資深美少女 LYJ (Senior Pretty Girl Jenny)

Kenya has always been on my travel list!  Finally, I got there this year!

I like planning my own trip, but I really needed an experienced guide to find the wildlife.  As a result, we booked a private tour.

It was a 9-day-and-6-night trip, including a 6-day-and-5-night safari tour and a whole day city tour.  My trip was full of amazement!

Visa: you can apply for eVisa online. (Click here to go to the website)

Information:

Travel date: Friday 25^th August to Saturday 2^nd September

Location: Kenya is located in Eastern Africa with the equator going through it.

Capital: Nairobi.

Temperature: Nairobi is about 9 to 23 degrees Celsius.  Regarding national parks, The Masai Mara and The Amboseli are hotter than Nairobi, but The Lake Nakuru and The Lake Naivasha are similar to Nairobi.  However, almost all places are boiling hot at noon.  You can go to The Weather Channel to check the weather forecast.

Time Zone: GMT+3

Voltage: 220V

Points: G (3-flat pins)

Tips for travelling Kenya:

There are lots of tips for travelling Kenya, especially on a game safari.

Luggage: Everyone is advised to travel with a medium sized piece of check-in luggage, and a carry-on or camera bag.  If you take light aircraft flights, you need to make sure you are within  the weight limitation.

[What I did]: My husband and I took a soft medium sized suitcase and an extra-large-sized travel bag.  I put some items that we may use frequently such as insect repellent, sun screen, sun glasses, caps, scarfs, mouth masks, snacks, …etc.  We took our own portable bags.

[The reality]: Our safari vehicle was a jeep.  The boot was not very big.  Nevertheless, we only had a medium sized suitcase in the boot.  We put our travel bag beside our seats so that we could take those items when we needed them.  It means if you are a big group you should consider using soft suitcases.

Vaccination: People have to take the vaccine for yellow fever and take quinine to prevent getting malaria.

[What I did]: I went to a travel clinic to see the doctor.  He suggested taking three vaccines - yellow fever, hepatitis A and menomune. After taking the vaccines, you can get a certificate.  Regarding quinine, the doctor advised me to take the one with least side effects.

[The reality]: Although the government did not check the certificate of vaccination, I think it is better to take vaccines and quinine.

Insect repellent: It is effective to use the insect repellent and its ingredients include deet.

[What I did]: I bought 2 bottles – one with deet 30%, another one with Picaridin 19.2%.  I wore long-sleeved shirts and trousers, so I sprayed the insect repellent on my clothing.

[The reality]: My husband and I took a bottle of insect repellent (about 75 ml) for 7 days.

Hand Sanitizer:

[What I did]: We took a bottle and hung it on our bag, respectively.

[The reality]: It was useful, especially as it is hard to find water to wash your hands.

Currency:

[What I did]: We exchanged some Shillings in Nairobi airport where the exchange rate was better than in hotels.

[The reality]: You can also pay in US dollars.

SIM card:

[What I did]: We bought a SIM card at the airport.

[The reality]: We bought the cheapest package. It was 21 USD.  Nonetheless, there was no signal in the national parks and the hotels we stayed offered free wi-fi.  If you are not addicted to the Internet, you will not need to buy SIM cards.

Private tour booking:

It is very important to choose a good travel agent since they will arrange your itinerary and take you to visit national parks.  Also, we wanted to have a private tour, so we tried to look for good local travel agents that provide private tours.

Firstly, I went to TripAdvisor and used the filter to find out some travel agents with great reviews.  Secondly, I chose 6 travel agents and asked for the quotations which included:

1. the numbers of persons

2. the departure date and duration

3. the tour types (group tour, mini group tour, or private tour)

4. the pick up and drop off places

5. the level of accommodation (luxury, standard, or economy)

6. the vehicle (Do you want to upgrade to a 4*4 jeep?)

7. the national parks (Where do you want to visit?)

8. the method of payment

Four of these six travel agents replied to me in 24 hours!  Although all these six travel agents did reply to me, I did not consider the fifth and sixth since they answered a bit late.  I compared the rest of the travel agents.  Finally, I decided to choose Natural World because:

1. their price was reasonable.

2. their policy of cancellation was better.

3. they had the best reviews.

We were given a private tour for two persons.  For the safari tour, we were going to use a 4*4 jeep to visit The Masai Mara (2 nights), The Lake Nakuru (1 night), The Lake Naivasha (1 night) and The Amboseli (1night) staying in luxury accommodation with 3 meals.  For the city tour, we were going to visit The David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, The Giraffe Centre, The Kazuri Beads Factory and The Karen Blixen Museum. The total amount for two was USD 5,280.

Not only can you choose the itinerary, but you can also choose the hotels.  I checked the hotels’ reviews in advance.  In addition, we also wanted to experience tents or camps.  We decided to stay at:

Masai Mara: The Sarova Mara Game Camp (click here to view my experience)

Website: https://www.sarovahotels.com/maracamp-masai-mara/

Lake Nakuru: The Lake Nakuru Sopa (click here to view my experience)

Website: http://www.sopalodges.com/lake-nakuru-sopa-lodge/overview

Lake Naivasha: The Lake Naivasha Country club (Although we preferred to stay at this hotel and Natural World did book this hotel for us, they did not keep a room for us.  Later they booked another hotel called Simba Lodge for us.  Simba Lodge was great! You can click here to view my experience)

Website: http://sunafricahotels.com/lake-naivasha-country-club/

Amboseli: The Oltukai Lodge (click here to view my experience)

Website: http://www.oltukailodge.com/

Regarding the last accommodation in Nairobi, it was not included in my tour.  We booked it by ourselves.

Nairobi: the Bedelle (click here to view my experience)

Website: http://www.thebedelle.com/

How to book: through Agoda

Address: 551 Runda Crescent, Marurui, Nairobi, Kenya 00400

Breakfast: inclcuded

Price: USD 180 / night

My itinerary：

Planning and Preparing (including reality)

Day 1+2: Singapore -> Nairobi -> Masai Mara

Day 3: Masai Mara

Day 4: Masai Mara -> Lake Nakuru

Day 5: Lake Nakuru -> Lake Naivasha

Day 6: Lake Naivasha -> Amboseli

Day 7: Amboseli -> Nairobi

2017 9D6N Kenya Trip - Day 8+9: Nairobi -> Singapore

Map：

A. Nairobi Airport (NBO)

(→265 KM, 4~5 hours) B. Masai Mara

(→275 KM, 5 hours) C. Lake Nakuru

(→80 KM, 1.5 house) D. Lake Naivasha

(→350 KM, 5 hours) E. Amboseli

(→250 KM, 4 hours) F. Nairobi

Actually, many roads are bumpy and there are many traffic jams in the city so you may take longer to get the destinations.

We are ready!  Let’s go!