Debunking Travel Myths, one article at a time!
Read and learn to make your travel easier and enjoyable. If it doesn't sound right to you, it probably isn't and there is a better way to do it!
Bring Back Dignity to TravelWith this pandemic, traveller expectations and awareness have been heightened and the airline or hotel willing to invest in safety and health as a priority will recover quickly and return to profitability in the shortest time possible. Shortcuts taken when it comes to health and safety measures will no longer be acceptable.
Therefore, and in the spirit of learning from our past mistakes, here is our wish list of the things we believe shall vastly improve travel experiences for all travellers.....(Read more..).. |
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2020's wins and losses in the travel worldThanks to the covid-19 pandemic, the 12th of March 2020 is a date that the tourism industry in Kenya will never forget. This is the date when Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of health, duly informed the Kenyan public of the very first case of covid-19.
This announcement dealt the tourism industry a fatal blow! Overnight, worldwide commercial travel simply vanished and a lockdown on movement was imposed on all of us. For 4 months thereafter, and with little to no sales in our coffers, we waited in dread as email after email notification from numerous hotel partners flooded our inboxes, letting us know of shutdowns, of scheduled flights cancelled, and of aircrafts halted in a scary display of unused expensive machinery, grounded with no real forecast of when the planes would fly again.....(Read more).... |
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Covid-19 Airline Rules for cancelled tickets from East-AfricaJust one issue overshadows everything currently, the Covid-19 epidemic. Its effect on International commercial Airline travel has been disastrous and non-essential passenger travel from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airports (really, all airports in eastern Africa), has been halted with a strict exemption given to chartered and expatriation flights. Under normal circumstances, the fare rules and conditions issued by airlines on your ticket would not come to bear. But these are not normal times; fare rules are sure to change. Therefore, if you are a flyer who is currently holding an airline ticket that you cannot use as long as the pandemic continues, then read on to find out how the following airlines, intend to honour their promises to their ticket holders...(Read more)...
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Travel First Class on Your Next International Flight!From the red-carpet reception to the shuttle in a Mercedes, Porsche or Limousine during your connections, the luxury that one experiences as a first-class passenger is top-notch. Many of the airlines will provide you with champagne and spa treatments from some of the world’s top luxury brands. Expect to find amenity kits from lines like Bulgari, Bric, Lalique and Aqua di Parma, as well as noise-canceling headphones from brands like Bowers and Wilkins. If you are celebrating a milestone, then you will want to make your holiday truly memorable, by flying first-class. Whether it is a honeymoon or an anniversary, treat yourself and your spouse to a first-class cabin experience. The heavenly treatment and experience will make your celebration a memorable one for a lifetime!......Read more.....
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WHY YOU MUST CHECK OUT OF YOUR HOTEL
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5 BEST AIRPORTS TO TRANSIT THROUGHA number of travelers will tell you that flying is a daunting and a most troublesome experience. And often, the best way to get through your journey quickly and efficiently is by flying directly to your destination. However, this is not always possible.
For instance, most of you, when flying from Nairobi to say the United States, Europe, Canada or Asia, will frequently want to know the duration of a layover, to help you prepare, mentally and physically, for the long wait ahead. With this in mind, here then is our pick of some of the best airports to transit through, based on our clients’ overall experiences at these airports....Read more..... |
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Timeless, Exotic Elegance at the Majlis LamuI think I may have run out of superlatives to describe the amazing Majlis resort. Ever wondered what it feels like to live like royalty? Well, staying at the Majlis can bring you pretty close! Exquisite rugs, hand-made Swahili-style furniture, elaborate well-appointed air-conditioned rooms,and two magnificent swimming pools are the crowning glories of this boutique luxury resort that was once a family retreat for the owners.
Situated on Manda Island in the Lamu archipelago, this beachfront resort, with its reminders of the beautiful Swahili culture, boasts a pristine private beach, breathtaking views and, is a dream for the romantic at heart – and this travel enthusiast of course. High wooden beams are on display throughout the hotel and you can see just how much attention to detail went into the design.....(Read more) |
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The DOs and DON’Ts for passengers on the new KQ Direct flights to the USOne of my clients, who is a frequent traveler to the US, tells me that due to her large mane of dreadlocks, she is frequently selected for the infamous ‘random’ search on arrival. The search target is usually her mane of dreadlocks where security will remove her carefully done up hairstyle and search her hair thoroughly. Her frequent travel has not only accumulated thousands of flying miles for her, she has also accumulated interesting conclusions about entry points into the United States. She beleives that JFK (John F. Kennedy airport) and LAX (Los Angeles airport) are the friendliest airports in the US and that she must always land at JFK or LAX, and then take a flight or travel by train to her final destination. I am therefore of the opinion (a simplistic opinion) that Kenya Airways is on the right track by choosing to fly directly to New York and not to any other state. My conclusion is tongue in cheek of course....(Read more)
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This Lavish Spa in Kilifi is worth a try!It is 8 months into the year. You are a mother, perhaps a wife, a homemaker and, you have a high stress corporate job. 8 months of doing everything and you are simply exhausted! Which is why the ultimate feel-good spa getaway is what you really need to jump-start and re-energize your batteries! Now, there are many hotels that have spas within their premises, an additional facility that if truth be told, is but a requirement that looks good on paper but is not the focus of the hotel’s offerings. Those spas are not what you will be looking for....(Read more).....
