Kenya Travel Tips
Kenya Hotels and Resorts - Best Price on Kenya Hotels and Resorts
Selected Kenya Hotels and Resorts for your preview with online hotel booking service!!! |
Kenya Travel Guide
"Here you will find the most important information about Kenya"
|
Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to approximately a quarter of a million refugees including Ugandans who flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya's administrative limits extend beyond the treaty border into the Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle.
|
|
Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978, when President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991.
The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition, defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform.
|
|
| SHOPPING |
Khanga, kitenge and kikoi cloths may be bought in markets and the Bishara Streets of Nairobi, Mombasa and the Masai market held in Nairobi city center on Tuesdays. There is a particularly good cooperative shop in Machakos which sells kiondos, bags stained with natural dyes and with strong leather straps. Makonde woodcarvings are sold throughout the country, and young Kamba and Masai men sell carvings and necklaces on the beaches of the south coast.
Shopping hours
Mon-Sat 0830-1230 and 1400-1730.
Note: The sale of souvenirs made of
wildlife skins (this includes reptiles) and shells is forbidden.
Currency Information:
Currency
Kenyan Shilling (KSh) = 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of KSh1000, 500, 200, 100 and 50. Coins are in denominations of KSh20, 10 and 5.
Currency exchange
Currency can be exchanged at the major banks. There are over 140 ATMs. Barclays has the largest network, with more than 65 ATMs located in Nairobi and Mombasa and all other major towns. Standard Chartered Bank’s computerised network allows access to 62 ATMs countrywide. International visitors with Visa cards can access their own bank or credit card account through any Standard Chartered dispenser, 24 hours a day.
Credit & debit cards
American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are all widely accepted. Major hotels now also accept payment by credit card, as do major safari companies, travel agencies and restaurants. Check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available.
Travelers cheques
These can be changed at banks, and are widely accepted. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travelers are advised to take travelers cheques in US Dollars or Pounds Sterling.
Currency restrictions
There is no restriction on the import and export of local or foreign currency. However, authorization from the Central Bank is required for amounts of 500,000 KSh and above.
Exchange rate indicators
The following figures are included as a guide to the movements of the Kenyan Shilling against Sterling and the US Dollar:
| Date |
May '04 |
Aug '04 |
Nov '04 |
Feb '05 |
| £1.00= |
140.57 |
149.13 |
153.86 |
146.32 |
| $1.00= |
78.70 |
80.95 |
81.25 |
77.48 |
Banking hours
Mon-Fri 0900-1500; 0900-1100 on the first and last Saturday of each month. National and international banks have branches in Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu, Thika, Eldoret, Kericho, Nyeri and in most other major towns. Banks in Mombasa and the coastal areas open and close half an hour earlier. Many of the banks and bureaux de change at the international airports open 24 hours every day. |
|
|
|
