Safari car hire in Kenya, for game drives

Which car for your safari?

• Land Cruiser Safari: our dedicated game-drive vehicle, chauffeur only. Best when the game drives are the point of the trip. Ask us about its seats, roof and luggage space for your dates before you book.
• Toyota Prado: four-wheel drive and ground clearance at a lower daily rate. Self-drive or with our chauffeur, and easy to live with in the city before and after the safari.
• Land Cruiser V8: the most room and the quietest ride on the long drive to the parks. Self-drive or with our chauffeur.

Every other car we hire out stays on paved roads and may not go on a game drive. If you take another car, drive to your lodge on the tarmac and book game drives with the lodge or a local operator.

Self-drive or with our chauffeur

Driving yourself gives you the freedom of your own timetable, and the Prado and V8 are both allowed. Our chauffeur means you can look out of the window instead of at the track, and you have someone who knows the roads, the fuel stops and the way back to the main highway. A chauffeur costs KES 4,000 ($31 USD / £23 GBP / €27 EUR) a day within Nairobi or KES 5,000 ($38 USD / £29 GBP / €34 EUR) a day outside, on top of the car, plus your driver's food and overnight accommodation away from Nairobi. Our self-drive vs chauffeur guide weighs up both.

Park rules: check before you go

Each park, reserve and conservancy sets its own rules for private vehicles, and those rules change. Private conservancies usually only admit their own camps' vehicles and guests. The Maasai Mara reserve has changed its rules on private cars for game drives before. So before you plan a self-drive game drive, check the current rules with the park or your camp. Tell us which parks you are visiting and where you are staying when you book, and we go through the route and any limits with you.

On every game drive:

• Keep to the marked tracks and the park's opening hours.
• Carry your park tickets and the rental agreement.
• Keep our 24/7 number to hand. If the car breaks down, we arrange help and a replacement.

The drive to the parks

The Maasai Mara is about 260 to 280 kilometres (160 to 175 miles) from Nairobi, usually five to six hours, with Narok as the halfway stop. Lake Nakuru is about 2.5 to 3 hours away, with extra time for the roadworks between Rironi and Mau Summit. Our road trips from Nairobi guide covers routes, park tickets and fuel stops. Park tickets are paid to the park, not to us, and rates differ for Kenyan citizens, residents and visitors.

Starting at JKIA

Many safaris start the day you land. Add your flight number and we track your flight; your driver meets you in arrivals with a sign bearing your name, and you can be on the road to the parks the same day or rest in Nairobi first. See how JKIA car hire works.

What a safari car hire costs

The table on this page works out 3 and 7 days all in from each car's current daily rate: delivery and collection in Nairobi, the cleaning and service fee, and the chauffeur where the car always has one. Fuel, park tickets and your accommodation are on top. Booking more than one car for a group? Multiple vehicle discounts are available when you hire more than one car.

How it works at Urban Escape

• Delivered anywhere in Nairobi and JKIA: JKIA arrivals, your hotel or your home. Delivery and collection cost KES 1,000 ($8 USD / £6 GBP / €7 EUR) each way anywhere in Nairobi.
• Flight tracking: add your flight number and your driver works to the real landing time. The evening before you land, we send your driver's name and number on WhatsApp.
• A video walk-round: we film the car with you at handover and again at return, and you leave with a written return receipt.
• 2019 or newer cars: every car is a 2019 model or newer, serviced and cleaned before each hire. In most cases you will know the exact car assigned to you in advance: your booking page shows it, with its licence plate and photos.
• A replacement car if the car has a manufacturer (mechanical) issue.
• 24/7 support: one call or WhatsApp message reaches a person, day or night.

The rules that matter

• Drivers must be 25 or over and have held a full licence for at least 2 years. We can sometimes waive the 2-year rule; ask before you book.
• The minimum hire is 3 days.
• Mileage is unlimited on every car.
• Paved roads only. Game drives are allowed only in our Land Cruiser Safari (always with our chauffeur), Toyota Prado and Land Cruiser V8.
• No border crossing: our cars stay in Kenya.

These are the headline rules. The rental agreement you sign for each booking is the one that counts, so check it before you drive. Our rental terms in plain words explain every clause.

Paying today

No credit card is required for checkout. You pay a refundable 30% reservation deposit within 2 hours of booking (card payment link or M-Pesa), and the balance when you see the car, by M-Pesa, bank transfer, credit card or cash. Cancellation is free until the car is handed over. Paying from abroad? Our guide to paying for car hire from abroad explains each option.