🇰🇪Kenya

The eTA, which is not a visa on arrival

Kenya abolished the visa on arrival. The Electronic Travel Authorisation replaced it, and the airline checks it before you board.

• It costs USD 30, paid by card at etakenya.go.ke, which is the only official site. Everything else is a reseller adding a fee.
• Official processing is 3 to 5 working days, most come back within 72 hours, and the FCDO advises applying at least two weeks ahead.
• It grants a single entry and a stay of up to 90 days.
• You need a photo of your passport, a passport-style photo, your flight details and your first night's accommodation.
• Print it or save it offline. The airline asks for it at check-in, and immigration asks again.
• Leaving and coming back means a second eTA, so a Tanzania or Uganda side trip needs planning.

Passport and the other paperwork

• Passport valid at least 6 months beyond arrival, with at least 2 blank pages.
• A yellow fever certificate is required if you are arriving from a country with transmission risk, and it is checked. Certificates are now valid for life rather than 10 years.
• Children need their own eTA, at the same price.
• The East Africa Tourist Visa at USD 100 covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda with multiple entries for 90 days. Apply through the country you land in first; it is the better buy for a three-country trip.

Who does not need one

• All African nationals travel to Kenya visa-free since 14 July 2025, for up to 90 days, with Libya and Somalia the two exceptions.
• East African Community citizens - Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda - get up to 180 days.
• Everyone else needs the eTA, whatever their passport.

Where your nationality lands

• Overstaying carries a daily fine and can mean detention at the airport. Count the 90 days from the day you land.

• Single-use plastic bags are banned. Visitors hand them over on arrival, the duty-free shops use paper, and the law behind it carries penalties severe enough that nobody tests them.
• Ivory and wildlife trophies may not be taken out, and that includes items sold as antique or as bone. The penalties under the Wildlife Act are heavy.
• The allowance is 200 cigarettes and a litre of spirits per adult, with a duty-free value cap on other goods.
• Cash above the declarable threshold must be reported, in shillings or foreign currency.
• Drones need authorisation from the civil aviation authority before they are brought in, and are otherwise confiscated.

Malaria

• Most of the country is malarial, including the coast, the lake region and the safari parks.
• Nairobi at 1,700 m is low risk and the highlands above 2,500 m are effectively free of it.
• Take prophylaxis for the coast, the Mara, Tsavo and Lake Victoria. Malarone or doxycycline are the usual choices; start before you arrive.
• The tablets are not a guarantee. Cover up at dusk, use repellent with DEET and sleep under the net.
• A fever within a year of coming home is malaria until proven otherwise. Tell the doctor where you have been.

Vaccinations

• Yellow fever is a legal entry requirement only if you are arriving from a country with transmission risk, and it is checked at immigration.
• Hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus are the standard recommendations.
• Rabies is worth considering for a long trip or anywhere rural.
• See a travel clinic 6 to 8 weeks before you go, because some courses take time.

Medical care and evacuation

• Nairobi's private hospitals are very good: Nairobi Hospital, Aga Khan University Hospital, MP Shah.
• Outside the cities, care is basic, and a safari camp may be hours from a clinic on a dirt road.
• AMREF Flying Doctors flies air ambulances out of Wilson Airport and sells short-term cover to visitors. Many camps include it; ask yours.
• Insurance must cover evacuation, not just treatment, and should name safari activities.
• Treatment is paid up front. Carry the policy number and the assistance line.

Water, food and sun

• Do not drink the tap water. Bottled or filtered, including for teeth.
• Ice in hotels and lodges is made from treated water and is fine; a roadside stall is a gamble.
• Cooked and hot is the rule for street food, and nyama choma from a busy place is safe and excellent.
• The equatorial sun burns fast even at 20 °C in the highlands. Hat, sleeves, high-factor cream.
• Nairobi is at altitude and a few visitors feel it for a day. Drink water and take the first afternoon slowly.

The three kinds of stay

• Nairobi hotels are business-standard and priced accordingly. Westlands and Kilimani for restaurants, the CBD for cheapness and not much else.
• Safari camps and lodges run from KES 8,000 a night at a basic tented camp to several hundred dollars at a conservancy lodge, usually full board.
• The coast is resorts at Diani and Watamu, boutique places in Lamu, and guesthouses everywhere between.

