Maasai Mara safaris - Migration of wildebeest - Kate sos. Date of travel: Aug 2008
My name is Kate and I travelled with my family to Masai Mara last year during the migration of wildebeest. I was booked by Prihme safaris - they're on the Internet. They are wonderful people and made me see a kill by a crocodile (see picture). I recommend them to anybody who want to tour Kenya. Bravo Prihme safaris and keep it up!

Kenya is a nice place to be explored - Susan Green. Date of travel: Jun 2008
I have been to Kenya several times. I go on various cultural tours from time to time. The last tour I had to Kenya was to explore the Amboseli National Park. This tour was full of thrill and adventure. I enjoyed day time safari on this tour in which I enjoyed a wide range of wildlife viewing.

Kenya; Birth place of Safari - Mary Muchiri. Date of travel: Apr 2008
A diverse country, Kenya is a wonderful experience for both the first time visitor to Africa and those that keep coming back again and again. With over forty parks and game reserves, magnificent wildlife, gorgeous beaches and warm and friendly people, Kenya truly is a wonderful way to experience Africa. These areas noted above are a just a small sampling of all you can encounter during your Kenya safari.

Mombasa - Whitesands - Prosper Kaze. Date of travel: Mar 2008
Kenya is full of very friendly people. It is better to make accommodation and transport arrangements before hand. Taxis are un-metered and you might be at the mercy of the taxi driver, better still get the rates to your hotel before leaving the airport. We were met at the airport by representatives of the company we booked with African Voyages Ltd. I do not remember the website but very professional.

Afican Home Adventure Safaris Kenya and Tanzania - Somapala Gunadheer. Date of travel: Feb 2008
As you were not in a position to organize a tour to Kenya, I went there on my own and I am sending this information with the belief that it would benefit you and others who wish to travel to Kenya, by adding Kenya to your list of tours. I found hundreds of tour operators in Kenya and finally selected Africa Home Adventure. I am glad I chose them for several reasons: They are not a private business. They are a project of the International Youth Hostels. You can be sure that they are always aboveboard in organizing their tours. They are more or less an NGO. Mr. Albert Ouko is their Tour Advisor whom I found to be very honest, knowledgeable, courteous and helpful. In fact, he came personally to meet me at the Airport. You can rely on him confidently. Africa Home Adventure is a small company with about 5 vehicles and a team of devoted workers. Another advantage of traveling with them is that their Hostel can put up travelers on arrival and before departure at a cost of about $12 a night. Staying in a hotel would cost more than half the budget of the tour. I took a camping safari for a week to 3 game reserves in the South, West and North of the country and my airfare and safari cost me around $1300. Of course, camping is tough but I went through it without problems at the age of 75. If you want to stay in hotels, the tour could cost anything above $2000. Costs will depend on various factors like time of travel, the number traveling and the comforts desired. These details you can discuss with Mr. Ouko. I should think you would be able to organize a tour to Kenya at the same rate you charged us for China. I think our operators make the mistake of trying to take a large number in a tour to minimize costs. That does not work. One tour I tried to join wanted to take over 15 on a luxury tour for just $1350 but they could not collect the crowd. In any case, they normally do not take people in buses into the reserves. The usual vehicle is the open top van which can take up to about 10 but with baggage, 5 to 7 would be an ideal optimum. If you have more they will use more vans. I found the tour to Samburu was very arduous in travel and comfort, not commensurate to the cost and travail. Masai Mara and Nakuru is enough to give a traveler a good experience of the Kenyan Jungle. So much for the present. I trust my experience would help you to introduce Kenya to your list of tours. You can get the packages available from Mr. Ouko. Please give your feedback after travel.

I left my heart in Kenya - Cerri-Lee Powell. Date of travel: Dec 2007
I went to Kenya in December 2007 (Club Mnarani in Kilifi). The people there were extremely friendly and helpful. The country is also of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I wouldn't mind going back again.

Love to Visit Kenya - Susan Green. Date of travel: May 2007
Kenya is such a nice place to travel….am also planning to explore Africa specially some of its peculiar places like, Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Here, I can enjoy the different adventure activities like, trekking, hiking, kayaking and much more.

