Kenya Travel Itinerary. From Nairobi Chaos to Diani Beach Bliss.

We chose to book our first night in the Kima hotel in Nairobi for two reasons: to secure our first night and to have an address to give to the taxi when leaving the airport. Required for visa application.

This hotel is located in the center of Nairobi, the rooms are clean and secure. You will find a mosquito net for the night. Breakfast in the morning is between 7 am and 10 am. Remember to contact them before your arrival with your flight information. They can schedule a taxi for you to pick you up from the airport. For your night out, they can also find you a driver who will drop you off and bring you back to the hotel.

After a quick overnight discovery of Nairobi in the taxi, we will wait until the next day for a real city tour. We were exited to discover for our first time an African City, some areas are not very safe but Nairobi remains a modern African capital. No problem changing our cash into Kenyan shilling (KSH). On the other hand, it was more complicated to find the tourism office, which we did not find. We visit this city entirely on foot, passing through the city's national museum and enjoying the African vibes of the city life. 

There is not many places for tourists to discover in the city, so it is not advisable to stay there too long, one day is enough.

Our second step was Diani Beach, nice spot no to far from Mombassa.

From Nairobi, we ask our taxi driver to drop us directly at the bus station at night. It's dark and it's not easy to understand where all these buses (more than 20) are going, especially as the commotion is at its height. The taxi driver came to help us to find the best compromise. 

We spend 9 hours in the night bus going to Mombassa, the road is very dangerous and scary.  

We arrived early in the morning in Mombassa. We took a Tuk-tuk to take the Likoni ferry that will take us from Mombassa to the beaches of Diani Beach.  Another Tuktuk and here we arrived at the Stilts Backpakers hostel (nearest town “Ukunda”).

You will arrive in a little corner of paradise. The reception is directly at the counter of the bar mounted on a stilt cabin with a lounge area where you can sit and enjoy the surroundings. Drink a beer, have something to eat, play chess or even offer yourself the right to use the musical instruments available to share your musical talent with the rest of the travelers present. A very nice place very affordable !

The beach is 200 meters from the hostel, white sand, monkeys and coconut palms, an absolutely amazing African landscape. No worries about swimming: the coral reef protects us from sharks and the water is really good. You can also enjoy the beach bar: Forty thieves Beach Bar.

The owner of the Hostel can organize or suggest you some activities. So we decided to take a shuttle to Funzi Island. Here we go ! We sailed by canoe into the mangrove forests where we can see some well hidden crocodiles. You will take a traditional lunch on a very tiny island then visit the Funzi island where lives a small and sustainable community...

Diani beach is a very touristic spot where you can meet a lot a travelers and enjoy the nice surroundings. Few days is enough. 

We decided to go on a safari, although it's expensive it's the only way to be able to see the wild Big Fives, and it's once in a lifetime... So we chose Orenje Safari, which is very serious, reasonably priced company and was recommended to us by local friends.

John will be our pilot throughout the safari, he welcomes us aboard his van with semi-opening roof and a cooler full of drinks. Let’s go! It will take us 6 hours by van to get to Tsavo West around 11am. We start the safari with lunch at Ngulia lodge. It is a lodge set in the middle of the savannah where you can eat in front of the elephants who quench their thirst in a pond. During our first afternoon we were able to see: giraffes, elephants, zebras, impalas, antelopes and zazou in the middle of a sumptuous African landscape. Much better than at the zoo for sure...!

John takes us in the evening to a small lodge where we will sleep in small huts by a lake. The place is magnificent. Kenya is one of those countries with a thousand faces, changing and moving with the hours of the day.

The same evening we took the van equipped with a projector to try and see the animals of the savannah at night. Elephants and antelopes will lend themselves to the game as well as a small wild cat. When we wake up we put on our walking shoes and set off with an armed ranger, to approach the hippos at the water's edge. We see a herd of these huge animals taking their baths in peace. An incredible sight.

