Introducing Kenya
Travel Alert: The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office recommends against all non-essential travel to some areas, please check with your relevant national government.
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For a country of its size, Kenya sure packs a lot in: mountains and deserts, colourful tribal culture, beaches and coral reefs, and some of Africa’s best wildlife attractions. In fact, to say Kenya is Africa in microcosm would not be stretching the point. There are a million different reasons to come here, and picking just one is nigh impossible. Stunning landscapes set the scene, from Kakamega’s rainforests to Indian Ocean beaches by way of Mt Kenya National Park; the rolling grasslands of the Masai Mara to searing deserts on the shores of the Jade Sea; with The Rift Valley, home to Hell's Gate National Park, cleaving a massive gash through it all.
Wildlife safaris have been the mainstay of Kenya’s tourism for decades, and several Kenyan parks, like Tsavo National Park, are among the best places in Africa to see lions, elephants, leopards and the famous wildebeest migration. Kenya rates as one of the top five bird-watching destinations in the world; other activities for outdoor enthusiasts include trekking the glacial ridges of Mt Kenya, ballooning over the Masai Mara, snorkelling at the Marine National Park in Malindi on the Indian Ocean coast, and much more besides. Kenya's biggest city, Nairobi, with the baddest of reputations, is sidestepped by many visitors, but, in fairness, has an interesting urban appeal with its cafes and nightlife.
The people, too, represent a wide cross-section of everything that is contemporary Africa, and everyday life brings together traditional tribes and urban families; ancient customs and modern sensibilities. Swapping the latest political gossip with the switched-on locals is just one more small pleasure that comes with the culture.
Ready to go?
These tours & activities make it easy:
- Experience the best of East Africa in 17 days
- Take an enchanting break on idyllic Lamu beach
- Explore the Masai Mara with a guide
Last updated: Sep 18, 2012
Tips & articles
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Top 10 destinations for twitchers
27 June 2012
If you don’t know what a ‘twitcher’ is then this list is probably not for you – then again, perhaps...
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Eight steps to a Kenyan adventure
9 May 2012
Take a trip on Kenya’s pioneering railway line and discover the stories behind the first safari expeditions with Lonely Planet...
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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lamu diani beach mombasa planning
by VolcanoChaser 21 September 2012
Hi people, Seeking some advice on how to divide up my time on the Kenyan Coast. I fly into Mombasa and have 7 days total on the coast.…
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Buy a car
by worldtraveller8 21 September 2012
Hi All, I am planning to travel 5 months from Ethiopia to South Africa in November. I thought it may be easy to buy a car in Kenya. Is…
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RE: Kenya-
by wigstan 21 September 2012
For a first trip to Kenya I strongly recommend finding a travel operator to assist. Kenya isn't the easiest of places to get around and…
Hotels & Hostels
Top cities in Kenya
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Fisherman's Camp
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Kenya
Things to do
- All things to do (366)
- Activities (27)
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- Restaurants (94)
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- Tours (76)
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Our Top Picks For Kenya
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1 Amboseli National Park
Elephants and Kilimanjaro, Kenya's most famous picture-postcard views
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2 Lake Nakuru National Park
Fluorescent flamingo-fringed shores, ragged cliffs and more wildlife than you can shake a stick at
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3 Hell's Gate National Park
Gorgeous gorges, steaming hills and the chance to mingle with the wonderful wildlife on foot
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4 Tsavo National Park
Kenya's largest national park, famed for its wild, wild wildlife
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5 Mombasa Old Town
The coast's focal port, with an earthy old quarter and the mighty Fort Jesus
Fast Facts about Kenya
- Time
GMT/UTC +3
- Population
31.6 million
- Borders
- Seasons
Rainy (March to May, October to December), dry (January to February, June to September)
- Telephone
Country code 254; international code 00
- Budget
About US$75 a day, although one quality safari could blow it sky-high.
- Capital
- Visa
All visitors need a visa
- Languages
Kiswahili, English, tribal languages
- Area
583, 000 sq km
- Money
Kenya Shilling (KSh);US$1 = KSh70
Our favourite Kenya Blogs (beta)
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The Great Adventure Quest
Blog: Canada's Adventure Couple - 13 September 2012
It’s that time again. Time to start planning our next great adventure with Expedia.com. We’ve popped over to Thailand to shoot a campaign for Expedia Find Yours , we’ve Run with the Bulls in Spain last month to find our Viva and we’re heading to Switzerland next month to cover the Adventure Travel World Summit with [...]Read the original post The Great Adventure Quest on Adventure Travel blog for Couples | The Planet D.
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Technology in the Field: the Future of Microfinance
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 12 September 2012
Varick Schwartz | KF18 | Kenya When I applied to the Kiva Fellows program, I knew I’d be spending some time ‘in the field’, but I didn’t know I’d be out there transmitting Kiva profile information from a mobile tablet to Google’s Open Data Kit (ODK) platform! After writing an automated survey interface and configuring [...]
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Credit Scoring in Kenya: observations and comparisons from the field
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 30 August 2012
Varick Schwartz | KF18 | Kenya My Fellowship workplan has been focused a little more on the technical side of things, with more application programming and appraisal analysis than borrower verifications. From such projects, and also because I come from a banking, lending and risk management background, it seems fitting to at least put forth [...]
