Thirty years of journeys,
planned in Nairobi
We have been planning travel out of Nairobi since 1994, long enough to know which camp has changed hands, which month the rains actually arrive, and who answers the phone at two in the morning.
Timeline
- 1991The Holiday Bazaar name is first used in Nairobi. The company is incorporated in 1994.
- 1994Started in Nairobi, arranging flights and safaris.
- 1996Members of KATA and KATO, Kenya’s travel agent and tour operator associations.
- 2000Cathay Pacific award for support and a high standard of service, the first airline award on our wall. Repeated in 2001 and 2005.
- 2001–2008Recognition from Jet Airways (2001–02), Ethiopian Airlines (three Travel Agency Awards, 2003–2006), Emirates (2003–04) and Qatar Airways (2006–07 and 2007–08).
- 2005South African Airways: Top Performing Agent, Holidays.
- 2005–2009Part of the Uniglobe Travel network as Uniglobe Holiday Bazaar, winning Uniglobe Star Agency awards in 2006 and 2007.
- 2006Air India award for best sales performance.
- 2010Virgin Atlantic ‘Red Hot & Creative’ award.
- 2011South African Airways Top Performing Agent in Holidays.
- 2012Winner, East Africa and Middle East, South African Airways Travel & Tourism Awards.
- 2013–2016Emirates recognition three years running for outstanding sales (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16).
- 2016Turkish Airlines thanks Holiday Bazaar for its contribution. We also sponsor the Hindu Religious & Service Centre’s school-feeding project.
- 2017Named by African Leadership Magazine among the Top 50 most impactful Indian companies doing business in Africa.
- 2019Opened at Sarit Centre (12 March) and launched Cruise & Travel Planners there on 29 July: a shop given over to cruises, with Royal Caribbean and Crystal Cruises at the launch. Today it is Cruises by Holiday Bazaar.
- 2020TAWAA Best Business Icon (female).
- 2022Emirates appreciation for outstanding support in 2021–22.
- 2024Launched Wild Whispers, our destination management company for travel agents abroad who sell Kenya, with Holiday Bazaar on the ground. Joined ATTA, the African Travel & Tourism Association. Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice. IndiGo Certificate of Recognition for 2023–24. Etihad Airways recognition for partnership and outstanding support (2024–25).
- 2025Launched Cruises.co.ke, our online cruise booking portal, where clients can browse sailings and book. Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice. Emirates Gateway. Kenya Airways recognition for revenue contribution. Etihad Airways certificate and trophy for partnership and outstanding support, 2024–25.
- 2026Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice.
Nairobi is the whole point
Holiday Bazaar started in Nairobi in 1994, arranging flights and safaris for people who lived here. Three decades later the work has not changed much: get the details right so the traveller never has to think about them. Two offices do it: 14 Ring Road Parklands, and the lower ground floor of Sarit Centre. You are welcome to walk into either.
Being here is the advantage. So when we say a lodge suits a honeymoon and not a seven-year-old, that is first-hand, not a brochure line. Our promise is narrow and we keep it: bespoke journeys, planned in detail, with one person answerable for yours.
- One travel designer per journeyYou get their name, not a queue.
- A reply within one working dayEvery message, every time.
- Flights and land on one invoiceBecause we are IATA accredited.
- Two offices you can walk intoParklands and Sarit Centre.
We have slept in the camps we book.
Look closely at the emblem
- A globe
- A flight path
- Two arrows that come back round
It was drawn to say that travel resets you in mind, body and spirit, which is the whole of Rediscover Your World. It is also why we will happily send you somewhere quieter than the place you had heard of.
Three of our six values you will actually feel
One travel designer owns your journey, from the first email to the last transfer.
You get their name, not a queue.
Customer centricitySometimes the cheaper camp is the better camp, and we will say so.
Unbiased advice, which sometimes means telling you that, or that your month is the wrong month.
IntegrityConservancies, community-owned camps, and operators who employ locally.
Read the detail on our sustainability page.
Responsibility
Who vouches for us
Travel is paid for in advance, which makes accreditation more than decoration.
- Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice
- Awarded from reviews written by the people we sent.
- IATA
- Accredited to issue airline tickets, which is why flights and land arrangements come on one invoice.
- KATA
- Members of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents, the industry body that holds Kenyan agents to a code of conduct.
- KATO
- Members of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators, the body Kenya’s safari operators answer to.
- ATTA
- Members of the African Travel and Tourism Association, our route into operators across the continent.
- Magical Kenya
- Registered with the Kenya Tourism Board’s trade programme.
What the airlines have said
Twenty-five years of airline and trade awards, from the carriers whose tickets we write.
- Cathay Pacific
- Award for support and high standards of service.200020012005
- Jet Airways
- Recognition.2001–02
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Three Travel Agency Awards.2003–2006
- Emirates
- Recognition for outstanding sales three years running, appreciation for outstanding support in 2021–22, and Emirates Gateway.2003–042013–142014–152015–162021–222025
- South African Airways
- Top Performing Agent, Holidays. Winner, East Africa and Middle East, South African Airways Travel & Tourism Awards (2012).200520112012
- Air India
- Best sales performance among the airline’s Nairobi agents.2006
- Qatar Airways
- Recognition.2006–072007–08
- Uniglobe
- Uniglobe Star Agency awards.20062007
- Virgin Atlantic
- “Red Hot & Creative”, the airline’s award to its most inventive agencies.2010
- Turkish Airlines
- Thanked Holiday Bazaar for its contribution.2016
- TAWAA
- Best Business Icon, female: the trade’s award to the woman who runs this company.2020
- IndiGo
- Certificate of Recognition.2023–24
- Tripadvisor
- Travellers’ Choice.202420252026
- Etihad Airways
- Certificate and trophy for partnership and outstanding support.2024–25
- Kenya Airways
- Recognised for revenue contribution: one of the home carrier’s top-selling agencies.2025
Two rooms in Nairobi you can walk into
Head office
14 Ring Road ParklandsNairobi
- Monday – Friday
- 8am–5pm
- Saturday
- 9am–1pm
- Sunday
- Closed
Sarit Centre
Sarit Centre, Lower Ground FloorNairobi
- Monday – Friday
- 9.30am–5.30pm
- Saturday
- 10am–4pm
- Sunday
- 10am–2pm
Read the reviews travellers left, browse where we go, or see the resident rates if you live in Kenya.
Say hello
Two offices in Nairobi, one WhatsApp thread, +254 722 354 333.