Kenya Travel Guide.

How to get there?

By plane

Air fares to Africa can be very expensive, but there are ways to save. Don't, for example, fly from London to a former French colony, or conversely from Paris to a former British colony. That could easily cost thousands more. Instead, get a cheap ticket from London to Paris (or vice versa) and fly to Africa from there. Always book the Africa portion of travel first, be sure to allow lots of connection time, and note that London and Paris both have multiple international airports. Tip for kenya travel guide

From the USA, there are a few non-stop flights to Africa from JFK New York City, Dulles near Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. Outside the peak travel times to Europe (e.g. summer) you might be able to get a good deal to London or Paris and book a fare from there to Africa on a European travel website. But don't book the USA to Europe portion until you get confirmed on the Europe to Africa portion first. Thru fares to Africa from the USA can be quite expensive, so avoiding peak travel times to Europe can sometimes save a lot. However, since new non-stop flights to Africa have recently been added, and Europe is much more expensive than it used to be, try getting a direct quote first, then see if you can do better.

Airline consolidators can also be used for discounted air fares. If you have additional travel time, check to see how your total fare quote to Africa compares with a round-the-world fare. Don't forget to add in the extra costs of additional visas, departure taxes, ground transportation, etc. for all those places outside of Africa.

Africa Vacations.

There are a number of reliable airlines that fly the African Continent. Chief among them are certainly:

South African Airways (SAA) (Johannesburg, South Africa), [1], is by far Africa's premiere airline and has daily flights to most major African political and economic capitals. If you're flying from the Northern Hemisphere to somewhere north of South Africa, don't forget to check how much backtracking you'll have to do, and if it's worth it. The flight from New York does stop in Senegal, but if you get off there, SAA has no connections to anywhere else.

Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), [2], offers a direct service from many European cities & Washington Dulles Airport in USA to its hub Addis Ababa. From there it has a very good coverage to many cities in Africa. Its milleage can be used on Lufthansa services & Lufthansa miles can also be used on Ethiopian.

Kenya Airways (Nairobi, Kenya), [3], partly owned by Royal Dutch KLM, offers good service and frequent flights to all East African countries and many other major African destinations. Tip for Kenya travel guide.

Many other African carriers offer flights to more remote locations.

Airlines in your home country may offer some flights to Africa with less backtracking. For example, there are flights to Ghana on Delta from New York, and several European airlines fly there also.

Note: Choose wisely when flying in Africa. Although the airlines mentioned above all meet FAA safety standards, the same isn't true for all airlines, especially smaller domestic carriers in countries where political stability may be lacking, tenuous or only recently reintroduced

By car

If you want to drive your own car around Africa see also Carnet de Passage

For sightseeing trips, it may be less expensive to hire a taxi than to rent a car, but be sure to negotiate taxi fares beforehand. Travel on rural roads can be slow and difficult in the dry season and disrupted by floods in the rainy season. If you plan on traveling in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, avoid the rainy months of May through October above the equator and the rainy months of November through April below the equator. Some roads may be flooded or washed out during these months.

Travel by car outside of large towns can also be dangerous. Major roads are generally well maintained but there are few divided highways in Africa. In addition, rural auto accidents are fairly common because of high speed limits and the presence of wildlife in these areas. Night driving, especially in rural areas, is not recommended, and visitors are encouraged to hire reputable tour operators for safaris or other game viewing expeditions.

By thumb

Many locals hitchhike in countries throughout Africa, often paying a small fee to the driver. It is best to check the political and social climate of each region before traveling.

In the whole of Africa it is possible to flag down cars and pay them a required fee and get a lift in return. That is just the way public transport works in that part of the world - he who has a means of transportation, that is a car or minibus, is automatically expected to give lifts to others and of course charge them a small amount of money for the favor. The idea of it has nothing to do with our Western idea of hitchhiking.

If you are of European descent it may sometimes work that by waiting alongside a road where bush taxis also go that you can stop a NGO driver, tourists or someone rich in their Mercedes and thereby go quicker and free of charge, but there are so few of these around that this is not something you can usually bank on. Source wikitravel.org

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