18 Mar2025
Not sure if to go to Kenya or not? My list of 5 top reasons to visit Kenya might convince you to consider. What’s good in Kenya? Why should you visit it? Let’s dive right in.
I spent 85 days – almost 3 months – in Kenya from September to December 2024. That gave me enough time to explore Kenya and give you some tips.
5 reasons to visit Kenya
1. Wild animal safari tours
If you are a nature and wildlife lover, then Kenya definitely should be on top of your bucket list. I was lucky enough to visit several national parks around Kenya to observe wild animals there. Wow, what an unforgettable experience! It was a dream come true for me.
Spotting lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, leopard, buffaloes, birds and many other animals in their natural habitat is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime, I believe.
Please, skip the ZOOs with animals in captivity, and go on a safari tour in nature instead. I know it’s a lot more expensive to travel to Africa than paying a visit to the local ZOO but definitely worth it once, at least. Safari tours in Kenya might make you fall in love with animals even more (and turn you into a vegan as well).
For me personally, going on a safari tour was one of the most important reasons to visit Kenya. And I’m so glad it came true.
I heard that safari tours in Kenya are still cheaper than in Tanzania.
top reasons to visit Kenya – Kenya Naivasha walking safari zebras
top reasons to visit Kenya – lions in Masai Mara Kenya
top reasons to visit Kenya – Kenya Amboseli elephants
top reasons to visit Kenya safari Amboseli NP
2. Cheap local transportation
Now I don’t really mean local transportation from one town to another as that might be too tricky, crowded and noisy (but yeah, local matatu buses/minivans are cheap, indeed).
But what’s good in Kenya is all the motorbikes (called boda boda) and tuk tuks. They make it easy to get around if you need to go just a few kilometres further. They are quite cheap as well, if you know the local prices. Because yes, of course, they do try to overcharge tourists several times. Anyway, it’s very easy to get from A to B on a moto taxi or tuk tuk.
Diani and Watamu are full of motorbikes and tuk tuks all around the streets and they horn or shout at you when you walk around asking if you need one. And then if you are happy with both the driver and the price, you can get his WhatsApp or phone number to arrange the future transportation ahead of time. That’s what I was doing in both Watamu and Diani where I collected WhatsApp numbers of more drivers to contact when needed.
And in Mombasa and Nairobi I recommend you to get Bolt or Uber via the app instead as it’s safer and you can pay cash or by card (even though the drivers don’t like to get paid by card). Unfortunately I heard some bad stories about getting motorbike or tuk tuk directly on the road in Nairobi and Mombasa, so it’s definitely safer doing so via apps like Bolt or Uber there.
Remember, the Kenyans hardly ever use helmets on motorbikes. They usually won’t have one for you, either. So if you are not comfortable with that, choose a different way of transportation instead (a car or tuk tuk).
I found Bolt to be cheaper than Uber. And motorbike taxis cheaper than tuk tuks and those are still cheaper than car taxis, obviously.
top reasons to visit Kenya tuk tuk
top reasons to visit Kenya moto taxi
top reasons to visit Kenya local matatu buses and tuk tuks
top reasons to visit Kenya – on another motorbike taxi in Kenya
3. Tasty fruit and veggies
Kenya is heaven for vegans like me (e.i. plant-based diet without any animal products). I couldn’t get enough of fresh local produce while there. My favorite were papaya, melons, pineapple, young coconuts, bananas and sometimes also mango was great and sweet. Oh and don’t forget avocados which in Kenya are rather cheap and tasty as they grow right there! If you do like any of these fruit, you better get your stomach full of them while in Kenya. I definitely tried to do so haha.
Thanks to the climate, the quality of the fresh produce is really high and that makes its taste outstanding, too. When ripe, they are full of nutrients we need on a daily basis.
And prices? Some fruit & veggies were very cheap, some more expensive but I think mostly cheaper than in Europe and of better quality, for sure. It didn’t seem like they use many chemicals when growing them, if any.
Besides delicious fruit, they have many local greens similar to spinach (e.g. mchicha or sukuma) so definitely try them, too. They can be found at pretty much any local restaurant together with beans, rice, cabbage and carrots, and traditional Kachumbari tomato & red onion salad.
top reasons to visit Kenya – papaya
top reasons to visit Kenya – yummy cheap avocado in Kenya
top reasons to visit Kenya watermelon
top reasons to visit Kenya young coconut
top reasons to visit Kenya – local beans with spinach and salad
4. Beautiful beaches
One of the top reasons to visit Kenya is its 490 km of coastline. For many people, the Kenyan beaches on the Indian Ocean might be the only reason to choose that part of the world for their next holidays.
Depending on the time of the year of your visit, you might get lucky with clean beaches.
Some Kenyan beaches get loads of algae/seaweed from September to the end of November. It was exactly when I visited so sometimes the beaches were not as beautiful as I’d like to. On other days the beaches were lovely, indeed. I was told that usually the Kenyan beaches should get cleaner in December which is when the seaweed disappears.
If beach time is the main reason for you to visit Kenya, you’d rather check how the beach should be before you even go there (to avoid any disappointment).
Some hotels do clean the beaches on a daily basis but many do not at all. Ever.
The beaches in Kenya that I personally visited and enjoyed are:
- Garoda beach, Watamu
- 7 islands beach, Watamu
- Galu beach
- Diani beach
Other beaches in Kenya to check:
- Kilifi
- Lamu island beaches
- Nyali beach in Mombasa
Kenya Watamu 7 islands beach
top reasons to visit Kenya Watamu sunset
top reasons to visit Kenya Watamu sunrise
5. Landscape diversity
Some areas of Kenya are located along the coast at the sea level, others inland at higher altitude which means from 0 meters a.s.l. up to 5,197 meters a.s.l. (the Mount Kenya, the highest point of Kenya).
Thanks to that, not only air temperatures vary around the country from warm to cold but also the landscapes change dramatically. You can find savanna, mangroves, mountains, forests, meadows, swamps, rainforests etc. So there’s a really big chance you’d like at least some areas in Kenya or due to its landscape or weather, or both.
That’s also what makes the national parks around Kenya so diverse, each one different from the rest, unique (landscapes, fauna and flora).
top reasons to visit Kenya Watamu mangroves
top reasons to visit Kenya nature
In my opinion, safari, beaches, landscapes, fruit & veggies and cheap and easy local transportation make Kenya worth visiting. At least these 5 are my personal top reasons to visit Kenya.
top reasons to visit Kenya safari
Would you add any other reasons to visit Kenya?
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