Entry rules can change. Check the official sources and your own government's travel advice before you fly.
Your checklist
- Passport valid for at least six months after arrival, with at least one blank page
- Kenya eTA, approved before you fly — see the eTA guide
- Return or onward ticket
- Yellow fever certificate — if your route needs one (see below)
- Travel insurance with medical evacuation cover
- No plastic bags in your luggage
Yellow fever
Kenya asks for a yellow fever certificate from travellers arriving from countries with a risk of yellow fever. Kenya itself has areas with a yellow fever risk, so health authorities often recommend the vaccine for visitors to Kenya — ask your travel clinic.
Going on to Tanzania? This matters most. Tanzania asks for a yellow fever certificate from travellers arriving from a risk country — which includes Kenya. If your safari continues from Kenya into Tanzania, or you have a long layover in Nairobi on the way to Tanzania, you will usually need a valid certificate. The vaccine must be given at least 10 days before you arrive. See Tanzania travel requirements.
Other health advice
Doctors usually recommend routine vaccines plus hepatitis A and typhoid, and antimalarial tablets for most safari areas and the coast. Nairobi itself is at altitude with low malaria risk, but the parks are not. Visit a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you go.
The plastic bag ban
Kenya has one of the strictest plastic bag bans in the world, introduced in 2017, with heavy fines. Do not pack plastic carrier bags or bring duty-free shopping in them. Use reusable bags; clear zip-lock bags for toiletries are generally accepted but keep them to a minimum.
Drones
Drones need prior permission from the Kenyan civil aviation authority and are not allowed in national parks and reserves without special permits. Unless you have arranged them well ahead, leave your drone at home.
Arriving in Nairobi
Most international flights land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi. Have your passport and eTA ready for immigration. Our safaris start in Nairobi, and our driver meets you on arrival. Safari flights to the parks usually leave from the smaller Wilson Airport in Nairobi. More in our Nairobi guide.