Kenya is incredible - Sandra West. Date of travel: Jan 2007
I had never been to Kenya before, although I had always wanted to visit. We went with The Old Line Safari Company who organised our trip to fulfill our wish list which was to see elephants and visit the farming communities and a slum area that we had been supporting through fund raising. Nothing was too much trouble. The people we met were so friendly and helpful. The national parks and wildlife are amazing. Nairobi is fascinating, so busy with people and traffic. An unforgettable holiday.

Kenya my dream come true - Karin Scott. Date of travel: Jun 2006
Jambo!!! Oh I loved it so much!!! the Kili, the Safari, Zanzibar... it was my best holiday ever!, better than Madagascar (and I thought that wasn't possible). Part of it of course is due to the people that helped me organise it. Once again thank you so much for all your help (I know I wasn't easy). I want to go back to Kenya now! Tour Operator: Kuja Safaris

Kenya my dream come true - Karin Scott. Date of travel: Jun 2006
Just fantastic from the word go. I experienced warmth, gentleness and care throughout my safari in Kenya and Tanzania. I heeded warning on "Pole Pole" and that settled my impatience. Life is just what it should be. Experience true fond memories by travelling to East Africa. Fabulous trip Tour Operator: Kuja Safaris

Medicine for the soul - Marie-Louise Olson. Date of travel: Oct 2005
Smiling Kenya – Medicine for the soul: Kenya is unique. Once, I was three years old, sitting in the backyard of our house in Nairobi, and I had just happily stuffed an insect (doodoo in Swahili) into my mouth, when my African nanny, Dora, broke the culinary delight, and demanded laughingly, that I spit it out. Of course, I was not very pleased with that, but I secretly knew that I could find another doodoo later. This was 21 years ago. One week ago, I stood at the same spot in that same garden, and looked around to see the doodoos that I might have eaten, had I been three again. I went back to Africa on a quest to see my childhood home and let me tell you, I finally understood the reason to why my heart has yearned ferociously to go back. The reason is the people and their smiles – pure medicine for the soul. Can you remember the last time a complete stranger smiled at you – for no reason at all, but simply to smile? Or, when was the last time you just smiled to someone you passed randomly on the street? If you had asked me that question two weeks ago, before I went to Kenya, I would have scratched my head with an embarrassingly blank expression. It had been a while since that had happened. Then I went to Kenya, and I was bathing in smiles. The constant flashing of white teeth nearly blinded me! But every smile feels so amazing – it truly gives your soul an inexplicable boost. Even though the majority of Kenyans are incredibly poor, they still burst into smiles, grinning from ear to ear. I do not know why this particular people have such a wonderful characteristic, but it truly makes you realise how different the Western World, and even Bangladesh, is in comparison. Why don’t we always smile too? Of course we smile, but usually only if there is a reason for it. The Kenyans smile just to smile. It has dawned on me, how important a smile can be. It can build bridges between even the most extreme cultures, and this is what I realised in Kenya. Upon landing in Nairobi, my mother and I contacted a safari tour agency that smoothly organized a safari 4x4 vehicle, with an open roof, that came with a driver and animal safari guide. We embarked on a five-hour drive – on the worst roads possibly imaginable to mankind – to an area of Kenya called the Masai Mara, where the yearly famous wildebeest migration takes place. The area is named after its feared and deeply respected local tribe, the Masai warriors. This tribe, on the brink of extinction, is the only tribe left in Kenya that still stays true to its ancient culture, and continues to live purely off the land. All of them are tall, strong and very slim – they have to be. During the circumcision ceremony, the young boys have to prove, they are worthy of being men. So they hide in the bush, until they manage to chase and kill a lion with their spears and bare hands. They are also tested in their pain threshold by being burnt on their thighs, leaving permanent scars for all to see that they really are true men. After entering the Masai Mara game reserve, we were taken to our tented camp where we were going to stay for three nights. When I say tent, I don’t mean any ordinary tent. Our tent had a full-blown bathroom with a toilet and shower inside and not to mention – real beds. But there was no lock on the tent zipper, and at nighttime we could hear the voices and exotic sounds of the Savannah engulfing our tent. We embarked on our animal-spotting safari the next day at the crack of dawn, watching the fiery African sun present itself relentlessly as the god of the earth, and so our adventurous day began. The animals on the Savannah are so beautiful, especially when you are sitting