The question to ask before booking a safari lodge

• Does the rate include park or conservancy fees? At USD 200 per person per day in the Mara from July, this is the difference between a good deal and a shock.
• Does it include game drives? Some camps charge per drive and some include two a day.
• Is it inside the reserve or outside the gate? Inside costs more and saves an hour of driving each way.
• Full board is the norm in camps because there is nowhere else to eat.

Seasons

• July to October is the migration and the peak. Prices are highest and the Mara is busy.
• The long rains, roughly April and May, close some camps and cut prices hard elsewhere.
• December and January are dry, hot and popular with families.
• The coast is at its best from December to March; the long rains flood it.
• Book the Mara for migration season months ahead. Everything good is taken.

Practical

• Nairobi hotels have serious security: gates, scanners and bag checks. That is normal here rather than alarming.
• Camps run on generators and solar, and power hours are limited. Charge at dinner.
• Mosquito nets are standard in malaria areas and should be used, tucked in.
• Walking outside a camp at night is not allowed in unfenced areas, and an askari will escort you to your tent for good reason.
• Tipping is expected at lodges and is usually pooled.

Do this at the airport

• Safaricom and Airtel both have counters in the JKIA arrivals hall, open for the late arrivals.
• Take your passport. Registration is legally required and is done at the counter in a few minutes.
• Safaricom's Jambo tourist bundles are aimed at you: around KES 1,000 for 5 GB, several hundred minutes and 30 days.
• Airtel is cheaper for pure data and thinner on coverage once you leave the highways.
• Ask them to set up M-Pesa while you are standing there. A visitor can register with a passport, and it is much harder to arrange later.

Why M-Pesa matters more than the data

• M-Pesa is how the country actually pays. Matatus, taxis, market stalls, park gates, tips, a soda at a petrol station.
• You load cash onto the line at any agent - there is one on every street - and pay by phone number or till number.
• Card acceptance is limited to hotels, malls and restaurants, and cash is increasingly awkward.
• It works with a foreign passport and a local SIM, and this is the single most useful thing a visitor can arrange in their first hour.

Coverage

• Safaricom's 4G covers Nairobi, Mombasa, the main roads and most of the safari areas including the Mara and Amboseli.
• Signal in the parks is real but patchy - present at the lodges and the gates, absent in the middle of a game drive.
• The north and northeast are thin. Assume nothing beyond Isiolo.
• Wi-fi at safari lodges is common and slow, often satellite.

eSIM

• Saily's Kenya plans run USD 7.99 for 1 GB over 7 days, USD 31.99 for 5 GB over 30 days and USD 47.99 for 10 GB.
• An eSIM gives you data and not M-Pesa, which is the trade.
• The sensible combination is an eSIM for the landing and a Safaricom SIM the same day, if you want to be online before you reach the counter.

Sockets in Kenya are Type G at 240 V, 50 Hz - the British three-pin plug.

• British plugs fit straight in. European, American and Australian ones need an adapter.
• A Europlug has nothing to fit without one, which surprises travellers arriving from Ethiopia or Egypt.
• 240 V is the top of the European band, harmless to any 230 V appliance; American 120 V-only equipment needs a converter.
• Safari camps run on solar and generators, often charging only during set hours, and many provide 12 V or USB points rather than mains sockets in the tents.
• Tanzania and Uganda use the same plug, so an East African circuit needs one adapter.

Two laws that catch visitors out

• Single-use plastic bags are banned and the penalties in the statute are enormous. Enforcement at the airport targets importers rather than tourists, but do not pack your shoes in a carrier bag, and take a cloth bag for shopping.
• Plastic bottles and single-use plastics are banned inside national parks and reserves. Take a refillable bottle; the lodges refill it.
• Drones need Kenya Civil Aviation Authority approval arranged before arrival, plus a temporary import permit, and Kenya Wildlife Service does not allow casual drone flying in parks. Equipment is confiscated at the airport otherwise.

Manners

• Greet before anything else. "Habari" or "Jambo", a handshake, and a moment of small talk, before you ask a question or start a transaction.
• "Asante" for thank you, "karibu" for you're welcome, "pole" for sorry. A little Swahili is received warmly.
• Use the right hand for giving, receiving and eating.
• Elders are greeted first and addressed respectfully.
• "Pole pole" - slowly - is a genuine cultural setting, not an excuse. Schedules bend.

Dress and behaviour

• Nairobi dresses smartly. Scruffy visitors stand out more than they expect.
• The coast is Muslim and Mombasa's Old Town, Lamu and the villages expect covered shoulders and knees away from the beach.
• Swimwear is for the beach and pool, not the street.
• Public affection is not done, and for same-sex couples it carries legal risk.
• Ask before photographing people, and expect to be asked for money at markets.

