Holiday Packages for Kenya

Why Kenya is worth the trip

Kenya is worth the trip because the wildlife is genuinely wild and genuinely close. A Kenya tour package from Nepal is normally built around the Maasai Mara National Reserve, open grassland where lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino, the Big Five, live alongside zebra, giraffe and enormous wildebeest herds. You watch from a vehicle, on their schedule, and nothing is staged.

Three things make Kenya work for Nepali families and first time safari travellers. Density is the first: the Mara puts big cats, plains game and river life inside one landscape, so even a short trip delivers. Infrastructure is the second. Nairobi is a major aviation hub, camps and lodges are used to international guests, and the safari industry has been running for decades. The third is variety. You can pair open grassland with flamingo lakes at Lake Nakuru, elephants under Mount Kilimanjaro at Amboseli, and a stretch of Indian Ocean beach at Diani if you want the trip to end slowly.

It also suits how Nepali travellers actually book. A Kenya safari from Nepal tends to be a milestone trip: a parents plus children holiday, a retirement gift, a honeymoon with something more interesting than a beach, or the bucket list item somebody has been putting off for years. The photographs look nothing like Thailand or Dubai, and children who will not sit through a museum will sit for three hours watching a lion.

Be clear about one thing before you commit. Safari means early mornings, dusty roads, long stretches where nothing happens, and then ten minutes you remember for the rest of your life. If that trade sounds good, Kenya is the right choice.

Do Nepali passport holders need a visa for Kenya?

Nepali passport holders need travel authorisation for Kenya, but not a visa. Kenya abolished visas for every nationality on 1 January 2024 and replaced them with an Electronic Travel Authorisation, the eTA. Nepal is not on any exemption list, so every Nepali traveller must hold an approved eTA before boarding a flight to Nairobi.

The Kenya eTA for Nepali citizens, what replaced the visa

The Kenya eTA for Nepali citizens is an online entry approval that replaced the old visa system entirely. There is no embassy appointment, no visa sticker and no passport submission. You apply online, upload your documents, and receive an approval linked to your passport that the airline checks at boarding and immigration checks on arrival.

Only one portal is official: etakenya.go.ke. The government reference page sits at immigration.go.ke/eta. Agent sites that look official and add their own handling charges do exist. Use the official portal, or let Gomayu file the application for you.

How to apply and what you need

Applications open 90 days before travel and must be submitted at least 3 days before departure. Have these ready before you start:

• A passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your arrival date, with a blank page
• A recent photograph, or a selfie taken during the application
• Your home address, phone number and email address
• A return or onward flight itinerary
• Proof of accommodation, or an invitation letter if you are staying with someone

Official guidance says processing takes up to 3 business days, so apply at least a week before you fly. One eTA covers one traveller, which means every member of a family, including children, needs their own approval.

Validity, single entry and the East Africa exception

An approved eTA is valid for 90 days from the date it is issued, and you must enter Kenya inside that window. On arrival, the immigration officer grants a stay of up to 90 days. The eTA is single entry. Leave Kenya and it is spent, with one exception: if you travel only to Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania or Uganda and return to Kenya before the authorisation expires, the same eTA still works.

If your trip covers Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda together, look at the East African Tourist Visa instead. It is multi entry across those three countries, valid for 90 days, and cannot be extended.

Yellow fever, when it actually applies

Yellow fever proof is required only for travellers aged 1 and above who arrive from a yellow fever endemic country, or who have transited more than 12 hours in one. Nepal is not endemic. Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are not endemic either. A standard Gulf routing therefore does not trigger the requirement at all.

The trap is an African transit. A layover of more than 12 hours in Addis Ababa, or any other airport in an endemic country, does trigger it. If your routing goes that way, get vaccinated at least 10 days before travel. A single dose is now considered valid for life, even if an older certificate shows an expiry date.

Gomayu can file the eTA for your whole group and check your routing against the yellow fever rule before you ticket. Message the team on WhatsApp with your nationality and your planned connection.

When is the best time to visit Kenya?

The best time to visit Kenya for wildlife is the dry season, roughly July to October, when the grass is short, animals gather at water and the wildebeest herds are in the Maasai Mara. January and February give a second dry window with clear skies and fewer vehicles. The long rains, April to May, are the hardest period for game drives.

