Many Kenya safaris’ that visit national parks and reserves (as opposed to private wildlife conservancies) use safari mini-vans that have a photographic hatch. As a company, we do not offer any Kenya safaris that use 2 Wheel Drive minivans. These are only used in Nairobi for transfers. All our Kenya safaris are conducted using the 4 Wheel Drive’s.
Road-based safaris use closed 4WD’s, typically Toyota Land cruiser with a pop-top roof. For fly-in safaris, a combination of light aircraft and open-sided 4WD’s with a sun canopy, are used. Open-sided 4WD’s vehicles offer greater visibility and provide unobstructed photography opportunities in all directions.
Once you’ve arrived in a safari destination, you’ll switch from airplanes to safari vehicles for road transfers and game drives. The design and purpose of these vehicles are specifically to enhance your game viewing experience, so you’ll see features like extra-large windows and pop-up roofs. If you’re going on a specialist photographic safari, you’ll notice features like padded bars or sandbags to rest your camera on.
On self-drive or fly-in safaris to lodges or camps, you’ll enjoy game drives in specially adapted vehicles. Rugged and tough, these 4X4s are usually open-sided and seating six to eight guests on tiered bench seats to give everyone a great view. A word to the wise: the back-row bench is the bumpiest ride!
Vehicles tend to be more open unless they are used for road transfers as well as off-road game viewing. Open-sided 4×4 Land Cruisers and Land Rovers are mostly used with tiered seating. Although these safari vehicles have completely open sides, many of them have permanent sunshades (roofs) which will also help keep you dry during the odd shower.
