Talk to me about Kenya

tightauldgit

Got my fingers hovering over tickets to Kenya for Sept/Oct time but haven't taken the plunge yet anyone been? 

Rough plan would be to probably just hang out in Nairobi for 4/5 weeks and use that as a base to explore - would probably head down to Mombasa at some stage and at least sample the obligatory safari for a few days. 

Anyone been? 

I know I would have to sort out my visa before I go and also probably get yellow fever and malaria prep. And get my other vaccs up to date. 

Has anyone got any recommendation of in-country safari providers? I assume it would be cheaper to organise something once I'm there, though not sure if leaving it till late makes sense. I don't need luxury but I'm not a fan of camping so probably would want a basic lodge or something. It would only be me travelling solo.

Is Nairobi itself a decent place? I'm pretty experience travelling in weird and wonderful places so not too concerned about that. But other than going on safari there doesn't seem to be a lot of tourist stuff. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes I'm happy just hanging out and soaking up the local life. Safety looks like it might be an issue but I assume it's just standard protocol - don't do daft things and don't flaunt valuables.  

Also see I can get a visa which would let me enter Uganda and Rwanda too... but travel looks expensive to  hop between them. And I assume land routes are probably not recommended. 

Sept/Oct seems a recommended time to do it so I assume the weather etc will be OK and the safaris would have things worth seeing?

Voyager2002

Back in 1984 I visited Kenya and stayed for about 8 weeks altogether...

Nairobi is OK for a few days but not particularly interesting. It is just a place to relax and recharge before heading off to interesting places.

When I was there it was easy to find a decent safari company: just talk to other travellers (easy to meet in the YMCA, the YHA or at the ´Thorn Tree´cafe).

Overland transport is fine, including to Uganda and Rwanda. Probably it would be worthwhile to pay a bit more in order to see the Gorillas and the ´mountains of the moon´.

Mombasa is well worth a visit, as are other places on the coast, above all Lamu.

strawb_shortcake

Not sure if Rabies vaccines will be needed but there's been a bit of a shortage this year. My Daughter is going to Malaysia and pretty much the only one who managed to get her rabies jabs.

Martin_the_Unjust

I think I would be waiting to see if things calm down (or get worse) 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/kenya

tightauldgit

Voyager2002 said:

Back in 1984 I visited Kenya and stayed for about 8 weeks altogether...

Nairobi is OK for a few days but not particularly interesting. It is just a place to relax and recharge before heading off to interesting places.

When I was there it was easy to find a decent safari company: just talk to other travellers (easy to meet in the YMCA, the YHA or at the ´Thorn Tree´cafe).

Overland transport is fine, including to Uganda and Rwanda. Probably it would be worthwhile to pay a bit more in order to see the Gorillas and the ´mountains of the moon´.

Mombasa is well worth a visit, as are other places on the coast, above all Lamu.

I'd guess things might have changed in 19 years but that is helpful anyway. Gorillas definitely sound like my kind of thing and hadn't given that any thought. May need to do a bit more research

tightauldgit

annabanana82 said:

Not sure if Rabies vaccines will be needed but there's been a bit of a shortage this year. My Daughter is going to Malaysia and pretty much the only one who managed to get her rabies jabs.

It wasn't on the recommended list. Pretty surprised it was for Malaysia to be honest. normally they only suggest it if you are going to be near a lot of animals. 

tightauldgit

Martin_the_Unjust said:

I think I would be waiting to see if things calm down (or get worse) 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/kenya

Ach there's always something going on - wouldn't really put me off unless the govt advised against travel. 

strawb_shortcake

@tightauldgit she will be around animals whilst she is away, working with sun bears, orangutans and then trekking in the rainforest 

twopenny

Have you found a bargain? If so ask yourself why.

Does it have to be Kenya?

I went to Zambia, Botswana (fabulous for animals and water ones too) and South Africa. I now wouldn't go to Kenya unless it was a good deal and not at the moment. That site doesn't post warnings lightly. 

It is going to go on for a moth or two. You maybe outside the disturbed area though it seems to affect more than Narobi. Perhaps catch up on the news?

But maybe your trip, it's sometime in the future?

Voyager2002

Martin_the_Unjust said:

I think I would be waiting to see if things calm down (or get worse) 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/kenya

I have just read this, and it is very similar to the way things were back in 1984!

It is very easy to stay well away from demonstrations. As for random terrorist attacks, there is always a real background risk: you can read very similar words in the advice about most countries.

Having said that, the areas where the advice is "avoid all but essential travel" are places that are really dangerous, and I would only go to them if I had a VERY good reason.

saajan_12

Would not advise really any time in Nairobi. Its fairly central in the country, so if its a base in between trips then perhaps, but there's not really much in the city to actually 'soak up'. Mostly just offices, factories, residential compounds (so all you see is a tall gate) and broken roads linking those together. Just enough crime, heat and dust that most people travel by car everywhere and strolling around the city isn't really enjoyable. The economic divide and corruption leads to petty theft and protest, and everyone I know there has a story of when that turned violent. 

Now in Kenya and neighbouring Uganda / Tanzania rural areas can be amazing.. great safaris, mountain views, smaller animal sanctuaries. If you're into hiking, Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro aren't far. Coast wise, I love Mombasa with its long beaches, white sands, all inclusive resorts with options that won't break the bank. 

Nairobi might be a good place to fly into, but with the distances involved, I'd just go from one destination to another rather than using Nairobi as a base - the next place is still going to be a long way from the city.