There's a lot of variables here... depends on the country, places to visit, type of accomodation, etc. etc. Basically any month can be good somewhere but Africa is a huge place. Can you tell us a bit more what your interests are?
Having said that, and I hope it's ok for me to mention this, I'm co-hosting a 12-day photo trip in Feb to Kenya (which is a great time of year) and due to a cancellation we have two spots free which we're offering with a 400 usd discount. PM me for details if you might be interested.
kungfu-lens wrote:
what the cost for africa trip include tour guide and a place to stayed? when is the best month to go?
If you've read through this thread you would need to nail down what you are looking for as there are so many variables. Wet season or dry season (green or dry and dusty)? Do you care about migration or not? National parks or conservancies? Can you afford your own vehicle or will you share with friends or strangers? Are you looking for value camps or top shelf camps?
You could spend between 5k and 15k per week depending on these variables. Or less if you are inclined to do your own self drive.
I have a fair amount of safari experience (I haven't posted here for a while, so I'll mention that I'm a retired professional wildlife conservationist, and I leave a week from today for Kenya for my 33rd Africa trip).
For those of you looking for a break from the Mara and haven't visited Ol Donyo yet in the Chuylu Hills, I highly recommend it.
Their watering hole, with its permanent blind accessible by foot from the camp, offers can't-miss photography opportunities.
For those of you who have visited East Africa and traveled from the US, do you have any tips on fighting jet lag? How big of a factor is it on enjoying the first few days you're there?
8 hours difference is difficult enough on its own - when you add in the fact that you may waking up at dawn local time in the bush, I can imagine its pretty tough.
Thinking about flying direct JFK-NBO and wondering if one full day and one night in Nairobi is enough to get somewhat acclimated
When traveling to Kenya, I usually land at NBO after 9pm. I spend one night in a hotel in Karen, typically getting in between 11pm and midnight, then head to wherever I'm going first out of Wilson Airport the next morning.
For some reason, after flying from somewhere in Europe (Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Heathrow) and not getting to bed until around midnight, I always adjust well and am ready to go the next morning. Actually, I've travelled to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda with dozens of different people and jet lag hasn't been a problem for those who've flown in from the US via Europe.
I've never done the Kenya Airways direct shot from JFK (I'd only be willing to do that long a flight in Business Class now that I'm so old and cranky), but I have a couple of people joining me in Kenya next week who are doing that flight in Economy. If you PM me in a couple of weeks I'll let you know how it went (one of them is 24 and the other is 58).
Amuchnick1 wrote:
For those of you who have visited East Africa and traveled from the US, do you have any tips on fighting jet lag? How big of a factor is it on enjoying the first few days you're there?
8 hours difference is difficult enough on its own - when you add in the fact that you may waking up at dawn local time in the bush, I can imagine its pretty tough.
Thinking about flying direct JFK-NBO and wondering if one full day and one night in Nairobi is enough to get somewhat acclimated
I fly from the west coast of Canada, so I have the same issue. My experience is that you run a bit on adrenaline/excitement when you first arrive and that keeps you going. Then there are times where you'll use the downtime midday between game drives to grab a power nap if necessary. I find the jet lag hits me super hard after the trip when I'm home. It takes me the better part of a week to get back on track!
I travel to Africa from Vegas and the legs are tough for me because I cannot sleep on planes. To break-up the travel I usually stop-over somewhere. British Airways via London is my favorite but Amsterdam, Paris, Istanbul and Dubai are other options. Stopping in Europe for a couple of days gets me close to in-sync with Kenyan time.
I usually have no trouble getting in-sync with Kenyan time when I arrive. When I arrive, I just stay up until a normal bedtime and when I wake in the morning I’m on local time. I do like to have a buffer day my first full day in Kenya if the schedule allows. It gives you a safety margin in the case of travel delays and there are things to do in Nairobi. I would never schedule a safari to start on the day I arrive in Africa. I’ve seen some people do this on Tanzania north circuit trips.
I have done the Kenya Airways JFK-NBO flight. Kenya Airways 787’s are some the first built and they look it… The inflight service is adequate. According to reviews, where Kenya Airways seems to fall-down is if there is a long delay/cancellation they seem totally unprepared to deal with the issue. Most airlines struggle with this now-a-days. They do have a generous carry-on policy which is critical.
While I don’t experience jet lag going to Africa, on return to the states I have sometimes lagged a bit. In October, on return from the Mara, I was a bit out-of-it for about 3 days.
I've flown non-stop for every trip to Africa and never thought jet lag was an issue for a photo safari.
