Aug 28, 2024 • 0 min read
26.08.2024 - 18:23 / nytimes.com
By the time we reached the third waterfall on the Kahunira trail, my wife, Kiki, and I had been walking through the forested backcountry of Kiambu County, Kenya, for nearly three hours. Along the way, we had tasted sweet lady finger bananas in the market town of Githunguri, sipped a sour Kikuyu home brew called muratina proffered by laborers at a rural gravel quarry and made a heart-pounding shortcut across rust-flecked irrigation pipes that traversed a steep gorge fringed with tea plantations.
Our companions were two dozen young Kenyans who’d learned of the excursion through Lets Drift, an outdoor recreation community that creates weekly hikes, bicycle excursions and mountaineering treks in the countryside outside Nairobi.
Upon arriving at the forest-shaded waterfall, some members of our cohort stripped down to swimsuits, performed acrobatic dives off boulders that edged the cascade pool and posed for selfies in the midafternoon sun.
In a part of Africa where the conventional tourism industry was built around a wildlife-focused, British colonial footprint, Lets Drift stands out as an exuberant Kenyan-centered enterprise. Its aim is to celebrate outdoor recreation and, at the same time, generate a sense of community among the country’s growing urban middle class.
Created in 2018 by Alex Kamau and Paul Njuguna, both from greater Nairobi, Lets Drift attracts roughly 8,000 participants each year, many of whom participate in activities like hiking, e-biking, backcountry camping and digital detox retreats. “Our mission is to make adventure more accessible and affordable for Kenyans,” Mr. Kamau said.
Aug 28, 2024 • 0 min read
Aug 23, 2024 • 7 min read
While most tourists to Kenya are ultimately heading to Maasai Mara for a safari, truly savvy travelers know that the best things to do in Nairobi are plentiful, making it a capital city that deserves its own dedicated trip. It’s a dynamic city with stellar homegrown restaurants, independent boutiques, thriving cultural venues and contemporary art galleries, innovative social enterprises, and seemingly countless opportunities for ethical wildlife viewing. On top of that, there’s a hotel where you can have breakfast with giraffes. Nairobi really has it all.
Nestled on Florida's west coast, Tampa's cruise port is situated on the bay, rather than directly on the Gulf of Mexico. Port Tampa Bay serves five cruise lines and offers a variety of sailings to destinations like the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Mexico and Central America.
A cruise on the Mediterranean Sea aboard a superyacht was supposed to be a celebratory event for the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who was acquitted in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company, Autonomy, to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.
There has been a shift in travel preferences with emerging trends such as quiet travel and the pursuit of a slow-paced life gaining popularity in recent months. Quiet travel is a way of exploring that emphasises tranquillity, mindfulness, and a closer connection to nature. Scotland’s serene landscapes offer a perfect escape for those seeking quiet, reflective travel in nature’s embrace.
As interest in visiting Porto only grows stronger, visitors are finding even more things to do in the city. What was once seen for many as a short trip is becoming a longer break, with exploration outside of the city centre and into neighboring areas. Porto may be Portugal’s second largest city—after Lisbon—but it did give the country its name from the Roman Portus Cale. Centuries later, the city became famous for port, its “divine nectar of the Gods,” tastings of which are highly recommended in any of the port lodges lining the riverside in Vila Nova de Gaia. From there, look across the Douro at Porto’s colorful jumble of medieval houses, soaring church towers, and glossy blue-and-white tiled façades. Here, our selection of the best things to do in Porto can help you weave your way through the city, dipping into its sights, sounds, tastes, and smells to better get under its skin. To be sure, Porto will get under yours too.
Aug 20, 2024 • 7 min read
The Qatar Airways Group has acquired a 25% equity holding in one of Africa’s largest regional airlines. On Tuesday, the Doha-based company confirmed the stake in Johannesburg-based Airlink.
This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Helene Sula , a travel blogger and author of "Two O'Clock on a Tuesday at Trevi Fountain: A Search for an Unconventional Life Abroad."
EasyHotel confirmed it’s exploring a sale of the privately held company after a news report that it sought to be acquired.
A Delta Air Lines flight turned around and seven crew members were taken to hospital after concerns about an odor on board.