When deciding on a honeymoon destination we wanted to do something different, thrilling and exciting! As avid travelers, laying out on a beach for 7 days just wasn’t our idea of a honeymoon, I for one would get cabin fever really quickly. Since my husband’s family is from Kenya, we decided this would be a great opportunity to meet his side of the family (some he had never even met) and take in the incredible safari experience of Masai Mara.
Getting to Nairobi
Using Amex points we scored a great deal getting our round trip tickets to Nairobi on KLM/Delta at only 58,000 points each! As always, use Google Flights to track and find the best deals. We used credit card points to not only book flights but hotel rooms also, a great way to reduce your travel expenses. Are you maximizing the cards in your wallet?!
Getting to Nairobi from Miami was quite a long trek! Our first flight from Miami to Amsterdam was just over 8 hours, into a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam then another 8 hour flight to Nairobi. After the first 8 hour flight I was exhausted as I cannot ever sleep on planes, sleeping sitting up is a super human magic trick!
The Amsterdam airport has two hotels inside the terminal that offer hourly rates starting at 55 euro for 4 hours for a single bed. On our first layover we stayed at the Mercure hotel for a few hours, giving us a nice, clean place to rest our heads until the next flight. On our return we stayed at Yotel, a funky hotel with a lot less space but still very comfortable and a great place to get much needed rest.
Visa requirements for Kenya
Firstly, apply and pay for your Kenya evisa online, the lines can be very long if you try to get a visa on arrival. Despite getting our visa in advance, we rushed off the plane to be first in line and thank goodness we did, the lines were extremely long! Beware, the evisa application is long and tedious, and you must finish your application once you start, I experienced so much trouble trying to log back in to finish. Once you complete the application, save your payment receipt. There’s a very good chance they will not email you the actual visa in advance even though the instructions say they will. This happened to us, but the immigration officer only asked for our payment receipt.
The single entry visa will cost you US$51 and will only allow you to enter the country once. Note, we returned from Tanzania to Nairobi for a 6 hour layover and were able to reenter Kenya one more time with our Tanzania visa. If you are traveling from another country on another airline and are connecting through Nairobi with checked bags, you will have to go through immigration, exit the airport and literally turn around and come back in. Get a multiple entry visa for this situation.
If you are traveling to other African countries on your trip, there are many visa options available (this can get quite confusing!), make sure you buy the correct visa, we ended up spending extra in Zambia!
What vaccine do you need?
When traveling to Kenya the CDC website lists a large amount of vaccines needed but specified that proof of Yellow Fever was required. However, when we arrived in Nairobi we realized they do not check US citizens for the vaccine. I still recommend that you get the Yellow Fever vaccine, it lasts for 10 years and it’s always a good idea to be safe than severely ill while in a foreign country. The Yellow Fever vaccine is quite expensive in the US as there is a shortage, check your local department of health for availability and pricing, insurance companies are not known to cover this either.
We got ours at the Miami Dade health department for US$175 (yes, I know, that’s a crazy amount for a vaccine!). If you are able to get the vaccine outside of the US do so, it will be a fraction of the price, friends in other countries got this for as low as US$30! It is also recommended to bring Malaria pills with you, you can get these at your local pharmacy or in Nairobi when you arrive.
Currency
KS$100 = US$.98c (Google for the most updated rates)
US dollars are widely accepted in Kenya. However, as with most places you won’t get the best exchange rate on the street, try to get some Kenyan Shillings to purchase souvenirs and other items from the airport. Some smaller restaurants also do not accept credit cards and are cash only.
Getting around in Nairobi
We were not sure what to expect here, and felt a bit uncomfortable just getting any Taxi from the airport so we hired a driver off a recommendation from a friend. Danny was nice, reliable and spoke good English, you can reach him at +254721526708 and negotiate your rate and time with him directly.
Uber is also available, cheap and seems pretty safe here. My husband’s family actually told us they use it on a daily basis, we tried it 3 times and had a good experience. I recommend using this to get around, it will be your cheapest option!
Beware of Nairobi traffic during rush hour and around lunch time! A 20 minute drive can take you hours if you get stuck. Also, leaving and entering the airport can take some time as each car has to go through an additional security checkpoint where all passengers have to physically get out the car, walk through a security checkpoint with metal detectors and bag scanners. Sounds like a lot? It is! I’ve never had to do that before, was certainly an interesting part of the trip.
Where to stay in Nairobi
As loyal SPG members and wanting to save on hotel expenses we booked at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Hurlingham when we first arrived for two nights. The hotel was about 20 minutes away from the airport, Giraffe Center and the Elephant Orphanage. The buffet breakfast was really great offering your traditional continental items as well as some local food. Service and staff were also really kind and helpful making our short stay here very comfortable.
On our way back from our safari, we booked at the Four Points Sheraton at the airport for one night as we were flying out to Zambia the next morning and didn’t want to risk getting stuck in any traffic. This was a newer hotel with friendly staff and nice large, new rooms. Both hotels had tight security, you had to go through metal detectors and scan all your bags before being able to enter, seemed a bit scary at first, these are things you generally only have to do at the airport!
Another famous place to stay in Nairobi is Giraffe Manor, a hotel where giraffes literally stick their head through the windows into your room and will also join you for breakfast! The hotel only has 12 rooms, is very expensive and books up quite quickly, be sure too reserve in advance if you’d like to take advantage of this unique experience.
Things to Do in Nairobi
Elephant Sanctuary
One of the top things to do is visit the Elephant Sanctuary. It is only open from 11-12pm every day and will let you see the most adorable baby elephants! This activity is great for adults and kids and only costs US$7 per person. Get there at about 10:30 am, you’ll see a crowd of people just standing outside, don’t panic, this is normal!
They don’t open the gates until 11 am and once they do everyone just files in, there is no reason to rush everyone gets in and has a great view. Make sure you bring cash (US dollars are accepted), there will be ladies just collecting the entry fee at the front.
Giraffe Center
If you don’t want to pay the high price of Giraffe Manor, you can still see the same giraffes at the Giraffe Center next door! Head here just before everyone leaves the Elephant Sanctuary to beat the crowds and get these adorable creatures all to yourself.
Entrance to the park is US$11 and you’ll get an unlimited amount of food to feed the Giraffes. Get your hands full of food and start feeding them, one pellet at a time. These Giraffes are will just keep on eating and eating as much as you decide to give them!
You can feed them with your hands or even put a pellet in your mouth, their large tongues will grab anything you have right away. Don’t get too close, some of them have been known to head butt!
Diamond Plaza
This small strip mall is a great place to shop for local souvenirs at reasonable pricing, you can also negotiate! Here’s where you can also find some good local Indian food, sweets and treats!
Come here with your stomach empty, everything is so yummy!
Restaurants in Nairobi
Unfortunately we were only in Nairobi for two days, not much time for eating! However, we were able to enjoy two restaurants, the first place we visited was The Talisman, a beautiful outdoor restaurant with a playing area for kids. We headed here for lunch after visiting the Giraffe Center!
If your looking for some authentic Indian food (Nairobi has a large Indian population) try Open House! It’s a small family style restaurant where you can try out the local cuisine.
Some other recommendations we received were Carnivore for dinner and Art Cafe for breakfast or lunch, two great places to check out during your stay!
Things I Missed
There are many amazing national parks, waterfalls and things to do in Kenya that we weren’t able to do due to our short stop in Nairobi.
Checkout my Instagram stories for more great photos & videos as well as my blog post about our Masai Mara Safari!
