Last month, myself and Trevor travelled to both Kenya and South Africa for the most amazing trip! It lasted for two weeks in total, spending five nights in Kenya and the rest in/near Cape Town. There is way too much info to put it all into one blog post, so today I’m just sharing about Kenya and the 3 night safari we experienced.
The Safari
We booked a budget safari with Jocky Tours, who are based in Nairobi. The price was insanely good – only €435 each for all our accommodation, food, travel on a 4×4 jeep (with 7 other people), park entry fees and the driver. Plus, the Tripadvisor reviews were really good, so it was a no-brainer to book them. But we were fairly nervous going because communication was incredibly poor. Once we had paid our $100 deposit, all of our emails were ignored until just a few days before arrival. But thankfully everything worked out perfectly! Despite choosing the budget camping tour, our tent was large enough to hold a 4-poster bed and we even had an tiled ensuite! Food was very basic, but there was plenty of it and our driver, John, was fantastic!
The Maasai Mara
The first park we visited was the Maasai Mara national park. This was around a 4hr drive from Nairobi. The roads were excellent until the final hour. We did see some crazy overtaking of cars at times, but thankfully, our driver was very safe. After we turned off the main road, the roads stopped being tarred. I’ve never seen anything like the potholes that could only be described as craters! If you had a bad back, I would consider paying extra and fly into the Maasai Mara – there is a small airstrip for this exact purpose. The roads aren’t tarred inside the park either, but they are in pretty good shape – no craters anyway!
We stayed for two nights in a little village just outside the park entrance. Be prepared for very early mornings, but it’s totally worth it! We saw a huge number of animals – lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalos etc. and I couldn’t believe how close we were able to get to them!
The Highlight
The best moment of the whole trip was, without a doubt, the hot air balloon ride at sunrise!!! It was incredible! We booked it through Jocky Tours and we felt very safe the whole time. The views across the whole park were insane and whenever we spotted an animal, the pilot lowered the balloon so we could get a closer look.
Afterwards, we were treated to a champagne buffet breakfast, where I had one of the nicest omelets of my life! You just couldn’t beat the setting where tables, covered with beautiful tablecloths and plate settings were surrounded by the grasses of the Maasai Mara. That whole morning was a once in a lifetime experience.
Lake Nakuru
After the champagne breakfast, we were picked up by our driver John and we travelled to another park called Nakuru, a few hours away. Throughout that journey, we passed through many small villages, filled with corrugated metal houses and smiling, happy children who got so excited each time we waved out the window to them! We checked into our budget hotel, (again, better than we thought it would be) and chilled out for the rest of the evening, before visiting the park the following morning. Lake Nakuru was nowhere near as impressive as the Masai Mara, but it’s the spot to go to if you want to see a rhino. After much searching, we finally found this guy hiding out!
Nairobi
At the end of the safari, we were dropped to our hotel in Nairobi at around 4pm. With a dinner reservation at 6.30pm, we decided to nap and shower instead of going to the local indoor market. We had been pretty disappointed by the cost of all the art and crafts in Kenya. They really bump up the price for tourists – we ended up not buying much because it was so expensive! So, they are definitely missing out!
We had a recommendation from a friend to go to Carnivores for dinner in Nairobi. This is an all-you-can-eat meat restaurant and you have the chance to taste about 15 different meats. I’m actually not a big meat eater myself, so this place was more of a treat for Trevor, but I can confirm the chicken was delish and Trev loved it!
We grabbed a flight out very early the next morning, so unfortunately, we didn’t spend a lot of time in Nairobi. Everyone we met was so lovely, but I wouldn’t feel safe walking down the street. I would recommend getting an Uber everywhere, even if you’re not going far!
What to Bring:
- We brought US Dollars with us to pay for the safari and the hot air balloon ride. We paid in the office that first morning and it meant we avoided the 5% credit card fee! Check with your company, in case you get charged this too.
- Bring binoculars! We used them for both the safari and the hot air balloon ride.
- Bring imodium, dioralyte and motilium at the very least. A few people on our trip had an upset tummy at some point.
Top Tips:
- Be sure to choose a safari tour in a 4×4 jeep, not a van!
- Sit as close to the front as you can in the jeep. You get a better view and there’s less of a chance of you getting carsick on the bumpy roads.
- You can’t buy the Kenyan shilling outside of Kenya, so we bought it in the airport. Make sure to ask them for 5-, 10- and 20-shilling notes as many small shops can’t give a lot of change, plus it’s handy for tips.
- Uber is the safest way to travel in Kenya. We used it all the time and it was perfect.
- If you are flying out of Nairobi airport, get there early. We aimed to be there 4hrs before our departure time. There are about 4 different queues that you need to go through before getting to your gate!
- There are pros and cons for the different times of the year you do this safari. We visited at the start of rainy season, but it only rained once while we were there. Even though the weather can be mixed and we didn’t see the famous wildebeest migration – the park isn’t as busy, it’s cheaper and it was perfect timing to see all the baby animals! Do a bit of research yourself and decide when is best for you.
Lastly…
Food, accommodation and ubers were such good value in Kenya. For once, I’m not coming home absolutely broke (unlike our blues route trip in the US!) I’d highly recommend Kenya for a safari and if you were really stuck for time, you could even do a safari over a long weekend! Thankfully, this was only the beginning of our trip! Keep an eye out for my next blog post on South Africa!
And don’t forget to comment below with any questions!