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The Forgetful Traveler!There is something refreshingly honest about admitting one’s weaknesses. My weakness is that I hate to pack a suitcase for any impending travel. And because I hate this task so much, I tend to put it off until the very last minute, thus ensuring that I forget a lot of the things I will need on the journey ahead. And who can blame me? Budget airlines, here and abroad, have forced us to cut our free luggage allowance down to almost zero!.....(Read more).......
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Country Charm at the Jacaranda Lake Elementaita Lodge If you are a frequent traveler on the Nairobi - Nakuru road, you will most likely have seen the ‘Jacaranda Lake Elementaita Lodge’ sign just after or before (depending on the direction you are driving) the famous ‘Kikopey’ meat joint. The lodge is just 500 meters in, off the main road and situated nearly 120 kilometers from Nairobi. The road to the lodge is a murram type of road but any type of vehicle – 4 wheel or salon- can get to the lodge. The rates to stay at the lodge go for Kshs. 5,999 or thereabouts per person sharing per night on full board meals, which means that Jacaranda Elementaita is an absolute steal for the frugal traveler!......(Read more)
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Understanding Direct, Nonstop and Connecting flightsWe have increasingly found that many of our clients seem to confuse direct and nonstop flights and consequently, use the terms interchangeably. Connecting flights seem to present a conundrum as well. With the exciting news that Kenya Airways will be launching direct flights to the United States in March 2018, I will help you understand what direct, nonstop and connecting flights means as well as give you the best tips on which flights may work best for your individual travel.
By definition, a direct flight should be a flight that takes you from point A, to be B without stopping. But this is not always so.....(Read more)..... |
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Peace and Luxury at Tandala HouseIt is customary, when giving holiday options to our frequent travelers, to describe the particular holiday experience as ‘Relaxing’, ‘tranquil’, ‘peaceful’, ‘Luxurious’ and even ‘blissful’ in order to appeal to the psyche of our tired clients and inspire them to want to leave immediately for said holiday.
Therefore, when a friend arranged a sojourn at Tandala house and tempted me by using my very own words, I had no choice but to say yes and see if this place lived up to our standards. As always, I did a little bit of research on Tandala house to allow me to prepare well for the experience.....(Read more)..... |
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Why is your Passport Important for travel?......Your passport is the most reliable form of identification for airlines, airport authorities and immigration counters around the world. A Kenyan passport is issued by the Kenyan government and is almost impossible to forge. We therefore require your passport details with us to ensure your smooth exit and entry into the intended international territory. When a new client calls on us for an airline quote for their international travel, the first thing we will always do is ask them to send to us a scanned copy of the ‘bio page’ of their passport. The bio page gives us the correct passenger names, their passport number, the date of expiry of the passport and their nationality. .....(Read more).....
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Have you paid the correct airfare for your ticket?The answer lies in your boarding pass!
Frequent fliers view the boarding pass as the document that will give you access to the restricted passenger areas of an airport and allow you to board your flight. But, your boarding pass holds all your travel plans, and your frequent flier account details. It is therefore advisable not to throw your boarding pass away anywhere. Shredding it is a better option. But most importantly, the Boarding pass also lets you know whether you have paid the correct air fare for the ticket you are holding. Allow me to explain...(Read more)... |
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Running late to catch you flight from JKIA? You can still make it! Here is how!Nairobi’s Mombasa road traffic is legendary.
Therefore, as a matter of policy and precaution, our clients are well briefed of the need to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their flight But even with all these precautions in place, inevitably, many of our clients will run late for their flights. These are some tried and tested actions that we undertake and the result is that many of our clients have made it to their flights on time.......(read more) |
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Helping you understand airfaresWhen you ask your travel agent to find for you the cheapest ticket quote, keep in mind that you will most likely be given a restricted airfare. Remember, ticket airline restrictions vary and the general concept that you need to understand is that the higher the price of the ticket, the less the restrictions on it. This concept applies whether the ticket is in economy or business class.....(read more)
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The ABCs of the Business Class ticketHaving a lot more options is what a business class ticket represents to the business class traveller and it is not a wanton display of wealth. However, it might interest every traveller to know that not all business class tickets provide unlimited options to the holder and sometimes, it is not surprising to find that everyone seated in the business cabin has paid vastly different prices for their tickets......(read more)......
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The ABCs of the Economy Class ticketEconomy class can be expensive if you must cancel/miss your flight for any reason. Restricted tickets have rules that range from non-refundable, name change not permitted, to non transferrable to non-assignable. This allows the airline to give you the low price but severely restricts any flexibility a passenger might need. The passenger must therefore make that flight as scheduled or they will risk additional and or cancellation costs when they need to change the departure date of the trip. With some airlines, the ticket is so restricted that the passenger must buy a new ticket – and forsake the other one - if they are forced to postpone the trip....(read more)
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Smart TravelWhen someone said Kenyans have peculiar habits they were dead on point. We do not plan our holidays. We love to screech to the surprise. Easter is on Friday! May( Labour)/Madaraka/ Heroes day is a long weekend!
By show of hands how many have locked down their family vacation and have their vacation plan mapped out? One …two… let’s appreciate those two…. Lack of planning translates to expensive fares and hotel rates, rushed unclear decisions and time wastage. Do not get me started on what this does to your health…(Read more). |
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