A number of my family comes from and still live in Kenya. So I’ve been there a few times most recently spending 6 weeks there. If you’ve never been to Kenya or any other African country then I’d recommend the usual thing of doing a safari, but be warned, what people NEVER tell you is that doing a safari is one of the most draining and tiring things that you can do on a holiday.
You have a timetable that suits the habits of the animals, thus you wake up before sunrise to have some tea and coffee before setting out just as the sun rises to see the animals during the day. At this time of day it’s usually freezing cold so dress warmly. Then back after 1 to 2 hours for breakfast and then after a while the same thing again coming back for lunch.
As you might have gathered I’ve done more then one safari and have to say the punishing schedule most touring comanies put on it guerlling. You litterally need a holiday to rcover from a safari, if you are going please do not make your entire stay in kenya one long Safari, I’d recommend no more then 5 days at the very maximum on a safari and best place is the Masai Mara. On thie last trip we went to the larger reserves and only saw 2 cats for the whole trip. Plenty of Monkeys, Elephants, etc but I guess most people want to see the big cats most of all.
The Ark is a nice place to go for a single night to see Animals at night but when I went it was also totally unheated and thus so cold we couldn’t even sleep and even my camera battery went flat because of the cold. Always buy extra film, it costs a fortune if you need to buy it atthe lodge and for night time photography you’ll need something like 800 ISO film.
Mombasa is a nice place but the worst aspects are the continual pestering you get on the beach from sellers. I high season it’s better as there are more western tourists, so the seller target them much more then the Indian ones. However prices of good also goes up in high season, what you pay 100 Shillings for in high season such as a key chain with you name on it could be gotten for as little as 40 shillings in low season.
I have to say the pestering to buy things from sellers ruins your stay on the beach. Hotels don’t allow such sellers to come into their complex and often have huge walls to help keep them (and the tide) out.
The city centre of Mombasa is a real mess with broken streets and so many matatus (privately owned minibuses that ferry people from one destination to another along set routes). Lots of places to eat street food, bt I often was put off eating in places that serve chicken for example and have the live chickens in full view awaiting their fate!!
Nairobi is tidier then Mombassa but not perfect by a long way. There are so many nice places to eat here in the big hotels. Most local places will serve soggy chips and sauages (I’d only recommend Farmer’s Choice sauages).
There are lots of cinemas for western and Indian movies.
The best places for dance and music have to be Carnivore and a place called Pavement. The best bar in the capital has to be Hooters - it has TV screen everywhere and huge food portions and yummy deserts.
A lot has been said about crime in Kenya - I didn’t witness any whilst I was there, and have to say a lot of crime seems to be agaist people living there by gangs that gather information from servants working in the homes of other people. Thus knowing when the house is empty or only the owner’s wife will be there.
Also if you planto drive in Nairobi - I’d recommend you don’t!! Out of 4 lanes they’ll drive in 6 lanes.
Nairobi in some ways reminds me of central London but is much more accessable a capital - Almost Everyone speaks english.
kenya is certainly worth a visit, however check on any power problems before you go, 2 years ago we went during a period of drought which meant no water to create electricity with so many nights there was no electricity to power appliances and also no water pumping through the pipes. Although large hotels usually have big power generators, but some of these are the size of several houses put together and can create a lot of noise.