shmoulie

canary you definitley know your hotels...
thank you much....for the mara serena you emntioned I should get a river room..andy othrr room preferences i shoudl kepe in mind for teh smaburu serena or the kilaguni, naivasha sopa etc?

Thank you enjoy your trip.

shmoulie

hello again..thank you everyone for all the input..I am currently in Kenya and will start my safari in a week...I will make sure to send a report and answer the questions that I have started this thread with...I ahve to say it's great here except for the rain...

But before that a couple more questions...which places do you recommend for buying souvenirs (nairobi, mombasa, maasai, samburu etc?) what are the things that it's mostly worth bying in kenya....any tips on how to tell the quality or anything else I should be looking for?

thank you again

Nyamera

Shmoulie, amp; I’ve found shopping in Mombasa more enjoyable than in Nairobi. I’m looking forward to your report.
Safari njema

shmoulie

I can already start my report by saying that booking the tours to daphne sheldrick, or the giraffe center in Nairobi through a travel agent is not worth it. Taking a cab costs much less (still overpriced) but much less than a travel agent would ask for this.....
the baby elephants are absolutely adorable and playful..and the giraffes a bit slimmy but nice.....the giraffe center will not require more than 15 min of your time unless of course you're inclined to feed the giraffes for a long long time....they can eat about 2 kilos of palets...

any more shopping advice??(thank you nyamera)....went to the maasai market today but the quality is of course questionnable...

shmoulie

1) did not go to lamu but Mombasa was totally not worth it , although it does feel good to lie ona beach after being on teh road for 2 weeks....be aware of the tide which may leave you craving for some water
2) The ARk was great..it's a total different perspective to teh whole safari experience
3)I did not go to Amboseli so not sure what I have missed but Tsavo was an experience, not so many animals but teh nature in both east and west was worth checking out
4)yes and no, I mena it' sweet and all and we did see lots of animals and the tents are great but at tehe nd of teh day after having seen everything else it's not worth it

eljay2

I totally agree with you Shmoulie. In 2007, after traveling many countries in Africa for an 8 month period, we did Mombassa, Malindi, Watamu, because I always wondered if I made the correct choice in 2005 when I went to Lamu and bypassed the Mombassa area. After a week in this area we flew to Lamu for a week there. Hands down my husband and I preferred Lamu. We stayed half the time in Lama Town and the other half at Shela Beach with a day trip to Manda Island. In 2005 when I first went to Lamu I went with a friend who had been in Kenya for 2 years. She too preferred Lamu over the Mombassa area. I am returning to Kenya at the end of this year and will be spending some of my time in Lamu again. The flight return from Nairobi is $317.00 and well worth it. The culture in Lamu is like no other in Kenya.