By James Asudi
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 (Layover Tours) in East Africa
East African countries, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania have pleasant touristic destinations just few kilometers from their capital cities or their International Airports. If you are in Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – Nairobi, 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 Islands 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. As an alternative you can book a day in a five star hotel for your health club activities.
Transit Tourism (Layover Tours) in Kenya
Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta international Airport (JKIA) is the gate way(Airline hub) 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(layover) 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 @ US$ 20 per traveler. The travelers then turn into transit tourists for the hours or days they are in Nairobi or in Mombasa.
Nairobi City, in the entire World, is “The World’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 City Center 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.
Transit (Layover) Tourism Destinations within Nairobi City
(Nairobi National Park, Nairobi Animal Orphanage and the Nairobi Safari Walk, Carnivore restaurant)
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(layover) 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 bird-life 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.
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.
Nairobi city tour
(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 center 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.
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 (manyattas) 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.
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.
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 (Layover) Full Day Tours from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport,
(One Day Layover 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 flamingos 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 188 sq 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 facade 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(Layover) 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.
Send Enquiries to: info@victoriasafaris.com
http://www.victoriasafaris.com/africa/transittourism.htm
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