Destination: Kenya

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For this edition of the Woodlyn Travel blog, we’re going on safari with luxury travel expert Jessica Rosen. Jessica recently visited Kenya for the first time and came back with a lifetime of memories. Here she shares with us some of her favorite experiences and luxury travel destinations:

Throughout my career in travel I’ve had the opportunity to travel extensively, particularly throughout Asia and South America. But I had never had the opportunity to go on safari. Until now. My expectations for my first safari were HIGH, like “high as the hot air balloon I rode over the Mara” high. 
My high expectations were met, exceeded, wrapped and tied with a bow, and exceeded even more. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing my fellow travelers experience their first safari and seeing the benefits of what a travel advisor can provide. Surprise dinners? Check. Unexpected Sundowners? You got it. Safari hats and other swag? Love it! Upgrades at every hotel? Obviously!!! We in the travel industry can grow to expect quite a lot, because we know all the dazzle is possible, and seeing it be given to people who aren’t expecting it is a gift in its own right.

For my first visit to Kenya, I went to Nairobi, the Maasai Mara, Lake Elmenteita, and Amboseli National Park and experienced three different clients from the KAI Collection of luxury destinations: Liberty Africa Safaris DMC, Sarova Hotels & Resorts, and Naibor Camp. 

Liberty Africa Safaris

Liberty is the ultimate expert when it comes to tailoring an African experience to exceed your expectations. From the moment we landed we were happy with the quality of vehicle we received, and more importantly how our guide immediately felt like an extended family member. For the next 9 days we considered ourselves The Big 6, my family and our driver-guide Julius. On our way to our first hotel night we were already taught several words in Swahili and given the low down on what to expect for the trip. What we weren’t expecting was to cry nine days later when we had to say goodbye to Julius. 

Liberty provided us with a seamless experience in Kenya. We felt safe, happy, and eager for more and more game drives to see all of the wonderful animals.

Sarova Hotels & Resorts

If you’re unaware of Sarova Hotels then I am pleased to introduce you to the wonderful Kenyan brand of hotels. Sarova has seven properties in Kenya and while on this trip I got to stay at two of them and do a site inspection at a third. One thing that is clear about Sarova properties: The customer service is some of the best customer service I have EVER had. It embodies the world renowned Kenyan hospitality. 

Sarova Stanley

The history of Sarova Stanley dates back to 1902 as it is home to Kenya’s first hotel, stock exchange, and postal service. And for all of you ‘The Crown’ fans it is where Queen Elizabeth stayed on her famous visit to Kenya when she in fact became the Queen! Today it remains the go-to property for dignitaries. My personal highlights include: 

  • Beautiful and historical artwork throughout the hotel

  • Convenient location right in the heart of Nairobi 

  • The most delicious Thai food at Thai Chi 

Sarova Panafric

Sarova Panafric is in the works of completely refurbishing and redoing all of their rooms and the hotel itself. It offers exquisite artwork throughout the hotel that provides the perfect sense of place utilizing African art and textiles. My highlights include: 

  • Extremely futuristic technology in the rooms that can be controlled via iPhones

  • They created an “Eve” floor which is for female travelers only

Sarova Mara Game Camp

The general consensus upon arrival was that we all had died and gone to heaven. Sarova Mara Game Camp is made up of beautiful luxury tents and is home to “Sarova Mara Game Camp Chef’s Organic Garden,” a huge garden that produces around 60% of all of the vegetables and fruits that are served at Sarova Mara. It also offers offers fishing, mini golf, kayaking, volleyball all on property. My highlights include: 

  • Amazing customer service. My two cousins don’t eat pork and during our first lunch the chef came to our table to ask if they found something they enjoyed eating.

  • We got to plant a tree! Sarova is driving an initiative to plant trees, and providing guests with an incentive to come back and check on their tree. We named ours TLC after our Toyota Land Cruiser we were using for all of our game drives.

  • Surprise dinners overlooking the Mara - we were asked to go on a “night game drive” on a golf cart and were brought to the most gorgeous dinner setting with our own private chef. For the end of the night they brought over the guitarist and singer for our private show. It was INCREDIBLE.

Naibor Camp

Naibor was a highlight for us all! Naibor, meaning space in Maasai, is an 11-tented room camp deep in the Mara. It combines some of the best Kenyan hospitality with being completely wild in nature and utilizing the space it has to provide the most tranquil and peaceful setting. At Naibor all of the luxury tents are overlooking River Talek which is filled with hippos, and for a large part of one afternoon we had the best time relaxing, looking at the river and watching the hippos chase baboons. The real beauty of Naibor was how luxurious and comfortable we felt while being completely in the wild. The food, service, views, and experience was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the trip. My highlights included: 

  • Our guide Jacson - he took us out for a game drive and immediately showed us baby hyenas, we got two feet from a lioness, and had an incredible leopard sighting.

  • The most amazing sundowners. I’ve had more gin and tonics on this trip than I’d like to admit and half of them might have been on these sundowners with the most beautiful sunsets we have seen.

  • The cuisine was outstanding. From our packed lunches, to breakfast sandwiches in the bush, to garlic steak, it was incredible. 

Other highlights from my trip to Kenya included:

  • A visit to the Giraffe Center in Nairobi - we got to pet, feed and be licked by giraffes. The giraffes at the Giraffe Center are the same exact giraffes that are at Giraffe Manor, so if clients can’t make it to the Manor this is an exceptional option. 

  • Lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden Restaurant in Nairobi - the food is great but the real winner is the dawa, a delicious Kenyan cocktail made up of vodka, honey, brown sugar and lime.

