Hotels & Food

Accommodation

When not on safari accommodation is normally in comfortable “western” style hotels with conventional toilet and shower facilities. The hotels we use have pleasant gardens and provide a quiet and peaceful retreat to unwind at the end of a busy day. On safari, depending on what you have chosen to do, accommodation will vary from camping in tents or staying in self-contained cottages. In a climate that is generally conducive to outdoor living camping is no great hardship. In all cases we try to provide acceptable toilet, washing and shower facilities are provided.

Depending on arrival/departure times you may need to stay a night in Nairobi either at the beginning or end of the trip. If this is the case we normally put people up at Wildebeest Camp on the outskirts of Nairobi and handy for the airport.

Food

Generally the places you are staying in provide meals with a strong European flavour. East African food is based around a few staples: maize, beans and bananas. Meat is an expensive luxury for most local people.

As a rule, the food will be fine but: go for cooked food rather than raw (e.g. a hot pasta dish rather than a cold salad). Fruit is fine as long as you can peel it and don’t have ice in drinks unless you know it has been made with filtered water. There may be times when you will have the opportunity to eat more local food e.g. you might be visiting a school and be offered lunch or you might want to buy a snack during the day when travelling! Generally this will have been freshly prepared and is normally fine.

Meals on safari normally take the following form. Substantial breakfasts start most days, lunches are relatively light, often sandwiches or a light pasta dish with the main meal of the day being taken in the evenings with soup, a main meat or fish course followed by a pudding or fruit. Camp cooking in Kenya can be quite sophisticated and people are normally pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food provided.

If you have any special dietary requests then you need to let us know about them in advance of the trip.

Water

It is recommended that you purchase bottled water for daily consumption - it is readily available everywhere. You should consciously drink more than you might normally do at home. Do not drink water from taps!

Drinks

Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite etc. (sodas) are available in bottles but deposits are paid on the bottles so don’t bin them and don’t take them away unless you have paid for the bottle. Tea is a very common local drink, often served with milk and sugar already included. Locally grown coffee is fantastic, but is not usually offered outside of tourist hotels. Locally brewed ‘lager type’ beers such as Tusker or Kilimanjaro are very cheap and very good, but avoid more exotic brews such as African Brewed Guinness which at best will give you a headache. In most places you will be able to buy recognisable spirits such as gin, vodka, etc. Smarter restaurants will have reasonable wine lists. Home brewed beer and palm wine are probably best avoided.