NorahAs a teacher that loves traveling, I always appreciate financial transparency when it comes to planning trips.This past December, I went on a dream trip-Kenya, for a safari! It was easily one of my favorite trips ever. We rode around all day in these massive jeeps and saw every single animal you would want to see in Kenya. We went on hikes, did a hot air balloon ride, and ate yummy food. It was a fantastic adventure.However, African safaris are notoriously expensive trips. In this post, I will break down exactly how much my safari cost. I will also include recommendations for saving money and my philosophy around spending money while traveling.
I also have a guide that goes over everything you would need to know for your African safari, including several tips I wish I had known before going on my trip.
My Philosophy around Money and Traveling
I am by no means a financial expert. I am a random 26 year old teacher who loves traveling. However, one of the best pieces of financial advice I ever received was to choose my rich.
In theory, this means looking at your life, recognizing that you cannot spend money on everything, and prioritizing those things that are most important to you. For example, say you really love eating at nice restaurants. If that is the case, then that is your rich. And that is amazing! It might just mean that you are not able to buy the clothes, or the trip, or the fancy apartment. Choosing your rich means prioritizing what actually brings you the most joy and fulfillment.
My “rich” has always been travel. I adore traveling, and believe that spending my money on experiences is a good investment. However, even within the realm of travel, I have found ways to choose my rich and prioritize the experiences I actually want to have.
Here are my priorities when I travel:
- Safety above all-if there is a more expensive option for say, transportation, I will take that option. Safety is my number one priority when exploring.
- I do not care about fancy lodging. I actually do better in small spaces, so I tend to lean more towards hostels when exploring. Comfort and luxury are not super important to me, and I save hundreds of dollars every night I decide to stay in a hostel.
- I will gladly spend extra money on activities. I am a big activities girl, and when I am traveling I will gladly spend more money on excursions and tours, especially if they are something I really want to do. I will prioritize that over fancy dining, expensive seats on a flight, and extravagant hotels.
It is completely ok if you disagree-that is the point of saving while traveling! Do some internal work and figure out exactly what you want out of your trip, and plan your budget around prioritizing that thing.
For my Kenya trip, we decided to book a tour. This definitely raised the cost of the trip than if we had just booked things ourselves. However, Africa is a unique place. It is difficult to navigate, and many of the national parks and reserves require you to be with a specific guide because of the protections (and dangers!) around the wild animals.
So, yes, while you could book your African safari trip yourself, I would recommend paying a bit more and handing over the planning reins to someone more knowledgeable on the area and the parks.
I went on my trip with EF Ultimate Break, and it was a really fantastic experience. Below, I will walk you through how much my trip to Kenya cost:
Lodging/Airfare/Meals-$4500
The benefit of booking a trip with a tour company is that they are really able to give you a broad statement for cost. For my Kenya safari, that number was $4500. This included almost everything within the trip-most meals, transportation within the parks as well as from one park to another, my flights into and out of Nairobi, and any entry fees into the national parks.
There is virtually no way to save money on this number without booking with another company. I was able to save about $300 because I booked the trip during their Black Friday sale and then used an influencer code for another $100 off, so I would definitely recommend looking into the sales that different companies offer throughout the year.
Snacks/Souvenirs/Tips-$200
In my experience, the guides on your trips will frequently stop at tourist specific rest stops, and these rest stops will have souvenir stands and small restaurants. At these shops, everyone wants the tourists to spend money, and will sometimes be quite persistent about spending money. I would recommend having a small amount of cash set aside for these situations.
I would also recommend having designated cash available to tip your safari guide/doormen/people who carry bags. There is a strong tipping culture in African countries.
Drinks/Food-$50
Most of my meals on the safari trip were paid for, but there were several meals on the beginning and end of the trip when I bought meals in Nairobi. I would recommend designating a small amount of money for those expenses as well.
Most tours do not cover the cost of alcohol, so if you want to drink I would also set aside money for that cost.
Total cost: $4750
Is this incredibly expensive? Oh yes. Is it, in my opinion, worth it? Also yes. Going on an African safari is truly one of the most unique, exciting, memorable trips a person can take. Spending a bit more in order to have an amazing time is, in my opinion, worth the cost.
There are certainly tour companies out there that are much more expensive, and there are also definitely companies that are much cheaper. I would recommend thinking about what your top priorities are for the trip (the animals? The comfort? The food?) and planning your trip based on what different tours can offer.
I also made several videos about my time in Kenya:
Have the best time, and enjoy the adventure!
