The best time to visit Kenya depends on which Kenya you mean. August in the Masai Mara and August at Watamu are both dry-season months, and they are different holidays. One is cold at dawn, expensive, and full of wildebeest. The other has humpback whales offshore and a reef that is good, though not at its clearest.
This page is the whole country: the Mara, Amboseli, Samburu, Tsavo, the Rift, Nairobi and the coast. The Mara’s own calendar, river crossings included, is a separate guide. If that reserve is the point of the trip, read when to visit the Masai Mara beside this one.
The short version
- Two dry seasons. January to February, then June to October. Wildlife in Amboseli, Samburu and Tsavo concentrates on permanent water, and Kilimanjaro is clearest at dawn.
- The long rains run from about March to May inland. On the coast the wettest stretch is April to June. Green, quiet, cheaper. Some Mara camps close, and black-cotton soil can stop a vehicle.
- The short rains arrive in November and tail into December. Afternoon storms, green plains, fewer vehicles. December firms up around the holidays.
- The Great Migration is a Mara event, roughly July to October. It does not improve Amboseli or Samburu. Crossing detail is in the Mara timing guide.
- Only the Mara’s daily fee changes with the date. In 2026 a non-resident adult pays US$100 from January to June and US$200 from July to December. Amboseli and Lake Nakuru stay at US$90, Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Nairobi National Park at US$80, Samburu at US$85 per 24 hours.
How the seasons divide
Kenya sits on the equator, so summer and winter are the wrong words. The year is two wet periods and two dry ones, and the parks do not feel them on the same days.
The long rains are March to May on the Mara guide: low-season rates, green grass, and some camps closed in April and May. The coast runs later. Shimba Hills calls it hot and humid year-round, wettest from April to June. Watamu says those months stir the visibility and close some boat days. Meru is lush after rain, and some black-cotton tracks close. At Hell’s Gate, mud stops the cycling.
The short rains centre on November. In the Mara they green the plains as the herds drift south, and they rarely wipe out a driving day. Amboseli greens in November and December. Tsavo’s short rains scatter game and bring the birding, including the November to December migrant fall at Ngulia in Tsavo West. Samburu’s rains, in November and from April to May, push animals off the river into the hills.
The dry months are what a classic safari is built on: June to October, then January and February. Animals walk to water you can park beside. Amboseli’s swamps, the Ewaso Ng’iro in Samburu, the Galana and the waterholes in Tsavo, the Mara’s resident prides on short grass.
Two parks ignore most of this. Nakuru’s guide calls it year-round: game viewing barely dips in the rain, while flamingo numbers follow the algae, not the month. Nairobi is good all year. Dry months simply shorten the grass. Weekday mornings beat weekends there, because Nairobians use their own park.
Month by month
January
Short dry season. Grass is short, lions are easier to find in the Mara, and the reserve is still on US$100. Amboseli, Samburu and both Tsavos are in their dry window. Watamu is in its clearest water, October to March, which is also whale-shark season.
February
The Mara month guide calls this the connoisseur’s season: cats, no migration crush, shoulder camp rates. Amboseli’s summit is usually clear at dawn, then cloud builds. Samburu is hot by midday, so drives run early and late. A strong month to pair Amboseli with the Mara on a 10 day itinerary.
March
Early March often still behaves like February. By the end of the month the long rains are building, camps empty and prices drop. Amboseli rates March as good rather than peak. The coast is still in the clear-water window. Flexible dates do well. A fixed fortnight should not bet the trip on the last week.
April
Long rains inland, and the wettest stretch starting on the coast. In the Mara: afternoon storms, some camps closed, black cotton, and rates at camps that stay open down by 30 to 50%. Resident wildlife stays. Amboseli, Samburu and Tsavo fall outside their best-month lists. Nakuru and Nairobi still work. Come for green light and the price.
May
The Mara fee is still US$100. It jumps in July, not now. May is cheap on camps and on the ticket if your camp is open. The coast is still wet. A good month for photographers, a weak one for a first safari with fixed dates.
June
Inland the rains taper. Mara tracks dry, camps reopen at shoulder rates, and late June sometimes brings the first herds from the south. It is the last US$100 month. Amboseli, Samburu, Tsavo and Meru return to their best-month lists. The coast is still inside April to June. Parks-only trips should look hard at June. Beach trips should not lead with it.
July
The Mara fee goes from US$100 to US$200 on the first. July to October camp rates can run 30 to 60% above April to May at the same camp, the range in the 2026 cost guide. Up to two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle are moving into the Mara, and river crossings become possible. They are not bookable for a Tuesday. Elsewhere it is simply a strong dry month, and Watamu’s humpbacks run through September. Only the Mara guide calls this the busiest, priciest period.
August
The centre of the migration, and the busiest month that guide describes. Two non-resident adults pay US$400 a day in reserve fees before a bed. A non-resident child of 9 to 17 adds US$50, and under-9s are free. Four days for a couple is US$1,600, the cost guide’s worked example. Conservancies are the pressure valve, capped vehicles a short drive from the river: see conservancies versus the reserve. Amboseli is dusty, with elephants on the swamps. Samburu is hot and excellent. Tsavo’s waterholes are the reason to be there.
September
Same US$200 fee and the same peak camp rates. Crossings remain realistic if you allow the time: three nights is the Mara guide’s sweet spot, and at least three near the river if a crossing is the aim. Humpbacks are still off Watamu. A full August makes September the same season, not a lesser one.
