Transit Tourism in Africa
(Kenya
Transit Safaris, Transit Tours in Kenya, Kenya Airport Safaris, Excursion
from Jomo Kenyatta Airport Nairobi, Short Tours from Nairobi, Short
Safaris from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport)
Africa,
being a developing continent has a lot of its ups and downs on travel
arrangements. Visitors from other continents have to change flights
in order to reach their destinations. This sometimes takes several hours,
if not a day or two before they can transfer into another plane which
takes them to their destinations. Unlike in the first world, a traveler
can take more than 24 hours in a city, booked in a hotel or at the airport
waiting for a connecting flight. A case scenario is where an individual
has to wait for hours at an African airport wondering what to do for
many hours in the name of waiting for a connecting flight to her or
his destination. This can also lead to a traveler being booked in a
hotel by the airline for an overnight stay or more before boarding a
scheduled flight.
In this case traveling becomes a bore for the traveler. Why not change
into a transit tourist if you have more than 5 hours waiting at the
African airport? Come out of the airport with a transit visa and visit
the nearest tourist destination from the airport and return in time
to check in for your connecting flight, if you have a day or two to
wait then take a one day or two trips as the case may be to visit the
most interesting destinations. Most African states have started implementing
this type of tourism thus, Transit Tourism in Africa. If you are in
Cape Town, visit the Robben Islands or visit the waterfront. If you
are in Johannesburg, visit the Soweto slums and back to the airport.
Transit
Tourism in East Africa
East
African countries, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have pleasant tourist
destinations just few kilometers from their capital cities or their
international Airports. If you are in Kenya, Nairobi national park and
other tourist destinations are just 8 kilometers away and if you are
at Mombasa's Moi international Airport, visit the beaches and the Heller
Park at Bamburi. While at Uganda's Entebbe Airport, take a trip to Speke
Resort-Munyonyo for leisure or take a boat to Sesse Island for a days
boat ride or alternatively, visit the source of the Nile at Jinja through
the Mabira Forest for the lovers of Nature. In Dar es Salaam, take a
city excursion and if time allows, take a boat ride to the Pemba and
Zanzibar Islands. In the alternative book a day in a five star hotel
for your health club activities.
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Transit
Tourism in Kenya
Nairobi's
Jomo Kenyatta international Airport (JKIA) is the gate way into and
out of Africa. Most Africa destined flights connect in Nairobi thus;
it is a hub and transit point for travelers to other parts of the world
to an extent that many people regard Nairobi as the Capital city of
Africa. This being the case, many transit travelers stay many hours
at the airport or are booked into various hotels in the capital city
of Kenya-Nairobi or in Mombasa for a day or two before their flight
connections. This has made the Kenya government to issue transit visas
to transit travelers. The travelers then turn into transit tourists
for the hours or days they are in Nairobi or in Mombasa.
Nairobi,
in the entire World, is "The Word's only Wildlife capital city".
This is because it has the Nairobi National park which is 3 kilometers
from the Airport fence with its official entrance gate 7 kilometers
away from the airport. Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta international Airport
(JKIA)is centrally located in Kenya and as such offers diverse options
for hours or one day Nairobi city tours and safaris. These tours will
range from having a Nairobi town tour to simply whirling away in a 5
star hotel in the city. The other tourist destinations are so close
to the city or are within the Nairobi city. Private tours and safaris
to these destinations can be organized by Victoria Safaris within Minutes
using our Car Hire Services and Customized Mini Vans with Pop up roofs
for Photography and Game viewing.
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Transit
Tourism Destinations within Nairobi City
(Nairobi
National Park, Animal Orphanage and the Nairobi Safari Walk )
Nairobi National Park is the only park within a capital city in the
entire world. It is located 15 min from the central business district;
the park is an attraction to transit travelers as it incorporates the
Nairobi safari walk as you enter the official gates of the park and
the Animal orphanage just less than 100 meters from the Nairobi safari
walk gates.
This tour takes you to the Nairobi National Park where it is possible
to find a variety of wildlife which covers an area of 44 square miles,
and is followed by a visit to the Animal Orphanage where sick and stray
orphaned animals are taken care of before being returned to the wild.
