Safari Rally Kenya
Safari Rally Kenya takes place Mid Mar 2027 (confirm against the WRC calendar published in autumn) in Naivasha, Kenya. The dress code is Casual outdoor gear, strong sun protection, closed shoes and clothes you do not mind being permanently red with dust. Typical cost ranges from 400 to 3000 EUR per person.
The roughest round of the World Rally Championship, run on broken, dusty tracks around Lake Naivasha where cars break and crews finish caked in fesh-fesh. Zebra and giraffe on the stage verges are a genuine hazard rather than a marketing image. The route now concentrates entirely on the terrain around the lake and closes with the Hell's Gate power stage.
- When
- Mid Mar 2027 (confirm against the WRC calendar published in autumn)
- Where
- Naivasha, Kenya
- Dress code
- Casual outdoor gear, strong sun protection, closed shoes and clothes you do not mind being permanently red with dust
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 400 to 3000 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 26 - 30C, hot, dry and very dusty in the Rift Valley, cooler in the early mornings
- When to book
- Naivasha lodges fill for rally week - book four or more months out and arrange a 4x4 with a driver who knows the stage access tracks
- Getting there
- NBO (Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta), about 2 hr by road to Naivasha
- Where to stay
- Enashipai Resort & Spa, Naivasha, Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort, Naivasha, Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort
- Official site
- https://www.safarirally.ke/
How to attend
Roadside viewing along many stages is free - arrive very early, since access roads close well before the cars run. Official spectator zones such as Hell's Gate and the super special are ticketed cheaply through safarirally.ke, and WRC spectator tour packages handle transport and access for you. Combine it with a Naivasha or Nakuru safari, which is what most international visitors do.
Roadside viewing along the stages is free, and the handful of ticketed spectator zones are only sold locally in the weeks before the rally, so there is nothing to book this far ahead.
Insider tip
Pair it with a safari - the stages run past Hell's Gate and around Lake Naivasha, so a dawn game drive and an afternoon on a spectator bank is a realistic single day rather than a compromise.
Get inside Safari Rally Kenya
Booking matters here: naivasha lodges fill for rally week - book four or more months out and arrange a 4x4 with a driver who knows the stage access tracks. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.