I am planning a trip to Kenya in March 2009. Kenya is on the State Dept list of countries with US travel warnings. I am interested if anyone had any security concerns traveling in Kenya. Also any info on weather conditions and animal migration would also be helpful.
Reply to this Hi, i will be there for two weeks from the 24th of Feb. Im Kenyan but in living in London at the moment.If you have any questions in particular just get in touch.
Reply to this US Travel Warnings: Ignore them. Those were old and misinformed. Kenya is safer than the US (in my humble opinion).
Weather: Warm and dry in Jan, Feb. March is expected to be cold and very wet - but could be warm too!. April and May usually cold and wet.
Animal migration: The only notable migrations - wilderbeest - occur in August/September.
Karibu Kenya!
Reply to this LOL, yup you bet it is !!! Still waiting for the drive by shootings to start.Try comparing the rate of fatalities in western cities to the equivalent in Kenya,no comparison.Yes there are incidents but they tend to get blown out of all porportion.A Kenyan friend died in London last weekend ,no mention of his mugging in the local news !!!! Let that happen to a tourist in Naiobi,the world stands still,the Reuters desk flies out their top stringer !!!
Reply to this After coming close to a Rwanda-style breakdown, Kenyans are now much more mellow.
I live & work in Nairobi, and haven't heard of or witnessed an act of crime in a very long while now. Whenever I travel upcountry, I havent witnessed any sort of crimes around me. Seriously.
As for the street urchins, those no longer exist in the Nairobi CBD.
Petty crime e.g. pickpockets exist everywhere. Kenya is as safe as Rwanda as Tanzania as Italy as Germany.
Simple Reason:
1: We are not actively targeted by "terrorists"
2: Kenyans are relatively more tolerant than most Westerners.
Reply to this Let that happen to a tourist in Naiobi....
I am usually more concerned about what happens to the muggers in Naoibi. The locals hate thieves and chase after them and beat them, sometimes with sticks. What scares me most, is that I would not be able to shout for help if I was being robbed in case that happens to the robber, because I dont think anybody deserves that.
Reply to this After coming close to a Rwanda-style breakdown, Kenyans are now much more mellow.
What in your opinion is the cause of them becomming more mellow? Is it because they dont want to have unrest that could damage their economy? Or have they just run out of steam?
Reply to this Who cares,really what is important is that tourists have a safe and pleasant time in Kenya wherever they are be it upcountry ,central ,the coast or anywhere that local kenyans would go without fear.As long as you follow simple rules applicable in any country around the world,Third and First world you will be fine.In Kisumu and the surrounding districts the volunteers from VSO and Peace Corps walk around quite freely and very late in safety and peace.It is really the same in Nairobi as long as you avoid the known spots for criminal activity.
Reply to this ...follow simple rules applicable in any country around the world....
I wouldnt say that. There are issues specific to the various countries.
Reply to this God this is tedious,ok ,just keep your valuables out of site,stay to well lit streets, etc etc.
Alternatively instead of being a tourist and enjoying each country for what its worth,stay home and have some Oreos rather than scaring other people.
All those millions of tourist that visit Kenya must be wrong and petrified after all these scare stories.
Dont visit if you find it that scary.
Over and out,
Byron(White male with family)
Reply to this Kenyans have for a very long time "only" witnessed our neighbours north, south, east and west get under the curse of civil strife, but that curse never really got us. It was always somebody elses' problem - until last year. We finally realized (the hard way) what politics, tribal "differences" and social-economic class systems can break down to. It was painful in so many ways, and no one wants to see that again.
Running out of steam? No. Any peoples anywhere will pick machetes and slash each other given enough incentives - economic, social, whatever. It takes a greater sort of understanding to override that emotion/urge and tolerate each other regardless of our differences.
Besides, in most cases of civil strife, foreigners are "usually" left out of the general carnage (IMHO). Locals realize foreigners are not resident per se, and therefore pose no inherent harm. (Zimbambwe is an exception though)
Reply to this There are general rules of conduct for tourists/visitors anywhere - dress code, where & when to walk/not walk alone, what to carry, what to conceal (cash,expensive gadgets) etc etc. Anyone who follows these simple guidelines will be as safe on the average street in Nairobi as in New York (without the risk of arrest and 5hr questioning by the cops/FBI just because you are dressed in a SWAHILI KANZU - which most people associate with ISLAM, which they still associate with TERRORISM). Its all about open-mindedness, tolerance and simple humanity...
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