October
Herds are often still in the Mara, with fewer vehicles, and camp rates start to ease. The fee does not: October is still US$200. Amboseli and Samburu stay on their best lists. Tsavo steps down to good. The coast opens its clearest water, and whale sharks return through March. This is the compromise month for a safari with a beach.
November
Short rains. The Mara is a real shoulder: green grass, migrant birds, fewer vehicles, softer prices, resident game still there. The ticket is still US$200, which is the difference from June. Amboseli is photographic. Tsavo’s birding peaks. Samburu is on neither its best list nor its good list. Mida Creek’s shorebirds build from November to April, so a beach still works.
December
Showers more often than a lost day, then Christmas and New Year pull the Mara back to peak occupancy. Book those dates ahead. The fee is still US$200. Amboseli, Samburu and Tsavo all rate December as good, and Watamu is on its best list. Turtles use that beach under the community programme every month, so this is a reef month that happens to be a holiday.
Getting there, and the fees that do not change
The month picks the park. These are the practical numbers from the park guides.
Masai Mara. About 1,500 to 2,180 metres. A dry-season dawn is often 10 to 14°C, colder again in an open vehicle. Drive 5 to 6 hours from Nairobi via Narok, or fly 45 minutes from Wilson. Camps are in the Mara database.
Amboseli. 392 km², two nights on the park guide’s own advice, no rhinos. Drive 3.5 to 4.5 hours via Emali, or about 40 minutes from Wilson. Entry is US$90 all year.
Samburu. About 800 to 1,230 metres, hot, and the place the Special Five pin to the Ewaso Ng’iro in the dry months. The reserve’s page says Mara plus Samburu covers more distinct wildlife than any other two-park pairing. Drive 5 to 6 hours, or fly 60 to 75 minutes. Fee US$85 per 24 hours, all year.
Tsavo. Tsavo East is 13,747 km²: 4 to 5 hours from Nairobi, or 2 to 3 from the coast at Bachuma. Tsavo West is about 4 hours from Nairobi, with Mzima Springs and the Ngulia rhinos. Separate tickets, US$80 each.
Coast, Rift, city. Shimba Hills is 45 minutes from Diani. Watamu marine entry is US$25, and the guide calls Mara, Nairobi, Malindi an afternoon’s connection, with Sala Gate three hours from the coast into Tsavo East. Lake Nakuru is 2.5 to 3 hours from Nairobi at US$90, for rhino in any month. Lake Bogoria, 90 minutes north, holds the big flamingo flocks. Hell’s Gate is 1.5 to 2 hours away at US$50. Nairobi National Park is 20 minutes from the centre and 30 to 40 minutes from the airport, at US$80.
Crowds and prices
Peak means the Mara from July to October, plus Christmas week. That is when camp rates are highest and the reserve fee doubles. The rest of the country is busier then than in April. It is not the same crush.
April and May are the other pole. Lowest camp rates, some properties shut, difficult tracks, and the Mara still on US$100 until the end of June. November is the lighter green month: less rain than April, and stuck with the higher Mara fee.
KWS fees and the Samburu fee do not change with the month. Nor does the eTA, about US$32.50. The lines that move are camps, the Mara ticket, and extra days spent waiting on a crossing. The full breakdown is what a Kenya safari costs in 2026. What to pack for a cold dawn or a wet April is the packing guide.
So when should you go?
- Migration, first safari. August or September in the Mara, with Amboseli or Nakuru if you have ten days.
- First safari, migration optional. January, February or June. Resident animals, lower Mara fee.
- Elephants and a mountain. Amboseli in a dry month, dawn starts.
- Animals the Mara does not have. Samburu in a dry month.
- Rhino, short on time. Nakuru or Nairobi, almost any month.
- Safari and a beach. October, or January and February. July to September if whales matter more than the clearest snorkelling.
- Lowest spend. April or May, at a camp that is open, with rain in the plan.
- Best compromise. June if the coast is optional. October if you want a migration chance and a reef together.
The AI safari planner starts with your month and uses these same seasons and fees.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to visit Kenya?
January to February, or June to October, for most first safaris. July to October adds the migration, the crowds and the higher Mara fee. No single week suits the Mara, Amboseli, Samburu and the coast at once.
When are the long rains and the short rains?
March to May in the parks, April to June on the coast. Short rains centre on November into December, usually as afternoon storms. June is already drying inland while the coast is still wet.
When is the Great Migration in Kenya?
July to October, in the Masai Mara. Crossings are most likely from mid-July to September, and no camp can promise a day. Amboseli’s elephants and Samburu’s Special Five live there all year.
Is the green season worth it?
Yes if you want lower rates, green grass and quiet sightings, and you can accept rain plus a closed camp or track. April and May are the deep version. November is the lighter one.
Which month is the cheapest?
April and May, with the Mara still at US$100. June is often the better deal: camps are open again, the lower fee still applies, and viewing is back to dry-season form. July doubles the Mara fee as peak camp rates arrive. Christmas week in the Mara prices like peak season.
Do all park fees change by season?
No. Only the Mara fee changes with the month in the 2026 figures here. Amboseli and Lake Nakuru stay at US$90, the two Tsavos and Nairobi National Park at US$80, Samburu at US$85 per 24 hours. Last verified July 2026. Check the park guides before you travel.
Every Mara camp is in the camp database. The eTA and the advice on driving after dark do not change with the month.