Traveling to Kenya was an awestriking experience. As my first trip to sub-saharan Africa, I found a week in Kenya to not nearly be enough time to experience it fully. Despite that, Mrs. Meticulous and I had a wonderful trip which was highlighted by a fantastic safari in the Masaai Mara National Reserve.
This trip was inspired by finding a cheap flight first, before selecting the destination. Scott’s Cheap Flights, my go-to cheap flight resource, evangelize that the best way to travel for cheap is to prioritize cheap flight searches which lead then to destination and dates.
The standard process is:
- Pick destination
- Plan dates that work
- Buy flights accordingly
Obviously some flexibility is required to do this the “right” way, but the difference can be hundreds of dollars on flights. Our Kenya trip was no exception.
PLANNING THE KENYA TRIP
As I probably spoiled in the intro, this trip happened because we found an abnormally-cheap flight.
Thinking we were due for a trip somewhere, I started with Google Flight Explorer. I knew I wanted to go somewhere roughly September or October, so let the explorer function guide me from there. I saw a decently cheap flight to Kenya for a week ($750 per person) so decided to subscribe to price alerts.
In addition to the alert, I tracked this flight on Hopper, an app I’ve written about before.
Before too long, Hopper notified me the price had dropped to $600 per person, which was a 9-month low for a week-long visit in October/November. If I had any hesitation about booking, that was squashed when my Scott’s Cheap Flights email arrived saying flights to Nairobi from MSP were worth jumping on. So… we jumped on it (Sugarhill Gang Apache voice).
PLANNING PROBLEMS…
Dealing with visas and entry approval for Kenya was… interesting. To be more direct, I’m 97% sure a non-government entity scammed me haha.
You do need an eVisa ahead of time for Kenya. They used to grant visas on arrival but that is no longer the case.
I paid $187 USD for the two of our visas on a website that looked and felt very official. Later, I read in other sources that Kenyan eVisas should only cost $51 USD. I frantically tried to cancel and managed to talk the person into giving me $107 back (not sure how they came up with that but it was more than $0 so whatever).
If I could give one piece of advice ahead of visiting Kenya, it’s to go through the proper channel for the eVisa which is https://evisa.go.ke/evisa.html.
DO NOT USE https://www.kenyanevisa.com/, even if the URL intuitively makes more sense (I’m still an idiot though).
LODGING IN KENYA
Not much to report on in regards to lodging in Kenya since we stayed with a family friend while in Nairobi. For the nights we weren’t there, we were on safari which I’ll highlight in detail later in the post.
Getting personal for a quick second, this trip was also incredibly special to me because of the family friend we visited. In February of 2021, I lost a close friend and Islamic faith mentor with whom I grew up in the Twin Cities. He left behind a lovely wife, two beautiful young sons, and a kind caretaker named Siti. It was so wonderful to be able to visit them in Kenya and honor/remember his life.
His two boys, Zayd and Sabir, were absolute joys to be around. Zayd got used to calling me “uncle” as well, which got me as close to crying as I have in a long time. Maybe Sabir would’ve too, had he not been only two months old…
So, even without an amazingly cheap flight and once-in-a-lifetime safari adventure, this trip holds a very special place for me.
Our hosts lived in one of the swankier neighborhoods of Nairobi called Kilimani. I did a little bit of neighborhood research ahead of our trip and saw Kilimani referenced on most top 10 lists.
But, I will say, I felt safe pretty much everywhere we went in Nairobi. Nairobi is a very modern city. Outside of some infrastructure that leaves something to be desired (uneven sidewalks, major pothole gauntlets), it was easy to get around and not intimidating at all.
LOGISTICS: GETTING TO NAIROBI
Another great aspect of our cheap Kenya flight was how efficient it was as well. Eight hours from MSP to Amsterdam, then eight more hours to Nairobi. Sixteen flight hours with about a three hour layover is about as smooth of a path to East Africa as you can get.
Once we landed in Nairobi, my friend who hosted us had organized a driver for us. Less than helpful for the average tourist coming to Kenya, but I will say that Kenyan Uber is INCREDIBLY cheap.
Mrs. Meticulous and I used Uber all around the city and I don’t think we ever paid more than the equivalent of $5 USD (plus a dollar or two more for tip).
Even if Uber is ridiculously cheap, I will also point out that the traffic in Nairobi is unrelenting. So even in a $5 Uber, you could still spend a half hour in stop and go traffic just to go a few miles. Be ready!
COVID PRECAUTIONS AND REGULATIONS IN THE AIRPORT
At the time of our visit, a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure was required to enter Kenya. Be advised, however, that at the time of this writing, vaccination is also required for entry AND exit.
The 72-hour rule created a bit of a worrisome hesitation when we arrived. The Kenyan government website said Americans would need a PCR valid within 72 hours of arrival. Delta, our airline, said it was 72 hours within departure.
Since I’m meticulous as eff (also paranoid), we threaded the needle and got tested 48 hours before departure. We figured that was the best time as we’d get results back in about a day, and satisfy the 72 hours within arrival that we saw on the website.
