Tuesday, May 27, 2008

African Kenya Safari Cost-cost of Kenya Safari, Tour, Vacation, Holiday & Travel

Kenya Tour Aspects, Areas, Parts & Components

African Kenya safari begins when you embark into your flight to Kenya. A typical Kenya safari in east Africa has several main parts which basically revolve around your need to move from point A to B, your type of food on African safari, your Kenya safari accommodation, and access to several attractions including game parks, cultural centers and tribal villages of Africa. Each of this stage has a surcharge that varies depending on the type and standards of safari demanded. Use of top of the range facilities and transport modes attract an equally higher safari or tour tariffs. For example traveling in business class for your African safari will cost more than using the economy class in any safe African airline. Likewise 5 star African hotels will have added luxuries on safari than 4 star hotels and will generally cost more.

African Kenya safari air travel

Traveling by plane to your African destination makes the most economic sense and assumes that your safari actually starts on arrival. Unlike African cruise vacations, where even the voyage to a destination is a holiday in itself, air travel simply delivers you to your African safari destination. It therefore is reasonable to get yourself the cheapest African safari air tickets as this part of your safari should not constitute the larger portion of your safari or holiday budget. It is therefore no wonder that most travelers on a visit to Africa Kenya use economy class to cut down on transfer costs from home country to destination African safari country.

Cost of African safari air tickets

There are many vacation air ticket deals with major airlines operating from Europe, Asia and Middle East to Africa. However the tendency is that most airlines hike their fares closer to the holiday season which starts in August. It gets increasingly harder to get your flight tickets to Africa the closer you get to the African holiday season. Air tickets to an African Kenya safari should therefore be booked way in advance of travel and especially so for large groups to avoid Kenya last minute air ticket rush. Remember the demand and cost of flight tickets to Africa Kenya get higher as vacation time draws closer.

Good, Safe and Reliable African Airlines to Kenya

There are several African airlines that fly into Nairobi Kenya and offer competitive vacation air tickets rates for people visiting the country. Where else they may not be necessarily cheap, they certainly offer better prices than most European and Asian airlines. Generally African vacation flights tend to be more expensive than say to Europe. The reason for these higher prices of air tickets to Africa is due to the longer distances as compared to say a Europe vacation. Infact the further you go south of Africa, the higher the rates. Incidentally, most of the African countries with wildlife and good attractions worth your visit and money are at the equator or to the south of Africa. Catch 22 I would say!

Few African airlines offer very high standards of service and operate new aircraft just as the ones in developed countries. Kenya airway for example partnered with KLM when the latter bought into the Kenyan airline and services have since dramatically improved. The most respected African airlines operating from Europe and North America by partnerships with KLM and North Western Airlines (NWA) include;

South African airlines
Ethiopian airline
Air Malawi
Kenya airways
Egypt air

Other reliable airlines operating frequent weekly flights from Europe to Africa include;

Emirates
British Airways
Lufthansa
Swiss Air
KLM
Air France
Alitalia
Many other safari vacation chartered flights from Europe, North America including Canada and the USA.

Cost of Kenya Safari Hotels in Africa

Kenya tour and safari lodges and hotels offer unpararreled standards in Africa. Usually, you will have a night sleep over in a Nairobi hotel waiting for your safari to start the next day. Most flights arrive in Nairobi from Europe and Asia early in the morning or late in the evening. Either way it’s always advisable to rest in a Nairobi hotel before embarking on your inland safari.

Leaving for a Kenya wilderness tour immediately on arrival in Nairobi may not be a good idea given the over 8 hour flights to Kenya from Europe; the jetlag and fatigue attributed to your body’s disorientation due to time zone differentials won’t do you good. The cost of your Nairobi safari hotel average between $200 for a five star and anywhere between $100 to $150 for a 4 star Nairobi hotel. There are definitely other budget Nairobi hotels which charge anywhere between $ 40 to $ 100. You call the shots here! This is mainly for the transfer night and possibly the last night before your flight back home at the end of your Kenya animal or beach holiday.

As a rule of thumb, the cost of safari lodges in Kenya parks is higher than those in towns or in Nairobi. Some of the most expensive tour lodges in Kenya are to be found in… you guessed that right…the Masai Mara game reserve. These high costs of safari lodges are necessarily driven by the huge demand for Masai Mara accommodation during the wildebeest migration. Pace setter luxury Kenya safari lodges are also predictably to be found here. By and large, the cost of Kenya vacation lodges and camps vary depending on several factors including star rating of the lodge or camp, facilities offered and exclusivity afforded to the client. The smaller the Kenya luxury safari lodge, the higher the cost and mostly the more remote is its location. Larger African wilderness lodges in Kenya have a lower accommodation tariff rates.

