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Kenya
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- Don’t leave home without travel insurance that includes the cost of
local hospitalisation and medical evacuation to the UK. Make sure it also
covers unexpected losses or expenses (eg missing a chartered flight,
having cash and credit cards stolen).
- Check Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice before travelling.
- Bring enough funds for your stay and your return. Bank transfers to
Kenya can take time. If you miss your return flight you may have to buy
another ticket to get home.
- Take care of your belongings at all times. This includes baggage,
cash, traveller’s cheques and credit cards, passport and travel and
insurance documents. Leave spare cash, tickets, passport and valuables in
a safe place, eg hotel safe. Avoid carrying too much money. Don’t wear
conspicuous jewellery outside your hotel.
- Keep a separate record of your passport number, date and place of
issue, preferably in the form of a photocopy. A photocopy of your birth
certificate is an added precaution. Enter next of kin details into the
back of your passport.
- Don’t get involved with drugs. The authorities hand out stiff
penalties to drug offenders.
- Beware of pickpockets and bag-snatchers. Report any loss as soon as
possible at the nearest police station and obtain a police report – you
will need it for insurance purposes.
- Don’t go out on foot after dark. You are likely to be mugged.
- Don’t camp in lonely places, whether up-country or on beaches along
the coast. Use official camp sites in the national parks where possible.
If in doubt seek advice from the local police.
- Don’t walk or sit on empty beaches.
- Take taxis from outside your hotel or ask the hotel to get one for
you. Stray taxis picked up at random are risky.
- If you hire a car, take care. Accidents are very frequent. Don’t leave
anything of value in parked cars.
- Don’t destroy or deface Kenyan currency. It is a criminal offence.
- Don’t expect to find work in Kenya if you run out of money. It is
illegal to work without a work permit even on a voluntary basis.
- Malaria and other tropical diseases: consult your doctor for the right
kind of pills or inoculations. Make sure that you take the malaria pills
before, during and after your trip.
- Don’t carry your holiday money in case, especially £50 notes which
Kenyan banks refuse to accept.
- Don’t accept sweets, food or drink from strangers. It may be drugged.
- Don’t overstay your leave to remain in Kenya. This is stamped in your
passport by the immigration officer when you arrive. Extensions should be
applied for from the Department of Immigration before your leave to remain
expires.
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