Kenya & Zanzibar Tips and Advice Needed

Jambo

Hi All,

Myself any my otherhalf will be going to Kenya and Zanzibar for our Honeymoon in early December . The Kenya half of the Hoilday is a six day flying safari with 2 nights in each Samburu , Rift Valley / Naivasha and the Maisi Mara and a final night stopover in Nairobi before we go to Zanzibar for a week (We dont intend to venture out in Nairobi).

We would be greatful if anybody has been to anyone has been to these destinations and if the could share any tips , dos and donts which they may have for Kenya and Zanzibar so as to hopefully make our trip a little bit easier any advice would be greatly appreciated.

solovely

Wow, you lucky things, it sounds amazing!!

I spent a month in Kenya and Tanzania earlier this year (was only supposed to be three weeks, thanks volanic ash!!). It was amazing, you will have a fabulous time.

Wow, flying safari....how fancy, although I do think you will miss out on some of the good stuff, but also a lot of the boring driving around. My advice for a safari would definitely be to join up with others that you can have a laugh with, as even though it is so completely amazing, there is a good bit of driving around in the hope of seeing something, so some good car games are worthwhile!! Masai Mara is amazing, but Ngorongoro crater in the serengeti was my favourite safari destination. Serengeti is amazing too, they all are. I've heard Rift Valley/ Naivasha is stunning.

Zanzibar is the most beuatiful place ever. You will love it. I imagine you will be staying one of the honeymoon resorts on the east coast? I have heard these can be a bit soulless and packagey, so if you can get to the north coast for a couple of days, I would definitely recommend it. The water is much better, the villages (Nungwi) are class, people lovely, food delicious....oh, bring me back!!!

As you're on honeymoon, you'll probably want to take a hot air balloon ride...they look fab from the ground. From people who did one, I heard that the experience is amazing, but you see nothing...no wildlife, so don't go with great expectations of seeing lions and elephants from the air!

Stone Town on Zanzibar is worth only spending a day there to look around the markets. Have your wits about you, bargain for everything, and make sure you go in a good mood, as the constant bargaining and trying to make a deal (for a €2 mini elephant) can get to you. Also, Zanzibar is strictly muslim, and while it's fine to go on the beaches and resorts in a bikini, in Stone Town and if you wander into any of the local villages (on the outskirts of tourist villages) you will need to cover your shoulders and knees.

Nairobi is grand!! Don't mind all the people who warn you against Nairobbery....we were so scared when we arrived first, with our money belts and pale skin, just looking to be robbed. When ash cloud hit, we ended up staying there longer than planned, and had to be adventurous, so walked around and explored loads on our own (well in groups) and it was perfectly fine. City has a great heart. Make sure you get out to the markets, to the giraffe sanctuary, to the elephant orphanage and definitely to Carnivore (unless you're a veggie). Don't bother with bombas of Kenya. Not much to see and do in city centre, but it's perfectly safe (in daylight), only worth wandering into though if you have to be there to do something specific. If you are, it's worth popping into the Thorn Tree cafe (what the Lonely PLanet travel forum is named after).

Definitely worth bringing some money for some good art while you are there. You'll be bombarded with it on Zanzibar...but a lot of it is copies, really pretty, worth getting a few pieces for €10-20, but if you are on mainland Tanzannia, try find some galleries, and you will get some amazing pieces for €200-300, a steal when you see the stuff. I can recommend some good galleries around Arusha if you're gonna be there.

Are you going to Kili base camp? Not really worth it unless you are climbing.

We also spent a week in Mombasa (once we realised ash cloud was for real and there was no point hanging around Nairobi for a week). To be honest, its nothing compared to Zanzibar, it will seem like a big let down after it.

Have a fantastic time, I'm sure it'll be amazing!

youcancallmeal

Definitely go to Carnivore in Nairobi, one of the best things you can do there probably!
Also I wouldn't just go strolling around Nairobi, take advice from hotel staff etc and ask where is safe to go and when.