  • A hot air balloon ride in the Mara! Words can’t do it justice - here is a highlight reel I made from the experience. 

  • Learning about the many, many different types of antelope in the Mara. Ranging from the small dik dik to the massive eland. 

  • Watching the elephants be covered in mud up to their ears at Amboseli National Park. 

  • Baby hyenas! I feel like Lion King gave hyenas a bad wrap, but they’re opportunistic creatures and I couldn't help but love them.

  • Every.Single.Cat.Sighting - I cannot stress this enough! Doesn’t matter if it was a cheetah or a lion pride of 12, every single cat sighting was exhilarating. 

All in all, this was a life changing trip and it has set the stage for all safaris (and there will be many more safaris!) to come. There’s no real way to describe how incredible it is to be so close to these beautiful, lethal and many times endangered animals. We all left Kenya feeling incredibly grateful to have experienced so much of life’s beauty. 

And as our friends from Liberty said, “You can take the girl out of Africa, but you can’t take Africa out of the girl.”

If you’re ready for a great Kenyan adventure like Jessica, Woodlyn Travel can help. In addition to the destinations shown above, here are a few amazing resorts we recommend:

Fairmont Mara Safari Club - Rustic luxury in the Maasai Mara wildlife reserve, featuring glamorous tents on the banks of a hippo-filled river.

andBeyond Bateleur Camp - A classic safari setting, featuring luxury amenities and easy access to wildlife and cultural attractions.

Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy- Exclusive cottages close to nature, perfect for morning game watching and afternoon spa treatments.

Disneyland is back! Here's what to expect.

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As of June 15th, Disneyland and California Adventure have re-opened to bigger crowds, with fewer COVID related restrictions in place. Things aren’t quite back to normal, but they’re getting there. We visited just after the reopening and came up with a few important things to know before heading back: 

  • While California relaxed its capacity restrictions on June 15th, Disney hasn’t fully re-opened its doors yet. How many people the park is actually letting in is unclear, but a cast member told us on June 18th it was around 40% of capacity. Expect the parks to ramp up over the course of the summer, with crowds back to normal by August or September.

  • What does that limited capacity mean for visitors? At least for now there are relatively short lines for lots of rides, especially at the beginning and end of the day. You’ll probably still have to wait over an hour for the big-ticket rides like Radiator Springs Racers and Space Mountain, but often you can hop on crowd pleasers like Little Mermaid or even Haunted Mansion in less than 10 minutes. We walked straight on to Big Thunder Mountain around 4PM with no wait at all.

  • Mask policies have changed dramatically. Fully vaccinated visitors are now no longer required to wear masks at all, and Disney does not require proof or even ask if you’ve been vaccinated. Unvaccinated individuals, including children, are required to wear masks inside unless eating, but again there’s no real method of enforcement. The result is that only 10-20% of guests were masked when we visited, and it’s safe to assume that there were plenty of unvaccinated people, including kids under 12 who aren’t eligible for the vaccine yet, that were unmasked.

  • Social distancing requirements have been dropped as well, so prepare for old school crowding when waiting in lines. People seem to be voluntarily spacing themselves out slightly, but if you haven’t been out in public for a while, hit a few grocery stores first before you brave a theme park.

  • If you’ve been dying for a picture with Mickey, Elsa, or Spiderman, don’t worry, you can still get it. But for now he’ll just be hanging out in the background. (That’s a Spiderman joke. Get it?) Disney characters are easily found in all the usual spots around the park, but you’re not allowed to get close to them. Fortunately, they’re still happy to wave for your socially distanced selfie, and without the crowds pushing in around the performer it’s actually a little easier to get a photo.

  • The Disneyland app is king. While you can certainly still visit Disneyland and California Adventure without a phone, the official Disneyland app makes things much easier. Checking wait times at rides is huge, so you can strategize your next moves, and knowing where the nearest bathroom is is a life saver. The app stores your tickets digitally so if you have a Park Hopper ticket it’s easy to go back and forth between the parks without having to keep track of your paper tickets. You can have the app installed on multiple devices, all connected to the same account.

  • For now, access to the two newest, high-demand rides, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Spiderman: Web Slingers, is via the app only. As of this writing, each ride uses a virtual queue system that requires you to log in at either 7AM or noon to try and get a spot in line later that day. The queue fills up almost instantly, so make sure you’re logged in and in a place with good reception if you want your chance to ride. Use multiple devices if you can. When you’re assigned your spot you’ll have a flexible window to arrive at the ride, and if you’re a little late for your window they may let you on anyway. You can only be in one virtual queue at a time.

  • Many restaurants allow you to order via the app, which can save you some time. First you’ll have to choose a window in which you’d like to pick up your order, then let them know you’re there so they’ll actually prepare it. It’s a good idea to tell them you’re there before you actually arrive, because it could take a while before the food actually comes out. And naturally, avoiding meal rushes is key. At noon even the pretzel and churro stands have long lines.

  • In addition to the main Disneyland app, there’s a game app called Play Disney Parks that can be good for killing some time in lines, especially with kids. Most of the games are short and simple, but if you’re looking to really immerse yourself in the Star Wars experience, try the Data Pad game and embrace your inner nerd.

  • Bring a power bank! Trust us, if you’re using the app as much as we did, you’ll need it.

  • If you really want to get the most out of a day at Disney, consider booking a room at one the Disney hotels. The Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is a great choice because you can walk directly into the park from the hotel, saving a lot of time in the morning so you can be the first one on the rides.

  • And remember, Woodlyn Travel can book your next Disney adventure for you, whether it’s park tickets, a hotel, or even a Disney cruise. Just let us know how we can help make your next vacation even more magical!