Amboseli
Kenya
Elephants in the swamps, and Kilimanjaro over them when the cloud allows
Photo by Neil and Zulma Scott on Unsplash
Photos by Deanna DeShea, Robert Hammel, Gabriel Schumacher and Brian Kungu on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Kenya
June to October (the long dry season), January to February
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 90mm in Apr
Where it is
2.65°S, 37.26°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Weeks of it- Be out at first light, when Kilimanjaro is most often clear; by mid-morning the cloud usually closes over it
- Spend time at the swamps, where the elephants come in from the dry plains to drink and feed
- Climb Observation Hill, the one place in the park you are allowed out of the car, for the view over the swamps
- Visit a Maasai village arranged through your lodge, and agree what the fee covers beforehand
- Pay the park fee in advance online or let your operator do it — the gate takes no cash
- Combine it with Tsavo West rather than driving back to Nairobi between parks
Amboseli travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Kenya
ExpensiveThe park fee is 90 US dollars a day for a non-resident adult and is cashless: paid online through eCitizen, by card or by M-Pesa, usually by your operator. Carry shillings for tips, the Maasai villages and anything outside the lodge. M-Pesa on a visitor SIM makes the small payments easier.
ATMs & cards
There are no machines in the park. Withdraw in Nairobi — Equity, KCB and Standard Chartered — before you leave; the nearest machines on the way are in the small towns on the Mombasa and Namanga roads. Tips for driver-guides and lodge staff are cash and add up.
Avoid these
- relying on anything in or near the park — there are no machines
Use these instead
- Equity
- KCB
- Standard Chartered (all in Nairobi)
Draw cash in Nairobi. The park fee is cashless and usually paid by your operator; tips for guides and lodge staff are cash and add up.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Kenya
SafeThe rules are about wildlife and they exist because people have been hurt: stay in the vehicle except at Observation Hill, never walk around an unfenced camp after dark without the escort it provides, and give elephants the road. Crime against visitors is not a concern inside the park. Malaria prophylaxis is advised. The UK FCDO does not advise against travel to Amboseli.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (5 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Amboseli National Park — inside a lodge or camp, with the escort after dark
- Observation Hill — the one place in the park where you may leave the vehicle
Worth more attention
- Getting out of the vehicle anywhere other than Observation Hill, at any distance, for any photograph
- Walking between tents or rooms after dark without the escort every unfenced camp provides
- Elephants on the track — give them the right of way, and back off if a calf is between you and its mother
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Kenya visa rules
Travel authorisation requiredup to 90 days$30 plus processing
Kenya replaced its visa with an Electronic Travel Authorisation that every visitor needs, including nationalities that were previously visa-free. Apply at least three days ahead.
Other passports
Travel authorisation requiredup to 90 days$30 plus processing
The ETA applies to nearly every nationality.
How to get it: Apply at etakenya.go.ke with a passport scan, a photo, and your accommodation and return flight details. Only that domain is official.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Before you fly: travel authorisation
Kenya eTARequired
At least 72 hours before you fly.
Have these in front of you before you start:
- passport
- a passport photo
- flight number
- the full address of your first night
- your onward or return flight date
Use the official link above. Sites that charge a "service fee" to submit one of these for you are not the government, and they want the same passport details the real form does.
Travel tipsHealth & emergencies all of Kenya
LimitedRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate if arriving from a country where yellow fever is present — including via a long layover in one
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Malaria prophylaxis — the Mara is a malaria area, though Nairobi itself is not
- Rabies for longer stays
- Cholera for extended rural stays
Getting treated
Nairobi has the best hospitals in East Africa and they are genuinely good. In the Mara you are hours from any of them by road, so camps rely on the AMREF Flying Doctors air ambulance — check whether your camp holds cover, and whether your insurance does.
Malaria prophylaxis is strongly advised for the Mara. Do not drink the tap water. Altitude in Nairobi (1,795m) is mild but noticeable on the first day.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodMeals are at the lodge or camp and almost always included. Ask for breakfast packed so you can stay out for the early light rather than coming back to the buffet.
Travel tipsGetting around
Car needed- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- LittleWorks here
- inDriveWorks here
Little the Kenyan one
A boda-boda motorbike is faster and cheaper and is also how most road injuries here happen.
Time zone and your working day
Africa/Nairobi — 7 hours ahead of you
1 hour of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–10:00 your time, 16:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 02:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 02:00–10:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Kenya, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolut No local plan
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Swahili
- HelloHabariha-BA-ree
- PleaseTafadhalita-fa-DHA-lee
- Thank youAsantea-SAN-teh
- Yes / NoNdiyo / Hapanan-DEE-yo / ha-PA-na
4 more phrases
- Excuse meSamahanisa-ma-HA-nee
- How much is it?Bei gani?bay GA-nee
- The bill, pleaseBili tafadhaliBEE-lee
- No problemHakuna matataha-KOO-na ma-TA-ta
Jambo is the tourist greeting; habari is what locals actually say to each other. Using it changes how you are received.
Travel tipsReligion
Christian majority
Around 85% Christian with a Muslim minority concentrated on the coast, and traditional belief practised alongside. Sunday services are long and central.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Greet before anything else, and shake hands — asking a question without greeting first is rude
- Use the right hand for giving and receiving
- Ask, and expect to pay, before photographing Maasai people or their homes
- Learn jambo and asante; a little Swahili is warmly received
Don't
- Do not photograph government buildings, police or military installations
- Do not display cash or expensive equipment in Nairobi streets
- Do not haggle aggressively at a Maasai market — the margins are the community income
- Do not leave the vehicle on safari unless the guide says it is safe
Where to stay in Amboseli
No Holistay rentals in Amboseli yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Amboseli on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Jomo Kenyatta, Nairobi NBO
4h 30mfrom the airport· 153 km as the crow flies
Four to five hours by road, or under an hour by light aircraft from Wilson.
Also worth pricing: Amboseli airstrip ASV — scheduled light aircraft from Nairobi Wilson, landing inside the park.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