Kenya sits on the equator, so temperature barely changes across the year. Rainfall is what moves, and rainfall is what moves the animals.

One thing to get right before you book. The wildebeest calving season, roughly late January to February, does not happen in Kenya. It happens in the southern Serengeti and the Ndutu plains, in Tanzania. Travellers book Kenya in February expecting newborn herds and end up in the wrong country. If calving is your goal, you need Tanzania.

Dashain and Tihar fall inside the migration window, which is also when Mara camps fill first. If you want those dates, planning a Kenya safari roughly three months ahead is the practical minimum.

How do you get to Kenya?

Every route to Kenya involves at least one stop. There is no direct service between Nepal and Nairobi, and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi is the arrival point for almost every safari. Which hub you connect through depends on where you actually live, and one of those choices carries a yellow fever consequence.

Nairobi NBO as the gateway

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is East Africa's main hub and the entry point for the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha and the coast. Kenya Airways is the national carrier and flies the widest network in and out of Nairobi.

Routing shapes by origin

Nepali travellers are spread across a lot of time zones now, so the sensible routing depends on where you start.

• Kathmandu departures: one or two stops through the Gulf. Qatar Airways via Doha, Emirates and flydubai via Dubai, Air Arabia via Sharjah. Kenya Airways also flies Doha to Nairobi nonstop.
• Gulf residents in Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah: the shortest option of anyone, a single hop.
• India connections: Kenya Airways serves Mumbai from Nairobi.
• Southeast Asia: Kenya Airways is the only carrier flying nonstop between Nairobi and Southeast Asia, to Bangkok, roughly three times a week. There is no nonstop Nairobi to Singapore service.
• Australia, including Sydney: no direct service exists. Everything connects through the Gulf, Johannesburg or Southeast Asia.
• United States and Canada: Kenya Airways is the only carrier with a nonstop Nairobi to United States route, to New York JFK. Other North American cities connect via Europe or the Gulf.
• Europe: Kenya Airways, British Airways, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Turkish and Swiss all serve Nairobi.

The African transit and yellow fever trap

Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa is a major feeder into Nairobi and often looks like the neatest connection on paper. Watch the layover length. More than 12 hours on the ground in an endemic country turns yellow fever vaccination into a hard entry requirement, and the vaccine has to be given at least 10 days before you fly. Either keep the layover short, or get vaccinated well in advance.

Domestic hops to the Mara

Getting from Nairobi into the Maasai Mara is either a road transfer or a light aircraft flight to an airstrip inside the reserve. Flying buys back hours that matter on a short trip. Driving shows you the Rift Valley escarpment on the way. Confirm which one your package uses, because it changes how many usable game drive hours you get on your arrival day, and light aircraft carry strict baggage limits.

Places to visit in Kenya: the parks worth your days

The places to visit in Kenya that matter most on a first trip are the Maasai Mara for big cats, Amboseli for elephants under Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Nakuru for rhino and flamingos, Lake Naivasha for boat rides and walking, and Nairobi itself for a half day of elephants and giraffes before you fly home.

Maasai Mara safari, the reserve everything else orbits

A Maasai Mara safari is the reason most people come to Kenya at all. The Maasai Mara National Reserve is the northern extension of the Serengeti ecosystem, open grassland cut by the Mara River, with resident lion prides, cheetah on the plains, leopard along the tree lines, and elephant and buffalo throughout. Between roughly July and October the wildebeest herds are here and the river crossings happen. Outside those months the resident predators are still resident, which is why the Mara reads well in almost any season. A ring of private conservancies borders the reserve, and choosing between the two is covered further down this page.

Amboseli, elephants with Kilimanjaro behind them

Amboseli is the elephant park, and photographers keep going back for the backdrop. Mount Kilimanjaro rises across the border in Tanzania and, on a clear morning, sits directly behind the herds. Cloud often hides the summit by mid morning, so the good light is early. Amboseli's open, dusty flats also make elephants easy to see and easy to photograph in full family groups.

Lake Nakuru, rhino and flamingos in one stop

Lake Nakuru National Park is a compact, fenced Rift Valley park known for rhino, both black and white, and for the flamingos that give the lake its pink edge. Flamingo numbers rise and fall with the water level and are not guaranteed in any given month. Rothschild's giraffe are another draw. Nakuru pairs well with the Mara precisely because it is a completely different habitat.

