Africa - Kenya in November 2004

I will be traveling to Kenya Nov 2004 with a group for a voluntary mission. At the end, there are plans for a 5 day safari, going to Masai Mara and also to some place about 2-3 hrs by car from Nairobi (I forget the name of the lodge right now)

Flying on KLM via Amsterdam. (CO from US)

Does anyone have any general suggestions for travel in Kenya? Like places definitely not to miss? Good restaurants? Any other special activities besides safari?

Malaria prophylaxis info? (most definitely) Any special precautions/vaccines?

thanks!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by worldtraveler19:

I will be traveling to Kenya Nov 2004 with a group for a voluntary mission. At the end, there are plans for a 5 day safari, going to Masai Mara and also to some place about 2-3 hrs by car from Nairobi (I forget the name of the lodge right now)

Flying on KLM via Amsterdam. (CO from US)

Does anyone have any general suggestions for travel in Kenya? Like places definitely not to miss? Good restaurants? Any other special activities besides safari?

Malaria prophylaxis info? (most definitely) Any special precautions/vaccines?

thanks!</font>
It has been a long time that I have been in Kenya, but may be that will help:

-Take all vaccinations you can get!
-I never had a problem, but Nairobi is a little dangerous
-The people are really nice and friendly
-The food at the hotels was very good, we tried some restaurants in Mombasa and Nairobi ... nothing to write home
-You may go to Tanzania, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro crater are not too far
-We went by train from Nairobi to Mombasa. That was very interesting. We had our own compartment, but was still cheap. I am not sure, if this train is still running.

Kenya is a wonderful country - Have a nice time

I took the same routing through Amsterdam - insanely long flight.

Get all your shots, and make sure you get your yellow card, if you don't have one. I took care of it at the JFK travel medicine office - they clearly knew what they were doing.

Some people have really bad mental reactions to Lariam (for malaria). I didn't but I've seen it happen. Not a huge deal, but just be prepared for it.

The restaurant *everybody* goes to is the Carnivore. Real touristy, but you can eat zebra and stuff. I recommend it.

I've not been lucky enough to spend any real time out of Nairobi but as for Nairobi itself...

Beware that in November you may well still be in the short rains (ends before then but I got wet a couple of times November 02). Nairobi has its fair share of corruption and the fine dining that often goes with it. Some recommendations:

Ostrich Fajitas at Tamambos
A curry at the Indian place right next door to Tamambos (I forget the name of the place)
Absolutely anything at Alan Bobbies French Bistro.

In terms of safety, if driving (anywhere), remember that a more scandiavian style of driving is required (breaks? what are they?) to avoid car jackings. To put things into prespective, I've not seen a single one of these but I've met plenty of people who have.

In terms of health, the worst I've had in Nairobi is a dose of the s***s which I got over without drug. Nairobi is not malarious but if its the last place you go to you'll need to continue taking the malarials anyway.

thanks everyone for your comments...

travel time is still several months away, so I'm sure I may post questions later on.

For malaria, take Malarone. It is the newest, most effective, easiest drug with very few side effects (and no nasty ones like Larium). Unfortunately it is the most expensive, but worth it.

Nairobi (known as Nairoberry) is a dangerous hole. If your time is limited, spend as little time there as possible.
Things not to miss:

Lamu (flights there are cheap, the beach at Shela is fantastic and the city fascinating). You can see it all in a day, but you may want to stay there much longer.

Watamu is probably the nicest and quietest beach on the coast. It is close to the Gedi ruins, a lost city in the jungle in minature, and the Arabuku Sokoke forest.

Lake Turkana (the Jade Sea) in the north.

The Mara is always worth a visit, but is very busy (lots of minibuses full of package tourists chasing a single lion or leopard). Some of the other parks are much quieter (Tsavo for instance). That said, you will see all the big game in a short space of time in the Mara, whereas in the other parks it may take longer.


[This message has been edited by The Disco Volante (edited Feb 23, 2004).]

