Cheap Safari in Kenya
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
Of all the safari holiday destinations in Africa, Kenya is probably the most famous, yet because it is one of, if not the closest African countries to Europe and the UK that can offer a big 5 safari, it is also one of the cheapest safari destinations to get to, sa long as you know how!
The specialist safari tour operators, which most people use to go on a safari holiday in Africa, are just that, specialist. Because of this they simply cannot compete in terms of price with the large package holiday companies. The specialist safari holiday travel agent will make your life a little easier, and you will have the peace of mind that everything has been organised and booked for the whole trip, but is because of this that their prices are often higher especially with safaris to Kenya than if you are prepared to try my method:
How to go on a cheap safari to Kenya
Many of the big package holiday companies like Thomas Cook and Lastminute.com offer package holidays to the beach in Mombasa in Kenya. I found one a few days ago:
14 nights in Kenya for under £500
Yip, 14 nights at a 3 star Laguna Sea Lodge Hotel on the beach in Kilifi, including flights and transfers for only £449 in January, in February, the prices rise to around £500 or just above and then up again in March, so hurry! The Laguna Sea Lodge Hotel is located 64km north of Mombasa along the main beach resort strip in Kenya that includes Diani beach, Bamburi beach (where I stayed a few years ago), Nyali beach and Malindi. Check out this one and others: African Holidays on www.lastminute.com
But I don’t want to go on a beach holiday in Kenya, I want a safari holiday:
Agh haa, but that is the beauty of this, from your hotel in Kenya, or before you leave, you can organise to either hire a car or a driver to take you to some of the best national parks in Kenya and stay at a safari lodge for a few nights, where you can either go on a self drive safari in Kenya or have the lodge to take you on a guided safari. Sure you will be paying for your accomodation on the beach in Mombasa as well as the safari lodge, but I bet that this still works out cheaper than if you were to try and book a safari holiday to Kenya from the start.
This way you will get the best of both worlds, a relaxing holiday on the beach, with some snorkeling and perhaps some scuba diving, and then an African safari as well.
What are the best National parks to Visit from Mombasa?
Tsavo and Amboseli National Park are the two nearest to Mombasa, but if you still want to, you could still drive up to the Masai Mara. Take a look at my Google map of Kenya to get an idea.
So there you have it, the last time I visited Kenya, I did something similar, except I took the train down from Nairobi to Mombasa, and used a hotel on the beach as a relaxing base to my Kenyan Safari and it was one of the best holidays I have ever had and one that i plan to do again.