Despite our safety net, there was still a “discussion” about our tests when we arrived in Nairobi. We had no problem boarding any of the planes with our test results, but in Nairobi there was some time zone math that led to an interesting conversation. They ended up letting us pass through, but it felt a little dicey there for a second. We needed a second opinion from another guard…
ACTIVITIES IN NAIROBI
Since most of our visit to Nairobi was to visit my late friend’s wife and sons, we spent most of our time with them. We did visit a few fun places and learned a lot about Kenya:
THE GIRAFFE CENTER was a fun first stop and a foreshadow for our upcoming safari. It’s not a huge place, but you can spend a fun hour one a two-story platform feeding little pellets to the giraffes and getting close-up photos.
NAIROBI NATIONAL MUSEUM was a $3 Uber (still can’t get over that) away from Kilimani and was a good educational grounding in Kenyan culture and history. In addition to the historical overview of the animals, culture, and artifacts from Kenyan history, there was also an attached snake garden for a small additional cost.
There is also an attached restaurant (The Heritage Restaurant) inside the museum. Oddly enough, this was actually one of the best meals we had on the whole trip.
THE NAIROBI ARBORETUM was a nice nature oasis within the bustling and loud city. A huge park with a network of both paved and dirt paths made for a nice morning walk for us on our last day.
SAFARI IN THE MAASAI MARA
Outside of the idea of honoring the legacy of my close friend by visiting his family, the highlight of our trip BY FAR was our 3-day safari to the Masaai Mara National Preserve.
While researching the trip, I saw great reviews of African Budget Safaris. They are a broker of sorts who hooks you up with local organizations across Africa for safari trips. We went through them because of the reviews as well as the cost – ~$800 total and all-inclusive for three days, including an upgrade from a standard van to the 4×4 Rover you can stand up in (worth it).
The company booked us a stay at Enkorok Mara Camp. This locally-owned organization was very close to the main entrance to the preserve. We stayed in a “tent” with plumbing and a cement base, surrounded by zebras and other animals walking by.
There was a main circus-style tent where the front desk was and we had our meals. The staff was incredibly friendly and attentive and made us very comfortable. Even if the food wasn’t too exciting, which was a bit of a bummer but not the reason we were there.
Alright on to the actual highlights of the safari.
The location that inspired The Lion King (@Disney, please don’t sue me for referencing), you really don’t get a sense for how expansive the area is until you’re there.
Despite the seemingly infinite grassy plains, our guide Jimmy was excellent and put us near animals non-stop. We saw four of the big five: lions, elephants, buffalo, and a leopard (extremely rare apparently, we were lucky) but missed out on the rhinos which were common to miss. Shy lil guys.
Outside of the stars, we also saw zebras, various gazelle species, warthogs, jackals, ostriches, monkeys, lions digesting a kill, lions getting busy (can you feel the love tonight), cheetahs, hippos, crocodiles, hyenas, and a roadkill tsavo cat. Text cannot do it justice so here is a string of the best photos we captured from our three game drives:
Since my guilty pleasure is “checking off” countries, we were also lucky enough to take a few steps in Tanzania (probably illegally) just for the hell of it. The hippo/croc infested Sand River creates a non-official border between the two countries. Jimmy, our guide, was entertained by Mrs. Meticulous and I pretending to be ambassadors from each country coming together for some reason.
FOOD
You’ve probably gathered this from my food references so far but the food was definitely the disappointment of the trip. Fadumo if you’re reading this, your home-cooked meals are an exception!
The restaurants we went to and the included meals at the safari just didn’t light us up. They weren’t bad, just nothing to write home about – despite the fact that I’m literally writing about it from home.
Admittedly, we were only there for a week and spent the most time eating love-infused, home-cooked meals. I would go back and give the Nairobi food scene another chance.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS ABOUT KENYA
As usual, I’ll provide a list of observations and “huh, interesting” moments from our Kenyan trip.
- Everyone uses the M-Pesa app to pay for things in Kenya. We got lots of sideyes for using cash, and even got into some places for free just because the cashier didn’t want to deal with it
- The Masaai people are very friendly, and the kids chase the safari vehicles. Cute, but damn they get kinda close to the tires…
- Masaai merchants will try to get you to buy stuff when your vehicle stops outside the park. Always makes me uncomfortable but I got good at looking forward and playing dumb
- You have to just kind of roll with the spontaneous things that happen here. On one of our game drives, our guide drove the chef from the camp home. He also delivered a huge bag of flour to a lady in a different town. It wasn’t a big deal, just unplanned and super random.
- Mentioned before, but roads and sidewalks aren’t in good shape in Nairobi. People walk the streets fine, and like I mentioned it felt very safe throughout
- You can get a live-in housekeeper/caretaker for about $20 USD/day… WHAT
- Narobi, for being modern, is not a beautiful city in my opinion. Many Kenyans told us that Mombasa is the beautiful city of Kenya and that we need to come back to see it on the coast
WRAPPING UP
Our week in Kenya was so amazing. We reconnecting with an old friend, met new “nephews”, and saw savannah animals in a once-in-a-lifetime safari tour. A week is not nearly enough, but a cheap and fairly direct flight made it bearable.
Nairobi is a fast-paced, fascinating city… that could use some TLC to help cars move through it faster. Enkorok Mara Camp was a very charming and comforting organization to do a safari with.
Outside of the (restaurant) food, the trip couldn’t have been more perfect for us. This was a great first sub-saharan Africa experience. We most definitely will be back to the area at some point in the future.
