Whether you are visiting Kenya for wildlife safaris, to explore its historical sites, or for a cultural tour, a mobile phone is one of the handy items you should park. It keeps you in touch with your travel agency and friends and family back at home, and helps you to capture as well as preserve your safari moments.
In this article, James Gatheru, the safari director for Ajkenyasafaris.com, shares the 5 apps you should install in your phone before travelling to Kenya. We are talking about invaluable apps that make your African safari in Kenya convenient and memorable. Let’s start the countdown:
1. Google Maps
One of the greatest fears for tourists is getting lost in a place where people do not speak their language. Missing directions, even while in game reserves and national parks, is expensive, time-wasting, and unnerving. Google Maps exist to provide certainty about your position anywhere on earth, provided you have an internet connection. With Google Maps, you will never get lost, miss an address, or take a wrong turn during your holiday vacations in Kenya.
However, Google Maps offers more than directions. Here are 5 ways in which you can use Google Maps to make your holiday in Kenya more memorable.
Plan your ideal itinerary – Did you know that traveling by road to Maasai Mara can be turned to a road trip? Google Maps allows you to see all the destinations along the way like Maasai Market in Narok Town, the great rift view point, hell’s gate national park and more.
Share Your Route – You can use Google Maps to share your route with friends, family, and even the travel agent. Since multiple parties know your itinerary, you will feel safer. In case you are several groups visiting different attractions, sharing the route will help you monitor each other’s movement and it will make reuniting easy.
Save your off-line maps and still travel – A safari in Kenya is likely to take you to remote unadulterated villages where internet access is challenging. Do not panic. Use the offline map to find your way around.
Avoid traffic jams – You can use Google live map to monitor traffic on different roads and avoid the crowded sections. This will enable you to see more attractions and get better value for your money.
Find the best amenities in town – Are you looking for the best restaurant, souvenir market, forex bureau, or travel agent? Just open Google Maps and all the details, reviews, and directions are at your fingertips.
The most recent Google Maps update helps you to share your current location and even estimate, for example, the time will take you to get to Maasai Mara Game Reserve from Nairobi. This is how it works. Since the map can monitor your current location, the speed at which you are moving, and traffic on the road, it will estimate how long it will take to get to the selected destination. Such information helps you to plan your next activity better, including knowing whether you will catch your flight, dinner, or wildebeest migration spectacle on time.
2. Airbnb
Accommodation is a defining factor in any safari experience. Use Airbnb to find and book the best accommodation facilities by just tapping on your screen. Because the hotels and accommodation facilities are vetted, you are assured quality accommodation services.
Use the ‘Search’ option on Airbnb to choose hotels or homes based on your budget, proximity to your tourist attraction, and other personal preferences. For instance, if you want to catch the wildebeest migration at its peak, Airbnb allows you to choose the nearest hotel or resort in the Maasai Mara National Park. Pay using your most convenient currency. The inbuilt converter to give you a better idea of how much you are paying for each facility. If you want to experience life away from lonely hotels and with the locals, Airbnb is the place to book your travel.
3. Google Translate
Are you anxious about how you are going to ask for directions or say ‘Thank You’ in Kiswahili while traveling to Kenya? What if you take the wrong instructions, miss items on your itinerary, buy the wrong products, or even get into trouble, how do you communicate? The best online language convertors and translators such as Google Translate will intervene and bridge the language barrier. It will help you and effortlessly translate English to Swahili.
You can also use Google Translate to understand text, speech, and text with either still or moving images. Since it works offline, can translate images and is enabled for most languages, early your anxiety about communicating with locals, other tourists, or reading instructions on items is eliminated. You can also use online convertors to translate English to Swahili online.
4. XeCurrency Converter
As a tourist, you will be using different currencies from dollars to Kenyan Shilling. Since stores, markets, restaurants, taxis and other points of sale indicate prices in a single currency, a converter will help you to know the exact figure to pay regardless of the currency you use. The app will save you the trouble of flipping a calculator or converting with your fingers at every point of purchase.
Xe Currency Converter is one of the highest-rated apps for tourists traveling to Kenya. You enter the numbers in Kenyan Shilling or USD and any other currency in your possession. The conversion is based on the real-time value of currencies trading in the world market, guaranteeing excellent value for money.
5. Instagram
The beauty of traveling is to create memories. How do you preserve and share these memories in real time and preserve them to reminiscence in the future as well as share with friends and family? Install Instagram on your phone, tablet, or any compatible gadget.
Instagram is built for photos. You can take photos, record videos, and share them in real-time. Invite friends and family to follow each moment of your safari in real time. In case you lose your camera or phone, the photos and videos will still be accessible on other devices through your Instagram account. Isn’t this the best insurance for your memories?
Wrapping Up
These are the 5 apps that you should download to make your safari in Kenya more fun and memorable. If you are thinking of visiting Kenya and wonderin where to start, visit ajKenyasafarisa.com or Masaimarasafari.in and start tailor making your holiday in Kenya. With the app and a tour guided by these Nairobi based travel agencies, you are guaranteed a Magical experience. Happy Holiday.