Lake Naivasha and Hell's Gate, the part where you leave the vehicle

Lake Naivasha is a freshwater Rift Valley lake with hippo, pelicans and fish eagles, and it is one of the few places on a Kenya trip where you get out and move. A boat ride takes you to Crescent Island, where you walk among zebra, giraffe and antelope because there are no big predators there. Nearby Hell's Gate National Park allows cycling and walking through its gorge and cliff scenery. Families with restless teenagers usually rate this day the highest.

Tsavo East and Tsavo West, scale and red dust

Tsavo is Kenya's vast southeastern wilderness, split into Tsavo East and Tsavo West. Tsavo East is flat and open, famous for red dusted elephants that take their colour from the soil. Tsavo West is greener and more broken, with volcanic hills and springs. Tsavo suits travellers who want space and few other vehicles rather than guaranteed dense sightings, and it sits conveniently between Nairobi and the coast.

Samburu, the dry north and its own species

Samburu, in Kenya's arid north, holds animals you will not see in the Mara at all: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, the long necked gerenuk, Beisa oryx and Somali ostrich. The Ewaso Ng'iro River draws elephant and predators to its banks. Samburu is a second or third trip destination for most people, or a strong addition for anyone who has already done the Mara once.

Nairobi itself, more than a transit stop

Nairobi is the only capital city in the world with a national park on its edge. Nairobi National Park holds lion, rhino, giraffe and buffalo with office towers on the horizon. Two more stops make an easy half day: the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage, where orphaned calves are hand raised, and the Giraffe Centre, where you feed Rothschild's giraffe from a raised platform. This is the standard way to use an arrival day or a departure day.

Diani Beach and the coast, if you want to slow down

Diani Beach, south of Mombasa, is white sand, warm Indian Ocean water and reef. It is where Kenya trips go to finish. Mombasa adds Swahili old town streets, Fort Jesus and a coastal cuisine that is genuinely its own thing. Adding the coast turns a safari into a two part holiday, and honeymoon couples in particular tend to want that second half.

National reserve or private conservancy, which should you choose?

The choice comes down to rules and crowds. The Maasai Mara National Reserve is public land run by Narok County, open to any licensed vehicle and to day visitors, so a popular sighting attracts a queue of vehicles. The private conservancies bordering the reserve cap vehicle numbers, allow more, and require you to stay inside them.

Both the reserve and the conservancies charge entry fees, and the two systems are structured differently. Confirm what applies to your specific dates at the time of booking rather than assuming last year's arrangement still holds.

The practical answer for most first timers: the river crossings and the classic Mara scenery are inside the reserve, so the reserve belongs in the trip. If you have the days, splitting your nights between the reserve and one conservancy gives you both the spectacle and the quiet. Most Kenya packages for Nepali passport holders are built around the reserve, and a conservancy night can usually be added on request. Send Gomayu your dates on WhatsApp and ask for a quote in NPR with and without the conservancy night, then compare.

The Great Migration in the Maasai Mara, honestly

The Great Migration in the Maasai Mara runs from mid to late July, when the herds cross north out of Tanzania, peaks through August and September, and turns around near October when the animals head back south. August is generally the strongest single month. Nobody can promise you a river crossing on a specific date.

Here is what actually happens on the ground. Wildebeest and zebra move with rainfall and grass, not with a calendar. They reach the Mara River, gather on the bank, hesitate, sometimes for hours and sometimes for a whole day, and then go, or turn around and walk away. Guides read the build up and position the vehicle for it. That is the entire skill, and it still fails often.

Two corrections worth having before you book. First, the herds also cross the Sand River and the Talek River, both shallower and far less dramatic than the Mara River footage everyone has seen on television. Second, calving season, roughly late January to February, takes place in the southern Serengeti and the Ndutu plains in Tanzania, not in Kenya. Booking Kenya in February to see newborn herds is a mistake we would rather correct before you pay for anything.

A realistic expectation for a July to September trip: excellent general wildlife, huge herds spread across the plains, heavy predator activity, and a good but not certain chance of witnessing a Mara River crossing. Any operator who guarantees a crossing is selling you something they do not control.

