Kenya Safari Advice

[Billy the Fish]

Trip Advisor is probaly better than NSC for this sort of thing.

Trip advisor is a pile of crap. Half the reviews are made up by rival hotels, the rest are moaning by stupid people who turn up to a low/mid budget hotel and expect to stay in the Ritz and have staff wipe their arse for them.

A least on here you have a vague idea of how close to you that person's opinion is likely to be.

 

[Cold Gettin Dumb]

We got married in Mombassa, staying at Nyali beach hotel and doing a 3 day safari.
Beautiful white coral sand, miles nicer than normal sand.
We did a three day safari in tsavo east n west parks. Amazing!
We went at the end of January.
I'd advise that 3 days safari is plenty, as its a bit of a sensory overload and can end up boring.
3 days seems just right.
Have fun

 

[SeagullSongs]

I'll go into a bit more detail of what we did:

Flew in to Mombasa and got in an unairconditioned minivan to be carted off to our hotel in Kilifi (Laguna Sea Lodge, if you're interested). Here's what each room looks like. Air conditioned and simple, yet nice.

Spent the first night there before leaving for our safari.

The first day we went to our 'hotel', Crocodile Camp, seeing some red elephants on the way, before going out to Tsavo East that afternoon, where we saw gazelle, zebra, elephants and the most amazing pride of lions feasting by the river. That night we returned to the camp where we stayed in some permanent tents. There were a few big spiders in the shower but that's all part of the experience! In that tent at night was complete and utter darkness. Even after lying there for 20 minutes trying to adjust you still can't see your hand in front of your face. The next day we went to Tsavo East again, this is our mode of transport for these few days.

We saw ostriches, more zebra, some crocodiles down on the riverbed (we got pretty damn close...), we returned to the pride of lions again, saw some giraffes a little after that, buffalo, more elephants and some baboons before stopping off at a Massai camp. It seemed a little commercialised but they let us have a look in their homes and we danced a bit before being guilt-tripped into buying some jewellery.

Then we went off to Tsavo West where we didn't really see a lot apart from more buffalo and some superb scenery. I would only recommend a day at Tsavo West to be honest.
The next night was at Sagala Lodge (wildlife sanctuary and home to over 200 species of birds - literally, they just wander everywhere). The setting was nice enough but we were served some questionable 'beef' in a small portion and the rooms had cockroaches, but looking back it wasn't really a big deal. The food was nice and it's difficult to complain about portion size in such a poor part of the world. You're always given nets to put over your bed if you need them so bugs aren't an issue when you're asleep.

The next morning, we headed off through Tsavo West again towards Zebra Lodge in the Kilimanjaro-Kimana national park, having to go through an old lava field which was (apparently) home to lots of bandits, so the drivers have to carry a handgun, but we made it through without any fuss.

Kimana is a superb place, but also quite sad, as there is very little food for animals such as zebra, so be prepared to see quite a few carcasses. Lots of elephants and giraffes though as they can live off the vegetation that is there.

Zebra Lodge is very aesthetically pleasing, and at night, you can often hear hippos and elephants wandering around between the rooms.

After a good night's sleep, that morning we went out around Kimana again. Upon returning to the lodge, we went for a short walk to a pond where there were quite a few hippos and crocodiles. Hippos are quite baffling to see in their natural environment, they just seem so strange and illogical, especially when they're out of water. Out in the trucks again, we saw a large herd of elephants (over 30 strong), complete with numerous babies, some large females and a few horny young males, which prompted my dad's favourite joke from the holiday:

Q. Why does an elephant have four feet?
A. Because it would look stupid with six inches.

On the way back to the lodge, we saw Kilimanjaro. Even though it was about 60 miles away, it still dominated the skyline. The picture doesn't do it justice and it was a bit hazy that evening.

The next morning, a short flight to the Masai Mara in one of these beauties - a DHC-6 twin-otter:

And yes, that is being refuelled by hand.
The Masai Mara compared with Kimana is lush, green and fertile, and being so high above sea level (over a mile in places), there were no mosquitoes which was the biggest blessing of the entire holiday.
The next two days were spent driving around in 30 degree heat (bearing in mind it was winter there) while all of the animals were sheltering beneath trees and bushes. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun!

There were lots of giraffes, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, lions and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of wildebeest.

Buffalo Camp, where we stayed that night, was lovely. The gamekeeper had a pet zebra called Amelia, but she was made to leave shortly after we did, as some idiotic teenager provoked it and got bitten.

The day after that, we saw more animals and headed back to our hotel to spend the next week relaxing by the sea, playing table tennis, eating wonderful food and listening to Bob Marley on repeat!

Edit: Yes, there were lots of wild mouse pointers

 

[Captain Haddock]

went to Kenya in February with another couple 7-days on safari and 7 recovering on the beach in Mombasa. All agreed Best holiday we have ever had. Booked through Virgin and stayed at heritage safari in four different game parks . we had our own landrover between the four of us and we saw everything. def take a good pair of binoculars and a good camera, you won't regret it and the people are really friendly

Completely agree with this advice (though our trip was to neighbouring Tanzania).

Fantastic people, stunning scenery and 4 or 5 days would be recommendable to afford you the best chance of seeing all of the big five....and more besides! We were lucky enough to see everything we could think of apart from snakes or crocodiles that could be bothered to move!

