can try and see where you can save. 

Item	Notes	Cost
International Flights:	$1,300 return flight from Atlanta	$1,300
Hotels/accommodation:	$100 per night 2 nights (the first night before safari and last night after the safari is complete)	$200
Transportation/transfers:	Your safari company probably already offer this, however, it’s good to plan for it.	$200
Cost of the Safari	The average cost of a mid-range safari is $2,500 but they can do as low as $1,500 for a 10-day safari	$2,500
Cost of visiting the beach	A number of mid-range safaris offer this so you can leave it out of your calculations.  Sometimes, this is included in the cost of a safari package.	–
Souvenirs:	Plan to spend around $500 on souvenirs. This should get you enough to give gifts to about 3-4 people and have a few left for yourself.	$500
Tips	These depend on individuals but remember that the safari drivers will expect to get tipped. You will spend about $1o0 in tips to the driver, waiters, and chefs.	$100
Travel insurance:	This is a crucial part of your safari and you should not pass on it. Your insurance should cover medical and emergency evacuation. The cost of this will range $150	$150
Vaccination /medical costs:	This will obviously vary depending on each person’s situation so for the sake of argument, I will put a $100 to this	$100
Total		$5,050

The total adds up to about $5,050 per person to go to a 10 day Kenyan Safari.

Cost of visiting Kenya vs other safari destinations

One of the things you may be wondering about is whether Kenya is more or less expensive than visiting some of the other safari destinations like Tanzania or southern Africa. 

Visiting Kenya is cheaper than Tanzania

I did some research on this area and found that Kenya is more affordable as a tourist destination than Tanzania since it has a better-developed tourist infrastructure and there is higher competition among the tour operators. You will contend with more crowds here in Kenya but you are likely to get a better deal here than Tanzania. 

South Africa is cheaper than East Africa

On the other hand, I also found out that doing a safari in South Africa can be cheaper than in East Africa. This is because many of these places would allow you to do self-drives in their national parks and this would reduce some of the safari costs. The cost of an organized safari will usually make up a large percentage of your Safari budget and reducing this by doing a self-drive allows you to save a lot of money. 

Ways of saving money in Kenya as a tourist

Book your safari once you arrive in Kenya

Instead of booking your safari months ahead, from your home country, make a booking once you arrive. It will give you sufficient opportunity to shop around and negotiate. (More on negotiating later)

Please Note: Booking your safari when you arrive is not for everyone. You cant be assured that you are going to find a good safari available on short notice so it may still be safer to book your safari ahead of time but remember that you are going to pay more if you do it this way.

Shop around to get the best deal

Kenyan hotels and safaris are spread across a wide price range. If you are looking to save money on your visit, sample a few options before committing. 

For hotels, this would involve physically visiting each one you’re interested in and viewing their rooms. You can first make a shortlist of the places you will physically go to through online booking sites like Booking.com

Avoid using booking sites for hotels

I discovered that many booking sites add emergency to the cost of the room. you have better chances of saving money if you actually use it the hotel yourself. 

This may not always be practical but it is one of the best ways of saving money when coming to Kenya. 

I will warn that this night not always work since sometimes booking sites get heavily discounted rates and the price you will be offered when you come may be higher than what is on the website

Avoid very popular destinations during the high season

You want to avoid very popular destinations, especially in the high season. this is because since there is a high influx of tourists the tour operators tend to hike the prices to cash in on higher demand. 

At the same time, the people who travel during the high season have a higher propensity to spend more and pay higher rates since they could afford to go during the high season. If you are looking to save money this is not a situation you want to be in. 

Always negotiate

Almost all Kenyan businesses expect you to negotiate and will price their items at double or even triple the actual price of the item. 

When negotiating, try to relax and not take it too seriously. it may be uncomfortable if you’re not used to doing it but you will not be frowned upon for asking for a discount.