Nairobi National Park is unique by being the only protected area in
the world with a variety of animals and birds close to a major city.
The park has a diverse birdlife with over 400 species recorded and four
of the "Big Five" can also be seen here. However some species
are seasonal. It is one of the successful rhino sanctuaries and is the
natural habitat of the black rhino. An optional add-on for this tour
is lunch at the nearby Rangers Restaurant or Carnivore Restaurant.
The
Carnivore Restaurant
Carnivore has been voted as one of the world’s 50 best restaurants
and one of the only two in Africa. The disclosure was made in a survey
conducted by a panel of 71 famous restaurants, food writers, chefs and
gourmands. Featured in the Restaurant Magazine, a unique guide to the
world’s finest restaurants covering a wide range of restaurant
styles from the haute cuisine to the finest down-to-earth good food,
the Carnivore is complimented for its credible range of exotic meat
describing its eat-as-much-as-you-can atmosphere as totally amazing.
"Carnivore, often referred to as ‘Africa’s Greatest
Eating Experience’, has been nominated as restaurant of the year
in Kenya on many occasions, but this recent recognition confirms Carnivore
as one of the greatest eating places in the world,"
Started by the Tamarind Group in 1980, the Carnivore has played host
to more than 2,000,000 customers from all over the world, including
a multitude of celebrities through its 25 years of operations. It is
one of Kenya’s greatest exports and has greatly enhanced the country’s
reputation as a tourist destination, with visitors making a compulsory
stop over for the famous Nyama choma feast. You are not in Kenya before
you visit the Carnivore for lunch or dinner.
National
Museum, Nairobi City, the Parliament, the Bomb-Blast Area and Nairobi
Railway Station
The National Museum, located within the Nairobi City, is a beehive of
activity for tourists and transit travelers. You expect to see the origin
of Man, the African artifacts, the African snakes and the fossils remains
of Man and more at the Nairobi Museum. You proceed to the city centre
where you visit the Bomb Blast area where the American Embassy was located
before it was bombed by the terrorists, pass through to the adjacent
Nairobi Railway station and see the Old Locomotives and the lunatic
train before you reach the Railway Museum in the adjacent location of
the Nairobi Railway Station.
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The
Maasai Village
Visit
an authentic Maasai village to see and learn about the culture of one
of Kenya's indigenous peoples. The Maasai tribe lives in Kenya. They
are predominantly a warrior tribe whose lives revolve around herding
cattle. One of their beliefs is that God entrusted His cattle to them.
Thus, they measure their wealth by the number of cattle they acquire.
They live in small settlements of 8-15 huts per kraal. The huts are
made of branches, twigs, grass, and cow dung and urine formed into a
plaster and applied to a branch frame. The mixture is as strong as cement
after it dried in the sun and does not smell. On a typical visit to
a Maasai village, you will be welcomed with song by the young “Morans”.
They demonstrate various unique aspects of their lifestyle including
how to make a fire using sticks, how to get blood from their animals
(the blood forms an important part of their diet), a tour of their huts
(manyatta’s) and give a lecture on their culture and lifestyle.
This is a tour well worth opting for to learn more about Kenya’s
indigenous peoples and is an add-on option available on tour in Amboseli
or Maasai Mara.
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Daphne
Sheldrick - Elephant Orphanage
Daphne
Sheldrick (As part of the David Sheldrick Conservation Foundation) rehabilitates
orphaned baby elephants and other wildlife here at her home just outside
of Nairobi National Park. These babies have lost their mothers to poaching,
death, injuries, on getting lost in the wild or other tragedies. Daphne
and her dedicated staff raise them to be released back into the wild
when they are ready. Tour departs at 09:00 a.m. on Mondays to Saturdays.
An optional add-on for this tour is lunch at the nearby Rangers Restaurant
or Carnivore Restaurant.
