We have to be honest and say that we regard Kenya as coming behind Zambia and Tanzania as a safari destination, but nevertheless one that, with careful planning can offer a marvellous safari experience. To help the undecided among you, we have put together in concise form the reasons for and against making Kenya your holiday destination.
In Kenya’s favour are the following:
Kenya boasts some of the best lodges in Africa, at prices that remain within most visitors' reach. The breadth of choice means there is accommodation to suit everyone, from the smallest intimate bush camp to deluxe hotels with all mod-cons.
Kenya has some of the biggest and most wonderful national parks in Africa, providing the very widest range of habitats. And although the country has long been a significant centre for game viewing safaris, there are still parts of Kenya that are truly remote if you yearn to get away from it all.
There is just so much to explore in Kenya, including the less well-known, but awesome Lewa and Samburu reserves, as well as the more well-known safari destinations, such as the Maasai Mara and Tsavo areas. Visiting Kenya can also provide a rich cultural and historical experience. Add to this: visiting one of the country’s magnificent Lakes, climbing Mount Kenya or chilling out on an Indian Ocean beach, and you can see that Kenya has an awful lot to offer.
As an established tourist destination, Kenya is sufficiently advanced to provide more than adequate transport, communications, health facilities, and so on, whilst remaining totally unspoilt.
Factors militating against a visit to Kenya are:
In comparison to very many other African countries, Kenya is a relatively safe place to visit, but not in comparison to other popular safari destinations such as Zambia, Tanzania or Botswana. The fact that there have been a number of incidents due to international terrorism cannot be denied, not to mention the internal violence that has followed Kenya’s annual elections. There have also been recent rumours of armed bandit gangs targeting tourist vehicles even in some of Kenya’s major game reserves.
As one of Africa’s oldest safari destinations, Kenya has, inevitably, become a haven for cheap package travel, and mass tourism. In those regions in which this is most prevalent – and these, of course, include many of the principal tourist areas – the experience is very poor in comparison to that found in somewhere like Zambia. Guiding quality can be very low, accommodation can be mass-produced, rather than exclusive, game viewing takes place in closed minibuses (‘window seat guaranteed’), rather than open-topped landrovers, and at times the traffic density can resemble that of a major city car park.
Now, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with mass tourism as a business model: it is just not one that we ourselves wish to be associated with. However, by drawing on our experience of Kenya, we believe that we can offer as good an experience as can be found anywhere else in Africa – it just takes rather more care at the planning stage.
In conclusion, therefore, there is no reason not to believe that, with careful planning, a safari in Kenya cannot be the holiday experience of a lifetime.
My Safari
