Just like any other continent, deciding what to see and what to skip (or plan for trip number 2) is the hardest part of any itinerary planning. Because of time and price, we decided Kenya was a good place to start!When it comes to Africa, we go back and forth between which region we should visit. We've discussed the likes of Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar, and Mauritius. But a game drive in the Masai Mara and a visit to Giraffe Manor were the deciding factors for what led us to Kenya. After some research, we realized that tours and game drives are more expensive when you try to book individually. We investigated our go-to tour company, Gate1 and found that their land only options were priced well below what we could come up with on our own (specific examples below). If you've read any of our posts about Iceland or South America, we mentioned Gate1 Travel there. Gate1 is a reliable, affordable tour company with small groups, awesome itineraries and great tour guides. Not only do they get amazing deals with airfare, they also tend to have great locations on hotels with modern and clean interiors and fantastic tours that are usually big highlights on the trips we've taken with them. We've only traveled with Gate1 twice, but we've been very pleased both times. So, the dream plan for Africa would be to book a land only option with Gate1 and then tack on an extra beach getaway at the end, making this trip roughly 12 days. Below is our current itinerary. We would fly from JFK to Nairobi and spend the day/night there in their Westlands neighborhood. The following day we'd transfer to Lake Elmentaita for a game drive to Saysamba. We'd camp overnight at the Sundbird Lodge which overlooks "pink" lake. The lake gets its name from all the flamingos that frequently visit. The next morning, we'd head for Masai Mara. Two days in the famous reserve will allow us three game drives to see their lions, elephants, rhinos, and (depending on dates) the annual wildebeest migration. Gate1 also offers an optional morning hot air balloon ride over Masai Mara with a champagne breakfast in the middle of the reserve. I believe we'll be signing up for that! The lodging in Masai Mara can be quite luxurious, and expensive. Gate1 has a moderate, 4 star option with beautiful tent like rooms and spacious lodging that seems to fit the budget a little better. Just another reason why booking with the tour company will work out for us! The next day we'd make a couple stops, including one at Giraffe Manor, before getting back to Nairobi for our last night with the Gate1 group. Giraffe Manor has been on my bucket list for about 8 years now! First of all, Giraffe's are my favorite animal and secondly, this place is beautiful! They allow guests to wake up and feed the curious creatures through the manor's windows (seriously, just google this place). However, it's $550 per person, per night (WTF) to stay there! So, I'm pretty sure I'll never be ok with spending that kind of money for a hotel room, but the Giraffe Centre is located on the Giraffe Manor property. Thanks to Gate1, we could see the Manor and visit with the same Giraffe's that get fed all day by the high rollers at GM. After our last night in Nairobi, we'd transfer back to the airport and instead of heading to JFK, we'd take off to Seychelles. Seychelles is a cluster of 115 islands off the east coast of Africa. Mahé is the largest and houses the capital, Victoria. Many recommend Mahé for first timers because of its amenities, the convenience of the international airport, and its drivability to explore Seychelles' main attraction, the beaches! And there are SO many to explore. We found a lot of great options for rental properties at Eden Island on the northeast side of Mahé. A bridge connects it to the mainland but a stay there grants you a golf cart to scoot around the island. Renting on Eden Island is kind of like getting your own private beach area as well. If you're feeling like you want to stay put and relax instead of driving all over the island, your beach is right there outside your patio. Plus, the views from the marina look to be top notch. Deciding which Seychelles beach is the best, is a great internet debate. You could read 10 different articles and each author would give you a different beach and reason for why it's the best. Luckily, I stumbled upon this awesome website, seyvillas.com. They have a tab just for beaches all around the Seychelles islands. You can pick any island you want to research and up pops all the beaches located there, with pictures, descriptions, a map, and the amenities you'll find on that beach. Jackpot! The three I included are Petite Anse (above the Eden Island inserts), Anse Takamaka (just above with the stretching palm trees), and Tusculum beach (below). When I picture a Seychelles beach, it always has giant boulders lounging around the shallow wanter so for me, Tusculum beach seems pretty unbeatable... but I'd like to visit and see how they stack up ;) I think the plan is four days on the island and then we'd fly back to Nairobi to connect for our flight back to the States.
Although Kenya and the Seychelles are just one small section of Africa, we think it's a great place to start on the continent. South Africa is a close second! If you've been dreaming of Africa, what's the region you can't miss? Until Next Time, C + D
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6/30/2023 06:52:20 pm
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