Kenya & Masai Mara

Travel Advice & Access

By air. Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO) is East Africa's principal hub, with direct services from London, the Gulf, Europe and the United States. Almost every safari leg, though, departs from Wilson (WIL), a light-aircraft airport 15 kilometres away on the Langata side of the city. Allow a genuine two hours between them: clients who plan on 30 minutes miss the aircraft.

Light aircraft. Scheduled circuits run out of Wilson on Caravans and Dash aircraft landing on murram strips. Baggage allowance is 15 kilograms per person on safari routes and 20 to the coast, including hand luggage. Bags must be soft-sided with no rigid frame or wheeled hard shell, and the refusal happens at the aircraft rather than at check-in: put it in the client documents in bold and arrange left luggage in Nairobi. Routes often make intermediate stops: a 45-minute flight can occupy two hours.

Access and flying times from Nairobi

Area — Access — Notes

Masai Mara reserve — WIL, 45 to 60 mins — Strips at Ol Kiombo, Musiara and Keekorok. By road 260 km, 5 to 6 hrs.

Mara conservancies — WIL, 45 to 60 mins — Camps meet the aircraft at their own strips. Reserve entry charged separately.

Amboseli — WIL, about 45 mins — By road 240 km, 4 hrs. Compact park: two nights is the right sell.

Chyulu Hills — Charter to lodge strip, 45 mins — Group-ranch land: riding, walking and night drives permitted. Links to Amboseli.

Laikipia and Lewa — WIL to NYK or lodge strips, 45 to 60 mins — Nanyuki is 200 km and 3.5 hrs on the A2.

Samburu — WIL, about 1 hr 15 — Usually via Nanyuki. Hot and low-lying: pair with Laikipia, not the Mara.

Diani and Lamu — WIL to UKA about 1 hr; LAU about 1 hr 40 — Mombasa (MBA) also takes jets from NBO. Shela is by boat from Manda.

On the ground. Self-drive is not the model here. Kenyan safari is sold with a vehicle and a guide, at this level a private one rather than shared — insist on it, because sharing a Land Cruiser with three other couples undoes most of what the client has paid for. Roads inside the reserve are unsurfaced and cut up badly after rain. Tarmac is good to Nanyuki and Nakuru; beyond that, four-wheel-drive country.

Routing advice. The classic ten-day build is one night Nairobi, three at Laikipia or Samburu, four in a Mara conservancy and three on the coast. Put the Mara last of the safari legs so the migration is the crescendo, and accept a Nairobi transit before the beach. Kilimanjaro (JRO) is a short hop for northern Tanzania; Kigali and Entebbe for gorillas.

Practicalities. Since 1 January 2024 Kenya has replaced tourist visas with an Electronic Travel Authorisation, currently 32.50 US dollars, single entry, applied for online at least three days ahead; a confirmed accommodation booking is required. Currency is the shilling, cards work at lodges and city hotels, and small US dollar notes are useful for tips and community fees.

Health. Malaria is present in the Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo, Samburu and along the whole coast, and prophylaxis is the standard recommendation. Nairobi at 1,795 metres and the higher Laikipia plateau are low risk, but no sensible itinerary is selective about it. A yellow fever certificate is required on entry only from countries with transmission risk, though several onward destinations require one from Kenya: check the whole routing.