Where to go
Travel in Kenya is a hugely rewarding experience. From the white sand beaches to its world-famous national parks, it offers adventure, relaxation and a host of other experiences in between. The capital Nairobi has changed immensely over the years, shrugging off its sometime nefarious reputation to emerge as a modern city bustling with trendy cafes, experimental restaurants and exciting city experiences. Weekenders might make for the growing clutch of villas atop Champagne Ridge, or Lake Naivasha with its abundance of great campsites, lodges and restaurants.
There are few countries better placed to showcase the big five, with the Maasai Mara still in pole position. The growing number of conservancies around the reserve have expanded the ecosystem and offered those looking to get away from the crowds a more intimate game-viewing experience, although the wildebeest migration in July and August is still best seen in the reserve itself.
Other parks richly deserve a visit too from Amboseli, famous for its elephants and the backdrop of Mt Kilimanjaro, to the much less-visited but no less beautiful Meru, where conservationists George and Joy Adamson released the lioness Elsa back into the wild into the 1950s, inspiring the book and film Born Free. Closer to the coast are the great wildernesses of Tsavo East and West national parks. Wildlife in both was much depleted from unchecked poaching in past decades, but the elephants have steadily increased, and it offers a wilder, more remote kind of safari.
At the coast, Diani, with its white sands, is perhaps the most beautiful of the beaches, but Msambweni to the south offers understated rustic charm on a quiet stretch of golden sand, while Watamu on the north coast is a mecca for lovers of watersports and smart villas. Malindi, still further north, is more conservative, and the Silversands beach is very much the hub of life in the town. The town’s labyrinth of antique furniture and fabric shops make for great shopping, and the Italian community here has brought a welcome boost to the culinary scene. A further hop is the island of Lamu with its divinely beautiful houses, an authentically Arab feel and the much-loved Peponi Hotel.
Quite the other end of the country in Western Kenya, landlocked Lake Victoria has a similarly chilled vibe, but with a more authentic Kenyan feel. There are some special gems in this part of Kenya, chief among them Mfangano island resort, and Kisumu, the main town, is an up-and-coming destination in its own right. The lakelands soon give way to the rainforest of Kakamega to the north, and the rolling tea fields to the east around Kericho.
Meanwhile, north of Nanyuki is Laikipia, with some of Kenya’s most splendid lodges in private conservancies, and is the place to go for those interested in horse riding and camel safaris, or game viewing in a more exclusive environment. North of Laikipia is Samburu and Shaba national reserves, where you’ll find the beautiful Grevy zebra and the generuk, an antelope with an exceptionally long neck.
True north is Lake Turkana and the beautiful valleys of the Matthews Range, particularly popular with road trippers, and there is a clutch of exclusive lodges with wildlife experiences to match.
There are few countries better placed to showcase the big five, with the Maasai Mara still in pole position. The growing number of conservancies around the reserve have expanded the ecosystem and offered those looking to get away from the crowds a more intimate game-viewing experience, although the wildebeest migration in July and August is still best seen in the reserve itself.
Other parks richly deserve a visit too from Amboseli, famous for its elephants and the backdrop of Mt Kilimanjaro, to the much less-visited but no less beautiful Meru, where conservationists George and Joy Adamson released the lioness Elsa back into the wild into the 1950s, inspiring the book and film Born Free. Closer to the coast are the great wildernesses of Tsavo East and West national parks. Wildlife in both was much depleted from unchecked poaching in past decades, but the elephants have steadily increased, and it offers a wilder, more remote kind of safari.
At the coast, Diani, with its white sands, is perhaps the most beautiful of the beaches, but Msambweni to the south offers understated rustic charm on a quiet stretch of golden sand, while Watamu on the north coast is a mecca for lovers of watersports and smart villas. Malindi, still further north, is more conservative, and the Silversands beach is very much the hub of life in the town. The town’s labyrinth of antique furniture and fabric shops make for great shopping, and the Italian community here has brought a welcome boost to the culinary scene. A further hop is the island of Lamu with its divinely beautiful houses, an authentically Arab feel and the much-loved Peponi Hotel.
Quite the other end of the country in Western Kenya, landlocked Lake Victoria has a similarly chilled vibe, but with a more authentic Kenyan feel. There are some special gems in this part of Kenya, chief among them Mfangano island resort, and Kisumu, the main town, is an up-and-coming destination in its own right. The lakelands soon give way to the rainforest of Kakamega to the north, and the rolling tea fields to the east around Kericho.
Meanwhile, north of Nanyuki is Laikipia, with some of Kenya’s most splendid lodges in private conservancies, and is the place to go for those interested in horse riding and camel safaris, or game viewing in a more exclusive environment. North of Laikipia is Samburu and Shaba national reserves, where you’ll find the beautiful Grevy zebra and the generuk, an antelope with an exceptionally long neck.
True north is Lake Turkana and the beautiful valleys of the Matthews Range, particularly popular with road trippers, and there is a clutch of exclusive lodges with wildlife experiences to match.
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