Welcome to East Africa - Land of Beauty:

Tourism in Kenya has seen steady growth since independence. The sector slowed down in the 1990s, but it is currently the country's largest foreign exchange earner, followed by flowers, tea and coffee.

Many travelers who visit Kenya are safari-bound tourists who come to visit the various tourist attractions in the country. African safari is what Kenya is renowned for and thus has come to be known as the heart of the African safari.

Kenya has diverse wildlife and spectacular landscapes. The country occupies an area of 580,367 square kilometers, out of which approximately 44,359 square kilometers or 7.5 percent is wildlife conservation area.

The protected areas embrace various types of ecosystems namely: forests, wetlands, Savannah, mountains, marine, arid and semi-arid. The protected areas comprise of 23 terrestrial National Parks, 28 terrestrial National Reserves, 4 marine National Parks, 6 marine National Reserves and 4 national sanctuaries.

Some of the wildlife that can be seen in the National Parks and Reserves are lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, wildebeests, zebras, kudus, elands, gerenuks, hyenas, baboons, Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, giraffes, topis, bush bucks, water-bucks, leopards, cheetahs, hippos, crocodiles and more than 1070 species of birds.

-Masai Mara National Reserve -Hells gate National Park
-Amboseli National Park -Samburu National Reserve
-Tsavo East & West National Park -Buffallo springs National Reserve
-Lake Nakuru National Park -Shaba National Reserve
-Lake Naivasha -Aberdare National Park
-Lake Baringo -Shimba hills National Park
-Lake Bogoria -Nairobi National Park
-Mt. Kenya National Park -Marine Parks
-Mt. Longonot National Park -Mombasa Beaches

PACKING AND OTHER TRAVEL TIPS
Assuming that your intend on traveling on safari during your stay in Africa, you should make every effort to pack your belongings into one soft sided bag and one ‘carry on' style bag for cameras, valuables and day trips. Chances are you will have limitations in your safari vehicle and, in some cases, travel on small aircraft (if part of your itinerary) limits you to 15 kgs / 33 pounds. If you plan on doing a lot of souvenir shopping, you might consider carrying another bag tucked in your suitcase to help judge your limits. Important - For persons crossing the Atlantic Ocean from North America and connecting in Europe to Africa, International air carriers limit carry on bags to one and checked bags to two per passenger. Persons departing from Europe have weight restrictions on bags as well, varying with the carrier.

If you are doing a lot of traveling and need to carry more than the suggested items, keep in mind that you may be required to leave them at the town hotel.

Laundry service in Africa is often a bargain. Camping safaris generally include laundry service free of charge.

Advice - The customs and culture of East Africa, especially in coastal areas and Zanzibar are conservative. Revealing or very tight clothing should be avoided.

ACCOMMODATION: In East Africa, a number of good hotels are available to choose from to fit every budget. Elsewhere across the countries and in the National Parks, hotels and inns are generally available, but quality of service and quantity of rooms vary greatly. We take care in booking the best accommodation available for your safaris. All of our prepared itineraries start from the cities. If you require pre-or post -safaris hotel bookings in any city or airport transfers to /from JKIA, Entebbe, Kilimanjaro, Dares salaam, Addis Abbaba or Kigali contact us so that we can make these arrangements for you. Reservations should be made in advance.

AIRPORT: Most guests to East Africa arrive by air, landing at the, Jomo Kenyatta, Entebbe Kilimanjaro, Kigali or Addis Abbaba International Airports; approximately 45 minutes drive from or to the cities. Transfers to and from the airports are available for any size group. Your Departure tax is incorporated in your tickets.

Passports and visas

Valid passports are required for travel to the destinations in our brochure.
Check with your travel agent or Afro-quest tours safaris for the latest visa requirements.

Make a photocopy or list of the following items: Passports (including the page with the visa stamped in them and the pages with photos and data), plane tickets, yellow booklet showing your yellow fever vaccination, list of all medications you might require, listing of all travelers' cheque numbers, list of serial numbers for cameras, etc. Keep this list someplace apart from where you keep these other items.
Keep track of your passport above all. Loss of a passport can destroy your trip and cost considerable money during the time required to replace it.
On your international flight, pack as if the airline is going to lose your bags. It seldom happens, and almost always the bags arrive a couple of days later, but this way, you will be able to continue on your safari while the airline finds them.

CHANGING MONEY
Many of the restrictions on foreign currency and currency exchange have been lifted in Kenya. It is still recommended that currency be changed only at official places such as hotels and bureaus. We do not recommend changing at banks as this can be a very time consuming process.
We suggest you do not change money on the street and especially at places such as the Namanga border. Several con artists still work in these areas and often cheat on rates or use fake notes in their dealings.
Older US currency (with small photos of presidents) are not accepted by many businesses and should be avoided. Also, the exchange value for smaller notes ($5.00 to $20.00) is often less than the value for $50.00 and $100.00 bills.
Traveller's cheques used to be as good as cash, but now attract a much lower rate. This is because banks now charge a fee to businesses for depositing travellers cheques and also delay their payment by as much as two weeks.

Description	Distance
Nairobi National Park	8 km
Bomas of Kenya	10 km
Giraffe centre	13 km
National Museum of Kenya	5 km
Daphne sheldrick animal orphanage	15 km
Carnivore Restaurant	10
Mamba Village	15 km
Snake Park	5 km
Railway Museum	2 km
National archives	3 km
Utamaduni for soveniours
limuru for tea growing
Coffee growing/ procedures
Nakuru Day Trip
Naivasha Day Trip