Kenya on the cheap - personal experiences? (1 Viewer)

[MSA]

I keep on seeing adverts for holidays in Kenya via African Safari Club, and the quoted prices seem so cheap to me (£600-£750 for 14 days full board, depending upon date) that I thought it might be worth a try. The accommodation is near Mombasa (Laguna Hotel or Flamingo Hotel), but sounds like there'll be plenty of birds around the grounds, and you can arrange safaris for as many days as you want for about £100/day each - they seem to go to Tsavo East, which gets good write-ups in trip reports - but I expect you could also make your own arrangements privately.

Looking at tripadvisor.com has made me wonder if this is a good idea, as the hotels, and the company, get very poor reviews. It is also mentioned that the company is in receivership.

I also see contradictory reports about how safe the country is.

Does anyone have first-hand experience of the company or the hotels, please, or recent experience of birding/hassle/personal safety?

I should add that I'd be going with my non-birding wife, who is disabled and would find steep slopes or large numbers of steps very difficult, so any info about possible problems would be most helpful.

 

[redeyedvideo]

Hi Mark,

A friend of mine travelled with ASC and didn't have any problems, see here for his thread.

The hotel he stayed in no longer exits as it was burnt down in suspicious circumstances, I heard a rumour that the staff hadn't been paid for several months leading up to the troubles in the country.

I would thoroughly recommend the Mnarani Club hotel at Kilifi Creek, I travelled there with First Choice last November after doing a lot of research and I was tempted by ASC by their cheap price but I was put off by reports of undesirables hanging around in the lobby and hotel bars.

Kenya is now perfectly safe for travel, we took a safari which I organised from the UK and I had no problems wandering around the local village on my own. The people were among the friendliest I've met anywhere in the world and the staff and owners at Mnarani were exemplary.

I paid about half the current online price for Mnarani Club, they have their own nature reserve and it's next to the creek although there is a very steep walk down to the beach. I saw a good number of birds from the grounds including Yellowbill & the monkeys were very entertaining too.

Let me know if you want more info.

 

[MSA]

Thanks for info Dave - I think the steep walk to beach makes the Mnarani Club impractical for us, but it's good to know the area's safe and "birdy". I suspect the ASC's problems are more recent than your friend's trip, and several bad reviews suggest the non-payment of wages to be a factor.

 

[Steve G]

Take a look at the Watamu area -specifically The Turtle Bay Beach Club. The TBBC is an enjoyable place to stay with excellent staff.

Safaris can be organised through them or independently > road Safari to Tsavo East/west isn't badly priced & it's also possible to do a flying Safari from Malindi airport.

I went with my wife & 2 kids (had to pay full adult prices) -we went in peak season & did a 4 night flying safari to a quality camp in the Maasai Mara at the height of the Wildebeeste migration -much the dearest time in the Mara. In retrospect I could have organised it better & more cheaply as we were paying for 4 days all inclusive at TBBC whilst we were in the Mara!

The big advantage of Watamu is that there are a number of top birding sites nearby including Malindi Creek (Waders -especially Crab Plover); Sabaki rivermouth (Lesser Flamingo, Openbill, Woolly-necked & Yellow-billed Storks, 2 species of Pelican, various waders, terns, African Skimmers & assorted passerines) and of course the fabulous Arabuko-Sokoke forest (numerous forest specialities including the highly range-restricted Sokoke Pipit, Clarke's Weaver, Amani Sunbird, Sokoke Scops Owl, East-coast Akalat, Narina Trogon, Retz's & Chestnut-fronted Helmet-Shrikes,etc,etc).

There is a small group of local birders who have formed a small bird-guiding business called Spinetail Safaris -they can organise your day/half-day trips & are inexpensive. I spent 4 days out with David Ngala & had a fantastic & particularly fortunate time.
To get an idea of what to expect see this: http://www.pbase.com/rainbirder/kenya

 

[kittykat23uk]

I can second the recommendation for Watamu beach area. We stayed at Southern Palms beach resort (despite the problems with the rooms its a nice enough resort). We did it as part of a Safari/beach package with Somak safaris. The safari comprising visits to Treetops, Lake Naivasha and the Masai Mara. Cost in 2006 was £1567.

If you stay there and fancy a break from the birding, the Snorkelling/diving is pretty good. The Phillipipa and Dolphin Dhow trips are fantatsic! You can read all about my trip here:

http://www.kats-korner-uk.com/Kenya.html

 

[Nicky mwangi]

There are lot of real gems around Watamu.Mida creek, Arabuko sokoke forest and Sabaki estury can be accessed from Turtle bay hotel.
It is not uncommon for one to record over 200spp and obviously some endemic species.
Turtle bay also offer some cool water sport.