Travel Guide: Cheap flights to Kenya
Kenya Airlines and Airports
Airline and airport information plus insider tips for Kenya
The central African country of Kenya, situated across the equator, is synonymous with the quintessential African safari experience, with its myriad opportunities for wildlife-watching, colourful tribes and a relatively sophisticated tourist infrastructure. Visitors flock here, attracted both by the natural beauty and by the increasing variety of cheap flights to Kenya.
This is the country that can guarantee the visitor a close encounter with the Big Five, coupled with other attractions like a beautiful Indian Ocean resort-rich coastline, archaeo-anthropological discoveries in the Great Rift Valley, sparkling lakes teeming with fish and bird life, and challenging climbs and hikes in the mountain region. It's hard to believe all this stunning natural beauty is just one short journey away. Flights to Kenya take approximately nine hours from London.
Book a cheap flight to Nairobi and see the fascinating high-altitude capital city. It is the gateway to the country for most tourists, with a large number of flights to Kenya landing here.
Step off your flights to Kenya and you and your travelling companions will be stepping into a different world. With its large foreign community, Nairobi is a mix of First and Third World, sprawling shanty towns beset with poverty and deprivation contrasting with leafy wealthy suburbs where mansions lurk behind high walls. The energetic city centre sports modern high-rises, colonial buildings and grubby markets.
Find the best flight prices to Kenya
When to fly to Kenya
Peak season:
The annual migration of wildebeest and other animals across the plains of the Masai Mara takes place between June and September. Consequently, this is the peak season for safaris and prices rise drastically across the country. It may be hard to find cheap flights to Kenya at this time.
Off season:
The rainy seasons are the main off-peak seasons, though a good time to take advantage of cheap flights to Kenya. Prices can be cheaper and there are better deals to be found. Though you will miss the migration, there are still plenty of big game to be spotted, as well as the other attractions of mountains, diving on the coast and the ancient tribe of the Maasai.
October to January, though still off-peak, is the best time to book flights to Kenya if you're going for the snorkelling as the seas are at their clearest. January and February are the hottest and driest months, but you can spot wildlife congregating around water holes so it's also a good time to book your Kenya flights.
Getting Around
There are many scheduled Kenya flights available from Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi to domestic destinations such as Mombasa, Lamu or the game reserves of the Maasai Mara. In total, there are around 250 airports in Kenya - internal Kenya flights are cheap, so it can be the most efficient way to travel both for time and cost.
Trains are available, though generally slow and not very reliable. Railways have been allowed to deteriorate badly over recent years.
Shared taxis and minibuses, called matutas, are the most popular means of transportation for short distances and between cities. They used to be very dangerous, but a recent government crackdown on safety has improved the services somewhat. It is often recommended not to use matatus at night. It's also advisable not to take one from the airport once you and your travelling companions get off your flights to Kenya.
Rental cars are available from main cities and airports once you get off your Kenya flights. Remember that road conditions will be poor if you're considering travelling any way off the beaten track (anywhere off the main roads that connect major urban centres). Hiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle is advisable.
Flying to Kenya
Major airports in Kenya include:
Nairobi (NBO)
Mombasa (MBA)
Airlines offering cheap flights to Kenya include:
Africa Safari Airways
British Airways
Kenya Airways
MyTravel Airways
Virgin Atlantic
In-flight Reading
Try our in-flight reading suggestions for your flight to Kenya.
True at First Light
by Ernest Hemingway
A posthumous 'fiction memoir' that describes a safari taken by Hemingway in Kenya. His wife becomes obsessed by stalking and killing a black-maned lion, while Hemingway becomes increasingly obsessed with a beautiful African woman.
Death in Kenya
by M. M. Kaye
One of M. M. Kaye's detective stories, the background for Death in Kenya was based on the time she spent there with her husband in the British Army. You'll be so engrossed by the plot, your flights to Kenya will fly by.
Out of Africa
by Isak Dinesen
An extremely famous memoir by Isak Dinesen (pen name of Danish Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke) of her time living in Kenya running a coffee farm. Take this on the plane and you'll know a lot more about the country when you step off your Kenya flights, than you did when you got on.
The Constant Gardener
by John Le Carré
The wife of a British diplomat living in Nairobi is murdered. In trying to uncover the truth behind her death, he comes across a vast conspiracy by the pharmaceutical industry.
Weep Not, Child
by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Ngugi wa Thiong'o is one of Kenya's most famous authors. He wrote Weep Not, Child while studying English Literature at Leeds University. Published in 1964, it was the first novel in English to be published by an East African author. The book draws on his experience of the Mau Mau rebellion. A great way of passing the time on your Kenya flights.
Insider Information on Kenya
Once you've recovered from your flights to Kenya, head straight to the Karen Blixen Museum in Nairobi. The house where the Danish author Blixen lived has been turned into a museum. Ever since her famous book Out of Africa (written under the name Isak Dinesen) was made into a Hollywood film, the area has made the most of the house. It is situated on 'Karen Estates' on 'Karen Street'. The museum itself is a recreation of the house as it was when Blixen lived in it and a peaceful place to spend half a day.
Kenya's second-largest city, Mombasa is a good starting point from which to visit the coast and a great place to disembark on your cheap flights to Kenya. A popular local beach is the white sand Coral Palm Beach, parts of which are private and parts public.
North of Mombasa, also on the coast, is the town of Malindi, particularly popular with Italian vacationers. There is a lot to see, both in town, with mosques, markets and museums and along the coastline. When the tide is out, you can spy the coral reef. Or head to the point where Vasco da Gama landed - after being refused entry to Mombasa. There is a plinth marking the spot where the Portuguese explorer first came ashore. Hopefully you'll have managed to find some cheap flights to Kenya, allowing you to take advantage of all this region has to offer.
Travel Tips
- Finding Cheap FlightsOur golden rules for finding a cheap flight
- Airlines with low-cost ticketsAn essential guide to how the main carriers operate
- Before You GoAdvice on everything you need to do before you set off
- Regional UK and Irish AirportsFlying from the four corners of the UK and Ireland
- Glossary of Flying TermsAn A-Z of common terms you’ll need to know
- Travel Sickness and DVTHow to stay happy and healthy in the air
Travel links
- Currency converterFind the current exchange rate
- WeatherThe weather in Kenya today
- Destination GuideLonely Planet's guide to Kenya