We have been to Kenya twice. The first time (2007) we backpacked to Nairobi and took a train to Mombasa. The second time (2012) we travelled with a friend from Kenya and experienced everything from a traditional wedding with 400 guests to a remote rural village without electricity or running water.
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ShareLast Friday we listened to a presentation from a travel company that offers experiences in Kenya beyond beaches and safaris. Here is some inspiration.
Kenya 2007 - a guest house in Mombasa
On our first trip to Kenya, we each packed a backpack and flew to Nairobi. We only stayed one or two nights in the capital. Then we took the train to Mombasa and checked into the cosy little guesthouse Le Petit Paris.
The place was a short walk from the beach and was run by a French woman who cooked fantastic meals. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much more of Kenya this time as there was election unrest and we chose to move on to Tanzania, but we got the chance to come back in 2012!
Kenya 2012 - Wedding and rural village
On our second trip to Kenya, we travelled with a friend from Kenya. We stayed in her friend's apartment in Nairobi, went to nightclubs, ate Kenyan food with our hands and drove ourselves around in the hysterical traffic - exciting! We also got to experience a Kenyan wedding with 400 guests. It was truly an amazing experience with amazingly beautiful clothes and a lot of joy.
Last but not least, we got to go to our friend's mum's house. by Rangalaten hours by car from Nairobi and not far from the border with Rwanda. Here they lived on a small farm with a few animals and their own crops, but without electricity or running water. We were welcomed everywhere and it was great to experience a little more of it. real Kenya.
Gems of Kenya - beyond beaches and safaris
It's easy to think that Kenya as a tourist destination is "just" about beaches and safaris, but there is much more to see and experience. Last Friday we listened to a presentation from Gems of Kenyawhich, together with several local tour operators, organises different types of trips in Kenya, with a focus on sustainable tourism and experiences beyond beaches and safaris.
Gems of Kenya organises visits and participation in humanitarian projects, meetings with different local tribes (not just the Maasai), mountain bike and horseback riding excursions, hiking, mountain climbing, visits to tea and coffee plantations, fishing trips, golf trips, yoga trips, photography trips, women-only trips, the opportunity to organise your own wedding and much more.
Have you been to Kenya, and what would you like to see and experience if you travelled there?
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Kattis says:
Have never been to Africa but there seems to be several beautiful places there worth visiting. What fun that you had the opportunity to really see more than the typical touristy in Kenya! ☺ I think it sounds interesting with both photo and fishing trip I will say!
07 November 2016 - 9:03
LinizTravel says:
Oh how interesting!!!! Kenya is a dream destination indeed!!! Hugs
07 November 2016 - 9:26
Ama de casa says:
What fun and what an experience to have the honour of being at that wedding! 🙂
We were in Kenya for a month in 2005. Visited friends who lived in Nairobi at the time and also went to a wedding. But of the slightly smaller kind. My cousin and her husband got married at the embassy and we were four guests (plus the bride and groom then 😉 ). Nice too.
We travelled around ourselves with self-organised tours (with and without a hired driver) and got to experience a lot of this amazing country. We visited several different safari parks, known and less known, and were lucky enough to see all the Big Five. For me who has "a certain" interest in animals and nature, this trip was one of my greatest experiences ever. 🙂
07 November 2016 - 9:28
admin says:
Lennart, it seems quite popular to travel by motorhome in Morocco, and Morocco has a lot to offer!
Kattis, Africa really has a lot to offer and we would love to see more of that continent! And yes, being able to socialise with locals and experience the "ordinary" life at a destination always gives more.
Liniztravel, it's an experience to travel in Kenya ðŸ™'
Ama de casa, oh what fun to read about! It sounds like you had an amazing experience in Kenya!
07 November 2016 - 9:38
Lennart says:
Africa is a blank spot except for day visits to Morocco.
Maybe we'll take over the motorhome at some point.
07 November 2016 - 8:53
Fantasy Dining says:
I read your interview on Nordic Nomads about what happened. What a thing...
07 November 2016 - 10:17
Ditte says:
For me, Africa is a continent I have not visited, other than the northern valleys. Worked in Tunisia and have visited Morocco, Senegal and Algeria but no more.
South Africa is now most attractive and beyond tourism. My husband has been to Kenya a few times, also beyond tourism, and I have heard stories of great experiences.
I understand that you have had both exciting and interesting trips to Kenya with incredible experiences and fun now with a travel agency that focuses on something other than perhaps the more touristy.
07 November 2016 - 10:48
Emelie says:
Possibly there will be a new Kenya trip for us this spring, even this one beyond the usual tourism 🙂 Whether it will happen for us is not yet nailed down but the rest of the gang will at least go there with another load of medical equipment.
07 November 2016 - 11:36
nils-åke says:
How interesting. Our daughter was invited to Croatia for a wedding and she thought it was cool.
07 November 2016 - 12:30
Bengt-Göran says:
Hello!
We are going to South Africa in a few weeks, three weeks of experiences are booked.