What a safari day actually looks like

A safari day is built around animal behaviour, not yours. Game drives run in the early morning and the late afternoon, because that is when predators move and the light is worth photographing. Parks open at 06:00 and you must be out or back in camp by 18:00, so the shape of the day is fixed for everyone.

The usual rhythm is an early wake up, coffee, out at first light, back mid morning for a full breakfast, rest through the hot middle of the day when the animals are resting too, then out again in the afternoon until the gate hour. Some camps run a full day drive with a packed lunch instead, which covers far more ground and suits people chasing specific sightings.

Vehicles matter more than most people expect. Minivans with a pop up roof are common on shared departures. Four wheel drive Land Cruisers with open sides handle rough ground better and give everyone an unobstructed view. Ask what your package uses and confirm that every passenger gets a window seat. On a photography trip that is the most important question after which park you are visiting.

Accommodation splits into lodges and tented camps. Lodges are permanent buildings with solid walls and usually a pool. Tented camps are canvas on a raised platform with proper beds and an ensuite bathroom, and they put you much closer to the sound of the bush at night. Neither one is roughing it. Families with small children often prefer lodges, couples usually prefer camps.

A hot air balloon safari over the Mara launches at dawn and drifts low across the plains as the sun comes up. It is a popular add on, it books out during migration season, and it has to be reserved well before you arrive rather than arranged at camp.

Park entry, eCitizen and the rules you must follow

Kenya Wildlife Service no longer accepts cash at park gates. National park entry is paid electronically through the eCitizen platform at kwspay.ecitizen.go.ke, by M-Pesa or card, and the system issues a QR coded e-ticket that is scanned at the gate. Screenshot that QR code and keep it available offline, because network coverage at gates is unreliable.

Carry the passport whose details were used to buy the ticket. One important exception: the Maasai Mara National Reserve is run by Narok County, not by Kenya Wildlife Service, so it uses its own separate entry system. On a Gomayu package the team handles all of this, but you should still understand how it works.

The rules inside are enforced, and breaking them can end a game drive early:

• Park hours are 06:00 to 18:00. You must be out of the park or inside your camp by 18:00.
• Night game drives are prohibited inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the national parks. Only private conservancies may run them, and only with authorisation.
• Off road driving is prohibited in the National Reserve and the national parks. Some conservancies permit it.
• Drones are banned without written permission from both the reserve or park management and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. Assume you are not filming with one.
• The speed limit in the reserve is 50 km/h, and lower in areas with dense wildlife.
• Do not get out of the vehicle except at designated points, do not feed or harass any animal, and take your litter out with you.

What to pack for a safari

Pack light, neutral coloured clothing you can layer. Mornings on the open plains are genuinely cold in an open vehicle, the middle of the day is hot, and fine dust gets into everything you own. Most camps offer a laundry service, so three or four changes of clothing are enough for a week.

• Neutral colours: khaki, olive, beige, grey. Avoid bright white, which shows dust immediately, and avoid dark blue and black, which attract tsetse flies.
• A fleece or warm jacket plus a windproof layer for the early drive, and short sleeves for later in the day.
• A wide brimmed hat, strong sunscreen and sunglasses. Equatorial sun is harsh even when the air feels cool.
• Closed walking shoes. You do not need hiking boots for game drives.
• Binoculars, one pair per person if you can manage it. This changes the trip more than any camera upgrade.
• A camera with real zoom, plus spare batteries and memory cards. Charging in camp can be limited to certain hours.
• Insect repellent, personal medicines in their original packaging, and a small first aid kit.
• A soft duffel bag rather than a hard suitcase if your trip includes a light aircraft flight, which has strict baggage limits.
• A universal adapter for Kenya's three pin square plug, and a power bank for long drive days.

Food, water and health

Food on a Kenya safari is easier than most people expect. Camps and lodges run buffet or set menus with grilled meat, stews, rice, pasta, vegetables, soups and fresh fruit, and international guests are the norm rather than the exception. Drink bottled or filtered water only, including when you brush your teeth.

Vegetarian food is genuinely available and not an afterthought. Kenyan cooking already has a strong vegetarian base: sukuma wiki, which is braised collard greens, githeri of beans and maize, chapati, rice and lentils. Nairobi also has a long established South Asian community, so Indian restaurants are everywhere and many understand no onion no garlic requests. Jain and strict vegetarian travellers should have Gomayu notify the camps in advance, because remote camps order their supplies days ahead and cannot improvise.

