Essential Travel Tips on Kenyan Safaris

Travel visas can be sourced at the airport by visitors arriving from Europe, America and Asia. The visa is obtained at a fee whether on arrival or beforehand. Commonwealth country citizens except for those with exceptions do not require visas to enter Kenya. It is advisable to confirm about the travel visas from the Kenyan embassy, consulate or high commissioner in your country.

Its is recommended that all travelers to Kenya and neighboring countries ensure validity of their visa, at least 6 months beyond protracted end of their visit and that their passports have plenty of blank pages to accommodate the immigration stamps. This info can be sourced by travelers from the Embassy of Kenya in the various countries.

Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for travelers to Kenya. Vaccination should be given 10 days before travel. Evidence of the yellow fever immunization may be requested on your arrival at the airport. Apart from Yellow fever, it is prudent to be up-to-date with routine inoculations such as, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, polio virus vaccine.

Those who will travel to the bush it is advised to make good the use of treated nets which protect against mosquitoes and a host of other insects. A prescription of antimalarial drugs are a must have for the traveler. It should be noted that chloroquine is not considered to be an efficient malaria drug and should not be taken as a preventive measure for those visiting this region.

A few countries have circulated travel advisories to their citizens traveling to Kenya. Such travel advisories are categorized as ‘park at your own risk’ notices usually found in public venues, the decision to visit is solely the visitor’s. Kenya went through some political hitches due to the disputed December 2007 elections that might have created some feeling of insecurity though it’s gratifying to note that things are calm and some of those travel advisories have since been rescinded. Even during that difficult period all tourist sites and hotels remained safe and secure free from any incidences.

Parks, reserves, hotels, lodges and any location concerning tourists has high levels of security maintained at all times. Visitors have every reason to feel safe and secure. The Kenyan border with Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia is somewhat risky but this is not a major concern since none of the tourist sites are close to this region.

In Kenya, one drives on the left side of the road, which can be very disorienting to those not accustomed to it also, vehicle travel outside major cities at night should be avoided due to the poor road and street light conditions, during the rainy season, some unpaved roads are impassable even with four-wheel drive vehicles. But, with good driving skills, and common sense you’ll get through. Traffic jams are common especially in the morning and evenings.

A host of establishments accept credit cards as a form of payment but those which don’t can also be paid in cash which can be withdrawn from an elaborate network of ATM’s all around the country. They are located in a safe and well lit environment.

As your journey continues keep your friends and family back home and friends informed of the progress your making. Mobile phone companies are reliable enough, though in locations like camps and lodges there may be a weak or no signal. There are cyber cafes in all of the major towns, some public venues offer WiFi hotspots. To those who love blogging do not forget to include your world of loved ones in your journey by uploading exciting pictures or videos of your travels.

Tagged with: travel • Vacation Destinations

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