Prices of accommodation in Kenya safari lodges also vary by huge margins. The leading, popular and exclusive eco-lodges cater for a maximum of between 10-12 clients often in remote settings. These luxury tented camps and eco-lodges are either made of mounted or hunting tents or semi-permanent local materials assembled to give a breath taking rustic appeal. Dining in silver ware with Mozart playing from a colonial hunting-era-gramophone in the back ground. They range in price from $400 to $800 per person per night. Yes, who said it’s cheap to buy exclusivity and out-of-this-world comfort in the bush. There is however a class below this top-end luxury lodges. The mid-top end safari lodges are also designed in a similar fashion but may not equal the expensive furnishings, safari style and décor. The Kenya luxury wildlife lodges spare nothing to make your stay comfortable, stylish and ambient beyond belief. The cost of Kenya Africa wilderness lodges range between $300 to $400 and more.

The other class of luxury lodges is the large complexes in the Kenya wildlife parks complete with a swimming pool, and mostly built up in brick and mortar. The average safari accommodation units in these lodges are from 50-150 rooms or more. It’s mostly a crowded affair with buffet dining or if lucky ala-carte. The room sizes tend to be smaller than the top-end luxury safari lodges. These Kenya safari lodges cost anywhere between $ 150 to $300 per room or more depending on the star rating and other factors like a higher self-proclaimed status among peer lodges in the area.

Then we have the budget Kenya safari lodges that range from some that offer more value than the charge to complete 4 walls and a roof hole in the wall. Prices here range between $ 50 to $ 100 per person per night or more. There are however many choices for accommodation in a Kenya wilderness adventure tour that can fit any budget. It is however important to bear in mind that it’s impossible to ride a Mercedes Benz at the price of a bicycle. There is no worse feeling than to put up in a low down budget Kenya lodge and then feel bad on arrival on realizing that you could have afforded something better with a little more $$$.

Cost of Kenya Road & Air Safari Transport

Transport to and from the several attractions in Kenya can be achieved through air or road. Kenya Air safaris are popular with people on a luxury Kenya safari visit and those that are constrained by time and don’t wish to spend much time on the road. Kenya road safaris on the other hand are cheaper and afford a tourist the chance to see the Kenyan countryside.

Air safari ticket to the Masai Mara cost an average of $ 150 return from Nairobi. Flights to Mombasa cost $ 150-200 return. Lamu flights cost about $ 250 depending on the local Kenyan airline. Road safaris by a minivan are cheaper than the 4x4 safaris. The minivan cost of safari averages $250 per day which can be shared among the passengers in the vehicle. Cost of 4x4 safari vehicles is about $ 350 per day which also can be shared among the passengers.

Kenya car rental is a cheaper option and vehicles on hire are mostly 4x4 safari land rovers or land cruisers. The rates for these cars vary widely but on average is $150 per day. This excludes the cost of fuel, driver guide and other incidentals. Vehicles on hire are available in Kenya’s Mombasa car rental and Nairobi car rental companies.

Below are some search engine phrases to help you with your research for a reasonably priced Kenya safari.

Cost of Africa safari
Cost of Kenya safari
Kenya safari cost
Africa safari cost
Cost of Africa vacation
Cost of Kenya vacation
Kenya vacation cost
Africa vacation cost
Cost of Africa holidays
Cost of Kenya holiday
Kenya holidays cost
Africa holidays cost
Cost of Africa safari lodge
Africa wilderness lodge cost
Africa safari air ticket cost
Africa Kenya tour flight ticket cost
African Kenya cost of vacation
Cost of Africa tour
Cost of Kenya tour
Kenya tour cost
Africa tour cost
Cost of Africa travel
Cost of Kenya travel
Kenya travel cost
Africa travel cost
Cost of Africa trip
Cost of Kenya trip
Kenya trip cost
Africa trip cost
Africa Kenya Safari booking online
Africa Safari book online
Africa Kenya Safari online booking
Kenya Safari online reservation
Africa Safari online reservations
Online tour reservation
Online Africa vacation booking
Africa Kenya tour online booking
Africa Kenya Online tour vacation booking
Price of Africa safari
Price of Kenya safari
Kenya safari price
Africa safari price
Price of Africa vacation
Price of Kenya vacation
Kenya vacation price
Africa vacation price
Price of Africa holidays
Price of Kenya holiday
Kenya holidays price
Africa holidays price
Price of Africa tour
Price of Kenya tour
Kenya tour price
Africa tour price
Price of Africa travel
Price of Kenya travel
Kenya travel price
Africa travel price
Price of Africa trip
Price of Kenya trip
Kenya trip price
Africa trip price
Quote of Africa safari
Quote of Kenya safari
Kenya safari quote
Africa safari quote
Quote of Africa vacation
Quote of Kenya vacation
Kenya vacation quote
Africa vacation quote
Quote of Africa holidays
Quote of Kenya holiday
Kenya holidays quote
Africa holidays quote
Quote of Africa tour
Quote of Kenya tour
Kenya tour quote
Africa tour quote
Quote of Africa travel
Quote of Kenya travel
Kenya travel quote
Africa travel quote
Quote of Africa trip
Quote of Kenya trip
Kenya trip quote
Africa trip quote

No comments: