Kenya's parks, compared
4 parks on wildlife, activities, cost, access and health. Every rating opens to show why.
Three parks side by side reads best. Tap a park to swap it in or out.
| Compare | AmboseliBest for self-drive | Masai MaraBest for big game | SamburuBest for walking | TsavoBest for birding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4Jul to Oct, peak Sep | 5Jul to Oct; August busiest | 3Jun to Sep | 4Sept to Oct | |
4Jul to Oct, peak SepElephants: 2,065 known (end 2025); Elephant families: 67; Elephant study since: 1972 | 5bestJul to Oct; August busiestLions: About 465 older than a year, 2024; Elephants: 2,702 in the ecosystem, June 2024; Resident cheetahs: 12 adults in 2024, 28 in 2023 | 3Jun to SepGrevy's zebra: 2,465 in Kenya, 2024-25 count; Share of the world total: 93% in this ecosystem, 2021; Reticulated giraffe: 20,901 worldwide, 2025 | 4Sept to OctElephants: ±15,000 in Tsavo; Share of Kenya's herd: About 40 per cent; Great tuskers left: ±25 in all Africa | |
| Elephant | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
| Lion | Likely | Guaranteed | Fair chance | Fair chance |
| Leopard | Rare | Likely | Rare | Rare |
| Buffalo | Likely | Guaranteed | Not published | Likely |
| Wild dog | Rare | Rare | Rare | Rare |
| Cheetah | Fair chance | Likely | Rare | Rare |
| Hippo | Likely | Guaranteed | Not published | Likely |
| Giraffe | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | Guaranteed |
3400 speciesAbout 400 bird species listed on the wildlife page. | Not published | Not published | 4best500 speciesAbout 500 bird species listed on the wildlife page. | |
| 5Self-drive | 3Self-drive | 4Self-drive | 5Self-drive | |
2KWS's management plan makes Observation Hill the only place in the park where you may leave the vehicle; walks run in the conservancies around it, such as Kitirua and Selenkay, and in the Kimana Sanctuary. | 2The 2023 to 2032 management plan bans walking safaris anywhere in the reserve; guided walks are standard only in the conservancies outside it, at Kicheche's camps and on Angama's escarpment. | 3bestSamburu County prices a walking safari at KES 1,600 a day without publishing the rules, and the community conservancies run walking as a standard part of a stay. | 3bestWalking safaris are an official KWS activity at $50 per person per day for groups of up to ten, plus the walk along Mudanda Rock and the ranger-escorted trail at Mzima Springs. | |
2Night drives are routine only in the conservancies, at Tawi Lodge and Porini in Selenkay among others; KWS has not confirmed that any run inside the park boundary. | 2Night game drives are banned in the reserve and the Triangle; they run only in the conservancies, such as Kicheche Valley in Naboisho, and no conservancy publishes its own rules. | 2Night drives are not available inside the three reserves; they run only in the conservancies next door, Westgate, Kalama and Namunyak. | 4bestNight game drives are an official activity at $50 per person, unusual for Kenya, and the guide says they improve the leopard odds. | |
1A game drive is the whole of the activity list inside the park and no boat activity exists; Lake Kioko's hippos are watched from Observation Hill. | 1No boat activity exists, swimming in rivers inside protected areas is illegal and the Mara and Talek rivers hold crocodiles and hippos; the Mara Bridge hippo pool walk was closed in September 2025. | 1The Ewaso Ng'iro holds Nile crocodiles in numbers and is a limit rather than an activity; no boat activity is listed. | 1No boat activity is listed; Mzima Springs has an underwater viewing chamber for hippo and crocodile. | |
5bestSelf-driving is allowed with fees prepaid on KWSPay: Nairobi to Iremito Gate is 204 km and 4 to 5 h, tarmac until the last 21 km of gravel, and KWS sets no vehicle requirement, though a 4x4 is the advice in the rains. | 3Tarmac runs all the way from Nairobi to Sekenani Gate, 228 km, and the Triangle admits any 4x4, but a June 2024 memo banned private vehicles for game drives on the Narok side, with 2026 enforcement unclear, and fuel inside is sold only at camps. | 4Self-driving is allowed and no guide is required, on continuous A2 tarmac 320 to 350 km and 6 to 7 h from Nairobi, with a high-clearance 4x4 for the sandy tracks. | 5bestSelf-driving is normal with no guide required: Nairobi to Mtito Andei is 233 km and about 3 h, and Tsavo East's main circuits take a high-clearance 2WD in the dry season, though Tsavo West needs a 4x4. | |
| $30cheapest bed | $40cheapest bed | $25cheapest bed | $20cheapest bed | |
