Biking Safaris in Africa: Why Cycling Is the Best Way to Experience Kenya
We've been on a lot of safaris. It's what you do after a day at work — we grab a cooler of drinks, hop in someone's vehicle, and head out for a few hours to our favorite watering hole, hoping to spot our favorite animals. But we want to tell you about a different kind of safari, one where you’re not watching Africa through a window. You’re in it.
What Is a Biking Safari?
It’s exactly what it sounds like: you explore on two wheels instead of four. No Land Cruiser. No roof hatch. Just you, a bike, a bunch of new friends, and the red dust of Kenya rising around your tires.
Condé Nast Traveler recently called biking safaris the new walking safari. They are a way to bring active travel into a safari world that, for all its rugged reputation, mostly involves being ferried around in vehicles. They called it “safari with a purpose.” We’d call it a safari that actually asks something of you. And gives you so much more back.
Why It’s Better Than a Game Drive (We Said What We Said)
There's a moment that happens on every cycling safari we facilitate, usually somewhere around day three, when the tarmac is long behind you, and the gravel is stretching out through a landscape that feels like it's been waiting for you. You crest a hill (don't worry, there's not too much climbing), and everything goes quiet except your own breathing and the wind and whatever is moving in the grass nearby. Nobody is narrating it for you. Nobody is pointing at it through a roof hatch. It's just you and the enormity of it, and you are so completely, undeniably here.
And then there's the other side of it, the small stuff that sneaks up on you. The way zebras scatter when you roll too close. The kids who appear out of nowhere to race you down a dirt road, shrieking with laughter. Stopping to fix a tire while a giraffe watches you from fifty meters away, utterly unbothered. Moving slowly enough through a village that people actually see you, and you see them. This is how real connection happens. Slowly, and at eye level.
None of these moments happen in a Land Cruiser. They happen when you're slow enough, quiet enough, and open enough to be surprised.
A writer who cycled through the Serengeti for Condé Nast Traveler described their experience on a bicycle safari as feeling “curiously alive, sometimes giddy," poised between awe and instinctual alertness. That’s not watching Africa. That’s being in it.
This Is a Safari With a Purpose
Zawadisha has been offering bicycle safaris since 2022 in partnership with the family-owned, Nairobi-based adventure travel company Savage Wilderness Safaris, and here’s what we know: the people who come on these trips don’t just come back changed by the landscape. They come back changed by the women they meet along the way.
Our 15-day Cycling Safari (every July) takes a small group of up to 12 riders from Nairobi through the Loita Hills, across the edge of the Maasai Mara, through the Tsavo Conservancy, and down to the white sand beaches of Diani. Along the way: glamping under the stars, wildlife from the saddle, and two full days with the women of Zawadisha. 100% of the proceeds from this trip go directly to support our microlending through Zawadisha.
Frequently Asked Questions: Biking Safaris in Africa
Do You Have to Be a Hardcore Cyclist?
Nope. You need to be comfortable riding at a moderate pace — about 15–18km per hour for five hours a day. We’ll do Strava training challenges together before the trip, split into pace groups on the road, and a support vehicle is there for the days you want to scale back. E-bikes are available to rent. This trip is for real humans who want to experience slow travel on two wheels, not elite athletes.
What is a biking safari?
A guided safari where cycling is the primary mode of travel — moving through wildlife areas and communities at a human pace, close to the ground and fully present. Less Land Cruiser, more alive.
What is the best biking safari in Kenya?
Zawadisha’s Cycling Safari combines a multi-terrain route through the Maasai Mara and Tsavo Conservancy and wraps up at the Indian Ocean with deep community connection through our microlending program. A safari with a purpose that’s genuinely hard to find anywhere else.
How does a biking safari compare to a walking safari?
Both offer more intimacy than a game drive. Cycling covers more ground and more terrain — from savanna to hills to coastline — while keeping the quiet and presence that make non-vehicular safaris so good. Condé Nast Traveler calls biking safaris the next evolution of the walking safari.
What is an active travel safari in Africa?
One that combines physical activity — cycling, hiking, walking — with wildlife and cultural experiences. It’s the fastest-growing segment in African adventure travel, and honestly, it’s the only kind worth doing.
Is a cycling safari good for beginners?
Yes, with the right support. Flexible pace groups, e-bike options, a support vehicle, and pre-trip training challenges (we use Strava) make this accessible to a wide range of fitness levels.
Ready to Book Your Kenya Cycling Safari?
Spots are limited to 10. Reserve yours with a $250 deposit — and consider fundraising $500 for Zawadisha to take $500 off your trip price.