Kenya info

evo1

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are looking at taking our first trip abroad together next summer when we finish Uni and are looking at Kenya as the main possibility. We both wanted something different and mix in both beach and adventure in too one holiday. I've been left with looking for the best deals etc but I'm not clued up at all on Kenya so was hoping you kind folks could help.

Where is recommended to stay? I've so far looked at Mombasa as a choice, the hotels and beaches look stunning, but would it be too far for us to then go on safari's?

What activities would you recommend? And how do I go about booking etc.

What are costs out there? We'll be all inclusive but want to eat out on occasions, plus buy local crafts etc for presents.

Any particular recommendations you can make?

Our budget will be around £2500 for our flights and accommodation but as a good moneysaver, I would love to save as much as possible to put towards spends if anyone has any suggestions on where to look on booking?

Thanks all. :money:

meece

Hi I have been to Kenya twice. Both times I stayed in Diani Beach. The first time I stayed in Pinewood hotel (Thomsons), very nice, we had a chef cook our meals in the room every night we wanted to - it was great. We started by two days in a lodge away from it all - lovely. Diani Beach is roughly an hour from Mombasa, you can fly direct to Mombasa, or get a connecting flight from Nairobi.

We had days out in Mombasa and Nairobi. Nairobi you have to be "aware" of where you are. We didnt experience any trouble, but were advised to get taxis to or from destination rather than a scenic wander.

Second time we stayed in a private villa, and also did a 2 day safari to Tsavo East. This was fab, and we spent the night under canvas inside the safari park.

If you are not used to it the beach boys can be persistant, but they are friendly.

Food and drink out is quite cheap, better than England for beer and soft drink, slightly more for wine.

Crafts- carved wood and spices, not much else really.

If you go to Diani Beach then don't book trips beforehand eg safaris, we saved £300 booking out there.(Trip Adviser- the same name for safaris comes up time and time again)

Great place fab scenery, well worth visiting.

If you know about football, even better, as the locals love it!

luci

We've also been twice, one to Bamburi Beach and once to Diani Beach. We preferred Diani Beach.

The first safari was booked in resort with the Thomson's rep and was in lodges. The second time we booked a camping safari locally and it was great. Both times to Tsavo East, West and Amboseli which aren't too far in the scheme of things and we saw plenty of wildlife, including a white rhino.

Loads of wood carvings to buy and some Haemetite jewellery, but not much else. The locals go mad for T-shirts and football shirts so take a load to bargain with and pens, etc for the kids.

evo1

Thank you for the information, appreciated.

If anyone else has anything to offer I'd be much obliged.

jakem_2

I have been to kenya, stayed at nyali beach, then spent 3 days at the Maisa Mara (spelling) one of the best holidays I have ever had, we used an independent african tour company for the safari, that way the money actually stays in the country, so much cheaper than booking with the usual tour companies.
Go into Trip Advisor, look in at the kenya forums and you will get lots of imo there, if you want to ask specific question then all you do is joinn and post your question.

MaggieBaking

4 years ago we holidayed to Kenya. We bought a 2 week holiday deal - paid for things separately. So a 2 week holiday in the Voyager Hotel Mombassa was really really lovely. We recently stayed at a 4* hotel in a different country and really felt the Voyager was far superior apart from the food which wasn't bad but was a little bland.

We paid for a tour company in Kenya (David Tours Kenya) before we went for a week long safari, including 4* accommodation for 7 nights all over the country, and a flight back to Mombassa from the Masai Mara. It was a private safari and just us two in the safari jeep.

Altogether this holiday cost us £3500 (including the all inclusive holiday), which was a bargain of the century - we booked it last minute which helped the cost and going direct to a Kenyan tour operator saved us about £4000!

Trip Adviser Forums was extremely helpful in planning. I'd consider a 3 day trip out to Tsavo East and West as it's not far. If you don't mind going further (the journey is rough) - it gets a little cheaper and less busy the further you head out from Mombassa, Tsavo is the most popular (and Masai Mara is very popular too but people fly there.) If you can go further to a lake safari you can see more birds, just as much animals and it will feel quieter.

Everyone everyone expects money money money. You've never seen anything like people descending on the jeeps, the tour guides allow people on the bus to sell to you, they are forced by the park keepers to wait before you're allowed entrance so people surround the van, flogging you wooden elephants and jewellery. I smoked so I ended up saying I didn't want to buy anything and gave out cigarettes and lighters.