Unwilling

Jambo wrote: »

Hi All,

Myself any my otherhalf will be going to Kenya and Zanzibar for our Honeymoon in early December . The Kenya half of the Hoilday is a six day flying safari with 2 nights in each Samburu , Rift Valley / Naivasha and the Maisi Mara and a final night stopover in Nairobi before we go to Zanzibar for a week (We dont intend to venture out in Nairobi).

We would be greatful if anybody has been to anyone has been to these destinations and if the could share any tips , dos and donts which they may have for Kenya and Zanzibar so as to hopefully make our trip a little bit easier any advice would be greatly appreciated.

GOOD GOLLY that sounds fantastic. Our honey moon is mid November and we've still not made a final decision on where yet!
(can you pm me with who you booked this through and the cost?)
It sounds amazing!!

tinkerbell

One thing to remember about balloon rides, is make sure your travel insurance covers ballooning. My OH and I are planning on safari trip too and I checked out some travel insurance and all the ones I checked specifically exclude ballooning.

For that reason, we're gonna give the balloon ride a miss

Jambo

Thanks all for the replies they have been very helpful so far

@ Solovely - thanks for the great post - can I ask you with regards money did you bring euros / dollars and convert there or did you just bring kenyan / tanzanian shillings ?

Also can you advise on attire for safaris ? from what we are reading we are split as to should we be wearing warm weather clothing (tshirts and shorts) or should our legs and arms be covered with light clothing ?

Finally tipping is it required for porters guides etc

@ youcancallme>al - i will def look into carnivore if we have time but unfortunatly only have a short overnight in Nairobi so it may not be an option.

@ Unwilling - We booked our honeymoon with Virgin Holidays from the UK and we sorted out our own flights to Heathrow (Virgin advised it was the cheaper way this way -I must really praise the staff at Virgin for the help and info they gave us it was 2nd to none)
- I have pm'ed you our cost but for the benifit of other users of this forum it was substantially cheaper using a UK operator , and from the savings we achieved this allowed us to go on a flying safari vs taking 3 to 5 hr camp transfers via a dirt road every 2nd day.

@ tinkerbell - thanks for the heads up , I havent sorted insurance yet but I will be asking about balooning when I do. At the moment we are not planning a baloon trip .. but i presume when we see them at our camps we will be thinking of changing our mind

solovely

with regards money did you bring euros / dollars and convert there or did you just bring kenyan / tanzanian shillings ?

We mainly took out money at ATMs, but had a stash of US dollars with us most of the time. We ran out though on Zanzibar...the only ATMs are in Stone Town, so that was a bit of a nightmare, as the hotels and restaurants charge 6-10% commission for credit cards, so make sure you have plenty. You will always fare better paying in local currency, especially in shops, restaurants, etc. on safari.

Also can you advise on attire for safaris ?

Definitely go warm...silly me only brought stuff for a sun holiday and late at night or on the early morning game drives, I was frozen!! Bring layers, and definitely a hoodie and a warm pair of tracksuit pants with shorts underneath, stuff like that, that you can strip as it gets warmer. For Zanzibar, just make sure you have a shawl for your shoulders when in the towns, and that you have skirts/ shorts that cover your knees, although this is not as strict as the shoulders.

Finally tipping is it required for porters guides etc

Yep, most guides survive almost entirely on tips, which is shocking really. I can't remember exactly what we gave, as our safari trips were included in an overland tour, so we weren't sure what the % was...but I think from every jeep of about 7 of us they would have got maybe $50-100.

-I must really praise the staff at Virgin for the help and info they gave us it was 2nd to none

You might not be praising them so much were you depending on them to get home during the ash cloud, and spent over €100 on phonecalls, got zero communication, had to go to their head office to be heard, had to queue in the airport to get home, and then wait five months for any subsistence money...but in fairness, I don't think they were any better or worse than other airlines at the time!

Have a fantastic trip!!!