No other country on earth can offer the visitor as much to see and do.

Within the borders of a single country, you will find savannahs rich with big game, timeless cultures unchanged by the modern world, pristine beaches and coral reef, equatorial forests and mighty snow-capped mountains, searing deserts and cool highland retreats and endless opportunities for adventure, discovery, relaxation; more than you would ever expect.

Kenya became widely known as the home of the safari through  legendary personalities such as Ernest Hemingway and Karen Blixen. The classic movie, Out of Africa, which was filmed in Kenya portrayed the romance, beauty  and excitement of the country.

Kenya is well known for its spectacular natural beauty and many herds of wildlife. It is also is renowned for the annual Great Migration of millions of herbivores across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.

The Masai Mara National Reserve is considered to be Kenya's premier wilderness high spot, where you can find  the famous Big Five and much more.

  Kenya is also a birdwatcher's paradise, with over 1 000 species recorded

Air Mauritius flies once a week from Mauritius to Nairobi with trip time 4:15'

Geography

Kenya lies astride the equator on the eastern coast of Africa. It is a medium-sized country by continental standards, covering an area of about 586,600km sq.

Inland water bodies cover some 10,700km sq, the bulk of this in Lakes Victoria and Turkana.

Kenya has tremendous topographical diversity, including glaciated mountains with snow-capped peaks, the Rift Valley with its scarps and volcanoes, ancient granitic hills, flat desert landscapes and coral reefs and islets.

Climate

Generally the climate is warm and humid at the coast, cool and humid in the central highlands, and hot and dry in the north and east.

Across most of the country, rainfall is strongly seasonal, although its pattern, timing and extent vary greatly from place to place and from year to year.

Rainfall peaks in most areas are in November and April

Summer: September - April  34˚C/194˚F   20˚C/68˚F

Winter: May - August  25˚C/77˚F   11˚C/52˚F

Rainfall: April - May (long rains),  November - Mid December (short rains)

The equator divides Kenya and conditions, especially in summer, tend to be hot and humid.

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Language: Kiswahili is the lingua franca while English is the official language. In addition, most tribes have their own language.

The people of Kenya are comprised of 42 ethnic groups or tribes, each with its own unique values, skills, language and cultural practices

Culture

Kenya has a culture born of countless sources. This region has been crossed by the paths of a long and complex history.

From the prehistoric records of early man to the present day, Kenya has been a land of unending change, contrasts and diversity.

Passport and Visa requirements

A visa is required prior to entry into Kenya. A single Entry Visa (. No Visa is required for Persons aged 16 years and below.

Visitors must be in possession of a passport that is valid for at least six months from the date of travel and should have two blank pages available in their passport.

A visa can be obtained on entry, however we recommended one be obtained before arrival to avoid airport lengthy queues

Visitors who intend travelling to Kenya’s neighbouring countries and back are advised to apply for multiple entry visas.

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Health requirements

• No yellow fever vaccination certificates are required of all travellers from the East African Community Partner States, Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, North and South Africa.

• Only valid yellow fever vaccination certificates are required of all travellers over one year old, arriving from yellow fever infected countries mainly in central and West Africa, South and Central America South East Asia, India, Nepal Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.Vaccination for international travellers are obtainable from all international air and sea ports, city’s and major municipal councils

Yellow fever certificate is valid 10 days after vaccination.

Recommended Vaccinations for all travelers: Hepatitis A Typhoid,  Polio, Hepatitis B, Rabies, All travellers should be up-to-date on tetanus-diphtheria, measles-mumps-rubella, and varicella immunizations

Airport Departure Tax

International Airport departure tax equivalent to US$ 30 per person is payable on departure from the International airports. A local airport service charge is also payable on departure for domestic flights.

This varies from country to country, please check with us on the prevailing amounts payable prior to your flight departure

Currency

The currency is the Kenyan Shilling, where KES1 is made up of 100 cents.US Dollars and Sterling Pounds are most acceptable and will cause the least delay.

Banking hours at most commercial banks are Monday to Friday from 09h00 to 15h00 and on the first and last Saturday of the month.

ATMs are found throughout Kenya’s major city centres and shopping complexes

Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club and American Express are accepted by most restaurants, shops and hotels.

Proof of identity may be requested, so be sure to carry a passport or some form of photo identification at all times.

