Kenya – Feb 2025

Tour Package: TourRadar Magic of Kenya Safari Tour – 7 days

As is always the case we had flight issues. BA kept us on the tarmac because of engine issues and then canceled the flight. We were taken to a hotel overnight and rebooked in a Lufthansa flight the next day.

This meant we reached Nairobi at 10pm, reached the Airbnb by midnight and were picked up at 8am for the Safari.. so not much time to recoup and unjetlag!

Day 1: Nairobi to Maasai Mara

James, our driver and guide, drove us and the co-travelers to the Lenchada tourist camp with a brief stop at the point overlooking the great rift valley. Roads in Kenya aren’t exactly first world and it was a very bumpy ride, especially once we got off the main highway.

Shortly after checking in that evening we went out for our first game drive in the Masai Mara and were quite pleasantly surprised to see the number and variety of animals you encounter right away. Zebras were the first to greet us along with Impalas and Thompsons gazelles. The 2 hour or so drive was sufficient to see a very wide variety of species. Perhaps the packs of elephants put up the best show.

Back at the camp we had dinner and went to our tent for the night. A budget camp like this provides you the basic amenities which are quite sufficient and comfortable. Buffet meals consist of eggs, bread, beans, sausages, tea, coffee for breakfast. Lunch and dinner have rice with some sort of meat, lentils and vegetables and sometimes Indian style chapatis. The camp was solar powered with electricity available only between 6-10pm and 5-7am. The shower had hot water all day and the beds were comfortable with enough blankets and mosquito nets. Expect howling animals in the middle of the night and chirping birds early in the morning.

Day 2: Maasai Mara

We had an early breakfast and headed out for a day long game drive in the Maasai. Most tour vehicles are Toyota Land Cruisers and some Nissan vans fitted with pop up roofs.

James with his trained eyes spotted a pride of lions in the distance and drove around the roads to get to them. Word spreads fast through the dispatch system and there was a rush of vehicles to see them. We saw the lioness come out of the bushes but being surrounded by safari vehicles decided to sit down and wait for a bit before heading back into the bushes. So did 2 of her cubs.

We encountered more packs of lions through the day but they all were sleeping their afternoons off. Back in the camp for dinner we found out that some jeeps had indeed found some lions feasting on a Buffalo before going for their prolonged afternoon siestas.

Predators like leopards and cheetahs are rare to find so we were quite lucky see a leopardess walking along the road and a cheetah feasting on a carcass.

Some of the most memorable moments were elephant packs walking while eating grass and giraffe packs eating from tree tops. There’s something about these majestic beasts and their calm, behavior that leaves a lasting impression.

Even without the animals the African savannah is a beautiful sight with its expansive grasslands broken up with the occasional baobab tree and hills.

Day 3: Drive to Nakuru

This was mostly a transit day from Maasai Mara to Nakuru. Road travel in kenya is quite dependent on the amount of traffic you encounter going through towns on the way. You could make it fast through some stretches followed by being stuck behind slow moving trucks for long stretches inhaling their exhaust.

We made it to Nakuru city late afternoon and checked in at the Matfam resort. For some reason us and our co-travelers were the only clients this evening and got to enjoy their rather expansive property including the swimming pool area, fruit trees and a full buffet spread for dinner.

Day 4: Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha

Nakuru is a Swahili word meaning dust and you encounter quite a bit of it driving through the city and the park. The lake itself is shallow and manmade with its total area varying greatly between seasons.

Entering the park you drive along the lake for a while and get to see a plethora of birds. Pelicans are in plenty with a mix of others like spoonbills, egrets, herons and fish eagles. It’s supposed to be home for thousands of flamingoes but we only saw a handful and these were still quite white with signs of pink as they feed on the Cyanobacteria that give them their colour.

We got to see a number of rhinos although from a distance and many baboons. There were also many zebras, impalas and gazelles.. animals that are present in large numbers across the country.

From Nakuru we drove over to lake Naivasha reaching in the afternoon with enough time to check in to the hotel, get some rest and go out for a boat ride on the lake.

The ride was a good experience on this large lake that’s a lot deeper than lake Nakuru. There’s plenty of bird watching to do with all the pelicans and egrets, fish eagles and kingfishers. Crescent island, which is more of a peninsula, is a privately owned area where you can pay to walk among the wildlife. We only found out about this while boating along its coast but would have definitely gone for the walk if we had known in advance.

After the boat ride we headed over to Lake Naivasha resort hoping to get a closer look at the hippos we noticed on their property. This turned out to be a great idea and the hippo caretaker even came up to tell us about their names and personalities (Steve being the male of the pack) and how they show up on time thrice a day to eat leftovers that the resort provides them.

