Kenya on a Shoestring – Travelling Kenya on the Cheap

Kenya is one of the most incredible countries you can ever travel to. It has some bucket list worthy National parks and breathtaking white sandy beaches. You may have wanted to travel to Kenya but don’t have the budget to come. In this post, I will walk you through how to do a Kenyan Safari on a shoestring budget.

How much does a Kenyan safari usually cost?

In almost all aspects of your tour experiences in Kenya, you get what you pay for and price has a very direct correlation to the quality of service you expect to get.

Whether you are on a shoestring budget or not, the cost of travelling around Kenya will be determined by the kinds of activities you are interested in engaging in and the standard of quality you expect.

Below, I have broken down the cost of or a normal Kenyan Safari for a tourist Into several categories but some of these are bundled when you take a tour package.

Transport ($80 per person per day)

The average daily price for transportation on a Masai Mara tour averages around $80 per person per day. This price is representative of the average cost when travelling in a private tour van with an experienced driver who also doubles up as your personal tour guide.

This price can vary depending on the type of vehicle you will be using and the kind of conditions you will be driving in.

Food ($30 per meal)

The average cost of a meal in a good restaurant in Nairobi can cost between $10 to $30 per person. This can sometimes be higher if you are in one of the upmarket 5 star restaurants.

Outside of Nairobi, the prices may be lower but you need to put sanitation into consideration when choosing a restaurant in Kenya.

Accommodation ($80 per Night)

When choosing accommodation, safety needs to be a key consideration especially because you are a foreigner. The average cost of boarding in a good hotel in Nairobi ranges from  $50 per night to around $150 depending on the how good the hotel is and whether the time you’re making the booking is the high season or the low season.

Accommodation in one of the national parks in Kenya will cost anything from  $80 to several hundred dollars for the 5-star hotels.

Park Entry Fees ($60 per person per day)

Gaining entry into one of the 54 National parks in Kenya will cost a foreign tourist between $43 to $70 per day depending on which park you will be visiting. This is only the park entry fees and does not include the cost of transportation or accommodation within the park.

Most expensive aspects of travelling to Kenya

When visiting Kenya, it’s not the one conspicuously high expense that eats into your budget but the small expenses that eat away at your budget and make your overall cost of travel rise.

Most of the expenses you have when travelling in Kenya can be cut or reduced by seeking out cheaper alternatives but the following costs cannot be negotiated down and will form the most rigid parts of your budget.

1. Park Entry fees: these cannot be negotiated and if you would like to gain entry into any of the parks, you would need to pay up the amounts required. You can reduce your fees by staying for fewer days but apart from this, there is no way of reducing the fees.
2. Food: Even though there are a lot of cheaper alternatives for food, you would want to avoid going on the cheap when it comes to food because you might end up getting sick if you eat in a hotel that does not take sanitation seriously.

Shoestring budget alternatives for budget travellers to Kenya

Transport

Instead of travelling using the private tour van, you can take a Matatu (public transport vehicle) to the location you would like to visit then take a taxi or Boda Boda (Motor Cycle Taxi) for any location that is not well served by Matatus

This can bring your cost of travel down by more than 75%. Here is an example: The fare from Nairobi to Narok in a comfortable shuttle would be between KSh 500 to KSh 1000 ( $5-10). After you get to Narok, take another matatu headed to Sekenani. This will cost you between KSh 400 to KSh 600  and you will have arrived at the Sekenani Main Gate of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. ( While doing research for this article, I found this lovely article on how to get to the Masai Mara cheaply. You might want to check it out if you are intending to visit the Mara.)

Food

Food is one of those things that you can find at much lower prices than those charged to tourists if you know where to look. There are a number of nice restraurants in Nairobi that serve the locals and the prices are not as high as the more upmarket restaurants requented by tourists.  In these restaurants, you can get a good meal from as low as KSh 120 ($1.20)for a plate of fies and a sausage to roughtly around $10 for a decent Nyama Choma (Barbecue Goat Meat) and some Ugali (corn flour cake)

The one thing you will need to be cautious about is the sanitation levels of the hotel you choose to eat from. If unsure, always go for the fries or Barbecue roast meat since they move fast and have a low probability of giving you an infection.

Accommodation

You do not want to go for the cheapest accomodation in Kenya as  a tourist because of safety concerns. The cheaper you go, the less assured you will be of your security and the safety of your luggage.

For this reason, the best way of saving money on accomodation is coming to Kenya in the Low tourist season when hotels have  low occupancy and are willing to give big discounts for anyone looking for accomodation.

The busy tourist season in Kenya is between July to October and December to March. Plan your visit outside of these two windows and you will probably save large amounts of money in your accomodation and get really nice rooms as you travel.

Tips on how to save money when going on a Kenyan Safari

1. If you have the stomach for it, I would advise you not to book a long stay at your accommodation before arriving. If you plan on spending more than a few days at the hotel, pay for just one or two nights in advance. This will allow you to move to a better hotel once you have arrived in the hotel You are in does not meet your expectations.
2. In Kenya, almost everything is negotiable and if you ask, with the clear intent that you are not desperate, you will get a discount. So, don’t just accept the prices you are given, haggle for a better deal. Most Kenyans generally raise their prices when dealing with foreigners (mzungu) and unless you negotiate, you may end up paying double of what normal residents would pay for the same item.
3. Buy your gifts in bulk and, if possible from the same seller. This will allow you to negotiate for a discount on each item. You may end up reducing the final amount you spend by almost 30% this way.
4. Look around before committing to a high ticket service or item. If the person selling the service to you knows that you are not desperate and are reviewing other alternatives, they will fall over themselves trying to get you a discount.
5. Get a local contact if you can find one who will help guide you through negotiating and buying anything from markets. They usually know the tricks and the tip you will give them is nothing compared to the amount you will have saved using them.