Electricty

The electricity supply in Kenya is 220/240 v 50hz. Plugs are 3 point square. If you are planning to bring a video camera charger or any other electrical advice, please bring voltage and plug adaptors where appropriate

Driving

Visitors to Kenya can drive using an international drivers license. Driving is on the left hand side and drivers should give way to traffic on their right. Distances are measured and signposted in kilometres and petrol / diesel sold by the litre

What to see

Kenya has over 12 national wildlife parks, including Amboseli, the Masai Mara and the Great Rift Valley.

It is home to endangered species, marine parks and the Great Migration - the greatest

In Nairobi

Karen Bixen museum

For anyone with an interest in Karen Blixen's book Out of Africa or the subsequent film, this museum is a must see.  The author lived on a coffee estate in a house known as Bogani from 1914 until 1931. This area has now developed into the modern suburb of Karen on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Giraffe Centre

The AFEW (African Fund for Endangered Wildlife) Giraffe Centre is located in Langata, just outside Nairobi.

The centre has been ostensibly set up as a breeding centre for the endangered Rothschild giraffe, but now operates conservation/education programs for Kenyan school children.

Great Wilderness

Maasai Mara

South Western Kenya is the heartland of the Maasai community. At the heart of these lands is the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, widely considered to be Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve

Amboseli

Amboseli is renowned for its elephant populations and large herds, including some impressively tusked bulls drawn to a series of large, lush swamplands. Amboseli is a land of giants.

Samburu, Shaba & Buffalo Springs

The entire Samburu region is a place of breathtaking and magical beauty, a place where the vision of a deep red sunset silhouetting the doum palms brings the perfect end to a day on safari.

Meru

Meru is an explorer’s paradise. The least visited of Kenya’s larger parks and reserves, this remote region is a lush green Eden.

South Coast

The coastline south of Mombasa is a tropical paradise of palm fringed white sand beaches, where the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean meet beautiful coral reefs.

Coastal Kenya

Malindi and Watamu

The small town of Malindi is at the centre of a strip of idyllic tropical beaches offering the visitor a range of world class resorts and quiet relaxing hideaways.

North Coast

The coastline North of Mombasa is a world of enthralling history and natural beauty.

The coast is lined with pristine palm fringed beaches, and the calm inviting waters of the Indian Ocean.

Lamu Island

Lamu is a place like no other, a peaceful tropical island where life is lived at it’s own relaxed rhythm, but a place whose history is as mysterious and fascinating as the winding streets of it’s medieval stone town.

The Tana delta is a place of spectacular panoramic views, encompassing a scrubland teeming with game and birds and the endless rolling sands of deserted beaches.

Here you can experience the best of both worlds, spending the morning exploring a river filled with hippo and crocodile by canoe, and swimming in the blue waters of the Indian Ocean in the afternoon

Great Lakes

Lake Nakuru  

Nakuru provides the visitor with one of Kenya’s best known images. Thousands of flamingo, joined into a massive flock, fringe the shores of this soda lake.

A pulsing pink swathe of life that carpets the water, the flamingo are a breathtaking sight.

Lake Bogoria  

The soda waters of the lake Bogoria attract massive flocks of Flamingo, and the lake is often carpeted with pink.

The lake is still volcanically active, and the Western shore is lined with spouting geysers, spurting steam and bubbling geothermal pools.

Lake Naivasha  

Lake Naivasha is a beautiful freshwater lake, fringed by thick papyrus.

The lake is almost 13kms across, but its waters are shallow with an average depth of five metres.  

Lake Victoria  

The lake is the heart of the African continent, the source of its mightiest river, the Nile.

This massive lake, commonly known as Nyanza, is twice the size of Wales, and forms a natural boundary between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.  

Lake Baringo  

Baringo is at the threshold of Northern Kenya, and its freshwater's are an oasis in the arid plains.

This is the traditional home of the Njemps tribe, a unique people who are the only pastoral, cattle herding, tribe who also fish.

Lake Elementeita  

Elementeita is a small soda lake, nestled in the eastern sweep of the Great Rift Valley. The Lake is surrounded by spectacular country that played an important role in the early colonial history of Kenya.  

Lake Magadi  

Deep in the heart of Southern Kenya’s Maasai land is the unearthly Lake Magadi. This 104 sq km soda lake is completely surrounded by vast natural salt flats.  

Lake Turkana   

At Kenya’s far Northern frontier lies one of the natural wonders of the world.

Lake Turkana is a massive inland sea, the largest desert lake in the world. This single body of water is over 250 kilometres long- longer than the entire Kenyan coast.