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-   -   Kenya and Seychelles..Good idea??? (https://www.fodors.com/community/africa-and-the-middle-east/kenya-and-seychelles-good-idea-86550/)

Helen Sep 15th, 2000 12:19 PM

Kenya and Seychelles..Good idea???
 
Has anyone been on a combined holiday to Kenya and the Seychelles....we are thinking of going next August, one week in each, any thoughts or advice welcomed.

Regina Sep 15th, 2000 01:06 PM

Helen: <BR>My husband and I went this June to the Seychelles for two weeks and to Kenya for another two weeks. It was such a fantastic trip but I would advice you to think again about going to both places in such a limited time. There is too much to see to appreciate beauty of the Seychelles and then at least a few different regions of Kenya. Being only one week in each country you will probably regreat not having more time. I posted my report from Seychelles a few weeks ago on this forum. Read it and ask any questions. If you would like my trip report from Kenya let me know whether I can e-mil it direclty to your above address. I tried to post it on this frum also but I am having hard to time to trasfer it from my file. <BR>Also August is a high season because most of Franch people spend their mandatory five-weeks vacation during that time. It seems that all of them go to Seychelles. In June weather was great, accommodations cheaper (but still expensive) and not crowded. We are going back in June 2001 but only to Seychelles this time. I can highly recommend three places where we stayed on three different islands. What are your interests? We concentrated on snorkeling, hiking, walking, birdwatching photography, and simply relaxing. In Kenya we went on this inexpensive safari where we stayed in four different tented luxurios camps and we flew from camp to camp. I will be glad to answer your questions.

Clarissa Sep 16th, 2000 04:51 PM

Message: Regina what company did you use for your Kenyan safari? How were the tented camp accomodations? Also how far is the flight between Kenya and the Seychelles? Thanks for any information you can share.

Joanne Zonis Sep 17th, 2000 03:06 AM

Hello, <BR>I've just signed on the dottd line to go to the Seychelles over Christmas. I'm a not very rich person so I need help on cheaper places to stay and other economic advice. <BR>Thanks. <BR>Joanne Zonis <BR>American living in Germany <BR>

Regina Sep 17th, 2000 07:58 AM

Hi Clarissa: <BR>We stayed at the camps run by East African Ornithological Society. We could not book directly with them but they e-mailed ud the names of the agents in the US who work with them. However, for a few different reasons I did not use them and found one on my own after talking to many. This one whom we used knew exactly what we were looking for. His name is Steve and he is based in San Francisco. Name of the company: Baobab Safaris. It was a great fun working with him on our itinerary. I have to admit that our safari was well organized. Our tents in all four camps had en-suite bathrooms with flush toilettes and hot showers. We brought our own shampoo. Everywhere we stayed we had a large bed instead of two single which are standard in most camps. We made this request in advance. When in Delamere's camp we stayed one night in the Tree House. It was unforgettable experience. Just two of us a few miles away from a main camp. We expected an outhouse and a bucket of water to wash up. Insted we found a flush indoor toilet and hot water shower. In the morning our two guides came and cook breakfast which was serve on the balcony of the Tree House at the table covered with white crispy tablecloth. I could go on and on because it was such a fantastic trip. <BR>We made all decisions how long we wanted to stay in each camp. When we got there sometimes we shared our game drives with 1 or 2 people (one time we had three other guests) in open-sided Land Rover. Most of the time just my husband and I were in the vehicle and our driver/guide of course.We felt like being on a private safari. We were there in June and it is off season so it is possible to have more people (maximum 7 anyway) in a vehicle during different time of the year. <BR>If you want to find out more about camps we stayed in, vehicles used, and the guides check out the website of EAOS www.savannahcamps.com <BR>We are planning our next safari in 2002 with the same travel agent. He has some interesting ideas but we have a quite few of our own. <BR>The flight between Nairobi and Mahe was under three hours. If you need any more information, including a cost of our two-week safari, please ask. <BR> <BR>Joanne: <BR>I will try to post some information for you this evening. Thank you for asking.

Regina Sep 17th, 2000 05:26 PM

Hi Joanne: <BR>There are no cheap place in the Seychelles but I think it is possible to find inexpensive accommodations. I will mention here only those places where we or our friends stayed. <BR>Mahe <BR>We stayed at the Sunset Beach Hotel which is situated on a beautiful small beach. It is expensive, over US $300 per night and included only breakfast. Our friends stayed at a small place Le Pti Payot across the road from Beau Vallon, the longest beach on Mahe.I think they pay around $100. Their place consisted of a large bedroom, bathroom (I did not see it), living room with a full size refrigerator and fully equiped kitchen, large balcony with a view of the mountains and Indian Ocean. They rented a car and one day four of us drove around Mahe and stopped at the many isolated beaches. It was a highlight of our stay on Mahe. Renting a car is a good idea if you don't mind driving on the left side of the narrow roads. <BR> <BR>Praslin <BR>We stayed at Cafe des Arts. Wonderful small place with only four rooms. Three of them facing lush garden are big with high ceilings. Actually I am talking about our garden room and assuming that two others are similar. We paid about $125 which included a simple breakfast. Our friends stayed at the beach room which was a little smaller and cheaper but it looked pretty good in my opinion. Cafe has an agreement with a hotel next door where we got special prices for dinners. This place is located on an amazing beach. <BR> <BR>La Digue <BR>We and our friends stayed at the La Digue Island Lodge. For a garden chalet we paid over $300 per night but breakfast and dinner were included. Also transfer to and from a ferry and every morning they have a sailboat going to different small islands for snorkeling, walking, swimming. All we had to do was just to sign up for it. Trips lasted about three hours. One morning we went snorkeling to Sisters Island and that afternoon on Sunset cruise. There was no an extra charge. Service was great, people accommodating, diving shop and a large swimming pool with swim-up bar too. Thick, large beach towels were provided and snorkeling gear but we always bring our own gear anyway. <BR>I arranged our accommodations directly with the places where we stayed by exchaning e-mail and then faxing them our credit card information. However, Cafe des Arts does not accept credit cards and requested a bank transfer. I tried to use a travel agent in the US but it was a complete disaster and I am glad because we saved money by making our own arrangements. <BR>If you have any other questions about our activities or anything related to Seychelles I will try to answer. We are going back next year to the same places.


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