Now don't make the mistake I did on my 2nd Africa 3 week trip where I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro the first week after arriving and the next two weeks shooting wildlife. That schedule was totally backwards and dumb.
We leave from a really small regional airport in the western US, so our travel was on the long side. We got into Nairobi at about midnight. I believe we stayed three nights in Nairobi, we did some sightseeing and just wanted a buffer in case we had any trouble on our trip. I think adrenaline and excitement kept us going for the first few days! We also stayed a night in Nairobi prior to departing, which maybe we could have done without. The flights out don't leave until like 11pm, and we were back by lunch. But it was a nice relaxing end to things anyhow. Man I want to go back! And I'll second the comment above, Ol Donyo was our first stop and it was the most amazing experience my family has ever had. We all cried when it came time to leave!
VKM2F wrote:
I fly from the west coast of Canada, so I have the same issue. My experience is that you run a bit on adrenaline/excitement when you first arrive and that keeps you going. Then there are times where you'll use the downtime midday between game drives to grab a power nap if necessary. I find the jet lag hits me super hard after the trip when I'm home. It takes me the better part of a week to get back on track!
I’m on the West Coast of the US and I have the same experience. I don’t have issues going to Kenya and I can dive right in when I arrive there. But I do have issues coming back home to the states.
Anyone stayed with Ishara in the Mara? We are starting to plan our second trip and I'm looking at luxury, family friendly camps. They are a "Canon Brand Experience Center", whatever that means, but if they have some RF600's or RF100-300's laying around for guest use, I wouldn't say no to them!
Also considering Mahali Mzuri and the &Beyond camps there, Bateleur and Kichwa Tembo. Still early in planning (it's a summer 2026 trip) but trying to get a start on it.
Amuchnick1 wrote:
For those of you who have visited East Africa and traveled from the US, do you have any tips on fighting jet lag? How big of a factor is it on enjoying the first few days you're there?
8 hours difference is difficult enough on its own - when you add in the fact that you may waking up at dawn local time in the bush, I can imagine its pretty tough.
Thinking about flying direct JFK-NBO and wondering if one full day and one night in Nairobi is enough to get somewhat acclimated
Please remember that everyone’s body is different when you receive input. In my case, I need 8.5 hours sleep to feel good, I’m a late-late owl (can’t sleep until 1-2A so am always sleep deprived and it’s hard to wake up in the AM), and I get jet lag going East and West (unlike my don’t need much sleep, early bird friends who can hit the ground running after an overnight 8 hr. flight).
My tactic for managing my 12 hr. time change (HST>PST> TZ/Kenya) after being sleep deprived is to do a one day/one night layover in Amsterdam to catch up on sleep and to get totally rested with help from ambian. Once I hit the ground in Africa, adrenaline kicks in and it’s smooth sailing from there.
Since I’m the worst case scenario, yes - I believe that your one day/night in Nairobi should be fine.
I'm going: Baltimore>Chicago>Frankfurt>Nairobi>Wilson.
Last time I went I drove to Dulles then Frankfort>Nairobi>Wilson
The problem with Dulles was getting to and from Baltimore. Was in Bumper to Bumper traffic for nearly 5 hours after the two flights from Nairobi to Dulles. Rather go through Chicago than Beltway/DC traffic.
Spent a few days in the Kruger - dry and hot this year. Some rain about 8-12 November, but since pretty dry.
These bird photos were taken in the southern half of the park. Right now Deb and I are in the St. Lucia Wetlands area (eastern Cape) in KwaZulu Natal (about 30 minutes from the town of Hulhulwe).
I just left Samburu, Kenya which has always been a wonderful place to go, but due to heavy, unusual rains found almost no game around during the three day stay. In total I only saw two lions, a few giraffes, etc after long and tiring game drives. In the past most of the animals stayed close to the river to have access to water, this time they dispersed very widely and were very hard to find.
I hope things return to normal soon for the sake of the locals who depend on safari tourism!
In contrast, I’m in Mara North now and it has been great so far.
I just left Samburu, Kenya which has always been a wonderful place to go, but due to heavy, unusual rains found almost no game around during the three day stay. In total I only saw two lions, a few giraffes, etc after long and tiring game drives. In the past most of the animals stayed close to the river to have access to water, this time they dispersed very widely and were very hard to find.
I hope things return to normal soon for the sake of the locals who depend on safari tourism!
In contrast, I’m in Mara North now and it has been great so far. ...Show more →
Thanks for the heads up. I'm heading not far away to Laikipia in January and then Amboseli afterwards and am hopeful rain doesn't disrupt things. Climate change has thrown much of the traditional weather patterns out the window.
