Africa Travel Information

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Two black rhinos in the Lewa conservancy in Kenya. The rhino is one of the African "big five". Image by Harald Zimmer courtesy of wikimedia commons.

1. Decide on what you are interested in
In a previous post in this blog, I mentioned five of the main Africa holiday activities, among them adventure travel, sightseeing tours, and wildlife safaris. If you are like most people, you may not have the time to do all of them in one visit. Which is why the first thing to do is to decide on want to see in Africa. This will help you narrow down on a few destinations.

For many first time visitors, the choice is easy: wildlife safaris, especially to see the big five in the wild. In this case, some of the most obvious options are East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania), and Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia). However if your interest is to see rare and unique animals and plant species, you’ll definitely want to consider destinations like Madagascar.

If you are interested in cultural and historical sites in Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia are some of the possible destinations. Likewise, for a relaxing beach holiday, you may have to choose from among the Indian Ocean islands like Seychelles, Mauritius, Zanzibar, and Comoros. Sometimes, you may want to have a little bit of everything, in which case you may have to go on a multi-country tour, or pick a destination like Kenya which offers most of these attractions.

2. Research on the possible destinations, then pick one (or a few)
After prioritizing on your main area of interest, you should then compare each possible destination against others. For example, you may want to compare between East Africa or Southern African destinations for a wildlife safari. Botswana is ideal for exclusive safaris, because they deliberately regulate the number of visitors in their game reserves. Read the rest of this entry »

A view of Nairobi City, the capital city of Kenya

Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, is the main point of entry for most people travelling to Kenya. Whether coming for a safari, a business trip, or you are on transit through Nairobi to another destination, you’ll most likely arrive through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Sometimes you may not need to spend more than a few minutes in Nairobi, especially if you are proceeding on safari immediately. Other times however, you may have to spend a night or two. With its wide choice of hotels, Nairobi will not disappoint you.

Some of the best known five star hotels in Nairobi include the Nairobi Serena hotel, the Hotel Intercontinental Nairobi, Panari hotel, Nairobi Hilton hotel, and the Fairmont Norfolk hotel . There are several other hotels ranging from five star luxury hotels to budget hotels. So whatever your budget, you’ll definitely find suitable accommodation for your stay in Nairobi.

Lately, several new hotels have been constructed in Nairobi, perhaps an indication that the Kenya travel industry is recovering from the woes of the recent past. The three most notable of these new hotels are Ole Sereni, Crowne Plaza, and Sankara Nairobi hotel. Read the rest of this entry »

Spitzkoppe, Namibia. Photo by Thomas Schoch (http://www.retas.de/thomas/travel/namibia2003/index.html), obtained from wikimedia commons

An African safari can probably not be more adventurous and more enjoyable than it is in Namibia. Among the top safari destinations in Africa, I don’t think there’s any that can capture and exceed your wildest imagination of the African wild like Namibia does.

Situated in the Southwest of Africa, Namibia borders South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Angola, and the Atlantic ocean. It is one of the youngest African countries, having gained independence from South Africa in March 1990. The country occupies about 825,000 km2, making it one of the larger countries in Africa. Yet it has one of the lowest population densities in the continent.

Most parts of Namibia have desert or near-desert conditions, which are a bit harsh for human habitation. Ironically, traveling in Namibia is such a great adventure partly because of this harsh climate that leaves most of the land unspoilt by human activity.

• The Top five Safari Attractions in Namibia
1. Etosha National Park
Etosha is regarded as one of the finest and most impressive game parks in Africa. The name Etosha means “place of dry water” in the Ovambo language. Etosha national park derives its name from the Etosha pan, a vast but shallow salt pan occupying about 5000 square kilometers within the reserve. The park hosts a great variety of wild animals, among them all the African big five animals, the springbok, zebra, cheetah, kudu, hyena, black-faced impala and many other mammals and bird species.

Read the rest of this entry »