The Rough Guide to Kenya (Rough Guides) [Paperback]

Richard Trillo (Author)

Book Description

Series: Rough Guides | Publication Date: May 17, 2010

"The Rough Guide to Kenya" is the essential travel guide to East Africa's biggest travel destination. "The Rough Guide to Kenya" is the ultimate companion for coping with cosmopolitan Nairobi; trekking through the northern deserts; going on safari in Samburu, Amboseli or Tsavo national parks and crossing the Great Rift Valley in a four-wheel-drive, inspired by dozens of colour photos. The guide unearths the best safaris, sites, hotels, lodges, camps, restaurants, and nightlife across every price range and offers experienced advice on everything from diving the coral reef to visiting Swahili ruins and flying over the savannah. You'll find specialist coverage of Kenyan history, wildlife, music and literature plus insider tips on visiting Barack Obama's ancestral village of Kogelo. Explore all corners of Kenya with authoritative background on everything from Indian Ocean beaches to safaris in Maasai Mara and climbing Mount Kenya, relying on handy language tips and the clearest maps of any guide. Whether you're heading on a two-week safari or visiting the country to work be sure to eat, drink and talk like a Kenyan with this must-have guide. Make the most of your holiday with "The Rough Guide to Kenya".

Editorial Reviews

Review

The knowledgeable Rough Guide to Kenya was a constant companion during my visit The Times

About the Author

Richard Trillo has been visiting Africa since 1978. He is the co-author of the Rough Guide to West Africa and editor of the African music chapters in the Rough Guide to World Music. He is now the Director of Marketing, Publicity and Rights at the London office. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 9 edition (May 17, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848361378
• ISBN-13: 978-1848361379
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Travel > Africa > Kenya

More About the Author

I first went to Africa in 1977, with a vague idea that I could hitchhike all the way to Timbuktu from my family home in the New Forest in the south of England. I left with a friend, with $100 each in $10 notes and a copy of the Michelin map. No guidebooks, no mobile phones, not much sense. We got to the fabled city, and home again, largely by good luck and the kindness of others, having learned what a visa is (a hard lesson when you're already half way across the Sahara and the Malian embassy is in Algiers) and what malaria feels like. Back in the UK I went to university, got a degree in sociology, and later went to London University's School of Oriental & African Studies to do a Master's Degree in East African Ethnography and Linguistics.

I'm the author of The Rough Guide to Kenya and The Rough Guide to West Africa and co-author with Emma Gregg of The Rough Guide to The Gambia and The Rough Guide to First-Time Africa. I was formerly director of communications at Rough Guides and I now work as a freelance author, editor, writer and PR consultant.

You can read my First-Time Africa blog at http://firsttimeafrica.wordpress.com, my Kenya blog at http://theroughguidetokenya.blogspot.com and my West Africa blog at http://theroughguidetowestafrica.blogspot.com. Follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/RichardTrillo (@RichardTrillo), email me at richardtrillo [at] blueyonder.co.uk and read more about me at the RoughGuides.com website or at my own website, richardtrillo.com.

Current titles:

The Rough Guide to West Africa 5th edition (2008)
The Rough Guide to Kenya 9th edition (2010)
The Rough Guide to First-Time Africa 2nd edtion (2011)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget Lonely Planet and Let's Go., February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Kenya, 6th Edition (Paperback)

The Rough Guide Kenya is an indispensable guide and is useful for first-time and veteran travellers to Kenya. Sections on literature and history complement excellent, detailed, and often witty coverage of nearly the entire country. The best thing about this book is the author's attempt to introduce the reader to the social and political realities of modern Kenya which lie behind the facade of safaris and curio shops.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good for women, November 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Kenya, 6th Edition (Paperback)

As a woman travelling alone in Kenya, the hotel information was very good- warned of bars and hotels you might not want to go to alone. Also, gave good advice on the best rooms in a hotel (e.g. not over the bar). This is true at least for hotels in the very cheapest level, as I was budget travelling and never stayed or ate in places above level 2 price range.
Additionally, directions on how to get to out-of-the-way places via local transport was really helpful.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revamped, looks better - but where's the spirit?, July 24, 2004

By 

Andrius Uzkalnis (Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Kenya (Paperback)

Rough Guide definitely looks smarter today than it used to. Typeface and design overhauled, and even their hideous logo (which STILL looks like a fire exit sign) has been jazzed up into a more agreeable fuzzy pharmaceutical-looking symbol. There are more photos, and better ones. Information, from what I could see, is accurate, and there good practical tips, as usual.

The problem is their writing. They say in their preface that Kenya is a hugely rewarding country to visit - but there is no evidence of the authors having a good time. The text is dry, uninspired, shallow; again, it reminds you of tax return guidance notes.

It does not FEEL like they liked the country; and, while it is evident that a lot of effort has been put in, it does feel like a 'contractual obligation product' rather than an inspired writing from someone who is genuinely connected with Kenya.

While I found hotel descriptions helpful, dining advice is the most disappointing aspect. People who know Kenya better than I do confirmed to me, with bewilderment, that restaurants appear to have been picked at random or, worse, still, their names have been copied from leaflets lying around in upmarket hotels. It is a real shame in a country where you can have the best Ethiopian meal outside Addis.

The section on getting to Kenya is hardly helpful - essentially lots of hot air on theoretically available airline options, prices which were out of date before the guide was even printed and a stubborn refusal to admit that these days, if anyone is too thick to check the price on the net, perhaps that person would be better off staying at home.

It is commendable that the guide is more open to all kinds of readers and does not presume that everyone only has twenty dollars a day to spend, but its value is diminished by the lacklustre writing. An informative and accurate guide does not need to be this boring.