Kenya Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Everyone should visit Kenya at least once—not just for the spectacular wildlife, but also for its beautiful lakes and beaches and for the sweeping vistas of the Great Rift Valley. The landscape is just as memorable and photogenic as that lion walking, right there, beside the Land Rover or that Masai warrior stalking the plains.

Kenya's people are friendly, the tourist trade is well-organized, and there's a lot to see and do, making Kenya a rewarding place to visit. That isn't to say that Kenya is a trouble-free destination. If you spend some time in its cities, you are increasingly likely to encounter petty crime. In the game parks and reserves, you're more apt to be annoyed by the presence of other tourists, who gather in droves around the animals.

The best way to see the country is by hosted or escorted tour. The idea of a safari may seem romantic, but it is mainly efficient: The tour guides know where the animals are, they have experience navigating the often vast distances, and they make the best use of a precious commodity: time.

The methods for viewing animals vary. Minivans carrying six to eight passengers are most common. Unfortunately, they don't provide much ground clearance on the rough roads, nor do they have four-wheel drive—a real problem if you're visiting during wet times of year. The better companies use Land Rovers designed specifically for Africa. Private, chauffeured cars and even walking, horseback, camel and balloon safaris are options.

Choosing which parks and reserves to see is important. Kenya has more than 50 national parks and game reserves, some devoted to marine life or natural beauty as well as wildlife—each offers something the others lack. Three good choices are Amboseli, Masai Mara and Nakuru. A visit to one of the lesser-known game areas such as Samburu National Reserve or Tsavo National Park is also recommended. Athough the wildlife might not be quite as plentiful, the atmosphere will be quieter and more ... well, wild.

Kenya also has some excellent beaches in a tropical climate, and the coast of East Africa has a long and exotic history, where the calm blue waters were once the traditional passage of the Arabian traders. There, the coral reefs are teeming with life and color, and the coast is an excellent destination for first-class diving and snorkeling.

The best way to enjoy Kenya is to combine a wildlife safari to the parks with a few relaxing days on the beach around Mombasa or Malindi.

Geography

History

Kenya has been home to many migrant populations, beginning with the very earliest hunter-gatherers. Migrants from the Ethiopian highlands were the first, followed several thousand years ago by the ancestors of the Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Gisii, Akamba and Mijikenda peoples. Hundreds of years later, along the coast, the descendents of those early migrants mixed with visiting traders from across the Indian Ocean—Arabs, Phoenicians, Indians and Chinese. This mix gave rise to a distinct culture and language: Swahili.

The Portuguese reached the coast at the beginning of the 16th century and established a stronghold there until 1700, when Kenya became a British protectorate. The pastoralist Orma, Borana and Rendille peoples also began moving into northern Kenya from southern Ethiopia during the 16th century, as did the ancestors of the Luo people. Toward the end of the 17th century, the Turkana arrived. The Masai and Samburu peoples were the last of the African migrant communities to settle in Kenya.

In the 1800s, Kenya saw an influx of explorers and Christian missionaries, followed by European settlers. At the 1885 Berlin Conference, Britain was given colonial control of Kenya and Uganda. The Mombasa-Kampala railway was built at the end of the 19th century, and Nairobi grew from a railway worker's camp into Kenya's capital city. By the 1920s, Kenya had been settled by a large number of prosperous British farmers.

The fight for liberation began after World War II—Kenyans first sought peaceful means to have their lands returned to them from the white settlers, but they turned to violence in the 1950s under the Mau Mau freedom fighters. The country gained independence in 1963 and became a republic in 1964.

Jomo Kenyatta, a leader of the rebels who had been imprisoned by the British, became Kenya's first president. Much of the land reverted back to African ownership, though Kenya remained a member of the British Commonwealth. When Kenyatta died in 1978, he was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi, who was re-elected five times. The country's third president, Mwai Kibaki, was elected in December 2002.

In the 1990s Kenya witnessed terrorist activity, most notably the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi by anti-American Middle Eastern terrorists, which killed 219 Kenyans; and the suicide bombing of an Israeli hotel in Mombasa that killed 15 people. In the wake of these security issues, the Kenyan government has since worked closely with U.S. and U.K. authorities to ensure incidents such as these do not happen in Kenya again.

Kenya experienced a political challenge around the December 2007 elections between the Party of National Unity, led by Kibaki, and the Orange Democratic Movement, led by Raila Odinga. After allegations of vote-rigging and electoral malpractice, a clear winner of the election could not be determined. This led to confusion and a brief period (about 10 days) of civil unrest—in some places this was violent and resulted in hundreds of deaths.

After high-profile mediation by Kofi Annan (former Secretary of the United Nations), a power-sharing agreement was negotiated in 2008, and Kibaki became president and Odinga prime minister. The two equally shared decision-making in government.

In March 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta won the presidential election, narrowly avoiding a runoff election against Prime Minister Odinga. The 86% voter turnout was the highest ever recorded in Kenya.

Snapshot

Kenya's chief attractions include wildlife, beaches, scuba diving, tribal culture, history, shopping, varied scenery and golf.

Kenya's rolling hills, grassy plains and colorful tribesmen provide a classic image of Africa. Anyone who enjoys the thrill of viewing animals in the wild will love Kenya. But travelers should be prepared to get a bit dusty bumping along unpaved roads, and some may get bored looking for the animals—no one can guarantee sightings of the more rare species. (It helps if you take an interest in the spectacular birds and landscape.) Beach lovers will enjoy the beauty of the coast, and there are plenty of activities such as diving and snorkeling. Anyone interested in African culture will find the rural areas of Kenya more accessible than those of most countries on the continent.

Potpourri

Kenya produces world-class marathon and Olympic runners. Many of them come from Western Kenya, and their success has been attributed to a diet rich in carbohydrates and training at altitudes above 8,000 ft/2,500 m.

The Great Rift Valley, which runs through the center of Kenya, is part of a tectonic plate junction that stretches from the Red Sea to Mozambique. Kenya's share is dotted with both freshwater and soda lakes that attract a superb variety of birds, including large flocks of flamingos that tinge the lakes in a rim of pink.

Kenya was the home of the pioneering conservationists George and Joy Adamson. They raised and set free the lioness Elsa, and many other cats, and Born Free was perhaps the greatest animal story ever told. Joy's house, on the banks of Lake Naivasha, is now a museum.

At 19,567-ft/5,964-m Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest peak. In Kenya, the best views are from Amboseli National Park—the mountain is just across the border in Tanzania.

Baobab trees, which are found in the southern part of Kenya, are also called upside-down trees. They only grow leaves after a rain, and the bare branches resemble roots sticking up in the air.

You'll need technical climbing experience and the proper gear to reach the summit of Mount Kenya. But anyone in good shape can make the three- to five-day hike to Point Lenana (or Tourist Peak), which is at 16,355 ft/5,070 m.

With its year-round growing season, Kenya's floriculture industry is booming. Flowers grown in the Rift Valley are air-shipped from Eldoret Airport daily to be sold by European florists.

The Rhino Charge is an off-road endurance motor rally held every year in June on the Laikipia Plateau. It was established in 1989 to fund (the now-complete) fencing of the Aberdare National Park to protect it from poachers.