Africa Travel Information

The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has just announced their launch of an online payment solution specifically targeting the Kenya tourism industry. The bank announced the news during the East Africa E-Tourism Conference, which is taking place at the Nairobi Crowne Plaza hotel.

This is exciting news for hotel owners, tour operators, and other players in the Kenya travel industry. Kenya recently joined the world of true broadband, and many serious business want to exploit online opportunities through e-commerce.

Just a few months ago, most operators in the tourism sector found it very expensive to accept online payments. This is because no local bank offered e-commerce services. This possibly restricted tour operators and travel agents from maximizing on the existing potential.

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The US State Department has done it again: issuing a travel alert for Kenya. They cite two main security concerns: the terrorist threat posed by Al-Shabaab, and the possibility of a repeat of violence after the August 4th constitutional referendum. You can see the travel alert here.

The concern over al-Shabaab is largely because of the Uganda bombings which I previously wrote about. The terrorist group acknowledged responsibility for the bombings. Since then, Kenya has been on a high security alert, considering that the country’s border with Somalia is very porous. Kenya has reinforced its security troops along the border. In the past one week or so, we have heard reports of some skirmishes between al-Shabaab militants and the Kenya police. But these are not very uncommon.

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Egypt Holiday Booking
This post offers general information about Nile cruises and why they are a popular way of exploring Egypt. If you just want to book a Nile Cruise holiday or other form of Egypt vacation, I recommend that you see some of the Egypt holiday packages offered through the Africa Guide website, one of the most credible Africa travel portals.

Enjoy Your Egypt Holiday in Style

As a holiday destination, Egypt stands head and shoulders above other African countries. So much that probably everyone in the world knows about the Egyptian pyramids and the other relics of ancient Egypt civilizations. You should read my previous post on the top-five must-see sites in Egypt if you need an introduction to some of the country’s attractions. Read the rest of this entry »

Map of Somalia: The country is quickly becoming a breeding ground for terrorism in Africa

I know, this is meant to be purely a travel blog, but the terrorist bombings in Uganda deserve a comment. In case you haven’t heard about it yet, you can read the news in Yahoo , BBC , CNN , and several other websites.

If truly it is the Somali Al Shabaab militia that carried out the attack, there’s real need for the entire African continent, and indeed the whole world, to move with greater speed to rectify the situation in Somalia. I know, we already have an African Union peace keeping mission on the ground, but obviously it is not achieving the desired results. The transitional national government is still very weak, while Al-shabaab and other similar radical groups seem to be gaining strength every day. By expanding their tentacles beyond Somalia, they are sending a strong signal that they want to remain a force to reckon with.

I am a travel blogger, and my knowledge of security matters is minimal, but I know one thing for sure: if Al Shabab or any other terror group gets rooted in the Eastern Africa region, it will adversely affect our travel industry, among other things. The 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, plus the 2002 Kikambala bombings in the Kenyan coast taught us quite as much. Tourism is an important part of the economy of at least four countries in Eastern Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Read the rest of this entry »

A Male African Lion, One of the Most Popular Safari Attractions

So you are finally ready to take that trip to Africa you’ve been planning for for several years. Of course you are excited about the chance to see lions, elephants, the other African big five and other animals in their real wild habitats. Or probably the prospects of a luxury beach holiday in the Seychelles or Mauritius islands. Or the much anticipated tour to the great pyramids, Abu Simbel, and other monuments of ancient Egypt.  But, wait a minute, where do you start?

If you are like many other travellers, you’ll probably want to use the services of a travel agent to help you put your trip together. Even with the rising popularity of travel booking sites like expedia, kayak, orbitz, and others, you will at some point need to consult a “real” travel agent. Your choice will be between a travel agent based in your home country or one operating in the country/destination you will be visiting.

In a previous post, I mentioned that you should ideally use an agent in the destination country, but that does not mean you can not get a good deal from an agent in your home country. Whatever your choice, today I am highlighting what I think are the important things to consider when choosing a travel agent. The list in not completely exhaustive, is not arranged in any particular order, but I hope you will find it helpful.

1.  Destination and product knowledge
Your ideal travel agent should know more about your destination than the average guy on the street. You may not for example know that the bush lodge that your friends recommended last year is currently closed for renovations, or, say, the government has for some reason closed public access to a certain beach front. A good agent will have all this insider information.

Test the agent’s knowledge by asking questions.

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Map of the proposed highway through the Serengeti. Obtained from the African Wildlife Foundation Website: www.awf.org

Lately, there has been a lot of furore about the plans by the Tanzania government to construct a major commercial highway through the Serengeti national park. The proposed road will link Arusha with Musoma town at the shores of Lake Victoria, passing right through the northern part of Serengeti.

Serengeti, as you may already know, is the starting point of the great wildebeest migration, an annual event that has been declared the world’s most spectacular natural event. During the dry season in Serengeti, millions of wildebeest, zebras and other small herbivores migrate northwards into the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya in search for pasture. The animals then move back to Serengeti in the wet season. Every year, thousands of tourists time their East African safari so as to see this great migration.

Book a safari to see the migration
If you have never seen the migration, this may be your best time to witness the spectacle. Click here to see some great wildebeest migration packages in Kenya, offered through Africaguide. Who knows, the Tanzania goverment might just implements its plan, marking the end of the migration as we currently know it.

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