J1821

Hi Everyone,

I'm heading to Uganda next month, and was thinking about tacking on a trip to Kenya (7 days total with travel time) the first week in April. I've always wanted to go to Kenya to explore some of the more cultural and local sides, sights and sites. Of course, I'd like to include a day or two of safari (open to company recos).

I was wondering what you suggest as "must see's," and I can hopefully narrow down an itinerary.

I'm not sure of the budget yet, so feel free to toss any suggestions my way. Also, if you have any recommendations for airlines from Ug, it would be appreciated.

Thanks very much in advance!

trebex

April is the rainy season. You can get good deals,but it will be wet and muddy. With one or two days for a safari, you are probably limited to the Nairobi National Park. Or if you fly to Mombasa , you can go to Tsavo for one or two days.

I used Bushbuck Adventures for a budget safari, about $900 for three nights with a private guide. I highly recommend them. They can do more upscale if you are looking for that.

I really liked Nairobi. There is the usual elephant orphanage, the giraffe manor and Karen Blixen House. The National Museum is also interesting, as is the US embassy memorial museum. There were a few other places that I never made it to.

Unless you are heading to one of the nearby game parks, my advice would be to skip Mombasa.

Hope this helps.

CaliNurse

I flew Air Uganda from Entebbe to Nairobi.This was in July 21012. Good price, good quick flight, on-time. And free wifi throughout EBB !

atravelynn

"Day or two of safari" - Maybe Lake Nakuru and/or Lake Naivasha if you can spend the night at one of the two. The lakes are 2-ish hours from NBO. April is a good time for birding at these parks. Or head to Amboseli, 4-ish hours from NBO, for possible Kilimanjaro views. A one night stay is not as typical as 2 nights, but I have stayed for just one night driving to/from NBO and flying out of Kenya that night after returning to NBO from Amboseli. Worked fine and I saw the mountain, eles, and more. But that was July.



If you have a week IN KENYA including travel time, I'd suggest 2 days in Nairobi for some of the activities Trebex outlines. Here's another NBO activity suggestion: http://www.kazuri.com/pc/ Mission: To provide and sustain employment opportunities for disadvantaged members of Kenyan society.

You could even incorporate a little safari time within those 2 days by including Nairobi Nat Park, as suggested above, for a couple of hours. Nairobi Nat Park is the only Nat park inside a city limits. It is interesting to have views of wild animals with distant cityscapes in the background. Along with 2 days NBO, do 4 days of safari in another park, totaling a week's time and allowing for travel. In fact here is a link to a 3 hour tour with some photos of sought after animals like lion and rhino. No eles in Nairobi Nat Park.

http://safaritalk.net/topic/3961-a-3...park-on-aug-2/

Safari suggestions:

Drive about 5-6 hours to Maasai Mara and spend the entire safari time there.

OR

Drive about 2 hours NBO to Lake Nakuru or Naivasha for 1 night, then drive 6 ish hours on to the Mara for the remaining 3 days, and back to NBO from the Mara, which is a 5-6 hour drive.

OR

For a shot though never a guarantee at Kilimanjaro views, drive about 4.5 hours from NBO to Amboseli and spend 1-3 nights there. I have spent as little as one night there, driving to/from NBO. Most visits are 2 nights. You could combine Amboseli with one of the lakes (Nakuru or Naivasha). While it is possible to go from the lakes to Amboseli in one day, it is a long one of about 7 or more hours. Or break up the time by stopping in NBO between the lake and Amboseli and doing some of the city activities.

You can visit a Maasai village for the cultural aspects you mention near any of these parks.

Because it is the rainy season, get a 4x4 and not a minibus to reduce the odds of getting stuck, even though it adds more expense. It is possible to request 4-wheel drive minibus with pop top and not the standard 2-wheel drive minibus. I did that once and it allowed more flexibility than the 2-wheel drive, but the 4x4s could still maneuver where my vehicle could not--and that was not in the rainy month of April.

Do ask about the various birds you see because April offers maximum birding and there are species seen then that are not around other times. So maximize the opportunities April presents and bring rain gear. Good luck and have fun.

J1821

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for your input.

Right now, I'm thinking of splitting my time among Nairobi, Lake Nakuru and Mombasa. Flying between NBO and Mombasa to save some time.

Re: Lake Nakuru - Would you recommend staying in the town or one of the accommodations closer to/in the park? I was thinking of maybe doing some of the side trips in the Nakuru area, so I'm not sure if it makes sense to stay in a lodge.

Also, does anyone have experience hiring a driver vs renting their own car? In my imagination, it would be great if we could get a driver RT NBO-Lake Nakuru/around the area AND do the Park drive (hoping they know where to typically see the animals, vs us just hoping to catch some!).

sandi

It is the wet season, but rarely daily, all day or even if.
Flight from EBB to NBO is short, so depending on time of arrival can spend sometime sightseeing: Karen Blixen House, Giraffe Center (not the Manor... a hotel and way too expensive). If you adopt a baby elephant from Sheldrick, USD$50/annual, can visit your chubby at 5pm when then return from the fields and meet also with their handlers. If a later arrival, save the sightseeing till your last day depending on time of homebound flight. Actual details can be worked out once basic itinerary worked out.

I sure would rent own vehicle, rather work with an in-country outfitter who will provide vehicle and guide and arrange all meet/greets and transfers. Distances are long and roads not the best.

As you don't mention budget, but Apr being low season, even flight costs are somewhat reduced.

You can fly 8am to Amboseli (50/min), spend 2/nts here; then flight 9am-10am to Masai Mara (1.50/hrs or less), spend 3-4/nts here where you'll see all game; fly back to NBO spend day sightseeing if you didn't first day arrival. Then head home.

Even the comments above re visit via road to Nakuru where there are few if any flamingos (they've flown away), or Naivasha, the drive just to Amboseli will take almost an entire day. And drive to/from the Mara is anywhere between 5-7/hrs much of it on some nasty roads. Don't believe you wish to be watching the moon craters (lousy roads) and looking for game... can be quite frustrating especially when time is so short. Often the price between all driving vs flying all or some segments is the same rate, and can also be lower.

Thus best you contact a few in-country outfitters to put something together for you. See the www.katokenya.org site for names of outfitters (or ask for recommendations here); send individual emails to about 5-6 indicating # of people, how many days today, where you wish to visit, type of accomm (lodges/camps... and camps aren't always more costly than lodges) along with estimated budget. Than see the replies that come in and if further questions, return here for input. If these 5-6 don't work, select others.

Good luck!

MyriamC

I found Lake Nakuru to be the least interesting of the game parks we visited [Tsavo West, Amboseli, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru], although there were quite some flamingos at the time [it was 1996]. The most authentic and the most game was seen in Amboseli and Masai Mara. Really amazing! This was in the month of September, though.
We always stayed in safari lodges in the parks, as close to nature as we could.
Till today the best trip we made!

masailandsafari

Due to the conservation efforts of Mau forest which feeds rivers to most of the rift valley lakes. The water levels of lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria has gone up hence the algae food for the flamingoes has diminished and most of the birds have migrated to Lake Elmetaita and Lake Natron in Tanzania.

I would suggest two options for you;

Option 1.
2 nights Amboseli N/P with one night at the near by Olerai conservancy where you can do night game drives and interesting walking on the shadows of Mt. Kilimanjaro massiffs

Option 2.
1 night Aberdares forest N/P - Treetops hotel experiences.
1 night Lake elmetaita where there lots of birdlife at moment and lakes Nakuru & Naivasha are near