It will be exciting when we are there but it is very far away with many flight hours.
07 November 2016 - 14:49
Geddfish says:
You really had great experiences there 😀 wedding, it must have been huge!
I have never been to Africa so I don't know what I would like to experience. Everything.
I was actually "on my way" to Gambia, but had to cancel, as there was talk of a donation.
Hugs from a snowy Lidköping and I'm going out again soon!
07 November 2016 - 17:21
Veiken says:
Wonderful Kenya! A country to come back to! 🙂
07 November 2016 - 17:41
Discovering The Planet says:
What an experience that wedding must have been.
A unique experience for a few. We spent
a week in Watamu in Kenya a few years ago
and it was with a fantastic experience that
we didn't have to share with many other tourists.
07 November 2016 - 18:09
Steve says:
There are so many wonderful things to see and experience if you go off the beaten track. It's even more interesting when, like you, you have local friends.
07 November 2016 - 18:13
Marianne - Glimt av verden says:
Oh, Kenya was actually the first country I visited outside Europe, and before that I had only been to Denmark, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and the UK, so you can say that it was a super exciting experience for the untravelled 19-year-old I was at the time. My experiences included a week in an orphanage in Nairobi where we renovated two bedrooms, a visit to the Kibera slum, a safari in the Masai Mara and beach life outside Mombasa.
I have since been back to Kenya once, but only for an overnight stay in Nairobi after travelling from Zambia through Malawi and Tanzania and ending up in Kenya.
I love Africa and would like to see much more than the 11 countries I have visited so far!
07 November 2016 - 18:24
JoY says:
There is something about Afrika❤️har my old passport that smells like Africa. Lived a couple of years in Liberia and Zimbabwe. Been to South Africa and Tanzania.
Hugs
07 November 2016 - 18:29
BP says:
The best way to explore a country in a non-touristy way is to do as you have done - "tag along" with someone who is from there and can show you what it looks like in real life. That's what we did in Gambia. I am no friend of organised tours, where you only get to see what the organiser wants you to experience. Of course you want to show off your country from the best side, but it's still not quite the same experience, I think.
What a treat to be at such an amazing wedding. Guess you were the only ones who were white. Must have felt a bit "exotic" both for you and the guests.
07 November 2016 - 19:18
Cathinka says:
What an honour to be part of this joyful day! At the dinner table yesterday, we talked about how we would like to attend an Indian wedding at some point, but I can imagine attending an African one too!
07 November 2016 - 20:07
Matts Torebring says:
I could imagine a day trip by boat from Gibraltar and back. Otherwise, Africa doesn't appeal to me. It feels dry, dusty and sandy. I guess I'm just too comfortable.
07 November 2016 - 20:29
admin says:
Fantasy Dining, well, that particular trip turned out to be more dramatic than expected ...
Ditte, Senegal sounds interesting and South Africa too. You have to see what you have time for in life ...
Emelie, that sounds very exciting! What exactly are you going to do?
Nils-Åke, weddings in other countries are often a special experience to be part of!
Bengt-Göran, but oh how exciting and wonderful! Yes, it will be a long flight ... but it will certainly be worth it!
Geddfish, of course the donation was infinitely more important than anything else!!! Otherwise, Gambia also sounds interesting.
Veiken, yes indeed! 🙂
Discovering the planet, that sounds exciting! I don't even know where it is, but it's always an experience to get off the beaten track!
Steve, the best experiences when travelling are almost always the personal encounters and experiences!
Marianne, I understand that the first trip to Kenya was a transformative experience! And now you've had time to see a lot, but we understand you, we also want to go back to Africa 🙂.
JoY, I really understand that you have a special relationship with Africa!
BP, I agree! Organised tours are great, but the best experiences are when you get up close and personal. And yes, we were the only white people at the wedding... 😉.
Cathinka, yes it was fantastic to be part of! An Indian wedding would certainly be an experience as well 😉.
Matts, you can certainly travel very comfortably in Africa, if you pay for it. But if it's not appealing, you should of course choose other destinations!
07 November 2016 - 21:08
Heléna says:
So wonderful post and so many nice pictures! What a fun experience to be part of a big wedding there 😀 Hugs!
08 November 2016 - 0:00
Anna, Travel on a Cloud says:
How exciting to be part of a Kenyan wedding! No, I've never been to Kenya - not anywhere in Africa actually. Exciting to read about this. But hard with the dramatic end of the first trip! Good that you could come back and "take revenge".
08 November 2016 - 21:57
Christine's Stories says:
Oh this will be so much more interesting now that I am soon on my way down to Africa. How cool to experience so many different things in one and the same country. I can imagine that it was an experience with that wedding!
09 November 2016 - 0:51
Linda, 155cm.se says:
Hanging out with the locals must be the ultimate way to travel - fun!
12 November 2016 - 19:59
mishin says:
Tanzania and Zanzibar are in many ways the ultimate combination trip. An intensive safari week with fantastic experiences in Africa's best safari area, the Serengeti.
14 November 2016 - 8:53