[This message has been edited by The Disco Volante (edited Feb 23, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by The Disco Volante:
For malaria, take Malarone. It is the newest, most effective, easiest drug with very few side effects (and no nasty ones like Larium). Unfortunately it is the most expensive, but worth it.

</font>

Ditto this advice. My practice nurse almost forced it down my throat last time I needed anti-malarials, despite me not minding Larium (very few problems with me). Very short before and after, which means its less likely you'll forget.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Jenbel:
Very short before and after, which means its less likely you'll forget. </font>

True, but mefloquine is weekly whereas Malarone is taken daily. Nonetheless, I take Malarone http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif At the pharmacists I checked in Nairobi, no cheaper theer than here.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by The Disco Volante:
Nairobi (known as Nairoberry) is a dangerous hole. If your time is limited, spend as little time there as possible.
Things not to miss:

</font>

It's really not that bad and certainly safer than Lagos or even Jo'burg. To put things into perspective, in Nairobi you risk being mugged (bad enough) whilst in other plces in Africa they also like to erase witnesses (permenantly).

If you want the genuine "never to be repeated" real ****hole experience try Luanda. If feeling suicidal, Mogadishu also comes highly recommended.

When in Nairobi I would recommend eating at
Carnivore. A true dining experience and quite rasonably priced also. Just remember to pull the flag out and surrender!

Internaut

Never been to Mogadishu, but I hear it exceptionally dangerous. I agree that it is in a different league to Nairobi, but would still say that Nairobi has little to offer the tourist in comparison to the rest of Kenya. IMHO http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

True there is not enough in Nairobi to keep the tourist going for more than a day or so but it is a good start. It's a reasonably safe introduction to urban Africa and the tourist who doesn't plan ahead can get some good safari details through any of the more reputable hotels.

From the business traveller's perspective, it offers wild boozy nights of drinking, gambling and general debauchery. I'd just like to add that I never got round to the general debauchery http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/biggrin.gif

At the Modern Green Day and Night Bar? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by The Disco Volante:
At the Modern Green Day and Night Bar? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif</font>

Nah, Gypsies in Westlands right next door to the Four Aces Casino or (a lot further out) Outside Inn in (I think the place is called) Karen. Karaoke night at the Intercontinental also comes recommended.

On my last visit I took a step back and had the odd quiet night in as the lifestyle of some of the ex pats I worked with was positively unhealthy.

Worldtravler19 gave me this report on his trip:

Regarding prep, do a yellow fever shot (and get a certificate,...or stamp it in your passport), also need some malaria prophylaxis...since I did not do a safari and Nairobi is over 5000 ft high, I figured Doxycycline 100 mg for 30 days was OK. You need a visa, you can only get it 3 months before departure...embassy is in Wash DC you can mail your passport....whole thing costs about $70 or so, once you throw in postage and everything. Cheapest way to fly was to get to Amsterdam (about $500 rntp from Dallas) and then get a mileage ticket on Continental (50K miles).... otherwise, a US-Nairobi rntp is anywhere from $1500-2000 and ALL flights need to go thru Europe, either London, Paris, Amsterdam or Zurich. Amsterdam was convenient, easy to get in/out of...and good connections.

Ditto the comments on Carnivore. Even the vegetarians in our group enjoyed the atmosphere, and the meat is delicious.

The Fairview Hotel in Nairobi is a wonderful property. It's family run, but in a very professional manner up to European standards; service is outstanding and done with a very caring and human touch. One wonderful plus of staying at the Fairview is access to their carefully-screened group of taxi drivers who will happily take you on trips lasting from 30 seconds to 12 hours (I would highly recommend NOT driving in Kenya if you're not from there).

Make no mistake: Nairobi is dangerous, especially at night. More rural areas can be dangerous even in the daytime as highway bandits roam at will. There are good reasons why nobody stops at traffic lights and why there are armed guards in the doorways of the more upscale restaurants.

All that said, I'd return to Kenya in an instant if given the opportunity. We had a wonderful time and were treated like royalty. East Africa is a beautiful part of the world and everyone should go there at some point.