On health, Kenya carries malaria risk across much of the country. Speak to a travel doctor before you go about prophylaxis for your specific route, and use repellent and long sleeves at dusk regardless of what you take. Yellow fever vaccination is only an entry requirement in the transit situation described earlier, though your doctor may still recommend it for other reasons.

You do not need altitude preparation for a safari the way you would for a trek in Nepal, but the equatorial sun is strong and dehydration creeps up during long drives. Keep water in the vehicle and drink more than you think you need. Bring your regular medicines in their original packaging along with the prescription.

Money, SIM cards and connectivity

Kenya's currency is the Kenyan shilling, KES. Check the shilling to Nepali rupee rate before you travel so you can judge what you are being asked for in markets and craft stalls. Cards work in hotels, lodges and city restaurants, but Kenya runs on mobile money far more than it runs on plastic.

M-Pesa is the mobile money system almost everyone uses, from taxi drivers to small shops, and it is also what the eCitizen park payment system accepts alongside cards. Visitors can use M-Pesa with a local SIM, though most travellers on a package will never need to.

For connectivity, either a local SIM from Safaricom or Airtel, or a travel eSIM loaded before departure, will do the job. Data coverage is good in Nairobi and along the main roads and patchy inside the parks. Camps usually offer wifi in the main lounge area rather than in the rooms, and it is often slow. Download offline maps, your eTA approval and your park QR codes before you leave the city. Tell your bank you are travelling so your cards are not blocked mid trip.

Is Kenya safe for tourists?

Yes, on the standard tourist circuit. This needs saying precisely, because the government advisories look alarming until you check them against a map. The UK and US warnings for Kenya cover the northeastern border regions and parts of the coast, and none of them cover the parks and beaches a Kenya trip for Nepali travellers actually visits.

What the advisories say. The UK FCDO advises against all travel to Mandera County, to Lamu County apart from Lamu Island and Manda Island, and to all areas within 60 km of the Kenya to Somalia border. The US State Department rates Kenya overall as Exercise Increased Caution, with Do Not Travel for Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties, all of Tana River and Lamu counties, and Kilifi County north of Malindi.

Now the balance. The Maasai Mara, Nairobi, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Tsavo and Diani Beach all sit outside those zones. Lamu Island can still be visited, but you should fly into Lamu Airport rather than drive there.

The realistic risks are ordinary ones. Petty theft and mugging occur in Nairobi and Mombasa, so do not walk at night, do not carry visible valuables, and use transport arranged by your hotel. Protests occasionally disrupt the Nairobi central business district, so avoid crowds and demonstrations completely. Road safety on intercity driving is a genuine risk, which is one good reason to travel with a driver guide instead of self driving. Inside camps and on game drives you are with professional guides, and families with young children do this trip every week of the year.

How many days do you need, and how to plan yours

Seven days is the practical minimum, which is why a Kenya tour package from Nepal is usually built as a seven day trip. That covers two long international travel days at either end and still leaves enough nights in the parks for the wildlife to show up. Fewer nights and you spend most of the holiday in transit.

Gomayu runs two Kenya routings. One covers Nairobi, the Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru, pairing big cat country with a Rift Valley lake and rhino. The other covers Nairobi, the Maasai Mara and Lake Naivasha, which trades the rhino park for boat rides, walking on Crescent Island and Hell's Gate. Families with restless children usually prefer the Naivasha version. Wildlife photographers usually prefer Nakuru.

Ten days or more lets you add Amboseli for Kilimanjaro views, a conservancy night for quieter sightings, or a few days at Diani Beach to finish slowly. Anything that includes Samburu or Tsavo needs longer again.

Book earlier than feels necessary. Migration season and the Dashain and Tihar window are the two periods when Mara camps fill first, and roughly three months ahead is the sensible target. Send Gomayu your dates, your group size, and say if you want reserve or conservancy nights, and you will get an honest recommendation and a quote in NPR. WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach the team. Gomayu Holidays is operated by Zeta Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd., with a registered office in Nepal and a phone number that a person answers.