Park fees are the least negotiable line in a safari costing. The gate charges what the gazette says, per person, per entry, and a costing that gets them wrong is wrong by exactly that amount, out of your margin.
This guide covers the two fee systems a Kenya safari is priced around in 2026: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for the national parks, and Narok County for the Maasai Mara. Every figure comes from the official source that sets it:
- Legal Notice No. 160 of 2025, the Wildlife Conservation and Management (Conservation Fees) regulations, on Kenya Law
- the KWS conservation fee sheet (PDF) and the KWS press release of 29 September 2025 (PDF)
- the Narok County Finance Act, 2023 (PDF), the latest enacted Finance Act published on narok.go.ke
What are the KWS park fees?
Legal Notice No. 160 of 2025 commenced on 22 September 2025, and KWS’s press release said the new fees would take effect on 1 October 2025. The parks are grouped into categories, each with its own rate. For the parks most safaris touch:
| Park | Non-resident adult | Non-resident child / student | East African citizen adult | Kenya resident adult | African citizen adult |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amboseli and Lake Nakuru (premium) | USD 90 | USD 45 | KES 1,500 | KES 2,025 | USD 50 |
| Nairobi National Park | USD 80 | USD 40 | KES 1,000 | KES 1,350 | USD 40 |
| Tsavo East and Tsavo West | USD 80 | USD 40 | KES 1,000 | KES 1,350 | USD 40 |
The KWS fee sheet defines:
- a child as a person from five years but below 18
- an African citizen as a national of an African country outside East Africa
- a daily fee as valid for a single access, for a period not exceeding 24 hours
It also exempts a child aged five years and younger. The two definitions overlap at age five, so treat five-year-olds as exempt only once KWS confirms it for your booking.
The categories mean two parks on the same itinerary can carry different fees. An Amboseli–Tsavo circuit crosses from the USD 90 band to the USD 80 band.
Are the new KWS fees in force?
Check before you price. On 2 October 2025 the Nation reported that the High Court had suspended the new KWS fees after a challenge over public consultation, pending a mention in November 2025. KWS still publishes the fee sheet above, uploaded in May 2026, but we have not found an official statement of how the case ended. Confirm the rate on KWSPay, the eCitizen payment service KWS links from its website, before you fix a price. Then state on the quote which rates you used.
What does the Maasai Mara cost?
The Mara is not a KWS park. Its fees are set by Narok County in the First Schedule of the Narok County Finance Act, 2023. The 2023/2024 rates the Act approved are:
| Category | High season (1 Jul – 31 Dec) | Low season (1 Jan – 30 Jun) |
|---|---|---|
| Non-resident adult | USD 200 | USD 100 |
| Non-resident child (9–17) or student | USD 50 | USD 50 |
| Kenyan citizen adult | KES 3,000 | KES 1,500 |
| Kenyan citizen child (9–17) or student | KES 500 | KES 300 |
| Child 8 and under | Free | Free |
The Act defines the park entry fee as an amount charged for entry into the Maasai Mara from 6.00am to 6.00pm, whatever the time of entry. So a Mara day is a daytime ticket, not a rolling 24 hours like a KWS fee. Count one fee for each day your clients enter.
How do you build park fees into a costing?
The arithmetic is fixed: travellers × days in the park × the rate for their category and dates.
Two non-resident adults, three days in the Mara in August: 2 × 3 × USD 200 = USD 1,200, before a single bed-night is costed. The same trip in May is 2 × 3 × USD 100 = USD 600.
That swing is why each park needs its own row in your tour costing sheet, rather than being folded into a lump. The quantity is travellers × days, the unit cost is the gazetted rate, and the line total recomputes when the group size or dates change.
Fees are set in USD for non-residents and in KES for citizens and residents, so a mixed group carries two fee lines. If your quote is in one currency, state the exchange rate you applied, the same discipline a clear quote applies everywhere else.
What should your quote say about park fees?
Three lines protect you:
- An inclusions line naming the parks and days covered. For example, “includes Maasai Mara fees, 2 adults × 3 days”. Fee coverage is then explicit, not implied.
- The rate basis. Name the source and season you priced at. The Mara rate doubles on 1 July, so a quote that straddles that date prices each day at its own band. For KWS parks, say that you priced at the Legal Notice No. 160 of 2025 rates.
- The category assumption. Non-resident, resident or citizen. The same itinerary can differ by hundreds of dollars per traveller depending on who is travelling.
Get those three onto the quote and the gate becomes what it should be: a formality your costing already paid for.
Selling Kenya with Tanzania? The Ngorongoro crater fee is charged per vehicle, not per person. See Ngorongoro Crater fees for tour operators.