Hi, I take some pain medication which causes me to be over heated. Im concerned about the climate in Kenya. Im travelig Aug 29th through Sept 9th. I fly into Nairobi. Can anyone suggest either Air condiioned lodging whre I could still see wildlife or a cooler region at this time of year? I had planned on visiting Saburu but just found out it is 85 to 90 degrees here durng my dates. That is way too hot for me. Most of the wildlife lodging I see in Kenya only offers fans. What type of climate should I expect in Tsavo West or Amboseli? Should I get out of Kenya & head further South?

I thought I had read several weather graphs about Kenya before booking my flight. They all generalized the temperature around 72 degrees which sounded uite do-able. I guess they may have just been talking about Nairobi?

Thank you for any help.
Lisa

Hi Lisa
1.Samburu is not the right sample 4u - it is about 900m above sea level, a semi-arid environment (=less clouds)

* Don't judge according to average temp'

2. most popular safari areas are about or above 5000 feet: Nakuru ~1600m (~ 4800ft)a.s.l. Mara 1600-1800m, Naivasha- ~1700m
Nairobi- ~1650m
& have a much greater chances to be cloudy some time during the day, preventing direct radiation & reducing the temp...

3. Nights during August are quite cool
<font color="blue"> there is absolutely no need for AC in the lodges at night </font>
nights would be - using your strange Farenheit system - at lower 60s or 50s.
during mid-day stay in the shade or better at the pool

4. Samburu is worth an effort.
take an AC car
nights at the lodge would not be hot during August

Safari njema

aby

did i say that July-Aug is the coolest period? Good choice !

Generally August/September are &quot;winter&quot; in East Africa, with mild days from high-60s to maybe 80s. Nights and mornings are cool (40s) if not downright cold (even freezing in the 30s)... it can vary. And at higher altitudes, above 5,000' will be cooler than elsewhere.

You will not find air conditioning at any of the lodges, and except for one camp in the very western Serengeti in Tanzania, definitely no a/c in tents. Most lodges/camps do have fans, but can't say for each room/tent or only some or you have to request one.

You're not going to get much cooler than these months, but weather is just that... you may hit a heat-wave, so all above goes out the window. And weather changes can impact all areas - the Mara, Tsavo, Amboseli. Further south, say going into Tanzania, actually seems most often to be hotter. Likewise, farther north in Kenya is hotter.

Suggest you have lightweight clothing, with, of course, layers for the nights and mornings.

Lisa

night-viewing lodges, e.g. Ark, TreeTops, Mt. Lodge are all situated at an elevation of 2,000-2,200m a.s.l.
(6,000'+)
temps accordingly
(unless, as Sandi noted &quot;Ngai&quot; decides to intervene)

Samburu, Shaba, Amboseli, Tsavo, Meru, Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria are at lower elevations so have warmer day and night temps (though you're traveling at the coolest time).

Mt Kenya area (including Sweetwaters), Aberdares, Laikipia, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara are all above 5000 ft and will have cooler weather. Jackets will be needed at night.

Aby, thank you for info about Samburu especially. Something about Samnuru attracts me so Id hate to write it off, but if its really going to be hot, I may have to. It is with Serena, I was plannig on just 3 days there &amp; visting a village nearby with private vehicle Serena would provide. But I didn't ask them about AC Im disabled so I may not can get to the pool during day to cool off. I am relying on the room and fans to cool me off enough.

They have game drives in the morning. How hot can it get in the morning before returning?

Thanks,
Lisa

Sandi,

Thank you for info about anzania. Id read in a travel brochure that Tarafire was below 80 during the Aug/ September time. So it is good to hear from you that it could actually be hotter as I was considering going there.

Im from Colorado in the USA so IM very comfortable with cold temps and ive at 7,000 feet altitude.

I have Tsavo ad Amboseli in my plans. The Tsavo East camp I want to go to is Satao where from 3 to 6 PM&lt; there is no fan or electricity. So I was just trying to think how to survive those 3 hours as there is no pool either but very close encounters with elephants which I love. If I were to have some bad days, I could see great wildlife very close from verandah.

Can someone send a fan in mail ahead of time. One that operates on batteries?

THank you,
Lisa

Paty, I'm confused. I just read Tsavo and Amboseli would be okay with temperature. I understand now that elevation has a lot to do with temperature.

THanks for suggesting Aberdares and Meru, etc.

Peace,
Lisa

Here are some elevation stats:

Amboseli airstrip 3755ft

Voi (town near one of the entrances to Tsavo East) 1900ft

Sweetwaters 5938ft

Aberdare Ark gate 6983ft

El Karama Ranch, Laikipia 5605ft (other Laikipia ranches may be located at different elevations)

Lake Naivasha Country Club 6406ft

Lake Nakuru Lanet gate 6174ft

Masai Mara Talek gate 5118ft

Samatian Island, Lake Baringo 3278ft

Solio reserve gate 6350ft

Samburu gate 2900ft

Meru Murera gate 2594ft

Shaba Natorbi gate 2716ft

Lisa

i love Samburu, &amp; would put it in any list of top 5 (game)parks of Africa...
early morning in august would be cool - go back to the lodges shade according to temps...

Patty has added one place i haven't mentioned - Laikipia - a very good idea. generally on the slopes of Mt. Kenya &amp; beyond, with some awesome properties
see this map:
http://www.laikipia.org/map-of-laikipia.htm

Tsavo &amp; Amboseli are rather hot, this is why i omitted them from my lists.

note that Ark &amp; Treetops i've mentioned, are in the Aberdares - You can have some beautiful day-trips in the Aberdares (getting even higher than 8,000-9,000')
&amp; you can be lifted to 10,000 feet in Mt. Kenya (Met Station) talk to me for tips about the different forest belts etc' if interested

aby

Did you choose Samburu, Amboseli &amp; Tsavo East for the elephant viewing? If so, I believe those are indeed the best areas in Kenya to see larger herds, but you'll also see them in other parks just not in as great numbers. And you'll still see plenty of wildlife elsewhere.

If you decide to keep Samburu, I don't know about the Serena, but Larsens camp has fans in all of their tents with 24 hour electricity and there's good tree shade. I prefer tents to enclosed rooms in hot climates because I can open up the flaps and get some air circulation.

If you decide to make modifications to your itinerary, you'll want get the new bookings confirmed soon as you're traveling in high season.

Good luck!