English Speaking Safari Guide Kenya: Where to Book

Getting the chance to take a trip to Kenya is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is hard to match the thrill of seeing Africa’s great mammals a few metres away from you, in the wild, as if you were in a documentary. But it can also be complicated to organise, especially if you want to book a safari with an English-speaking safari guide in Kenya without a very high budget. Finding an English speaking safari guide Kenya-wide is easy; the hard part is choosing well.

But it is actually easier than it looks. You can go on a safari in Kenya with an English-speaking local guide, and plenty of guides have also learned other languages to win more clients. In this post I’ll explain the best way to book a Kenya safari of this kind.

3 ways to book an English speaking safari guide Kenya trip

When it comes to planning and booking a safari with an English-speaking safari guide in Kenya, there are mainly three ways to do it:

1. Book a safari with a travel agency from your home country.
2. Book a safari with a local agency and an English-speaking guide.
3. Organise everything independently and hire an English-speaking guide.

1. Book a safari with a travel agency from your home country

Nowadays there are many European agencies that sell safaris in Kenya. Some of them specialise only in this type of trip (to me these are more recommendable) and others are wholesale agencies that sell trips all over the world. In any case, they are agencies focused on customers from your own country and offering good customer service in your language.

Booking this type of safari is normally straightforward, since communication is smooth and easy. They are also usually agencies with a certain reputation that inspire confidence.

That said, there are some downsides to organising a trip to Kenya through this type of agency:

• The price is higher, because in the end these agencies are generally intermediaries. Easily, a safari booked with a local agency can cost around €500 less per person.
• It is harder to customise itineraries and accommodation. Many agencies sell pre-defined trips and don’t have the capacity to customise itineraries to the client’s needs.
• It is harder to find group safaris, which help reduce costs.

2. Book a safari with a local agency and an English-speaking guide

The other alternative, which is becoming more and more popular, is to book a safari in Kenya directly with a local agency. These local agencies are normally small companies of between five and ten employees, which take care of all the logistics of the safari (both preparation and delivery).

For me there are two very clear advantages to booking a safari with a local agency: the price is much more competitive (there are no intermediaries) and it is much easier to customise the safari. In addition, if you are travelling on a tight budget, it is also easy to book a group safari (on almost any date) to reduce costs.

Needing an English speaking safari guide Kenya-wide isn’t a problem either, since all these agencies have guides who speak other languages as well, such as Spanish, French or German… That said, requesting a guide who speaks a language other than English usually means an extra cost on the safari.

The drawbacks of organising a safari this way are:

• Communication with the local agency (by email or WhatsApp) is in English. This can be a little difficult if you don’t master the language, but nowadays, with translation tools, it is very easy to understand the written information.
• Customer service is sometimes not as polished as at agencies back home. When dealing with these local agencies, it is easy to see that the presentation of the itineraries may not be as pretty as it would be with an agency in your own country, or that they are much more direct in their communication. But bear in mind that these agencies have small teams and need to make the most of all their resources.
• To pay for the safari, you need to pay in US dollars, which can mean extra fees. Even so, these costs have dropped a lot with today’s low-fee payment options, and they are only a minor inconvenience.
• Choosing the local agency can be tricky, since there are more and more of them and it is hard to know which ones are trustworthy. To solve this, thanks to the experience of my trips, I have built up contacts with trusted local agencies, and by using this form you can contact them directly.

3. Organise everything independently and hire an English-speaking guide

This option is uncommon when preparing a safari with an English-speaking guide in Kenya, but I wanted to note it here too. The more adventurous also have the option of organising the whole safari independently (renting a 4×4 and booking the accommodation).

In this case, you can choose to travel independently without a guide, or else hire a guide (the cost is usually around €40 per day, although if you ask for one who speaks a language other than English it can be a little more expensive).

How much does a safari with an English-speaking guide in Kenya cost?

Before 2024, it was slightly cheaper to go on safari in Kenya than in its neighbouring countries (Uganda or Tanzania). But since 2024 the situation has changed and now the cost of a safari in Kenya is very similar in any of these three countries. This is due to the national park entrance fees, which have risen significantly. Especially in the Masai Mara, where the entrance fee from January to June is now 100 USD (per day) and from July to December 200 USD (per day).

To cut costs on a safari in Kenya you can choose to visit some of the other parks, or go on a group safari (sharing the vehicle with six other people).