Practical

• 240 V and type G sockets, the British three-pin. Most lodges have a universal socket somewhere.
• Power cuts are routine and everything worth staying in has a generator.
• Kenya is UTC+3 and does not change clocks.
• English and Swahili are both official, and English is spoken almost everywhere in tourism and business.
• Swahili time is counted from sunrise, so "saa mbili" is 08:00. It rarely comes up but it explains a confusing conversation.
• Bargaining is expected at markets and never at supermarkets, restaurants or fixed-price shops.
• Do not give money to children, which entrenches begging over school; give to a project instead if you want to help.

The three ways to pay

• M-Pesa is first. Set it up on your Safaricom line on day one and most daily friction disappears.
• Cash in shillings is second. Keep small notes: KES 50, 100 and 200 for tips, matatus and market stalls.
• Cards are third and work in hotels, supermarkets, malls and better restaurants. Nowhere else assumes them.
• KWS park gates take cards and mobile money and no cash at all.

Dollars, and the 2013 rule

• Safaris, park fees, dive shops and some hotels quote in US dollars.
• US notes printed before 2013 are refused across East Africa because of counterfeit history. Bring new, clean, large-denomination bills.
• Small dollar bills get a worse rate than large ones at bureaux, which is a local quirk worth knowing.
• Change dollars at a forex bureau in town, not at the airport or a hotel.

ATMs

• Equity, KCB, Absa and Standard Chartered machines all take foreign cards.
• Fees run KES 200 to KES 500 per withdrawal, plus your own bank's charge.
• Withdrawal limits are usually KES 20,000 to KES 40,000 per transaction.
• Use machines inside bank branches, malls or hotels, in daylight. Card skimming and follow-out robberies both happen.
• Always choose to be charged in shillings when the machine offers to convert.

Tipping

• Safari guide: KES 1,500 to KES 3,000 per day from the vehicle, more if they were exceptional.
• Lodge staff: a tip box at reception is the usual arrangement, split among everyone.
• Restaurants: 10%, and check whether a service charge is already on the bill.
• Porters and drivers: KES 200 to KES 500.
• Tipping in shillings is more useful to the recipient than dollars, which they must go and change.

Costs

• Kenya is not a cheap country once safari is involved. Park fees and lodges are priced for an international market.
• Everyday life is inexpensive: a plate of nyama choma and ugali, a matatu ride, a Tusker at a local bar.
• VAT is 16% and is usually included in the price you see; hotels add a tourism levy on top.

The Mombasa train

• The Madaraka Express runs Nairobi to Mombasa in about 5 to 6 hours, three departures a day around 08:00, 15:00 and 22:00.
• Economy is about KES 1,500 and first class about KES 4,500.
• Book at metickets.krc.co.ke or at the station. It sells out in holiday season, and touts resell tickets at the door.
• Nairobi Terminus is at Syokimau, near the airport rather than in town - allow 45 minutes to reach it.
• It is the best value long-distance journey in the country and it crosses Tsavo, so sit on the right heading to the coast.

Safari, and what it actually costs

• Park fees dominate a Kenya budget. The Maasai Mara National Reserve charges non-residents USD 100 per person per day from January to June 2026 and USD 200 from July to December, and children pay half.
• The Mara Triangle, run separately, is USD 70 per adult per 24 hours, and the private conservancies around the reserve charge their own nightly conservancy fee.
• Kenya Wildlife Service parks are cashless. Gates take cards and mobile money, not notes, and a party arriving with only dollars gets turned around.
• A day in the Mara is a day, not 24 hours in most gates' reckoning, so a two-night stay usually means three days of fees. Ask your operator to price it in writing.
• Do not buy a safari from a tout in Nairobi. Book with a licensed operator, and check them against the Kenya Association of Tour Operators.

Roads and buses

• Do not drive at night outside the cities. Unlit trucks, potholes and livestock, and the FCDO says the same.
• Matatus are the minibus network: cheap, fast, decorated and driven accordingly. Locals use them and visitors mostly should not, especially with luggage.
• Long-distance coaches are a better bet. Modern Coast, Easy Coach and similar run the main routes with fixed seats and fixed times.
• Boda bodas - motorbike taxis - are the fastest way across Nairobi and the biggest single cause of trauma admissions. If you take one, take the helmet.
• Driving is on the left. An International Driving Permit is expected and a hired car with a driver costs little more than a self-drive.

