Safari Vehicles in Kenya: Land Cruisers, Pop-Up Roofs & What to Expect
Safari vehicles in Kenya explained: pop-up roof Land Cruisers vs minivans, seating, private vs shared, comfort by park and what to check before you book.
Kenya Currency & Money Guide: Shillings, Dollars, Cards & M-Pesa
Kenya currency is the Kenyan shilling (KES, often written KSh), and it is what you will use for most everyday spending. US dollars are widely accepted at safari lodges and camps and are welcome for tips, while local restaurants, matatus, boda-bodas and supermarkets expect shillings. Most visitors use a mix of both, plus a card, […]
Kenya Safari Tipping Guide: Exact Amounts for Guides, Camps & Porters
Kenya safari tipping follows a fairly settled pattern, but few first-time visitors know the numbers before they land. Our guidance is USD 10–20 per person per day for your driver-guide, towards USD 15–25 for a private guide and USD 10–15 for a guide shared across a larger vehicle. Camp and lodge staff are thanked separately, […]
Fly-In vs Road Safari in Kenya: Which Is Actually Right for You
The fly-in vs road safari decision shapes the pace, comfort and cost of a Kenya trip more than almost any other choice you make. A light aircraft from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport reaches a Masai Mara airstrip in about 45 to 60 minutes, while the same journey by road takes around 5 to 6 hours. Flying […]
Migratory Birds of Kenya: When Millions of European Birds Arrive Each Year
The migratory birds of Kenya arrive from another continent every year, and most safari visitors never notice them. These Palearctic migrants breed across Europe and Asia, then fly thousands of kilometres south to escape the northern winter. The first arrive in September and October, numbers build through November, and most leave again in March and […]
Snakes of Kenya: What You Might Actually Encounter on Safari
Snakes in Kenya are one of the most common safari worries and one of the least common safari sightings. Kenya is home to dangerous species, including the black mamba, puff adder, spitting cobras and the African rock python, but encounters on safari are rare because snakes are shy and far more frightened of a group […]
Night Game Drives in Kenya: Where They’re Actually Allowed (Not Where You’d Assume)
Night game drives in Kenya are allowed in far fewer places than most visitors assume, and the rule catches many first-time travellers out. Kenya’s national parks, run by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and its national reserves, such as the Masai Mara (run by Narok County) and Samburu, close to game drives at dusk. The […]
Vulture Species in Kenya: 4 Are Critically Endangered, Here’s Why That Matters
Vulture species in Kenya rarely make anyone’s safari wish list, yet they are part of one of Africa’s most urgent conservation stories. Four of the vultures you can see in Kenya, the white-backed, Rüppell’s, white-headed and hooded vultures, are listed as Critically Endangered, and the lappet-faced vulture is Endangered. A continent-wide study published in 2016 […]
Camping in Kenya’s National Parks: Public vs Special Campsites Explained
Camping in Kenya is one of the most rewarding ways to experience the country’s national parks, and it runs through Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) on a two-tier system most first-time visitors have never heard of: public campsites with basic shared facilities, and special campsites that give one group exclusive, unserviced ground for an advance-booked stay. […]
Wildlife Conservation in Kenya: The Real Story Behind the Rhinos You’ll See
Wildlife conservation in Kenya is not an abstract cause you read about before a trip; it is something you can visit, and at Ol Pejeta you can stand a few metres from it. Kenya’s black rhinos fell to a few hundred animals by the late 1980s under heavy poaching. Since then, fenced sanctuaries and community […]