In short, the cost of a safari in Kenya with a local agency is as follows (it varies depending on the type of accommodation you choose):

• Standard group safari: Between 175 and 250 USD per adult per day. (This is the cheapest way to do a cheap Kenya safari)
• Standard private safari: Between 250 and 400 USD per adult per day.
• Mid-range private safari: between 400 and 600 USD per adult per day.
• Luxury private safari: More than 600 USD per adult per day.

In addition, there may be a supplement for requesting a guide who speaks a language other than English, usually around 30 or 40 USD per day, although this depends on the agency.

If you book through an agency from your home country, the cost is much more variable, but it tends to be higher.

Which parks to visit on a safari with an English-speaking guide in Kenya

Although Kenya’s great emblem is the Masai Mara, there are many other national parks and national reserves in the country, which are also excellent destinations for a safari.

The most notable are:

• Samburu National Reserve. This reserve is one of the most unusual in Kenya, since it is a very arid, desert-like area, especially famous for leopard sightings. There are also some endemic species, such as Grevy’s zebra, the reticulated giraffe and the oryx.
• Masai Mara National Reserve. This is Kenya’s most famous reserve, and it forms part of the ecosystem of the great plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara, the famous home of the Great Migration. This reserve is especially famous for its high density of predators, particularly lions and cheetahs.
• Lake Nakuru National Park. This national park, famous for its salt lake, was for many years home to an enormous population of flamingos. Nowadays few flamingos remain there, but it is still a highly recommended park for a safari, especially for seeing rhinos. You can also see Rothschild’s giraffes, lions and leopards.
• Amboseli National Park. Situated at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, this park is famous for its large herds of elephants and its impressive scenery, with iconic views of the snow-capped mountain.
• Tsavo East National Park. Tsavo East National Park is an excellent place to watch wildlife, with elephants, maneless lions and cheetahs. You can also see gerenuks and Somali ostriches.
• Tsavo West National Park. This park is not especially popular for wildlife watching, as the density of animals is lower. Even so, the landscape is more mountainous and scenic, and it is one of the wildest areas of Kenya.
• Ol Pejeta Conservancy. This private reserve is home to the last two northern white rhinos, and a great deal of conservation work is carried out there. It is one of the best areas in Kenya for seeing rhinos (both white and black rhinos), and on safari you can also see lions, elephants, leopards and plenty more wildlife.

How many days are best for a safari in Kenya?

As a minimum, I recommend a 6-day safari in Kenya with an English-speaking guide. It is the best way to visit more than one park and have the chance to see most of the animals and, with luck, some interesting scene.

I am a great enthusiast of photography and safaris in Africa (you can read more about my trips here), and I would tell you that, if you can, you should opt for a 10-day safari. However, I know not everyone shares the same passion for this experience, and I know people who, although they enjoyed it a lot, considered 5 or 6 days to be enough. In short, it is a bit subjective and each person will tell you a different number of days.

That said, my advice is always to choose fewer national parks or reserves, but spend more time in them. This increases the chances of seeing the more elusive animals, such as leopards or cheetahs, or of witnessing unique moments such as seeing a big cat cub, hunting scenes or mating. For example, on my second trip to Kenya, I spent 10 days visiting just three parks: Masai Mara National Reserve, Samburu National Reserve and Lake Nakuru National Park.

If you want to visit Kenya and Tanzania on the same safari, I recommend that the trip be no shorter than 10 days, and preferably around 12 days.

Steps to book an English speaking safari guide Kenya safari through a local agency

In short, these are the steps to plan, book and enjoy a safari in Kenya with a local agency:

1. Do a little research on what you can see in Kenya and decide what you want to visit and for how many days. These are all the Kenya posts I have written.
2. Decide the dates of the trip (these can be approximate).
3. Ask for a quote and a personalised itinerary from a local agency in Kenya. You can use this form to get in touch with my trusted local agencies.
4. Customise and adjust the itinerary from the local agencies. The first itinerary they send you is always a first version, which you can then customise (whether by changing the itinerary or the accommodation). The price they quote can also vary depending on the accommodation.
5. Confirm the safari in Kenya with a first payment, normally 30% of the local amount. The payment is made in US dollars, so check the fees and exchange rate of your payment method beforehand to avoid paying unnecessary commission.
6. Buy your flights and travel insurance.
7. About 30 days before the safari, pay the full amount. Some agencies also accept the final payment being made on arrival at the destination, although for me this is less recommendable, as this way you won’t have to carry so much cash.
8. Start the safari in Kenya and enjoy this magical, unforgettable experience.