$90International adult per day ({'name': 'KWS Conservation Fees 2025, in force since 1 October 2025 (Legal Notice No. 160 of 2025)', 'url': 'https://kws.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/KWS-Conservation-Fee-October-2025.pdf'}, 2026-10-04). | $200International adult per day ({'name': 'Narok County Finance Act 2023 (No. 3 of 2023), First Schedule: Maasai Mara National Reserve Park Fees and Charges (read 6 Oct 2026)', 'url': 'https://narok.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Narok-County-Finance-Act-2023-UPL_compressed.pdf'}, 2026-10-06). | $85International adult per day ({'name': 'Samburu County Finance Act 2023 (No. 4 of 2023) and Isiolo County Finance Bill 2023, read directly', 'url': 'https://samburu.go.ke/'}, 2026-09-18). | $80bestInternational adult per day ({'name': 'KWS Conservation Fees, effective October 2025', 'url': 'https://kws.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/KWS-Conservation-Fee-October-2025.pdf'}, 2026-07-26). | |
$30Lowest listed rate per person per night across 31 places; 9 are budget tier. | $40Lowest listed rate per person per night across 78 places; 7 are budget tier. | $25Lowest listed rate per person per night across 36 places; 12 are budget tier. | $20bestLowest listed rate per person per night across 37 places; 12 are budget tier. | |
$460Median of 8 priced places; top end $1,850. | $700Median of 38 priced places; top end $2,708. | $30bestMedian of 5 priced places; top end $800. | $100Median of 15 priced places; top end $1,590. | |
2Cheapest listed bed $30, 9 of 31 places in the budget tier, park fee $90 a day. | 2Cheapest listed bed $40, 7 of 78 places in the budget tier, park fee $200 a day. | 4bestCheapest listed bed $25, 12 of 36 places in the budget tier, park fee $85 a day. | 4bestCheapest listed bed $20, 12 of 37 places in the budget tier, park fee $80 a day. | |
| $1,514mid-range | $1,582camping | $1,008mid-range | $1,495mid-range | |
$734bestBudget one: self-drive camping at the KWS public campsite | $1,582Budget one: self-drive camping in the Mara Triangle | $854Budget one: self-drive camping in Samburu National Reserve | $795Budget one: self-drive camping at Ndololo, the cheapest real version | |
$1,514Budget two: a mid-range bed on the Kimana edge, paying to re-enter | Not published | $1,008bestBudget two: the river crossing, where the double ticket bites | $1,495Budget two: mid-range at Ashnil Aruba Lodge | |
$6,794Budget three: fly in to Tortilis on the Kitirua Conservancy | $5,020Budget two: a mid-range camp on the Talek, flying in | $3,698bestBudget three: fly in and sleep in a conservancy | $9,180Budget three: fly in to Finch Hattons, the top end | |
| Amboseli airstrip (HKAM)nearest airport | Keekoroknearest airport | Samburu airstrip (UAS)nearest airport | Kilaguni airstripnearest airport | |
Amboseli airstrip (HKAM), inside the park, 35 to 45 min from Nairobi Wilson; Nairobi 4 to 5 h by roadFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | Keekorok, Ol Kiombo, Musiara and Mara Serena strips, 30 to 80 min from Nairobi Wilson; Nairobi 5 to 6 h by roadFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | Samburu airstrip (UAS), 1 to 1.5 h from Nairobi Wilson; Nairobi 6 to 7 h by roadFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | Kilaguni airstrip, 50 min from Nairobi Wilson; Mombasa 2 to 2.75 h by road to Voi gateFrom the getting-there and flights pages. | |
No KWS requirement; high-clearance car in the dry season, 4x4 in the rainsFrom the getting-there page. | 4x4 inside the reserveFrom the getting-there page. | 4x4 with high clearanceFrom the getting-there page. | Not needed on Tsavo East's main circuits in the dry; effectively essential in Tsavo WestFrom the getting-there page. | |
| Jul to Oct, peak Seppeak game viewing | Jul to Oct; August busiestpeak game viewing | Jun to Seppeak game viewing | Sept to Octpeak game viewing | |
Jul to Oct, peak SepFrom the best-time page. | Jul to Oct; August busiestFrom the best-time page. | Jun to SepFrom the best-time page. | Sept to OctFrom the best-time page. | |
No closure published; floods in the rains can close viewing roads and even the airstripFrom the best-time page. | Open all year; long rains Mar to May, with camps closed in April and MayFrom the best-time page. | Open all year; long rains Mar and AprFrom the best-time page. | Open all year; April the month to avoidFrom the best-time page. | |
| Highmalaria | High all yearmalaria | High, tablets advised (NaTHNaC)malaria | High year-round (NaTHNaCmalaria | |