in the safety of your open-top safari vehicle. They are literally everywhere; elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, cheetas, crocs and, my favorite, lions. We were driving peacefully along, my camera going “click, click, click�— lions devouring a freshly killed water buffalo on the right and a Masai village on the left. Suddenly, it happened: the dreaded bang from underneath the vehicle followed by a swerve and…the tire was busted. Beads of sweat formed at an amazingly fast rate on my forehead, and I coughed nervously. I started imagining my options. Which is worse, being thrust in the middle of a mob of fierce warriors and speared to death, or having my throat gracefully ripped out by a lion? I had to think about that one, until I decided to take my chances with the people. Maybe, they were not so scary after all. We slowly rolled up to the village, and tall shadows started appearing from their huts, all equipped with nicely sharpened spears. There was a split second, where I thought that perhaps the lions would be a better option, but I couldn’t escape now. They came closer and closer, my heart was racing, and I turned to my mother and said in last minute desperation, “Mum, I just want you to know, that I love you.� The first Masai had now reached me, and his hand went straight for my hair. That is when drops of heaven started pouring down on me – smiles and more smiles. One thing I have learned from all my travelling is, that the only universal gesture that you can count on, is a smile. Can there even be a better understanding between two people? All you need, when all other communication methods fail, is a smile. ‘High five’ and ‘thumbs up’ do not have a chance in a Masai village of cow-dung huts on the Savannah plains of Kenya. We spent two hours with the Masai in their village. They told us how they punch a small hole in the neck of a cow and drain some blood from it. They mix this blood with milk, and that is their simple and nutritious daily meal – everyday. They do not eat vegetables or even meat. Just blood and milk. I sipped the milk they kindly offered me, but took a rain check on the blood. They even danced for us, uttering strange guttural and animal sounds, while jumping as high as they could. I told them, they should try out for the Chicago Bulls, but somehow I don’t think they understood that one. Amidst all their noises and jumping, they were also constantly playing with my hair. They were in awe seeing long, straight, light-coloured hair for the first time. I had to keep a sharp eye open after the first time a knife appeared alongside a gesture to cut it all off as a souvenir! I suppose the terrified look on my face was the funniest thing they had seen in a while, and they could not stop laughing. At least I got to keep my hair. However, I must tell you, that it is still a miracle, that I am sitting today and writing this. It is not because of what they did, but because of what they wanted. In other words – me! To give you a more accurate description, one of them pulled my mother aside during all the dancing frenzy and offered her 20 cows and 30 goats to make me his wife. My mother, thinking that he was joking, accepted the offer, and suddenly I was sold meat! He excitedly came over and started teaching me how to manage the cows, using the gap between his front teeth to make a whistling, calling noise. I was quick to show him the lack of a gap in my front teeth, but I think he was trying to tell me, that he could take care of that problem in a jiffy. Ten seconds later, I was running out of the village with my new husband in pursuit, all of his friends laughing and having a hilarious time. I jumped into the car and told my Masai husband sweetly, in the English he could comprehend, that it would take more than some dairy animals to keep me there in cow-dung huts for the rest of my life. But I assured him, that I would visit from time to time. I blew him a kiss, and we were off. Twenty-one years later, instead of a doodoo, I had found myself a Masai. Thinking back, I cannot help but laugh about those few moments of fear that I felt, before the wild African tribe invited us into their lives and homes. The first flash of teeth broke the cultural gap. They smiled, I smiled, and then nothing else mattered. Africa is beautiful. The animals are wild and the people can be as well. But, no matter what and no matter where – a smile to me is pure ecstasy. That is what makes Kenya unique. Tour Operator: Silver Bird Tours

Lindy Thomson. Date of travel: Feb 2004
The national parks in Kenya are superb for game viewing and scenery - some of the best I have visited in Africa and worth the expense. Park entrance fees are high - if you are an independent traveller there are numerous safari companies that can arrange a safari for you that include accomodation, food, entrance fees, transport and a guide, but you really have to shop around and bargain hard. I booked a 4-day safari to Masai Mara and Nakuru national parks which was outstanding. We saw so many animals, and many really close up - it was incredible.