How to Get a Free Kenyan Safari

As a follow-up to our recent post “5 Great Reasons to Take an African Safari,” we bring you this offer from Kenya Airways:

A free safari with the Nairobi National Park Stopover Package!

Yes, passengers traveling on Kenya Airways flight 101 from London’s Heathrow Airport to Nairobi and transiting to one of seven other East African destinations can spend a long layover looking for wild animals rather than vegetating in Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport waiting for their onward flight.

Animals you might see include rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hippos, hyenas, buffaloes, giraffes and birds (with over 400 bird species recorded).

If you have at least six hours to kill between flights, and book the arrangements in advance, you’ll be:

* Met on arrival at the transit terminal by the “KQ Karibu” hospitality team

* Fast-tracked through immigration using your granted eVisa

* Transferred from the airport to the national park, where your fees will be paid

* Taken on a game drive and to a picnic breakfast at a vantage point (allow about four hours for the game drive and breakfast)

* Transferred back to the airport (presumably in time to make your next flight)

Passengers continuing to Kigali (Rwanda), Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Entebbe (Uganda), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Djibouti, and Bujumbura (Burundi) are eligible.

Nairobi National Park is the only one of its kind within city limits, and is about eight miles from the airport.

Kenya Airways is partnering with the Kenya Tourism Board, Kenya Wildlife Services, and Kenya Immigration to make this happen.

One thing they don’t do for you is arrange the transit visas. For that, you’ll need to go online to http://evisa.go.ke/transit-visa.html

Cost for the eVisa is US$21, but Kenya Airways will reimburse you for the cost.

So remember to book your onward flights at least six hours from your arrival, go online to get your eVisa, and sign up for the safari when booking your tickets to make sure they’ll have space reserved for you. (If you don’t do this, you might still be able to take the safari by flagging down a member of the Karibu team in the transit lounge upon arrival).

My wife and I visited Nairobi National Park years ago and enjoyed the experience, though we didn’t see all the species listed above.

But even if you don’t spot lions and rhinos, this free safari sure beats hanging out for hours at the airport, and you’ll see some of Nairobi as well.

I’ll detail more airline stopover deals around the world in a future post.