The Detailed Guide to Kenya Safari Vehicle - Types, Cost & More

The Toyota Land Cruiser is the most luxurious African safari vehicle that you can use. It adds to your Kenya Safari Costs from USD 250 to USD 350 per day, including fuel and everything else.

You can get a lower land cruiser safari price in Kenya, but usually, these would be older vehicles during the off-peak seasons. Also, the car might be cheap upfront, but the driver will use tricks to save fuel consumption. Hence the lower rate.

For instance, if he is sent a notification on the UHF radio call that the pride of the lion has been spotted far from where you are, he might ignore it at your loss. I know you get the drift here; cheap is expensive.

Besides being a 4×4, which is crucial for challenging road conditions that you might encounter in some parks, the land cruiser is more comfortable than the safari van and safari trucks.

It can also access parts of the park that can not be accessed by other vehicles. I mean, the Toyota land cruiser is the ultimate rough road vehicle. The safari land cruisers are, however, very different from the typical land cruisers on the road.

This is because they are customized explicitly for game viewing, and not all are identical since different tour companies or camps have modified them differently. Changing the safari vehicles in Kenya, especially the land cruiser, is a great balancing act.

The car must be safe for road travel, such as between Nairobi and Masai Mara, and be open enough to facilitate game viewing and great photography. If the land cruiser is used for road travel from Nairobi, say to the Masai Mara, it will have glass windows as a required safety measure. That will be a Closed-Side 4WD Safari Land Cruiser.

Open-Side 4WD Safari Land Cruiser or Jeeps are only used for game drives inside the park. These vehicles are fully opened on the side and aren’t used to transfer guests from destination to destination.

Professional photographers use other types of land cruisers (see the photo below). These come with two or three seats to allow the photographer to carry their equipment efficiently and for effective photo shots.

The typical 8-seater has two seats at the front, two in the middle, three at the back, and one next to the driver/guide.  The safari land cruiser also has a pop-up roof to maximize game viewing and photography.

If the windows do not come off, they will be large and slide open to allow for good views. Most 4×4 safari land cruisers are customized to ensure a window seat for six passengers.

There is good space at the back for more oversized luggage and small day backpacks under the seats. The seat next to the drive is also used for carrying more luggage.

The safari vehicle is also fitted with a UHF radio call, an important feature that allows the guide to communicate with other drivers during the game drive. This enables them to share information on the spots with interesting happenings like a hunt.

Most 4 x 4 safari land cruiser vehicles have ports for charging phones/ electronics, portal Wi-Fi, a music system, and a cooler box to preserve drinks. Some may have custom shock absorbers to minimize the well-known ‘African massage” (bumpy ride on bad roads).

Most land cruisers have two fuel tanks to ensure continuity during game drives and two spare tires to mitigate incidences of getting a flat tire that may happen in the bush.