What to do in Kenya (in addition to safari and beach)?

[Whichwhatnow]

Hello! DH and I both have our birthdays in Sept so were considering booking a safari - something we've always wanted to do. I've been having a look at the various destinations and Kenya seems like the obvious choice for the safari itself, as well as having some lovely beaches, but I'm struggling a little bit to work out what else to do there...

We'd usually combine beach/mountains etc with a bit of city exploration/historical stuff but all of the itineraries and 'Kenya highlights' I've come across seem to be very heavily focused on just the safari and various wildlife sanctuaries. We'd probably want to do a max of one week (maybe a bit less) for the safari and maybe 2 or 3 days at the beach (not massive beach goers although I do love to snorkel!). What else would anyone recommend for the remaining 4/5 days or so? Should we look elsewhere? SA and Cape Town appeal but the safaris don't look quite as good...

Any advice gratefully received!

Shimoni Slave Caves
Hell’s Gate National Park
Koobi Fora

I did Safari in Kenya many years ago.. don't underestimate how tiring it is

We just did Safari /beach.. lots of actinitueun in hotel. Wibdsurfing etc.

Ooh thanks both of you - the Shimoni caves in particular look fascinating and it looks like it could be combined with a boat trip to Kisite and Wasani Island. Now thinking of spending some extra time at the beach, windsurfing etc sounds good too 😊

Hell's gate is brilliant as you cycle yourselves round for safari,it's awesome. Masai mara is awesome.

Could you go to Uganda etc and see the gorillas? Tanzania and climb Kilimanjaro?so many options!

@tonyhawks23 thanks - a couple of years ago Kilimajaro would be the obvious choice (and the cycling too probably!) but due to a chronic health condition anything like that is pretty much ruled out 😣. Will have more of a think about things to do in neighbouring countries though, good shout!

Also consider going to Tanzania instead of Kenya. Can do beach flop on Zanzibar and visit Stone Town. Ngoro Ngoro crater and Olduvai Ridge (footprints of first human beings) etc.

I’ve climbed mount kenya, amazing and afterwards went white water rafting, also amazing!

I’ve been three times but I didn’t think leisure travel to Kenya was recommended at the moment?

There's a lot to do in Nairobi, from the elephant orphanage and giraffe sanctuary, to tours of downtown (I went with Nai Nami, who are former street children). There's the Karen Blixen Museum and some good shopping in Karen and Langata, and the Nairobi National Museum is definitely worth seeing if only for the section on ancient hominids.

How bad are the health problems? if you can still manage some exercise but not Mt Kenya level you could spend a few days in the Naivasha area, boat safari on the lake, visit to hellsgate national park for a short cycle and walk round the gorge, potentially climb Mt Longonot (its very steep but not a long walk and a well established path).
If its ruling out all physical activity then there is plenty to do in Nairobi as mentioned above. Just be careful about where you stay the traffic can be horrendous. Quite a few of the tourist activities are Karen side of town (Elephant orphanage, Giraffe Sanctuary, Karen blixen house, Kazuri bead factory etc.) So that is often a good place to stay.
If you'd like to see a bit of city life, visit some restaurants and bars etc. then westlands area has a lot of that as well as a lot of hotels.
I would also say spend more than 2/3 days at the beach, I am not a lie on the beach all day kind of person but I love the coast, activities such as snorkelling, windsurfing, paddle boarding, canoeing etc. are all possible and pretty affordable by european standards, Lamu is interesting for the history and culture and theirs a few ancient swahilli ruins around. Hells kitchen canyon is also pretty cool. Everything on the coast is pretty spread out though so you'll need to do decide which place appeals to you the most.

If you are in Nairobi there is a walking tour called Nai Nami. I can't recommend this highly enough. Former street children turned tour guides. Heartbreaking and life changing but the guys are amazing and its also so much fun. They also taught us how to avoid street scams as they have done them all in the past.
Kazuri bead facory is another enterprise is Nairobi worth a visit.
The giraffe center is good and the elephant orphanage amazing.
I would second staying a few days in the Lake Naivasha area. Areas to walk and boat trips.
We used a company called Natural world safaris.

I was going to say the same thing.

Is Kenya safe? I thought there were loads of troubles there's?

Perfectly safe, I wouldn't recommend going wandering around slums at night but I wouldn't recommend that in parts of London either
As you can see from the link below, the UK government's advice is that the bulk of Kenya is a green Zone and the bit that is orange isn't somewhere you would be going anywhere near as a tourist anyway.
www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/kenya

Sorry to jump on we are looking to do this next year with two children what would be best beach and safari ? Can we book as separates or better as a package ?

@Tinydancer123 how old are the kids? Safari is tough on small kids particularly the commercial package ones. Lots and lots of driving. If they're small and budget allows I'd look at some of the more boutique family oriented lodges in private ranches rather than the national parks as they have much more freedom to do activities like walks, fishing, picnics etc. rather than being forced to remain in your car at all times.
Beach wise it depends if you want lots of life (diani) quiter but still plenty around (watamu or kilifi) I wouldn't recommend lamu with kids. It's beautiful but not a lot happening.
Feel free to DM me if you'd like, I love playing tour guide

Jumping on this old thread just to check what you decided to do in the end? We're going to Kenya in October and planning to do 3 nights in Nairobi, 2 nights in Voi for Tsavo East, 5 nights in Diani beach. If you've been to Nairobi, what did you do there? Any recommendations?