Kenya
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Jim and Sue from Wiltshire travelled to Kenya
Jane, thank you so much for putting our itinerary together. You hit the brief on the nose!! To be blunt and to the point, our holiday exceeded expectation. I think you did a great job working out our requirements (even if we weren’t sure what we wanted). All our lodging was excellent (yet different), and we were met and managed(!) across Nairobi excellently. Most importantly we got a feel of Kenya and in particular the Masai Mara and its extraordinary wildlife. In our first three days we had seen the “Big Five”, charged by a black Rhino (in the car and on a horse) and had our sundowner drinks under a tree with a leopard in it. We were spoilt with the number of Rhino (both black and white) but a lovely beginning in a place with a great history of conservation. Walking Wild was probably the best bit, although it is difficult to pick out the best as it’s all been great. The quality of food on the go (all produced on open fires) the warm friendliness of the group of men transporting the kit on the camels and the humour, wit and knowledge of Kitonga was humbling. Our night drive at Kicheche was particularly memorable seeing an Ardwolf and most endearing of all a Bush baby ‘bouncing’ for 100 metres to the next tree.
Kenya
Pricing
Kenya Prices
Traditionally, Kenya is one of the better value safari destinations in Africa, offering a wide variety of products and safari options to consider.
Typically, a tailor-made two week ‘safari and beach’ holiday from the UK will start at around £3000 per person, though £4000 – £5000 per person is more usual, especially if a week or more is spent on safari. If you travel in an upgrade class on an airline, spend longer on safari or choose exclusive, upmarket properties, costs can easily go upwards of £5000 per person.
Even though many safari options are expensive, we are always very conscious of ‘value for money’ and only use properties which deliver an experience to match their costs. It is perhaps ironic that in Africa, you probably have most chance of not getting ‘value for money’ by trying too hard to keep costs down. We appreciate that Africa is expensive and that the animals do not change according to the price tag of your holiday, but in a wide variety of ways, you do tend to get what you pay for.
Sometimes the cheaper options still offer a good experience and real value for money. However, it is also very common for poor quality safaris to be only slightly cheaper than good quality products which offer a vastly superior experience. A safari which offers value for money should not be confused with a cheap safari. Sometimes you need to pay just a little bit more to make all the difference.
If you are planning your first safari, we suggest you look at our Planning a Safari section. We do not offer mainstream package tours (minibus tours), coastal package tours or cheap camping trips.