Giraffe
Manor
The Giraffe Manor, built in 1932 by Sir David Duncan, is situated on
120 acres of land just a few miles from the centre of Nairobi. Since
1974, the Giraffe Center has been the home pf the endangered Rothschild
Giraffe whose numbers have increased from the original 5.Guests can
feed and photograph the giraffe and the Warthogs at the Center, and
also wander through the adjoining primeval forest to view the bushbuck,
Dik Dik, and more than 180 species of birds.
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Karen
Blixen Museum
This museum was originally the home of Karen Blixen, who came to Kenya
from Denmark in the early part of this century; the present museum site
is at the heart of the larger coffee plantation run by Blixen between
1914 and 1931. The house and surrounding land was donated by the Danish
government to Kenya at independence; the house was restored by the Danish
government and was used during the filming of Out of Africa, which immortalized
Karen Blixen's book by the same name. The Museum was opened to the public
in 1986.Much of the original furniture is on display in the house, and
combined with the beautifully landscaped gardens and encompassing view
of the Ngong Hills, the Museum has continued to be very popular destination
for international and local visitors.
The
Bomas of Kenya
Bomas of Kenya is the unique entertainment spot of is own kind in Kenya,
providing a cross-section cultural education of Kenya lifestyle and
the original African music. Located only 10 kilometers from Nairobi
city, Bomas is surrounded by a natural setting of forest trees and quiet
suburb. In this exciting African spot, ethnic groups and their living
styles including music, crafts, and dancing are displayed in traditional
African huts. The auditorium has a capacity of 3,500 seats and performances
are usually made in the open air stage during non-rainy days. The vast
space and perfect lighting echoes the magic African drum music and dinner
entertainment in a most wonderful evening in Africa. There are daily
performances showing different tribal dancers including the famous Kamba
and Maasai warriors. Bomas of Kenya is a whole African experience, giving
you the African magic dance and our traditional age warm hospitality.
Transit Day Tours from Nairobi
Nakuru
National Park
Located 160 kilometers away from Nairobi, this safari takes you to the
most visited National Game park and bird sanctuary-The flamingoes of
Lake Nakuru. It has an abundant wildlife species; it is where you will
definitely see the Black and white rhino and is located few meters from
Nakuru town on your way to western Kenya.
This park is 188sq kms, enclosed and managed by the Kenya wildlife service.
Among other animals found in the park include lion, flamingos, geese,
leopard, waterbuck, giraffe, hyenas, buffalos, baboons, monkeys, zebras
and gazelles.
This 1 day trip tour is ideal for the transit tourist since it allows
you time to come back to Nairobi to catch you flight. End your 1 day
tour and drive back to Nairobi in time for dinner at the famous Carnivore
Restaurant on your way to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for departure.
Mount
Longonot Crater
A drive into the Rift Valley Escarpment and catching a glimpse of the
beautiful escarpment is quite adventures for a transit tourist. Hike
the Mt. Longonot and see the inside of the crater, this can take 3hrs
if you can manage. Have picnic lunch and depart for Lake Naivasha and
its environs, you can enjoy a boat ride as you view hippos, crocodiles
and fishes in the lake. End your 1 day tour and drive back to Nairobi
in time for dinner at the famous Carnivore Restaurant on your way to
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for departure.
Hell’s Gate National Park
The Hell's gate National Park is located in Naivasha, 1½ hours
from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The park is famous for its
sheer vertical cliffs that are popular with rock climbers and trekking
enthusiasts. The rocky cliffs create a façade so beautiful and
multi-colored that it rivals the Grand Canyon especially when stricken
by the afternoon sun. Walks and biking are offered at the park. Animals
to be found in the park include zebra, buffalo, gazelles, and other
small game. This one day tour is ideal for adventure seekers who want
to knock themselves out with a trekking, biking, and sightseeing safari.
End your 1 day tour and drive back to Nairobi in time for dinner at
the famous Carnivore Restaurant on your way to Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport for departure.
Victoria safaris urges the transit travelers to customize their tours
with us as they book for their travels into Africa or call on to us
as you arrive at the airport. We will meet you at the airport and take
you for a memorable tour of your choice.
Customize Your Transit Tours with us.
