Hi

Just back from Kenya, we stayed at Kaskazi Hotel Diani Beach a German owned hotel rated by Thomson @4*. A review will appear later.

We booked our 3 day safari locally through Gibran Ltd and they were wonderful plus much cheaper than Thomson.

We , as 1st timers, did Tsavo West & East 2 nights 3 days. We stayed at TARHI Eco Camp. lunched at Voi, 2nd night at Kalaguni where we ate dinner watching a family of elephants play in the water holes.

They have many safaris including fly to Masi Mara and if you can get 6 fly to Amboselli from Diani brach then fly to Masa Marawhich would give a week of sheer bliss. Our mini safari enabled us to see the big 6 plus lots of other animals, birds and trees. It was so good (with 1st class guide Ringo) we look forward to going again.

Hi
We have been back from Kenya two weeks and had a great time, we stayed at the Sun N Sand Beach resort, can't recommend it enough. You are going at a great time as well in October, we were told Feb or March is the best time but we had five cloudy days and rain and the locals told us that August through to January is the best time, as for the safari we went to the Masi Mara by air, a fantastic time, we stayed at the David Livingstone Lodge formally the Voyager lodge, a great setting but run abysmally by a German south African the most ignorant man I have come across, any complaints just didn't seem to matter, one night we were stuck in the mud for three hours in the dark waiting for help, when we got back to the lodge at 8:30pm it was just like he didn't care.
Some thought the food okay me no way although I have to say the full English breakfast was good, we were there two nights and both nights there was no water to shower, however the jeep safaris made up for this, I would certainly do it again but at a different lodge. We booked through the beach boys and saved over £300 from what the tour rep wanted, and it was insured (Bamburi Tours), If you want a week on safari then pick the Goveners lodge that is 5*.
Cheers
Pete.

Hi Im off to kenya on a 9 day safari, and would like some info on facilities likely to be available at hotels. Im staying at places like treetops and nakuru lodge and would like to know if they offer facilities such as copying digital camera memorysticks on to cd. I cant seem to find this info on the net, and as i onlyhave a small stick am wondering if i need to buy a bigger 1 if digital facilities are not available - Im hoping to be taking some nice pics! Thats if its not raining too much!

Thank you

Having stayed at Treetops a few years back I would strongly recommend buying a decent sized memory stick. Treetops is what it says 'a house in the trees'. The facilities are fairly basic. I also stayed at the Siana springs camp on the Masai Mara, the only facilities there were cold beers, hot showers and a torch to find your tent at night!
You will no doubt be able to get your memory stick copied in one of the big city's like Nairobi but you dont want to end up missing something by not having the memeory capacity. Go buy another memory stick.

Alan

If anyone who had been previously can you help by telling me which currency is best accepted for tipping in kenya and how much for what?

Thank you

hi to you...swabs.. went to kenya a couple of years ago,booked the holiday with airtours,stayed at the southern palms hotel (brilliant) diani beach ,one of the best hotels ever stayed at,biggest pool complex i have seen in a hotel,booked the safari with the hilton group with guide in the hotel ,half price compared to the airtours rep,did a four day safari to tsavo east saw all the big six.the accomodation was in turrets (fantastic),you hear and see a different world ,it certainly was the sounds of africa,kept the room on they (the staff) looked after the room/luggage no problem,....wish i was there now.. ...go for it enjoy ....regards ..johndoe

I have seen a hotel I fancy in kenya which is situated in the south coast region. Diani Sea Resort. does anyone know if i can book a 2 or 3 day safari when i get there?

hi to you..caroline we had a holiday at the southern palms hotel at diani beach a few years ago ,and we did a four day safari ,you could at that time also do three days.,did not enquire about a two day one,if i could suggest you ask when you get there ,.we did tsavo east it was fantastic,.we book with a guide at the hotel,not the tour rep .it was half price,.......any more answers required please ask.....regards..johndoe...

thanks for reply John. what prices am i looking at for 3 or 4 day safari? also is it easy to book with the guide in the hotel?

hi again..caroline...can not remember exact price of the safari..but do know when i shopped around it was the cheapest by far.also no problem bookin with guide in hotel ..no pressure , just told them what i wanted and got fixed up.....regards....johndoe...

Can anyone give me any advice as to what vaccinations are needed to go to Kenya?

We are off on the 25th July - woohoo!

hi...sam.. you will be as well checking with your doctor/nurse..who will inform you ref any and or precautions you will need....regards..johndoe..

Thanks Johndoe

I have spoken with the receptionist at my doctors surgery and they say it could take up to one week for them to come back to me. I've read up that some vaccinations must be taken 3 months prior to travelling and we are coming up to our three month wait - hurrah!

When we went in Oct '05, we were advised to have shots for typhoid, polio, hepatitis A and tetanus, all of which we were up to date with (phew!). There seemed to be some uncertainty about yellow fever, as it depends which are of Kenya you're visiting, but we did it anyway, just to be safe. Don't forget the anti-malarials as well.

I'm a bit worried about taking Maleria pills - any advice anyone?!

My daughter & I took Larium with no ill effects (despite its bad press), but my wife couldn't take it due to her medical condition, so she took Malarone, again with no side effects.
However, the health pros try to vary what's prescribed to prevent the mozzies developing a tolerance for certain drugs over time, so the best thing to do is talk to your GP or a good pharmacist

hi all.. i agree with doonhammer,whatever you do seek medical advice ref going to kenya,.be safe rather than sorry....regards..johndoe....and enjoy your holidays..

We are going in a few weeks. The best option is definatly your doctors advice. However we were advised to be up to date with typhoid, tetanus, diptheria and polio. Hepatitis A is a good vaccine to have generally, and now the 1 injection is believed to last for at least 15 years.

We also had the yellow fever jab, but most gp's do not offer this, you will have to find a yellow fever approved centre, again your docotrs should be able to help with the location of a centre.

Imprortanlty are malarials, the bugs in Kenya carry one of the worst types of malaria, so prevention is a must. We were prescirbed doxycycline.

Information can also be found at the world health organisation website http://www.who.int/ith/en/

Thanks so much for all your info.

Can't wait for holiday now