Has anyone been to Nairobi?

RedPanda

I'm currently in the process of booking flights to and from Madagascar. It looks like I'll be flying with Kenya Airlines via Nairobi. For £70 extra I can stay in the city for two nights.

Is that a stupid idea? How big a dump is the city? Tripadvisor lists some wildlife sanctuaries, are they easy to get to? Traffic sounds an utter nightmare. I realise that this isn't Kenyan Life but this board's busy and I need to make a booking soon!

alanscoachdriver

Been to the airport (One of the worst I've been to and I've been to a lot) and the drive in and out through the suburbs. Looked like a dump and wouldn't be rushing there anytime soon.

Just remembered that we stopped at some giraffe sanctuary as well in the suburbs. Good for about 30 minutes. Hope that isn't one of the "highlights" they may be selling you...

Go to Madagascar and enjoy the 2 extra days there.

Absurdistan

http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1974866_1974860_1974811,00.html

Redskin

Twice, although it was 20 years ago.
Forget wildlife sanctuaries, plenty of that in Madagascar - and go to to the Modern Day and Night Bar on River Rd:more than enough wildlife in there for anyone.

Walking down the main drag during evening rush-hour, the only white man among thousands -literally - of black Africans is an experience if you're a white man who has never been to an African city.

Go...

RedPanda

Thanks for the tips. Antananarivo also sounds a dump and Madagascar is very, very different to Kenya and I've not been to mainland Africa. It'd therefore be a great tick and Nairobi National Park has a good few animals you associate with the plains. Therefore I'm now thinking of arriving in Nairobi the Friday afternoon, national park the Saturday daytime then come home that night.

I'm well travelled but am admittedly worried about safety. There is the usual crime but with the massacres currently taking place there is a chance of civil war or similar breaking out...

Heisenberg

I spent 2 days in Nairobi before backpacking around Africa for 5 weeks back in 1994, I was about 20 at the time but found the city a terrifying place and a dump

PL54

Transferred via Nairobi to Mombasa once and can agree that the airport is absolutely shocking - would have no desire to leave its relative safety though.

Kessell7

Been to Madagascar twice in the last 10 years and always stopped off in Maritus, Much nicer option if your budgets alright.

Weegie Addick

Lived in Nairobi for a couple of years in mid 90s. Like any big city, it has good and bad. The national park is well worth visiting. Airport in a bit of a mess since a fire a couple of years ago. Yes, traffic can be horrendous.

RedPanda

To give a little more info, if I don't stay over I have instead have a 7 hour wait in Nairobi airport. Other routes are far more expensive. It'll also be Kenya's wet season.

I could get picked up by my hotel at the airport, stay there overnight without really leaving, get taken to the national park, go back, get my bag then off to Heathrow. What could possibly go wrong?!

Thanks again also, after posting here I asked on the Lonely Planet forums but so far haven't had a response.

Edit: I've taken a healthy dose of MTFU and have booked it as above. Yay, Kenya!

Lincsaddick

Travel anywhere in Africa requires patience and a certain suspension of disbelief .. Kenya and Nairobi in particular are more 'westernised/europeanised' than you might think ... take it with a pinch of caution allied to humour and you'll love it .. after all. it's only for two days

bobmunro

PL54 said:

Transferred via Nairobi to Mombasa once and can agree that the airport is absolutely shocking - would have no desire to leave its relative safety though.

I've done exactly the same transfer and would totally agree - the airport is scary enough let alone leaving it.

Mind you, Mombassa is worse!

superclive

Get on the the tuska! When i arrived in Nairobi in 2006 i put the tv on in my room and cafc were on live! I got it put on in the bar and drank loads of tuska. We lost to pompey.

Redskin

RedPanda said:

Edit: I've taken a healthy dose of MTFU and have booked it as above. Yay, Kenya!

Good for you. If it's still there and you have an hour to spare, do have a beer in The Modern Day and Night Green Bar, so called because it had been open 24 hrs a day for a decade when I was last there. I went in there one afternoon and they were 'decorating ' the place, but it was business as usual.There was a drunken Kenyan slumped over his table, his bare back and hair speckled with green gloss paint.

You're no doubt aware of the usual precautions, but don't walk around with anything expensive - cameras etc - on show in town. Throughout my many travels around Africa, I always had my cash in a doubled over elasticated bandage round my ankle. This was particularly useful when I was held up at knife-point - in Cameroon I might add - and frisked down;they didn't bother getting as far as my ankles...

Anyway, you'll be fine, enjoy your trip. Jambo!

RedPanda

Redskin said:

RedPanda said:

Edit: I've taken a healthy dose of MTFU and have booked it as above. Yay, Kenya!

Good for you. If it's still there and you have an hour to spare, do have a beer in The Modern Day and Night Green Bar, so called because it had been open 24 hrs a day for a decade when I was last there. I went in there one afternoon and they were 'decorating ' the place, but it was business as usual.There was a drunken Kenyan slumped over his table, his bare back and hair speckled with green gloss paint.

You're no doubt aware of the usual precautions, but don't walk around with anything expensive - cameras etc - on show in town. Throughout my many travels around Africa, I always had my cash in a doubled over elasticated bandage round my ankle. This was particularly useful when I was held up at knife-point - in Cameroon I might add - and frisked down;they didn't bother getting as far as my ankles...

Anyway, you'll be fine, enjoy your trip. Jambo!

Cheers. I've also had my share of scrapes, including being robbed at gunpoint (in broad daylight) in Colombia. This is on my own though, and for me it has a greater stigma attached to it than say Bogota, Rio, etc. I'm probably too used to scaremongering now, if you listened to every warning then you wouldn't leave your house.

Covered_End_Lad

If you want to go to Kenya the only place to go is Mombasa

The_President

Went through Airport with long stay whilst on way to World Cup in South Africa in 2010 - agree with other comments - what a dump ! One piece of advice that we took from TripAdvisor was to pay to get into one of the Lounges in the Airport - that was certainly the best bit of advice given to us - you can get away from the bedlam that is outside.

PL54

The_President said:

Went through Airport with long stay whilst on way to World Cup in South Africa in 2010 - agree with other comments - what a dump ! One piece of advice that we took from TripAdvisor was to pay to get into one of the Lounges in the Airport - that was certainly the best bit of advice given to us - you can get away from the bedlam that is outside.

We did the lounge bit - I've been in better pub toilets

The_President

PL54 said:

The_President said:

Went through Airport with long stay whilst on way to World Cup in South Africa in 2010 - agree with other comments - what a dump ! One piece of advice that we took from TripAdvisor was to pay to get into one of the Lounges in the Airport - that was certainly the best bit of advice given to us - you can get away from the bedlam that is outside.

We did the lounge bit - I've been in better pub toilets

Blimey, you must have been to some sh1tty pubs in your time. However, still MUCH better than outside - at least there's room for you to sit down in the lounge.

Redmidland

worked in Nairobi for a while.....try and stay in city center and all should be ok....travel from airport to city is...well lets just say interesting!! As with anywhere keep wits about you and dont travel to outskirts.