Planning a safari. Updated November 2026. 7 min read.
There is exactly one nonstop flight between the United States and Kenya: Kenya Airways from New York JFK to Nairobi. Everyone else connects once, and the connection you choose decides whether you land at 11 in the morning ready for a game drive, or at midnight ready for bed.
The short answer: if you live on the East Coast, or can reach JFK on the same ticket, the nonstop is usually the best choice for a trip of a week or less. From Texas, the Southeast and the West Coast, a one-stop through Doha, Dubai or Abu Dhabi is often just as quick door to door and sometimes cheaper. From Washington, Ethiopian through Addis Ababa is often the lowest fare. For budgeting, plan on about $1,200 per person in economy, and more in July to September and December. Fares and schedules change every week, so treat every number here as a guide and check the airline before you buy.
The one nonstop, and who it suits
Kenya Airways flies JFK to Nairobi every day on a Boeing 787-8. The flight takes about 15 hours eastbound and 14 hours on the way home. For most of its life the schedule has left JFK shortly after midnight and landed in Nairobi late the next morning, with the return leaving Nairobi late at night and reaching New York around dawn. Times shift with the seasons, so check the current timetable on kenya-airways.com.
You do not have to live in New York to use it. Delta sells the Kenya Airways flight on one ticket from more than 50 North American cities through JFK, and since March 5, 2026 Kenya Airways has also sold through tickets with JetBlue from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and San Juan. One ticket matters: if your first flight is late and you miss the connection, the airline has to rebook you. On two separate tickets, that missed connection is your problem and your cost.
The nonstop suits East Coast travelers, anyone short on time, and anyone who wants to be on safari on the day they land. A late-morning arrival leaves time to clear immigration, cross the city to Wilson Airport and take an afternoon light aircraft to the Mara, so the first day of a seven-day trip ends on a game drive instead of in a hotel. When we plan this, we book a later afternoon flight to leave a buffer in case the long-haul flight runs late.
Every route at a glance
| Route | Hubs | U.S. cities it suits | Typical total time | Typical peak economy fare | Usual arrival in Nairobi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya Airways nonstop | New York JFK | New York area, plus 50+ cities on Delta or JetBlue connections | About 15 hours from JFK | About $1,200 to $1,800 | Late morning |
| Gulf one-stop | Doha (Qatar Airways), Dubai (Emirates), Abu Dhabi (Etihad) | Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco | Roughly 20 to 25 hours with a 2 to 4 hour connection | About $900 to $1,400 | Usually evening |
| Europe one-stop | Amsterdam (KLM), Paris (Air France), London (British Airways), Frankfurt and Zurich (Lufthansa, Swiss), Istanbul (Turkish), Brussels (United with Brussels Airlines) | Most large U.S. airports; United via Brussels from Newark, Dulles and Chicago | Roughly 18 to 24 hours | About $900 to $1,400 | Usually late evening |
| Via Africa | Addis Ababa (Ethiopian) | Washington Dulles | Roughly 17 to 20 hours | Often the lowest fare from Washington | Depends on the day's schedule |
Two route notes worth knowing. United's Brussels connection to Nairobi runs only a few days a week, so it suits flexible dates rather than fixed ones. And Ethiopian suspended its Atlanta route on February 1, 2026, which leaves Washington Dulles as its only U.S. gateway for now.
How to choose: arrival time beats price on a short trip
On a seven-day trip, a morning arrival is worth more than a $200 saving. Land at 11am on the nonstop and you can be watching lions by 5pm. Land at 9pm after a Gulf or Europe connection and you sleep in Nairobi, start the next morning, and lose most of a safari day. That night is not wasted, because Nairobi is a good place to recover, but it has to come out of the itinerary somewhere. On a ten or fourteen-day trip, the arrival time hardly matters, and a first night in Nairobi is what we recommend anyway for jet lag.
- East Coast, a week or less: the nonstop, with a same-day connection to the Mara if you are keen
- Texas, the Southeast and the West Coast: a Gulf one-stop, then a Nairobi hotel night on arrival
- Washington: compare Ethiopian via Addis Ababa with the Gulf and Europe options; it is often cheapest
- The Midwest: a European one-stop, or Delta or JetBlue to JFK for the nonstop; compare total journey time, not just the fare
- Adding Zanzibar or Tanzania: price an open-jaw ticket, into Nairobi and home from Zanzibar or Kilimanjaro, rather than flying back to Nairobi
- Starting on the coast: most long-haul routes land in Nairobi; connect on a short domestic flight to Mombasa
Layovers that look cheap
The cheapest fares often hide a long or overnight connection in Doha, Dubai or Amsterdam. A 2 to 4 hour connection is the sweet spot: long enough for a late inbound flight, short enough to keep going. A 12-hour overnight layover can turn a bargain into an expensive airport hotel and a lost day. If a fare looks far below the rest, open the itinerary and check the connection time and the arrival hour before you buy.
When to book, and what fares do by month
| When you fly | What fares usually do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Late January to March | Among the lowest of the year | After the holidays; also dry season and good value in Kenya |
| April | Mixed; Easter week can jump | Long rains in Kenya; Easter family travel |
| May to early June | Usually low | Before U.S. summer travel begins |
| Mid-June to September | Highest of the year | U.S. summer holidays meet the migration season |
| October and November | Often softer than summer | Migration winds down; short rains from November |
| December | High, especially around Christmas | Kenyans abroad fly home for Jamhuri Day on December 12 and the holidays |
Fare sites sometimes show New York round trips from about $400 in the quietest weeks, but those are rare. Realistic peak-season economy is $1,200 to $1,800 on the nonstop and $900 to $1,400 on a one-stop. For July to September and December, book four to six months ahead or earlier, and set a fare alert as soon as you have dates.
The things that bite
- The eTA: every traveler, infants included, needs a Kenya Electronic Travel Authorisation from the official portal, etakenya.go.ke. It costs about $30 single entry at the time of writing and can take up to 72 hours. Airlines check it at check-in in the U.S., so apply as soon as your flights are booked
- The new inbound health insurance: since October 6, 2026, visitors must buy Kenya's travel health insurance through eCitizen, about $44 plus fees, or about $52 at checkout, per traveler. At the time of writing, foreign policies were reportedly not accepted in its place. It does not replace your own travel insurance with medical evacuation cover
- The 15 kg safari bag: long-haul economy fares usually include one or two 23 kg checked bags, but light aircraft to the parks take 15 kg in a soft bag, hand luggage included. Pack to the smaller number, or leave a bag at your Nairobi hotel
- Separate tickets: buy the whole journey on one ticket where you can, so a delay on the first leg is the airline's problem
- Your passport: valid for at least six months from arrival with a blank page; check it before you book
For what happens after you land, from immigration to the drive into Nairobi, see our guide to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. For the light aircraft that take you on to the parks, see Wilson Airport and the safari flight luggage rules. The short overview of flights, arrival and moving around Kenya is on Getting here.
Flights from your city
Each of the city pages below covers the airlines, typical fares and our routing advice for that airport. In brief: New York has the nonstop. Washington has Ethiopian via Addis Ababa as well as the Gulf and Europe options. Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles all have Gulf carriers flying to their hubs, then on to Nairobi. Boston, Minneapolis, Charlotte and Philadelphia connect once through Europe or the Gulf, or reach JFK for the nonstop.
We book flights for travelers who want us to, or plan the ground arrangements around flights you already hold. Either way, send us your flight numbers and we will set the airport pickup, the hotel and the first safari day to match the hour you land.
