Are you going to Kenya with Charlie's Travels? Fantastic! Your travel consultant will share loads of knowledge while planning your trip and during your travels. But if you want some extra background information, a travel guide is a great idea. There are many, but which one suits your trip best? We've listed the pros and cons for you.
What it is: Probably the best-selling travel guide on Kenya.
What they say themselves:"An English-language travel guide from the well-known Lonely Planet series about a popular tourist destination in Africa. In all our travel guides, we extensively describe the most popular, beautiful, and rare sights and help you make the best choices."Price: €19
Most recent edition: January 2018
Buy if: You want to learn more about Kenya and have a well-structured, beautifully designed travel guide. This guide contains plenty of images, and the texts are concise, making it perfect for a one- or two-week stay. Plus, this edition is very recent, so you're almost certain that the hotels and restaurants listed are still open and operating.
Don't buy if: You mind ending up in places where you're bound to run into other tourists—many travelers use this guide. Also, Lonely Planet guides have been getting thinner over the years, which is not a great sign.
TRAVEL GUIDE OPTION 2: CAPITOOL TRAVEL GUIDE KENYA
What it is: A pretty off-the-beaten-track guide with lots of photos.
What they say themselves: "The Capitool Travel Guides contain a lot of photos, illustrations, and maps, detailed drawings and floor plans of major sights, and three-dimensional images of historical areas. Also includes restaurants, accommodation, and transportation."
Price: €11
Most recent edition: June 2011
Buy if: You don't just want dry texts but also enjoy beautiful (3D) illustrations, photos, and colorful maps. This guide is perfect for visual thinkers and children. Also great: if you're traveling and encounter someone with whom you can't speak a word (though in Kenya, that’s unlikely), you can always pull out your guide and look at some pictures. This guide is written by Philip Briggs, an experienced traveler who works primarily for the renowned Bradt Guides.
Don't buy if: You want a more in-depth understanding of Kenya. The Capitool guides are beautiful, but with all that imagery, it tends to remain somewhat superficial. Also, this edition is already seven years old.
TRAVEL GUIDE OPTION 3: THE ROUGH GUIDE TO KENYA
What is it: An off-the-beaten-track guidebook about Kenya.
What they say: “The fully revised, full-colour 11th edition covers the country in fine detail. Learn how to cope with and enjoy Nairobi; visit the Maasai Mara without the crowds; explore lesser-known parks and conservancies; and make the most of the Indian Ocean coast.”
What should it cost: 15 euros
Most recent edition: June 2011
Buy it if: you’re planning to travel extensively and need more information about remote places. If you're traveling with Charlie’s Travels, you won’t need to worry about the practical details, but it’s nice to read more about wildlife and the history of the places you'll visit in this guide.
Don’t buy it if: you're only staying in Kenya for a short period or planning a beach holiday. This guide won’t be very useful in that case!
REISGIDS OPTIE 4: LANDENREEKS – KENIA
What it is: a smaller, Dutch-language travel guide that provides more background than other guides
What they say: "Kenya is a beautifully packaged problem country. Beneath the packaging of beautiful nature and a colorful population, lies a society characterized by bad governance, patronage, and corruption. The Landenreeks is the reliable source of information on more than sixty countries worldwide. The Landenreeks gives an accessible view of what really matters in a country."
What it should cost: 14 euros
Most recent edition: February 2010
Buy it if: you want to know more about present-day Kenya. While other guides may cover less about the political background and social situation of the country, Dutch journalist Ilona Eveleens (who works for the newspaper Trouw) provides a more detailed image of the country.
Don't buy it if: you’re looking for a recent, practical guide that tells you where to stay and where to eat. Also, it looks a bit dated when you see it lying around – but don’t judge a book by its cover, right?
TRAVEL GUIDE OPTION 5: TROTTER – KENYA/TANZANIA
What is it: A combined guide for Tanzania and Trotter, with lots of text
What they say: “This ‘Trotter’ travel guide provides essential information for a trip to Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar. The guide has a simple but clear two-color print without photos.”
Price: 25 euros
Most recent edition: March 2012
Buy it if: You want a guide with lots of text and some maps. Also handy if you're traveling to Tanzania, as this book also covers that country. Perfect if you're a backpacker traveling around, as the guide is primarily aimed at that audience. Additionally, this is one of the few Dutch-language guides available.
Don't buy it if: You need more images and struggle to form an idea without photos in your guide. Also, it might be inconvenient that Tanzania is included in this guide — perhaps you're not even going there. Lastly, it’s the most expensive (and not necessarily the most recent) guide in our overview.
TRAVEL GUIDE OPTION 6: THE BRADT TRAVEL GUIDE KENYA HIGHLIGHTS
What is it: The Bradt guide to Kenya, focusing on the highlights of the country.
What they say: "Kenya Highlights, first in a new series of colourful Highlights Guides published by Bradt, hones in on the best of this magnificent country and condenses it into a portable but informative guidebook aimed at first-time visitors planning or joining an organised safari."
What does it cost: 23 euros
Most recent edition: November 2010
Buy it if: you want great tips on accommodations and restaurants. In our experience, Bradt Guides are the most useful when traveling in Africa – though they may be a bit gloomy (no color and few photos), the tips for hotels and restaurants are often excellent.
Don't buy it if: this guide is very outdated and hard to find. So, it's better to wait for a new edition or go for a newer guide in the meantime.
Bottom line: our favorite guides for Africa destinations are often Bradt Guides, but since the Bradt Guide for Kenya is incredibly outdated, it's better to choose another guide. But which one? Our preference goes to the Rough Guide (which, unfortunately, is also quite old) or the most recent and well-updated Lonely Planet guide. If you want more pictures and/or photos or are traveling with kids, go for the Capitool Travel Guide! The Landenreeks guide is great for those wanting more background or the current situation in Kenya (though the country has changed rapidly in recent years), and the Trotter guide is the best choice for backpackers. And... for all insider info, you should, of course, still turn to the travel experts at Charlie's Travels. Start your chat here or leave us a message!
Geraldine Kemper discovered beautiful Kenya with her boyfriend
"From vast hilly landscapes in Masaai land to the dry desert and hot springs at Magadi, staying with a Masaai family and sleeping in a tent among the wildlife, having breakfast with fresh pancakes in the morning sun and going to bed after a beer by the campfire, it was an unforgettable holiday within a holiday. "
- Geraldine & Freek
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