A Backpacker Tour of Kenya

Swimming with dolphins at Shimoni, South of Mombasa.
Watamu Beach.
Marasabit National Park was heaven on Earth.
Lake Turkana.
Maasai Mara—for the wilderbeast migration.
Nakuru National Park—for the flamingoes (if you time it right you get to see 1/3 of the worlds flamingo population. It's an amazing spectacle.
Samburu National Park—I prefer this to Maasai Mara as there as less tourists, making it a more natural experience.

Quick Tips:

Keep all valuables hidden at all times, especially in the big cities of Nairobi and Mombasa, as small time thieves, especially amongst the street children is very high. If staying in hotels, always keep valuables locked up inside your bag.

Although you might think you are doing a good thing giving the street children money or food, this just makes the situation worse as it encourages them to continue begging. There are many organisations working with these street children to help them try and improve their situation. If giving, then you could also be faced with the situation (as I was!) where when giving to one person in a matter of seconds you are surrounded by 20 other people who are also asking for a handout from you. It can lead to a tricky situation.

Be careful about travelling at night, as this is when the majority of car-jackings and robberies take place. It is made the more dangerous as many of the roads are in a bad state of repair.

Best Way To Get Around:

The only public transport that I would recommend using would be the bus companies, Kenya Bus Service (KBS) and Akamba. These both offer good services throughout the country and their buses are much safer and comfortable than others on offer.

If you are travelling from Nairobi to Mombasa, I would recommend catching a train. First class costs about Ksh4000, which for the views and experience is very good value. You can't beat waking up first thing in the morning to see sunrise over Tsavo National Park.

In some parts of the country Matatus are the only way to get around. Just practice caution on these vehicles and use your instinct as these are the most dangerous vehicles on Kenyan roads (thanks mainly to the suicidal instincts of the drivers!).

For me, the only budget hotel worth staying at in Nairobi is the Terminal Hotel. When I was living in Kenya and had to make trips to Nairobi, I would always use this hotel and never had a bad stay here.

Its location is perfect, in a much safer part of Nairobi than where many of the other budget hotels are located. Its central as well, with all of the city's attractions within walking distance.

The rooms are both spacious and clean, with en suite shower and toilet facilities, and the hotel offers very good security. There is hot water at all times, which from experience isn't something that can always be relied upon in budget accommodation. Mosquito nets and protected windows are offered in every room.

Another benefit is the staff who are very friendly and helpful. During one of my times there, I was looking for a CD by a Tanzanian singer. The staff at the hotel were able to find me a guide to take me to the River Road District to look for this CD, which I found thanks to the guide, and the price that the staff suggested me paying the guide for his time was not inflated at all. Safaris can also be arranged through the hotel.

Prices are very reasonable for what you receive. A single room is Ksh1000, while a double is Ksh1300. There are also triple rooms available as well for Ksh1500, which are excellent value if travelling with other people. Bags can be left at the hotel in the secure hold up for Ksh30 a day.

There is a restaurant next door, which offers a nice selection of food, although if you get a room backing onto the restaurant it can be a little noisy, up until 1am during the week and later at the weekend. I'd recommend asking for a room at the back of the hotel so this noise is kept to a minimum.

The only downside is that the hotel is located very close to Koinange Street (known as K Street amongst the locals). Be careful if taking a walk past this street at night, as this is where the prostitutes tout for business (most students from the local universities). Not only will they hassle you but I have been told that undercover police are looking to arrest people in order to obtain bribes from them, even if you are aimlessly walking down the street. Be warned!

If you are taking a safari through Gametrackers then this hotel is perfectly located as the Gametrackers offices are only across the road.

This motel is located in the small town of Ugunja, 90km west of the third largest city, Kisumu on the road to Busia on the Ugandan border.

If you are travelling across Kenya towards Uganda on the road to Busia, and fancy stopping in a small bustling Kenyan town instead of stopping at the traditional layover of Kisumu, then I can recommend this motel in Ugunja.

The motel is located on the main tarmac road on the right hand side of the road (if you are travelling from Kisumu) just before you arrive into Ugunja town and is signposted from the road. There is an Esso petrol station a little further down the road towards Ugunja town on the opposite side of the road.

They have 16 rooms here, 8 singles (Ksh200 per night) and 8 doubles (Ksh400 per night) and all come with electricity, toilet, shower , bed linen, and towel. The motel also has a restaurant where you can order more or less anything (as long as it's available to buy in town), even if it's not on the menu. The security is excellent as well (with night watchman and guard dog), and when I was staying there they also had a table tennis table that guests could use.

Ugunja is 2 hours drive further on from Kisumu and is the next town after passing the town of Sidindi (from Kisumu), and can be easily reached by either KBS (Kenya Bus Service) bus or matatu for around 100-120Ksh from the main bus station in Kisumu.

The only down side that I found while staying here was that the motel is frequently used by men cheating on their wives, and some very strange noises could be heard coming from adjacent rooms at night! I actually found this rather amusing although some people might find this a little off-putting!

If you are travelling towards Busia and the Ugandan border, or from the Ugandan border to Kisumu, I would recommend staying here rather than in Kisumu as you get more of a feel for the real Kenyan agricultural life.

Ugunja town centre is less than a 5 minute walk away where you will find a variety of traditional small scale restaurants and bars. The staff at the motel were happy to assist me in anything i needed including accompanying me into town late at night.

The town is used to white people as there is a community based organisation in the town centre where several white people volunteer. I volunteered here for 8 months and lived at this motel during this time. If you want to experience true rural Kenya then this is a place I would go to if it is on your route.