High; tablets recommended (NaTHNaC, Oct 2026)From the health page. | High all year, tablets advised (NaTHNaC)From the health page. | High, tablets advised (NaTHNaC)From the health page. | High year-round (NaTHNaC, Sep 2026)From the health page. | |
Not publishedOnly a 2025 habitat model exists: it rated Amboseli suitable tsetse habitat that should be surveyed, and no survey has yet shown whether tsetse are present. | PresentA 2021 study trapped 1,167 tsetse at 10 sites in the reserve, with no human-disease trypanosomes found; a painful daytime bite, so wear neutral colours. | Not publishedThe guide could not establish whether tsetse are a factor in Samburu, Buffalo Springs or Shaba. | PresentLong-standing tsetse habitat with flies still trapped in surveys; expect bites in thicker woodland and riverine stretches, especially in Tsavo West. | |
February, 28.4°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | Not published | September, 32.4°C, 1 mm of rainMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | February, 32.2°C mean daily maxMean daily maximum of the hottest month, from the health page. | |
Loitokitok, about 33 km from Kimana Gate; serious cases go to NairobiAir evacuation: AMREF Flying Doctors, cover from $35. | Narok County Referral Hospital, about 87 km from Sekenani; serious cases flown to NairobiAir evacuation: AMREF Flying Doctors, up to USD 5,000 without cover. | Nairobi, 6 to 7 h by road or ±1 h by airAir evacuation: AMREF Flying Doctors, +254 20 699 2299. | Moi County Referral Hospital, Voi, 14 min from Voi gateAir evacuation: AMREF Flying Doctors, Nairobi Wilson. | |
| 4First safari | 5First safari | 3First safari | 4Wilderness | |
3Ol Tukai Lodge charges children 3 to 11 half and Soroi Amboseli runs a Children's Adventure Club, but malaria risk is high, Nairobi is 4 to 5 h by road and Loitokitok's hospital, about 33 km from Kimana Gate, is for first aid and stabilisation. | 4bestChildren 8 and under enter free and many camps have family tents, Angama welcoming children of all ages; but malaria risk is high all year and the nearest public hospital is Narok, about 87 km from Sekenani, so serious cases are flown to Nairobi. | 3Soroi's two camps welcome children, Soroi Samburu Lodge with a children's adventure club, but malaria risk is high, serious care means Nairobi, 6 to 7 h by road, and the Dutch advice prefers flying. | 4bestMoi County Referral Hospital in Voi is fourteen minutes from Tsavo East's main gate and lodges such as Voyager Ziwani run children's clubs; malaria is high year-round and tsetse bite in thicker bush. | |
4Elephant, plains zebra and Masai giraffe are guaranteed and lion, buffalo and hippo likely in a park small enough to see well in two days, with two daily flights of 35 to 45 min from Nairobi Wilson; leopard is luck. | 5bestLion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippo, zebra and spotted hyaena are guaranteed in two or three days and cheetah and leopard likely, with three airlines flying daily from Nairobi Wilson in 30 to 80 minutes. | 3Elephant, Grevy's zebra and reticulated giraffe are guaranteed, but lion takes a few game drives and leopard luck; Safarilink and AirKenya fly daily from Nairobi Wilson. | 3Elephant, zebra and giraffe are guaranteed and access is the easiest in Kenya by road, train or a 50 min flight, but lion is only a chance and animals sit far thinner on the ground than in Kenya's small famous parks. | |
2A 392 km² park where KWS counts at least 80 per cent of visitors at Observation Hill and zones the swamp circuits as high-use; the west, north and east are low-use and noticeably quieter. | 2The Mara Conservancy recorded June 2025 sightings with more than 200 vehicles and August is the busiest month; conservancies set lower vehicle limits for those who stay outside the reserve. | 2Three small reserves, Buffalo Springs 131 km² and Shaba 239 km², where a drive is river work; Archer's Gate is by far the busiest entrance. | 4bestWilderness the size of a small country, with very few vehicles in Tsavo East's northern area beyond the Galana; the Voi circuits are the busiest sector. |
Each park in one line
Amboseli A small park of spring-fed swamps at the foot of Kilimanjaro, where known elephants feed within sight of the roads.
Masai Mara Kenya's busiest reserve: open grass on the Tanzanian border, guaranteed lions and the river crossings from about July to October.
Samburu Kenya's dry north on the Ewaso Ng'iro: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx and gerenuk.
Tsavo Kenya's biggest wilderness astride the Mombasa highway: red-dusted elephants, lava country and Mzima Springs.