We then leave for Amboseli, the natural park of Kenya, dominated by Kilimanjaro whose Uhuru peak culminating at 5,891 meters makes it the highest point in Africa. We remain speechless in the face of the vastness of nature surrounding us, the landscapes never stop changing, zebras, buffaloes, giraffes and elephants are there by hundred… In the evening we have a superb room for two with a shower waiting for us and a swimming pool in the middle of this lodge. It’s a relaxing end of the day with a view of the Kili.

The next day we left for Tsavo East. We still find many animals and are lucky enough to see Lions and their Lionesses a few meters from us. In the evening, our Tsavo lodge welcomes us in old colonial tents. The tent is huge with a giant bed ... and by opening the back canvas we are surprised to discover a private tiny swimming pool overlooking the savannah. In the evening, a gigantic buffet awaits us in the same setting.

Although being in this kind of place is exceptional and unique, Safari business has taken considerable proportions and has distorted the country. It is incomprehensible to see so many water reserves for these swimming pools when half of the country is affected by drought, and the surrounding villages lack drinking water. The same goes for these huge buffets where there is plenty of food and a lot of waste... 

You will not really find yourself alone in the savannah, other tour operators will be present with their 4x4s and will pass the message at the sight of a lion. We hope that this business will one day turn towards a more eco-responsible vision and that instead of seeing buildings emerge from the earth with unlimited buffets, we will find small lodges where we simply sleep and eat local while benefiting the surroundings communities.

Safaris are a unique experience to see wild animals in the beautiful national parks of Africa. However we would have liked them to be simpler and more sober, less luxurious ...

Tired from these 5 intense days of safari. We decided to rest for 3 days back to Diani Beach. One of our local friend suggests us to go to an orphanage on the road to Ukunda to play with the children. We went there with notebooks, pencils and soccer balls. The orphanage has been completely redone and the children are safe there. They live in groups of 12 in small houses with a mother who teaches them about everyday life and farming in the orphanage garden. We played with them all afternoon, what a great experience ! 

A little disappointed with the artificial side of our safari. We then decide to rent a van with our local friend, and organize our own road trip. Wane, the hostel manager and our friend were very helpful in this process. 

We head for Lake Naivasha to visit the Hell’s Gates nature reserve. We find refuge at fisherman's camp for the night. 

The next day we had seen with the camp manager to rent bikes. We leave directly with our bikes for the Hell's Gates reserve. This reserve is unique… We cycle there in complete freedom among giraffes, zebras and warthogs… A pure moment of happiness. We will end the afternoon in hot springs not far away.

We slept in Oloiden Camping site in a small house at 200m from the Lake Naivasha, where the density of hippos is one of the highest in Kenya. 

The next morning we take the direction of Aberdare National Park, Kenya's highest reserve. We really had a hard time finding the entrance of the reserve and especially the rangers building (it is close to the town of Mweiga) to make our authorizations and book the campsite where we will sleep.

Godfrey admits to never having adventures in this type of place driving in this type of terrain. We find ourselves very quickly in front of a herd of buffalo which blocks our way… We must advance slowly to try to cross them… they are huge and could overturn the van at any time…

In this park it is possible to meet hyenas, buffaloes, elephants and some leopards. The highest peak of this reserve rises to 4000 meters. Some passages to access the waterfalls were not accessible by van. We therefore had to continue on foot… Some palpitations in the heart during the trip, scared of being face to face with a herd of buffaloes or a leopard.

We arrive safely in front of these huge waterfalls, the spectacle is there, we can observe the highest waterfall in Kenya. To sleep we will use the tents provided by the Rangers, the night was very cold at more than 3000 meters.

We will come back to Nairobi the next morning. We just have time to eat at one last restaurant in Nairobi : The Carnivor, then here we are at the airport… It was time to say goodbye to our great friend and leave Kenya... See you soon Kenya we love you...