Email me if you need any more information or have any questions.

I lived just outside of Kisumu in a town called Ugunja for 8 months and every time I needed to come to Kisumu and stay overnight, I would always choose the New Victoria Hotel to stay.

For me, its excellent value and very secure and you cannot complain for the money with what you get. During my stay here, I had many friends who would always try out other hotels in Kisumu, but they would always come back to using the New Victoria Hotel as the others never matched in comparison.

The cost of the rooms may be a little more expensive than some of the other budget hotels in Kisumu, but after the experiences of friends I would say it is worth paying that little bit extra to stay here. Rooms start at Ksh800 for a single, and Ksh1050 for a double. A number of the double rooms come complete with balconies over looking Lake Victoria and it's an amazing sight waking up with the prayer calls coming from the mosques first thing in the morning, and watching the sun rise over the lake, and people start their daily routines.

For your price, the room is furnished and ensuite, with a balcony (not all rooms come with a balcony so make sure you specifically ask for this - it costs no extra!. There is hot water in the mornings and the beds are extremely comfy. The service by the hotel staff is second to none and in my experience always came with a smile.

The price includes breakfast in the morning. This consists of fruit, eggs (however you want them), toast, fruit juice and tea/ coffee. The breakfast room also has a television (which was a luxury for me!) where you can normally catch up on recent international news.

Next to the hotel is a restaurant, which does excellent spiced dishes and also a lovely bakery with delicious bread pastries, so you don't have to walk far to feed yourself if you don't want to!!

The hotel is perfectly located for walks into Kisumu city centre with both an Internet cafe (serving milkshakes and hamburgers) and a number of Banks (including Barclays) located 5 minutes away on Oginga Odinga Road. The main bus station with services nationwide (including Mombasa—a nice 15 hour bus ride away!) is also only 5 minutes away in the opposite direction.

The caution I would advise is if going into Kisumu at night, then the walk back to the hotel, as in any developing country is a little dangerous, so I would recommend catching a taxi. It doesn't cost much (Ksh100) but it might stop you from a nasty experience.

For the price and location, this is one of the best budget hotels in Kisumu and it's worth paying that little bit extra for the views!

After doing a little research, I decided this hotel would be perfect to spend my first night in Kenya. Everything I read about this place seemed good. It was cheap, centrally located, and a favourite amongst other backpackers.

Unfortunately, unlike most other people who stay here, my stay was a little on the scary side. I think now after 3 years of travelling, I wouldn't have felt threatened, but at the time it was a little unnerving. I noticed straight away when arriving that the Iqbal isn't in one of the nicest parts of Nairobi, very close to the notorious River Road district, a dangerous part of Nairobi city centre after dark. This didn't bother me, nor did the comments aimed in my direction when I went to eat at a restaurant around the corner.

What did scare me, was awaking in the middle of the night to hear the screams of a man outside. When I took a look out of my window I saw a man being beaten to an inch of his life by three other men. Not the sort of thing I really wanted to see on my first night in Kenya, especially so close to my hotel room!

I was informed next that the person being beaten was a thief, and this was the normality in Kenya, when thieves are caught by the public before the police catch them.

Don't get me wrong, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the hotel itself. A single room costs Ksh400, while a room in the dorms was about Ksh200 I believe. My room contained a mosquito net, nightstand, wardrobe, table, and chair. Showers and toilets were shared and I only managed to succeed in getting the water lukewarm for my shower.
Towels and toilet paper are not provided. The windows also don't have screens and the rooms got a little stuffy at night. As well as the manly screams that I heard, there was also loud music until 1am, and I am sure it will be later than this on weekends!

When I stayed, there was a restaurant serving on the 2nd floor, buy only serving drinks. I have now been told that this is no longer open, although I don't know this 100%. The security is very good, and the guard I was told doesn't let any non-guests into the building. He did let a rather annoying and pestering guy into the front door, who kept hassling me for a safari and wouldn't take no for an answer!

There is nothing wrong with this hostel, in fact I recommend it, but just take note of the location and be on your guard in the local vicinity as it isn't all that nice!

You can email the Iqbal Hotel at: webmaster@backpackafrica.com

During my stay in Kenya I decided that I wanted to go on a couple of safaris, taking in the rugged, uninhabited north of the country travelling up to Lake Turkana, and also the world famous Maasai Mara National Reserve.

After contacting and researching over 10 different safari companies, Gametrackers, I decided, offered the best opportunities within Kenya for the camping safaris that I was interested in.

Gametrackers offices are centrally located in Nairobi and they offer a wide variety of safaris, starting from 1 and 2 day safaris, up to a 25 day safari. They cater for both lodging safaris and camping safaris, but for me, camping safaris are the only option, as the location of Gametrackers campsites are amazing and right on the edge of both the culture and nature that you are there to see. From hearing crocodiles snapping in the water at Samburu, to having Hippos running around your tents at Lake Baringo, to hearing hyenas and lions calling around the campsite at Maasai Mara, you feel so close to the nature, which makes their camping safaris so unforgettable.

The tour guides are very professional and have an excellent knowledge on the places they take you to, answering every question imaginable. And the food they cook for you is top notch, with an excellent choice available, which I wasn't expecting with it being a camping safari.

I have been on a few safaris but none have gotten me as close to the wildlife or different cultures as Gametrackers has. They also offered me a 10% discount for booking two safaris at the same time.

For further information they have a website at http://www.gametrackersafaris.com

Or can be contacted at: info@gametrackersafaris.com

In my opinion these are the best camping safaris on offer in Kenya.