Don't bother haggling, it's exhausting and they're incessant. I know I was willing to pay far more for something than it's worth in Kenya so I simply decided, in England I'd pay say £6 for this giraffe and I would make a firm £6 offer which took a few minutes before they'd accept it but it's quicker as they really can haggle for hours. At the end of the day, remember they have little and if you're haggling over a £1 it makes much less difference in your life than theirs.

Though don't be fooled, they're quite happy to sell you something for £50 if it's worth £5 and you don't quite understand Kenyan dollars. To EVERYONE you meet (and understandably so) you are an incredibly rich tourist - with most things there is a local and a tourist price. Frankly I didn't mind paying the tourist price. Give out what you can, refuse what you don't want and don't get into a conversation if you don't want to part with money. Some sellers don't mind haggling for half an hour, agree a price and then ask for a tip!

I can't recommend Trip Adviser enough in planning.

Don't forget to plan your injections, as we were late notice we couldn't get them at the GP and had to pay privately. Make sure you take your malaria medication and some anti-diarrhea medication.

VfM4meplse

Good post, MaggieBaking.

If you are going as far as Kenya, I would suggest you safari from north to south and then cross over to the Masai Mara and on to the crater. there are some fabulous lodges available. Africa is incredibly beautiful and staying on a beach surrrounded by hawkers would IMo be a wasted experience.

I'm assuming it's adventure you're after, if you want a beach it's cheap enough to go to the Canary Islands for year-round sunshine.

evo1

Thank you so much for the information, especially MaggieBaking.... superb post.

Geordieken

Some good advise and information from the folk who have posted here. I am actually from Kenya but living in the UK and i regularly go back to visit family and travel.

What I would suggest would be something like this (because that is what i would do).
Travel to Nairobi and then go to Maasai Mara for 2 nights, there are some absolutely stunning lodges there, Keekorok lodge is a personal favourite of mine. On the way back from Maasai Mara to Nairobi stop over for 1 night near Naivasha or Elementaita because you could possibly do with a nice rest after enduring the road journey from Mara. I would recommend Sunbird Lodge (Elementaita) or Olerai House based on personal experience. We got looked after really well at both the places.

Return back to Nairobi and then fly to Mombasa or take the overnight coach from Nairobi which will get you into Mombasa town for the morning. I would strongly recommend staying in south coast at the likes in the aforementioned posts of Diani Beach, Leisure Lodge, Leopard Beach. The thing about south coast is that the beaches are much better than the likes of Nyali and BAmburi and there are much fewer beach boys and therefore more enjoyment and relaxation.

I somehow beg to differ about not haggling because i haggle about everything when i am there. They will try and charge you 10 times the value of the product you want to buy like the carvings etc etc. In fact if you are in NAirobi on Tuesday or Fridays they have a Maasai Market at Westgate on Tuesday and Village MArket on Fridays and it's full of traders with almost everything that you may want to purchase. I think there might be a market on Wednesady in town but i dont know where. As soon as they name a price for something always start off your price at a tenth of the named price and then haggle your way up. If they are stubborn then just walk away and they will come for you and you would come to a suitable agreement. You will get the hang of it after a few encounters. If they dont bother following you then raise your prices at the next dealer and you will then know where to start but start low and dont be ashamed!!!! Otherwise stick to maggiebaking's advise and stick to the price that you think you would pay and then dont budge at all.

It's a great country and the scenery is beautiful (not biased at all).....

hermante

Geordieken wrote: »

I somehow beg to differ about not haggling because i haggle about everything when i am there.

I suppose the OP is in his early 20s, so may have a bit of an easier time than someone who looks older and richer. I went to Kenya on a school trip 6 years ago, and found it very easy to get prices down while our teachers did not.

I did manage to get someone to accept a pound coin for something with asking price 800 shillings.. not sure why he accepted it! Don't know how true this is, but I sometimes offered to pay in US dollars and they seemed to accept lower prices mmuch more easily than in shillings too

monkeymo

I went here on my honeymoon: https://www.pinewood-beach.com

Smashing place and less than an hour out of Mombasa, the staff were lovely. We went with Tailor Made by Thomson who also allowed us to add a safari onto the trip. They seemed quite flexible and we had an amazing holiday.

HTH