Traveling to Kenya – What You Need to Know
January 18th, 2009 by Karl Heinz, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
Travel visas to Kenya can be obtained at the Airport upon arrival for visitors from Europe, America and Asia. There is a fee for the visa, whether obtained in advance or at the airport. Citizens from Common Wealth Counties with a few exceptions; do not required visas to enter Kenya. It’s convenient to confirm with the Kenya’s Embassy, consulate, or high commission in your country while planning for travel to Kenya.
Visitors should ensure that their passports are valid (at least six months after planned stay) and have adequate blank pages to ensure immigration stamps. Up to date information on visas in additional to any other entry requirements can be sourced from the Embassy of Kenya in the various countries.
Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for travelers to Kenya. Vaccination should be given 10 days before travel. Evidence of the yellow fever immunization may be requested on your arrival at the airport. Apart from Yellow fever, it is prudent to be up-to-date with routine inoculations such as, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, polio virus vaccine.
A prescribed anti malarial drug as well as protection against mosquito bites by using nets that have been treated with insecticides(especially in game parks) at altitudes below 2,500m. It should be duly noted however that chloroquine is not considered to be an effective antimalarial drug hence no need to take it as a preventive measure.
Several Western countries have travel advisories for their citizens traveling to Kenya. In as much as I do not want to categorize travel advisories as those, ‘park at your own risk’ notices, the decision to visit Kenya remains solely the visitor’s. Kenya experienced turmoil in early January due to the disputed December 2007 elections. But even at that difficult time, the tourist sites and hotels remained safe.
Security at all tourist attraction sites is maintained this ensures that the traveler’s safety is not only ensured but guaranteed. Some regions that are prone to some risk are the border of Kenya and Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. This is not of major concern since none of the tourist sites are located near any of these regions
Driving in Kenya is done on the left side of the road. This could be somewhat disquieting especially for those not accustomed. Traveling outside major cities at night is not advised. This is because of poor road and lighting conditions and some roads especially all weather roads become impassible during the rainy seasons. Once you’ve accustomed to the driving you should get by. Traffic jams are a common occurrence especially in the mornings and evenings.
The use of plastic money i.e. credit cards or traveler cheques is advised. Major credit cards are accepted as a means of payment in hotels, lodges and shops. ATM machines are located in all major towns and are situated in secure and well lit places
It’s a rule of thumb to keep friends and family and even the embassy of the progress of your journey. Mobile phone companies offer a wide network though there are some regions that experience weak or no signal usually in the bush where some lodges and parks are situated. Cyber cafes are usually found in every major town, some public venues act as hotspots. This facilitates visitors to upload exciting pictures and videos of their travels in Kenya.