Day 5: Hells Gate Gorge Hike and Drive to Amboseli

The next morning we went to hells gate gorge.. so named because of an old volcanic explosion that killed many locals.

This is the only public park that allows one to bike or walk along a path with wild animals around. Not keen on biking we decided to go halfway in the Land Cruiser and walk the rest of the way. This is a highly recommended activity as it’s quite a treat to walk so close to the animals. We got to see a group of impalas crossing the road up close and giraffes in the distance. The rocky mountain edges around the park and the morning sunlight made this a special experience.

At the end of the road you go down into the hells gate gorge itself and get to walk between the steep mountain sides carved into amazing ridges with the enormous amounts of water that flows through the gorge during the rainy season.

After this we got on the road to Amboseli. This is a rather long and tiring drive and we made it to Manjaro camp rather late. However, the staff were very welcoming and made fresh dinner for us.

Day 6: Amboseli Game Drive

After a good nights rest we started on a full day gane drive the next morning. The sunrise is beautiful and you can see hot air balloons.

. Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa sits across the border in Tanzania. On a clear day it’s majestic size and snowy peak provide a picturesque background for the nature and wildlife in amboseli.

Amboseli is the home of the African elephant including Craig the largest elephant in the world. We had many encounters with large packs of elephants going about their daily business and crossing the road. We also saw a number of hippos near the water bodies and many species of birds including the rare secretary bird and many more more flamingos than in Nakuru. It’s quite easy to find grazers like zebras, gazelles, wildebeest but Lions and cheetahs are rare and we didn’t see any.

The following morning we went for our final game drive. The day was sunny and clear and you could see mt Kilimanjaro in all its beauty. As luck would have it, a large tusker came up close to our vehicle with Kilimanjaro in the back and provided us the best photos of our trip in the final few minutes in the park.

From there we took the long drive back to Nairobi.

Day 6,7: Nairobi

We stayed in westlands, an upper middle class, safe area with plenty of dining options and shopppng malls.

We visited the National Museum of Kenya which was very impressive with its collection of ancient human remains, the birds section and colonial history of Kenya. Most of our local handicraft shopping was done at Spinners Web which has number of vendors and a cafeteria with good food options.

April 20, 2025 0

Costa Rica – Dec 2024

Flight: Toronto, Canada to San Jose, Costa Rica on Air Transat

Tour: TourRadar Pura Vida Experience

San Jose:

We arrived in San Jose a day before the start of the tour and checked into an AirBnB. Thanks to Air Transat the checked-in bag did not arrive on the same flight which resulted in some headache filing lost baggage paperwork and getting out of the airport much later than anticipated.

The next morning we left the Airbnb and checked into the Sleep Inn hotel as part of the tour package. The hotel was comfortable and located in the heart of the city. We found a nearby mall (San Pedro) to go buy some essentials (while waiting for Air Transat to deliver the lost bag) and were quite surprised to find that many locals spoke fluent English. Having had language issues in a couple other Latin American countries this was a welcome change.

In the evening we took a walk around the neighborhood and ended up at an event at the Plaza de la Democracia. Malpais, a CR band playing that night was quiet impressive and is now part of my Spanish music playlist! Waking across the street we had some meso-american dishes for dinner at El Lobo Mestizo restaurant which were pretty good.

Tortuguero:

The next morning we were picked up by a shuttle to take us to Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero. After a couple hours we were transferred to a boat as the destination is not accessible by road. We quickly realized how dense the Costa Rican wildlife is as our very knowledgeable guide Abel kept us busy with sightings of sloths, birds and monkeys all through the journey.

Arriving at the lodge we were greeted by a Keel Billed Toucan sitting in a tree next to the pier. This was my first real life encounter with a Toucan and despite having seen pictures and videos it was hard to believe a bird so exotic and beautiful could exist.

Later in the afternoon we took a short boat ride to the nearby Tortuguero village, a community of around 2000 making their living off tourism. Tip: try the local coconut water.. its amazingly delicious and refreshing.

During our stay at the lodge we were able to see the beautiful sunrise from the beach on the west side and were kept quite busy watching the plethora of birds, monkeys and flora in and around the property. The beach is the nesting site for thousands of turtles during the wet season from July to October. However, since we visited mid December we only saw the depressions in the sand that where the nests had been and some shriveled turtle egg shells as evidence of the great natural phenomenon that took place a few months prior.

The highlight of the stay was a 3 hour boat tour of the canals with a young tour guide and driver who could sight all kinds of wildlife hundreds of feet away in the dense forest. This was a truly amazing experience watching all kinds of birds, turtles, monkeys, bats, caymans and crocodiles.

La Fortuna & Arenal Volcano:

From Tortuguero we took the boat back and then a shuttle to La Fortuna and checked in to Arenal Paraiso resort.

