Budget: kenya
Kenya was a bit of a shocker for budget. In the end I think we could have done it cheaper for sure. To be honest it was a lack of preplanning. We never had a guide book and I was eager to book things in advance as I thought mid to late December would be swamped with holiday tourists. Little did I know that the Ebola crises thousands of miles away, on the complete opposite side of Africa, would cause tourists to stay away from Kenya! We definitely did it mid-range to luxury range at discounted prices, as we just weren't feeling safe/comfortable what was available in the budget Kenya realm. The biggest expense, our 3 nights at Elephant Watch Camp was our family's Christmas present from my mom and dad. Best present ever!
We stayed in Nairobi at this cool hotel called Wildebeests Eco Camp, between all of our other adventures (3 times total) and I was leafing through their book on tours, which seemed well organized and cheap, especially if you don't mind camping in tents along the way. I would recommend checking them out when planning at budget trip to Kenya. Below I will split our budget into 2 areas: daily Kenya and the Maasai Mara/Maasai Cultural Camp.
Pre-trip estimated budget:
$200/day for 11 nights: $2200
$8200 for a safari
Total: $10,400
Actual Expenses:
Maasai Mara Game Drives (2nts) -Maasai Maji Moto Cultural Camp (6nts): $7334
Visas for Kenya (x4): $200
Elephant Watch Camp (3nts): $0 (Christmas present for our entire family from my parents)
Daily expenses outside of above tours:
Accommodations: $2118
Food and Drinks: $678
Transportation: $202
Entertainment: $44
Tips and Gifts: $81
Supplies: $127
Total: $3251 or $296/day for 11 days
Total Actual Expenses: $10,785
Over budget $385
We were able to see and do so much in Kenya and didn't rough it at all.
We stayed in Nairobi at this cool hotel called Wildebeests Eco Camp, between all of our other adventures (3 times total) and I was leafing through their book on tours, which seemed well organized and cheap, especially if you don't mind camping in tents along the way. I would recommend checking them out when planning at budget trip to Kenya. Below I will split our budget into 2 areas: daily Kenya and the Maasai Mara/Maasai Cultural Camp.
Pre-trip estimated budget:
$200/day for 11 nights: $2200
$8200 for a safari
Total: $10,400
Actual Expenses:
Maasai Mara Game Drives (2nts) -Maasai Maji Moto Cultural Camp (6nts): $7334
Visas for Kenya (x4): $200
Elephant Watch Camp (3nts): $0 (Christmas present for our entire family from my parents)
Daily expenses outside of above tours:
Accommodations: $2118
Food and Drinks: $678
Transportation: $202
Entertainment: $44
Tips and Gifts: $81
Supplies: $127
Total: $3251 or $296/day for 11 days
Total Actual Expenses: $10,785
Over budget $385
We were able to see and do so much in Kenya and didn't rough it at all.
