Kenya Weather

'Kenya climate information of the weather seasons for the informed traveler including what to pack and when to visit this African paradise'

Summer: December - March
Winter: July - August

Kenya weather

Temperatures over much of Kenya are subtropical or temperate, because of the reduction of temperature with altitude, and are similar to those in California, summer in France or southern Britain rather than those elsewhere in equatorial Africa.

Only the coastal lowlands experience the constant high temperatures and humidity associated with equatorial latitudes. Even here they are less oppressive than one might expect, because of the regular daytime sea breezes and longer hours of sunshine.

It is not surprising that with such a favourable weather pattern - sunny, only moderately wet, and not too hot - and a great variety of scenery, wild life, game parks, and good communications, Kenya has many attractions for the tourist.

The variety of relief and the range of altitude in Kenya produce a considerable number of distinctive local climates and local weather too numerous to be detailed here. The country can be divided broadly into four climatic regions, each with certain features of equatorial weather climates.

There is a double rainy season between March and May and between November and December, with two intervening dry seasons.

When traveling in Kenya what to pack in you suitcase can be quite confusing, below are the basics. Generally, casual comfortable clothing is suitable throughout the year.

The most practical items to pack are: remembering that Kenya is a warm destination
» Light cotton tops and cotton trousers/shorts in summer, hat/ cap and light shoes
» Long-sleeved blouses/shirts for game drives/ boat cruises, which will protect you from mosquitoes and the sun
» Safari trousers, jeans or casual pants for evenings and cooler days. A fleece or sweater is required for those cool winter evening and mornings
» Swimwear, snorkel, mask, fins (most lodges have these for hire or included in daily rate - if you have you own you are more than welcome to bring them)
» A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen (a tanning lotion and a high factor sunscreen for your face, neck, feet and hands
» Sandals, especially to protect feet against razor clams
» Comfortable walking shoes, sandals for when swimming in the sea as razor clams can cause nasty damage to your feet
» Camera film, extra memory cards and batteries, these are difficult to find in Kenya outside of city centres and should they be available they will cost you a arm and a leg. Remember it is not recommended to process film in Outside of South Africa, rather trust your holiday photos to your photo lab