Book international flights early

It’s always cheaper if you book them months ahead of your Safari.  This is because Airlines would like a level assurance on future travels and would provide a discount for this assurance. 

How to save money on International flights to Kenya

1. Book your flight at least two or three months ahead to get the lowest prices.
2. Book your flight on a Tuesday: Prices are usually lower  on this day compared to any other day of the week.

Booking.com

How to find a good Hotel in Nairobi as a tourist

1. Ask the taxi drivers and tour operators to recommend good hotels. They usually know the places you should avoid and places that have good deals.
2. Shop around by physically visiting the hotels and Asking to see the rooms.
3. Reading through their reviews on Google and checking for stories on bad experiences that former patrons have had. 
4. Avoid booking on the websites if you are already in Kenya. The booking sites add their own fee on top of what the hotels actually charge and you can get a better bargain when you go to the hotel in person.

Cost of visiting the beach in Kenya

After your safari, you may prefer to visit one of Kenya’s coastal towns for some time at the beach. Your cost for doing this will be dependent on the kind of hotel you plan on staying at and the way you plan to get there but will range around $200 per day if you stay at a  comfortable mid-range beach resort with nearby beach access.

To get there you have three options. 

1. You can get there by train on the standard gauge railway: the train takes about 4 hours to get to Mombasa from Nairobi and will charge about $15 each way.
2. You can take a bus: this method will take the longest time (about 6 to 7 hours) and cost you about $20.
3. You can fly there.: Flights are more expensive and will cost around $100 each way.

How long should you stay in Kenya?

The number of days you choose to stay in Kenya will be highly dependent on the amount of money you’re willing to spend. the more days you stay the higher your total budget should be with all other factors held constant. 

Five to Six Days

I would advise that you stay a minimum of 5 to 6 days in Kenya with the bulk of these bands on a Kenyan Safari and one day to buy souvenirs and explore Nairobi.

 If you have a bigger budget you can then add a few days at the beach.

You will need to factor in the fact that some of the days will be completely consumed by travel and if you are strapped for time taking a flight will save you a couple of days. However, you will definitely spend more. 

Affordable places to visit in Kenya as a tourist

if you don’t have a lot of money to spend here are a few destinations in that will not charge as high as some of the more popular places in Kenya

The trick here is avoiding the very popular tourist destinations like the Masai Mara and Amboseli national parks since the park fees and accommodation fees are much higher for these destinations than some of the other less popular ones.

You also want to spend more time in cities than in less populated areas in Kenya since you will find more affordable accommodation that is safe here. 

1. Lake Nakuru National Park
2. Nairobi National Park
3. Hell’s Gate National Park
4. Watamu in Malindi

Conclusion

So, as we have seen, although Kenya is not a cheap place to visit, there are a number of ways you can keep your travel expenses low and get big savings as a tourist in Kenya. I would encourage you to read the rest of the articles on this blog that focus on Kenya to get you more prepared for your visit here. And more importantly, start preparing your visit. This place is really amazing and the fear of costs should not stop you from planning.

A Final Word

As you prepare for your trip to Africa, I would like to recommend a few products that would help make your life easier. 

1. Information About Africa: I have created a YouTube channel that focuses on things about traveling to Africa that only Africans can tell you about. Check out the channel for insights about African culture and things you can do as a traveler to optimize your trip. You should also visit TripAdvisor forum posts (Here is the Kenya Forum) and ask questions about your particular situation. There are a lot of people who are happy to help you out. 
2. Choosing a Safari Company: I have written an extensive article on how to choose a safari Company. You can. Check it out before starting the process of searching for a safari company.
3. Safari Planning Services: If you’d rather leave the planning to an expert, I offer personalized safari planning services. I handle everything from helping you choose the right safari company, creating your custom itinerary, managing bookings, and even providing a packing list and reminders for important trip details. It’s like having a personal assistant dedicated to your trip, ensuring that everything runs smoothly, so you can focus on enjoying the adventure. Learn More in this article