Looking for budget stays in Naivasha? This section is designed to save you time, money, and unnecessary stress. We've got insider tips to help you find affordable hostels and the cheapest places to stay in Naivasha.
Naivasha, Kenya -- home to Lake Naivasha -- is high on the list of places to visit for travelers to Kenya. It is ninety kilometers northwest of the capital Nairobi and accessed by the B3 road that runs along the Great Rift Valley escarpment -- it's worth taking the road trip for that alone. The road was built during a two-year period in World War II by Italian prisoners of war who were interned in Kenya. You will see the tiny Catholic Church that they also built partway down the road on the right as you travel north. After seventy years, the road is still in excellent condition and the views across the Rift Valley are astounding.
Naivasha town doesn't really hold much for the tourist; virtually everybody goes straight to the lake, eighteen kilometers from there. The town can house budget travelers at a Naivasha, Kenya hostel, though, should you choose to linger.
Lake Naivasha is one of the highlights of a visit to Kenya. You will almost certainly see hippos grazing on the banks and it's a handy launching point for visits to Hell's Gate National Park. The lake is also home to a massive flower industry. You'll see dozens of flower farms strung out along the roadside as you approach your lake accommodation; most of the flowers are exported to Europe.
The lake is just under two thousand meters above sea level, so it's the highest of the Rift Valley lakes, and is a bird-watchers' paradise, as is Crater Lake Game Sanctuary, on the western side of the lake, which is also home to a large number of plains animals.
There are many guesthouses around the lake, most of them on the southern side, which gives very easy access to Hell's Gate National Park. Where the turn-off to the park entrance branches from Moi South Lake Road, visitors will find a crowd of young men renting bikes. This is the ideal way to visit the park and you can negotiate with the bike renters if you want to take them as a guide, too.
Not far from Sulmac village, there are a couple of camps that have hostel accommodation. The hostels at Lake Naivasha can organize guides and trips into the surrounding parks. There is so much to see and do around the lake, most visitors end up staying several days longer than planned. It's a beautiful area and a welcome change after the noise, dust, and hustle of Nairobi.
Written by Travel Expert Naivasha
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