vmcb

Does having to pay the fees as you enter a park cause much of a delay? Do some of the tour operators take care of this ahead of time and thereby avoid a delay (waiting in line, paperwork, etc???) at the entrance. Or is it even possible to do it in advance?
Thank you for any input.

NoFlyZone

If it were done in advance how would the park rangers get their "commission?"

spassvogel

Fly-In
Mostly the camp you decide on will charge for the park fees and conservation fees in advance.

land surface safari
The tour operator can charge in advance and pays the the Kenya Wildlife serve HQ in Nairobi.
Crossing/entering a private concession one has to pay on arrival.

I have never seen a "queue" at any of the entrance gates.

If you stay within a concession it's only that fee paid directly.

The fees are either 60pp/24hrs for the reserves plus another 20-40 for private concessions.

Where are you going exactly?

NoFlyZone
Since when get the park rangers any "commission"??????

sandi

SV - Ranger commissions - NoFlyZone is talking about "graft" "baksheesh" "greasy palms" - depending on from which country you come.

If booking your safari directly with lodges/camps they should include the park fee in the price of your daily rate and handle this on your behalf.

If using a tour operator they will include park fees in their rates and handle this with the powers that be.

Unless park fees haven't been paid, as on a self-drive safari and camping, then you'll be responsible. But know that not all parks take cash (usually USD), some use Smartcards... so these have to be obtained beforehand.

vmcb

spassvogel--
It's a land safari w/ 1 guide/driver throughout. Amboseli, Mt. Kenya NP, Samburu, Sweet Waters, Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara. It's a small operator who was a personal reference from an acquaintance who highly recommended him, and I trust. We wired the amount for the lodges/camps a while back w/ the balance to be paid on arrival. Now he is suggesting we finalize the balance and made reference to taking care of the park fees in advance to avoid delay, etc. I suspect it's a cash flow situation, but was wondering what complications it may cause if we insisted we wouldn't pay the balance until arrival.
Thanks for your input.

Patty

Amboseli, Mt Kenya and Lake Nakuru are Kenya Wildlife Service parks that operate on the Safari Card system (and I believe still accept the older Smartcards as well). These cards can be topped up at various locations http://www.kws.org/about/safaricard.html. Topping up can be can be done in advance of your safari at KWS headquarters in Nairobi National Park and at each park entry/exit, you're simply swiping the card and checking-in/checking out. The latter process has never taken us more than a few minutes and even topping up the card doesn't take very long (I've done it a couple of times at NNP and Aberdare HQs and there's never been a queue).

Sweetwaters is a private reserve and I believe you can pay at the gate.

Samburu and the Mara are governed by local county councils. In the Mara, where and how you pay depends on what part you're staying in. The reserve itself is divided into two sides with private conservancies in the surrounding areas. I believe it's still possible to pay at the gate on the Mara Conservancy side. Not sure about the others.

sandi

Suggest you pay the outfitter to take care of all park fees, so guide/driver has the proper paperwork and you breeze thru on entry at any of the parks/reserves. Otherwise, you have to have sufficient funds or cards for each and take the time. On average daily park fees are $60/person... assuming 10/days safari, that would be a minimum of $1,200. So ask yourself whether you want to be carrying any more cash than what is needed for tips, beverages, souvenirs, etc.

With few exceptions, outfitters need payment in full at minimum 30/days prior your arrival so the lodges/camps can be paid in full. If not and depending on relationship outfitter has with each/any of the properties, you can find that your space is given away and then you have nowhere to lay your head. Only to find the outfitter may have to put you elsewhere.

Of course, I can't attest to the outfitters' cash flow, what they have on hand to pay your account, so you'll have to decide how you want to handle this which would mean having sufficient cash to pay final amount due, daily park fees and the incidentals... maybe $5,000 ???