The only regret is that we didn't stretch ourselves to a few days on Zanzibar afterwards to kick back and relax. Safaris are truly SUPERB experiences - I'm so glad I went (was late December).

As quoted above as good a camera as poss and one pair of binonculars PER PERSON are ESSENTIAL. You won't regret spending out in these, trust me.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Looking to go to Kenya for 2 weeks in October, to include approx 4 days safari as well as a beach resort.

Anyone got any good tips? How much cheaper is it to book the safari whilst im there and is this advisable?

get your vaccination injections and wear a condom !!!!
regards
DR

 

[SeagullSongs]

Completely agree with this advice (though our trip was to neighbouring Tanzania).

Fantastic people, stunning scenery and 4 or 5 days would be recommendable to afford you the best chance of seeing all of the big five....and more besides! We were lucky enough to see everything we could think of apart from snakes or crocodiles that could be bothered to move!

The only regret is that we didn't stretch ourselves to a few days on Zanzibar afterwards to kick back and relax. Safaris are truly SUPERB experiences - I'm so glad I went (was late December).

As quoted above as good a camera as poss and one pair of binonculars PER PERSON are ESSENTIAL. You won't regret spending out in these, trust me.

That's the one thing I forgot to include in my post above, splash out on a decent camera with a telephoto lens, preferably at least 400mm.

 

[saltash seagull]

I'm here now,only got here today and they even have security guards on the shopping centre entrance with metal detectors.Been travelling around Africa and felt perfectly safe but all the added security here makes you feel on tender hooks

Off on Safari tomorrow

 

[saltash seagull]

Completely agree with this advice (though our trip was to neighbouring Tanzania).

Fantastic people, stunning scenery and 4 or 5 days would be recommendable to afford you the best chance of seeing all of the big five....and more besides! We were lucky enough to see everything we could think of apart from snakes or crocodiles that could be bothered to move!

The only regret is that we didn't stretch ourselves to a few days on Zanzibar afterwards to kick back and relax. Safaris are truly SUPERB experiences - I'm so glad I went (was late December).

As quoted above as good a camera as poss and one pair of binonculars PER PERSON are ESSENTIAL. You won't regret spending out in these, trust me.

Tanzania was superb especially Zanzibar has the best beaches I have ever seen but Kenya seems very different,have been quite happy wondering around Tanzania but Nairobi has a bit of a different feel

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Tanzania was superb especially Zanzibar has the best beaches I have ever seen but Kenya seems very different,have been quite happy wondering around Tanzania but Nairobi has a bit of a different feel

Its not called Nairobbery for nothing. On the other hand hold your head up, act confident, go with the flow and you'll love it. Nairobi has an edge, that's clear, but I have to say I rather enjoyed it, made me feel alive (sounds like a line from a bad film, but maybe you know what I mean).

Just a shame the Modern Green Day and Night Club has closed down

 

[reigate]

Thanks for all the tips and stories. Looking to book my flights this week (as long as I can convince boss about time off work). Gonna try and go in September as seems beeter than October. Been getting a few qoutes for 4 days at masai mara. Depending on price may take a chance a book it once out there

 

[Canonman]

Christ, I'm just on me way to the food bank, I thought that was pretty exciting.

 

[Manx Shearwater]

I've been to Kenya several times now (including Nairobi, Mombassa, and Malindi as well as loads of safaris), and my advice would be this:

Mombassa has a large selection of great hotels but they are strung along the beach and once you're there there's not much else you can do except either stay in the hotel or take taxis everywhere. Mombassa Town is a bit of a dump and miles (and depending on which beach your hotel is on, a ferry ride) away from the hotels.

Malindi further north is smaller, the hotels and beaches just as lovely, and Malindi town is a walk away and is very pleasant with some nice eateries and bars, which gives you added variety on top of just the hotel where you will be staying (I stayed at Hemingways).

Nairobi is not recommended unless you have a local with you.

For safaris, the lodges are all pretty lovely and offer spectacular views, so you can take your pick. If you want to really splash out and do something memorable then book an early morning balloon flight with a champagne breakfast.

Whatever you do, you WILL have a great time, its lovely.

 

[reigate]

Mombassa has a large selection of great hotels but they are strung along the beach and once you're there there's not much else you can do except either stay in the hotel or take taxis everywhere. Mombassa Town is a bit of a dump and miles (and depending on which beach your hotel is on, a ferry ride) away from the hotels.

.

Are there many restaurants near the beach hotels, or is it best to go all inclusive/full board?

 

[Manx Shearwater]

It depends. Some are close by and you can visit other hotels or bars/restaurants, but some are isolated and you end up just staying in the hotel the whole time. The hotels themselves are really superb though, so this isn't necessarily an issue. I just like exploring and in Malindi everything is much closer and Malindi Town is nice, whereas Mombassa Town isn't so nice.

 

[reigate]

I've finally got this booked. Flying to Nairobi in September. Overnight there and then 4 days Masai Mara/ Lake Nakaru Safari. The flying to Mombasa and onto Malindi for beach holiday. The getting overnight train from Mombasa to Nairobi. Spending day there and then back home following morning.

Thanks for all the tips and advice