Going It Alone: Why Solo Safaris in Kenya Are Having a Moment

By Safari News — Africa Calling Safaris, Partner desk, Nairobi · 19/10/2025

Updated 23 October 2026

After fifteen years of postponing an African trip, a 45-year-old IT professional from Dublin finally booked a solo safari to Kenya last October. His main worry — being the odd one out among couples and families on game drives — proved unfounded. A private vehicle arranged for most of his days in the Masai Mara meant eight hours a day with guide Joseph, a twelve-year veteran of the northern Mara, while camp dinners naturally drew solo and paired travellers into shared conversation about the day’s sightings.

Over two weeks the itinerary took in the Masai Mara, Amboseli and Samburu, producing four cheetah hunts, two river crossings, a fig-tree leopard kill, close encounters with bull elephants beneath a clear Kilimanjaro, and sightings of Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe and Somali ostrich — all species under conservation watch in northern Kenya. Data from the Nairobi-based operator running the trip shows solo clients, who make up a growing share of bookings since 2017, rate Kenya safaris 4.8 out of 5 on average, the highest of any traveller segment it tracks.

Solo travel in Kenya comes with practical trade-offs, chiefly the single-supplement charge for occupying a double tent alone, which can add 15 to 60 percent to nightly rates depending on camp category; some operators offer shoulder-season waivers or shared-vehicle options to offset this. Kenya’s January 2024 move to 90-day visa-free entry for all nationalities has simplified planning considerably, a relevant detail for travellers routing from Europe or the Caucasus via Nairobi.

For those combining a Georgian itinerary with East Africa, the takeaway is straightforward: a solo safari need not mean solitude, and the absence of group compromise often sharpens the experience rather than diminishing it.

Based on reporting by Safari News, the travel desk of Africa Calling Safaris (Nairobi), GTour’s partner for East Africa. Read the original there.

Photo: Hobbyfotowiki / Wikimedia Commons, CC0