Domestic flights

• Jambojet, Safarilink and AirKenya cover the safari circuit and the coast from Wilson Airport.
• Fares are reasonable and luggage limits are not: 15 kg in soft bags on light aircraft.
• Book flights and park fees together through your operator if you can, because gate payment fails at the worst moment.

Apps worth having

• Uber, Bolt and Little for rides in Nairobi and Mombasa.
• M-Pesa for everything else.
• Maps offline, since coverage disappears in the parks.
• Kenya Railways' ticket site for the Mombasa train.

Left-hand traffic, one tolled expressway, and minibuses that stop wherever they like.

• The Nairobi Expressway is tolled and saves an hour between the airport and Westlands at rush hour; everything else is free.
• Matatus stop without warning in the left lane and overtake on the verge. Defensive driving here mostly means watching them.
• The alcohol limit is 0.08 % and police checkpoints are frequent, particularly at night.
• Night driving between towns is avoided by residents: unlit trucks, potholes and livestock.
• Safari parks need a 4x4 and most visitors travel in a guide's vehicle, which also handles the park regulations and the radio network.

Where not to go

• The FCDO advises against all travel to Mandera County, to parts of Wajir County within 60 km of the Somali border, to most of Garissa County, and to Lamu County apart from Lamu Island and Manda Island.
• It advises against all but essential travel to Garissa Town, to Tana River County north of the river as far as Saka, and to a 15 km strip of the east coast between the Tana and Galana rivers.
• Nairobi, Mombasa, Diani, Watamu, the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo, Naivasha and Nakuru are all outside those areas and carry no such restriction.
• Check the advice before you book, because the boundaries move and your insurance follows them.

Crime

• Mugging and bag snatching are the common risks in Nairobi's CBD and around Eastleigh, and in Mombasa's Old Town and by the Likoni ferry.
• Do not walk at night in Nairobi. Take a taxi or a ride-hail even for three blocks; residents do.
• Carjacking happens, usually at junctions and gates. Keep doors locked and windows up in traffic, and hand over the car.
• Do not display a phone in traffic or on the street, and carry a decoy amount of cash.
• ATM skimming and follow-outs are real. Withdraw inside a bank or mall.

Terrorism and protests

• Al Shabaab attacks have targeted hotels, malls and public places, and the threat is officially assessed as high.
• Protests are common in Nairobi and can turn violent quickly, with police using tear gas and live rounds. The demonstrations that began in June 2024 have recurred on their anniversaries.
• Avoid demonstrations entirely and avoid the CBD on days one is called.
• Follow local news and your embassy's alerts, since roads close with no notice.

Roads and wildlife

• Road accidents are the single biggest cause of injury to visitors. Night driving, matatus and boda bodas concentrate the risk.
• Wear the helmet on a boda boda or do not get on it.
• Wild animals are wild. Stay in the vehicle unless the guide says otherwise, do not stand up through the roof at close range, and never walk in an unfenced camp at night.
• Hippos and buffalo kill more people than lions. Both are around lodges at dusk.

Practical

• Carry a photocopy of your passport and eTA, not the originals.
• Police checks happen on the roads and are routine; be polite and produce documents.
• Same-sex relationships are criminalised in Kenya and public affection carries real legal and social risk. This is a matter of law, not of local mood.
• Do not photograph police, soldiers, airports or government buildings.

The numbers

• 999 and 112 both work and reach the same operators. Response times vary enormously.
• Private ambulance services are what people actually call in Nairobi, and hotels have their numbers.
• On safari, your camp radios its operator and your evacuation cover does the rest. There is no ambulance coming to the Mara.
• Give your camp your insurer's number on arrival, not when something happens.

If something goes wrong

• Theft: report it at the nearest police station and insist on an abstract, the written report insurers require. It may carry a small fee.
• A lost passport means the police abstract first, then your embassy in Nairobi.
• In a road accident, do not move the vehicles and call the police; crowds gather quickly and leaving the scene is worse.
• If you are robbed, hand it over. Nothing you are carrying is worth a fight.

Worth saving now

• Your insurer's 24-hour assistance line and policy number.
• AMREF Flying Doctors' control centre, if you have their cover.
• Your embassy in Nairobi, most of which are in Gigiri or Upper Hill.
• Your safari operator's out-of-hours number, which is the one that answers.
• Kenya's country code is +254, and mobile numbers start 07 or 01.