Kenya Hotel Tips by sachara

The Forest Resthouse in the Kakamega Forest Reserve.
You can bring your own tent or hire one of the four rooms in the resthouse. The resthouse is a elevated wooden building with a nice verandah looking at the forest.
The rooms have a bathroom and a toilet. You need your own sleeping sheet or bag and a torch. There is no electricity.
If there are no rooms available, you are allowed to sleep on the verandah.
During our visit we were the only visitors, so all 4 rooms were available.
It costs only a few dollar.

Unique Qualities: Nice view at the thick forest.
Good startingpoint for walks in the rainforest.
Guides available.

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Theme: Campground
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Address: Forest Ranger, PO Box 88, Kakamega

In the park itself are no lodges. During our visit there was a campground with a beautifull view at the mountain. At this moment the park has two campgrounds, one with bandas, accommodating 8 people.

The campsite , we visited is not far from the Chorlim gate and has some basic sanitary facilities. You have to bring you own food and drinks.


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Theme: Campground
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 0325 31456/7
Address: Mount Elgon National Park
Directions: 26 west of Kitale

There are two campgrounds in Mount Elgon National Park with no cooking facilities. We brought our own campkitchen and food.

The camp was provided with a big hole for garbage. During the night some servals visit this place. We saw the shining eyes in the flashlight, just beside our tent.


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Theme: Campground
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter

The Voi Safari Lodge is 5KM inside the park from the Voi Gate.
The lodge is at a rocky hill and has a nice view at a pool and an endless plain.
Be carefull, during the breakfast are toast- stealing baboons around.

Unique Qualities: During the night we didn't close the curtains because we could see the floodlighted pool from our bed. It's a pity we didn't see any animal. The only thing we heard were a lot of frogs.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 2-336858
Address: African Tours & hotels Group, PO Box 30471 Nairobi
Directions: Near Voi, 5 KM inside the park from the Voi gat

At the Kimana Lodge they lure every evening leopards with meat to a tree in the garden. We saw during our stay in the tree behind this bird two leopards in the dark.

We slept in nice wooden houses scattered in the garden.


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Theme: Hotel

Directions: Near Kimana Gate, Amboseli Park.

The Lake Jipe Lodge is in the far south-west corner of Tsavo-west. It's a rather isolated spot near the Tanzanian border.
We slept in a nice roundavel surrounded by a beautifull flowering garden.


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Theme: Hotel

Phone: 02-27623

Ocean View is one of the many hotels in this area. We didn't choose this hotel ourselves, because it was in a (very cheap) package deal.
The hotel was good with a beautifull garden with a lot of shade and with .... this ocean view.

Unique Qualities: Swimmingpool.
Cultural performances in the evening.
Walking distance from the Bamburi Quarry Nature Trail.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average

Phone: 011 485601
Directions: Kenyatta-Bamburi beach, north of Mombasa and Nyali beach

In Samburu National Reserve we camped two times at the northbank of the Ewaso Nyiro River.

The first night we stayed at the campsite near Archers Post not far from the entrance of the reserve, so we could enter early in the morning for a first game-drive. The Samburu people of the compound nearby guarded the camp.

The second night we stayed at the campsite near Samburu Lodge within the Reserve. Here were a lot of monkeys stealing our bread and also many elephants around. So we hired a guard (500 shilling) to look after our tents and food.

The Samburu lodge itself was very expensive ($ 200 a room). We had a (six course) dinner there for $25. After dinner a guard equipped with gun and flashlamp brought us back to the campsite along the narrow bushpaths.

Unique Qualities: The campsites are very beautifully located with the wildlife all around. The facilities are very basic. There is a water tap. The toilets are just a hole in the ground.

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Theme: Campground
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Address: Samburu National Reserve
Directions: 250 KM north of Nairobi

The Yare's Safari camp near Maralal has a spacious campsite, protected by a local boma fence against the wild animals outside at night. There are showers and toilets. There is a bar with a terrace and a separate room with a poolbilliard. There is also a snackbar and restaurant.

Unique Qualities: The Yare's Safari Maralal Campsite is the place for camelsafaris and walking safaris. And don't forget the annual International camel Derby in August.

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Theme: Campground
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 214099 Nairobi
Address: Maralal, Rift Valley Province
Directions: 4 KM south of Maralal. About 350 KM north of Nairobi. Reachable by road in about 6 hours by bus, matutu or own transport. Via Baringo or Isiolo.
Other Contact: yare@africaonline.co.ke

After two nights camping in the bush, we prefered a banda. They were almost not more expensive than camping. The bandas have a private shower & toilet, electricity & running water and a verandah.
The bandas are situated in the garden near the bar and terrace.

Unique Qualities: In the bar you can find a lot of pictures of the annual Camel Derby, starting at the Yale Lodge. We did our own amateur camel race.
For pictures and more about it have a look at my sporttips and travelogue.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 214099 in Nairobi
Address: Maralal
Directions: About 350 KM north of Nairobi by road. 4 KM south of the town of Maralal.
Other Contact: yare@africaonline.co.ke