Kenya Safari Budget Tour Accommodation Review: What To Expect

This Kenya Safari budget tour accommodation review is to show you the living environment based on my last 11-day Kenya & Tanzania safari tour experience.

Before my vacation, I was worried about roughing it too much in basic tents without proper facilities, so I packed a couple of extra pillows for my trip. In the end, it was totally unnecessary, because the accommodations are just amazing, even for a budget safari campsite there!

I stayed in campsites, hotels, and even had some experience in a luxury lodge during my visits to the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli National Park. While I had worried initially about the quality of the campsite, it turned out to totally exceed my expectations.

Accommodation Type For Tour In Kenya

Regardless of your itinerary, on a typical budget safari tour (i.e., 3 days 2 nights in Masai Mara or longer duration ones including multiple national parks), you would be provided with a campsite or mid-budget hotel by the tour operator with consideration of convenience. For example, there is no mid-price hotel near the Masai Mara or Amboseli, so the options are between budget campsites or luxurious hotels there.

In general, the camps and mid-price hotels are what to expect for a lower range price level safari tour package, i.e., on Viator / GetYourGuide / Tour Operator Directly. There is no option for a “Mid” budget. For any upgrade on accommodation, it usually means from a campsite/hotel to a luxury lodge, and the price for each night upgrade could be over 200 USD or even 500 USD.

One important point is that for a typical organized safari tour, you don’t have MUCH TIME to spend in your accommodation.

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Tanzania 🇹🇿 :

✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Arusha to Ngorongoro Crater

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✅3 Days 2 Nights – Safari trip including Serengeti & Ngorongoro

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Kenya 🇰🇪 :

✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:

Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park

✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:

GetYourGuide / Viator

✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:

GetYourGuide / Viator

✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:

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✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !

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QUality Accommodation

Budget Option Is Sufficient

The budget accommodations in Kenya were beyond my imagination. Even for camps, you will be living in a large camp house with a private toilet and shower. Buffets are also served. Despite limited time for electricity and hot water, they are sufficient and accommodating

Click To Book Now ✅

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Budget Camps In Kenya Budget Safari Tour

Don’t expect sleeping in the wild near lions for a camp—instead, “camp” means large tented houses with Wifi, double beds, mosquito nets, private toilets, and showers. The “tent” is more like a spacious camp house, comfortable and secure.

Electricity and hot water are available at accommodating times. For electricity, it is almost full day, and for hot water, it is usually after 6 pm.

I stayed in Manyata Camp for the Masai Mara and Nyati Safari Camp for Amboseli National Park. What surprised me the most was that both camps provide a great buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The camps are all well-staffed with great hospitality. The cost of the budget camp varies from 50 USD to 100 USD, depending on the location.

Hotel In Kenya Budget Safari Tour

I lived in Buraha Zenoni Hotel during the day at Lake Nakuru & Naivasha National Park. The hotel has 24-hour electricity and hot water. A better quality buffet and, in general what you can expect from a normal hotel, i.e., wifi, private room, etc.

Despite better facilities, the hotel costs around 100 USD as well. So it is more about location. For example, there is no budget / mid hotel option for the area near the Masai Mara and Amboseli.

Luxury Lodge

I didn’t live in a safari lodge before, but some of my friends on the same tour did (i.e., Jambo Mara Safari Lodge in Masai Mara and Ol Tukai Lodge in Amboseli). Based on what I heard and saw (yes, we actually went inside), the lodges usually have a better quality of buffet, gym, swimming pool, bar, etc. However, again, by living in a lodge, you could triple your tour cost. And more importantly, on most days, you will be staying outside for either a safari or a road trip for over 10 hours.

Safety About Accommodations In Kenya Safari

Both campsites and hotels are generally safe. For the camps, you will be assigned to a large “camp house”. Although there is no lock for the entrance, you can zip up the camp house. So as long as you bring your valuables with you during the game drive, it should be fine. For the hotels, most of them are modern ones with locks.

The surroundings are also safe. You will not be living in the middle of a safari (except for the lodge), so there wouldn’t be a lion nearby. The locals are also very welcoming. I even walked around a nearby village called Ololaimutiek during my stay in the Masai Mara.

Things I Didn’t Know About Budget Accommodation For Kenya Safari Trip

• Where to stay is pre-arranged by the tour operator, and it could vary depending on the vacancy, but most of the accommodations have similar quality
• Buffets are served for every meal
• Despite being called a camp, it is more like rooms in a huge tent
• There are double beds in the camp house
• The toilet and shower are private within your big tent house
• I slept well during the night with no light/sound pollution
• Electricity is not available 24 hours, but usually available when you are back from safari or before sleeping
• Also, there are chargers available on the safari jeep
• I enjoyed the morning in the camp with nature

The Budget Accommodation Is The Best Valued Option

Despite being a “budget option”, the camps in Kenya have large tent houses, private toilets, showers, 24-hour Wifi, sufficient electricity, hot water, security, and even serve a great buffet. Yes, the safari lodges are slightly better with more variety of food, facilities like a gym and pool, and you will be living in the middle of the safari. However, that would mean at least tripling the cost of your tour.

So based on the price and value delivered, I would recommend the budget option for the safari tour.

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🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package

Tanzania 🇹🇿 :

✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Arusha to Ngorongoro Crater

GetYourGuide

✅3 Days 2 Nights – Safari trip including Serengeti & Ngorongoro

GetYourGuide

Kenya 🇰🇪 :

✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:

Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park

✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:

GetYourGuide / Viator

✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:

GetYourGuide / Viator

✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:

Viator

✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !

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EWAL Recommend Option

The Best Valued Option

The budget camps and hotels are already sufficient to have a comfortable safari experience for a reasonable price. Upgrading to lodge is available, but it would triple your tour fee. So I would recommend sticking to the budget option.

Click To Book Now ✅

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