It was cloudy and rainy during most of our stay which meant we never got to see the Arenal mountain as most of it was always covered by clouds. Rain is quite normal in a rainforest so it didn’t deter most tourists from participating in the Volcano hike in the morning, however, the clouds made it hard to see much even when we climbed up to the viewing spot on the mountain. Either way, it was a memorable experience hiking and learning about the incredible 1968 volcano and formation of the twin Arenal peaks.

Post-hike our package included the hot springs at Baldi. This was fun.. they have around 25 springs with the larger ones having their own themes, followed by a sumptuous lunch buffet at their restaurant.

Arenal Paraiso itself seemed like a nice resort although we only stayed for a short while. Dinner at the restaurant the first night was unimpressive with with 3 dishes having overcooked meat and 2 in the group who had the Jamaican chicken having some tummy issues overnight. But the 2nd dinner at the wet bar was pretty good. They also offer hot springs and other activities (such as ziplining) which we didn’t get to try out.

Montverde:

From La Fortuna we transferred to Montverde. The journey included a shuttle bus and then a boat ride across the incredible man made Lake Arenal and then a van to the hotel in Montverde. While most of our shuttle transfers in CR were comfortable experiences (Interbus provides punctual, safe drivers and mostly functional in-shuttle WIFI), this particular van driver seemed to be an independent contractor and took us on a rushed, bumpy ride on mostly unpaved roads.

Either way we made it to Montverde Country Lodge as our next stop, had lunch at their restaurant (good food) and were picked up by a Selvatura Park shuttle for an included tour… the Hanging Bridges walk. Like Arenal, Montverde was cloudy and rainy all through our stay but what’s a cloud forest without clouds!

The walk went through 8 bridges at different levels of the Montverde tree cover and while the clouds didn’t let us see very far they did create a dreamlike atmosphere and nice pictures.

Dinner that night was at Restaurante Delucia across from the lodge and we were quiet happy with the food and service.

Tamarindo:

The next morning we were picked up again by an Interbus shuttle for a long transfer to Tamarindo. On the way we stopped to change buses at the Restaurante Mi Finca. What made this stop memorable are the Macaws that live in the trees on the property and seem quite comfortable having lots of camera toting tourists around. This was the only time we got to see these rare birds in CR (and one more time during our next transfer to San Jose!)

Well, we arrived at the Wyndham hotel in Tamarindo late afternoon and immediately had to change into summer clothes to adjust to the 30+ degree, sunny weather (quite a change from the cooler, rainy weather in Arenal and Montverde).

Wyndham is not located next to the beach but provides regular shuttles to the town and the Langosta Beach Club. We took the shuttle down to town and made it to the beach in time to watch a spectacular sunset. It’s a nice, clean little town with many options for shopping and food. We ate at the ‘Ay Caramba‘ Mexican restaurant (good food) with a Mariachi band entertaining the tables and followed it up with some good gelato at Venezia.

The next day we spent most of the afternoon at Langosta Beach Club going in and out of the water and relaxing with snacks and drinks. Tamarindo’s is a great beach with a long flat approach into the water. You can find many experienced surfers and wannabes taking lessons. The evening was spent walking around the town again, another dinner at Ay Caramba (I guess we really did like it) followed by locally made ice cream at Solado. We had Dulce de leche and Chocolate Rocher which were both delicious.

There were no tours included in the Tamarindo stay which was a good thing to take it easy in a beach town after a hectic few days through various places. Wyndham is a good hotel with great views from the rooms, a decent breakfast and a nice infinity pool and bar setup.

San Jose:

Our final transfer was a long road trip back to San Jose with a stop at the Restaurante Mi Finca, which ended the package tour part of our trip. We arrived late, checked in to the Airbnb and had a quick dinner at the nearest restaurant still open.

On our final day in CR we walked to the National Theatre of Costa Rica and had brunch in its cafe which has beautiful Venetian architecture and frescoes. We visited the Museo del Jade and then Uber-ed to the Museo de Arte Costaricense but it had already closed by the time we got there.

The final dinner was at Amana restaurant and turned out to be one of the most interesting dining experiences I’ve ever had. It’s a relatively new business that was started by 3 young friends one of whom is the main brains behind their very unique menu. They were also kind enough to show us their kitchen and share the story of how their venture came together. This was the perfect ending to an amazing time in this very beautiful little country.

Another highlight of the day was the URBN Escalante building (located in the upscale Barrio Escalante neighborhood with a great gastronomic scene) where we stayed. Its got a beautifully designed lobby and a floor with a number of themed social rooms. Most people in the building seemed to be travelers like us.

December 30, 2024 0