Kenya Visa & Vaccine Requirements: Everything You Need to Know

Paperwork is the single most common reason people postpone a safari they are otherwise ready to book. It should not be. Kenya's entry process is one of the most straightforward in Africa, and everything below can be handled from your couch in an afternoon.

Kenya's Electronic Travel Authorization

Kenya retired its old visa-on-arrival system and now uses an eTA — an electronic travel authorization every visitor must hold before boarding.

• Cost: $51 USD per traveler, including infants
• Where to apply: etakenya.go.ke, the only official portal
• Processing time: usually 48-72 hours, occasionally same day
• Validity: single entry, 90 days from arrival
• Apply window: no earlier than three months before travel, no later than 72 hours before departure

You will upload a passport bio-page scan, a recent passport-style photo, your return ticket, and your first night's accommodation. Approval arrives by email as a PDF. Print it and keep a copy on your phone.

Beware of third-party sites charging $80-150 for the same application. They are legal but unnecessary.

Passport Requirements

Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date and have two blank facing pages. If yours expires in early 2027 and you travel in 2026, renew now — airlines enforce this at check-in and will deny boarding.

Required Vaccination

Yellow fever is the only vaccine legally required, and only if you are arriving from or transiting more than 12 hours through a country with yellow fever transmission. Because many travelers route through such airports, we advise every client to get it.

• Get vaccinated at least 10 days before departure, when the certificate becomes valid
• The certificate is now valid for life; no boosters needed
• Carry the yellow card with your passport, not in checked luggage

Recommended Vaccinations

Your travel clinic will typically discuss hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis, polio booster, and — for longer or rural stays — rabies and meningitis. Book your clinic appointment six to eight weeks before departure so multi-dose series have time to complete.

Malaria Prevention

The Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and the coast are all malaria zones. Nairobi's altitude makes it low risk, but you will not stay there long.

• Your doctor will prescribe a prophylactic, most commonly atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine
• Start dosing before arrival and continue after you leave, exactly as prescribed
• Pack a repellent containing 20-30% DEET or 20% picaridin
• Treat clothing with permethrin before packing
• Sleep under the net your camp provides, even when the room looks sealed

Travel Insurance

Kenya does not legally require it, but we do. Safari regions are remote, and medical evacuation from a Mara airstrip is expensive without coverage. Buy a policy that includes emergency medical evacuation, trip cancellation, and coverage for the activities you plan.

A Realistic Timeline

• 8 weeks out: travel clinic appointment, start any multi-dose vaccines
• 6 weeks out: purchase travel insurance
• 4 weeks out: confirm passport validity, submit the eTA
• 2 weeks out: print eTA, insurance card, and yellow card; photograph all three
• 1 week out: begin malaria prophylaxis if your regimen starts pre-arrival

What We Handle for You

Travelers booked on our departure receive a document checklist with personal deadlines, eTA walkthrough support, a vaccination summary to bring to your clinic, and a final pre-departure review of every document before you fly.

Get the Full Kenya Travel Guide

Our complete Kenya Safari 2026 Travel Guide goes deeper than any blog post can: the full 9-day day-by-day itinerary, lodge and camp descriptions, what's included and excluded, the payment schedule, and answers to the questions travelers ask most before their first safari.

Prefer to talk it through? Book a free 20-minute consultation with a certified safari specialist, or call 301-744-9554.