#KisumuIGTour: What to do when you visit the West Coast of Kenya
Turnup.Travel partnered with Acacia Premier, Renault Kenya, Peperuka, Uva Wines and Infinix Mobile for the recent Kisumu IG Tour that happened on July 6–8, 2018. Being a photographic tour, we had travel influencers, journalists, photographers, foodies, bloggers, and film makers on board in the convoy of 7 brand new Renault vehicles. It was lit!
If you’re new here, an Instagram tour by Turnup Travel is a visual, sensual and photographic tour that takes you to the ‘must-see’ places of any particular location with an activity-powered itinerary and all meals are catered for. A night-life segment usually closes out the IG Tour. In any IG Tour, there are at least six tenets namely; culture and heritage, history of architecture, walking tour, nature and wildlife, food & beverage plus an epic nightlife experience. Turnup Travel has previously done IG Tours in Nairobi, Diani, Lamu, Turkana, Rusinga, Iten and Mombasa. Here is a travel guide to help you get around Kisumu — The West Coast of Kenya.
- See Kisumu through Acacia Premier
Situated within the leafy suburb of Milimani overlooking the shores of Lake Victoria, Acacia Premier Hotel is the perfect landing spot to explore Kisumu from. Take up our weekend special by emailing us through reservations@turnup.travel to make your booking.
2. Dunga Board Walk
This is a wetland gallery — an outdoor museum in Dunga Swamp set up to promote ecotourism in the wetland and promote bird watching. If you are looking for a family friendly place without alcohol to relax, a little haven for birders and enjoy a Sunday picnic outdoors then this is a place worth checking out. Please remember to pack your snacks and drinks.
Entrance: 100 bob only per adult
3. Kit Mikayi: The Stones of the first wife
Once upon a time, there was this man called Ngeso who was in love with this stone. Ngeso could go to the cave every day and when his fellow elders come seeking for him at his home, the wife could tell them he has gone to visit his first wife ‘Mikayi’ hence the name ‘Kit Mikayi’. This meant that the stone was Ngeso’s first wife. Locals still come here to pray when the community is troubled. Enjoy a traditional dance with the ladies here and don’t forget to tip them. If you’re fascinated by Kit Mikayi’s rock formation, then you can also check out Kidi Achiel loosely translated to mean one rock in Kayila village where Legio Maria followers say they saw an image of Jesus and Mary in 2017.
4. Abindu Caves
Abindu in Dholuo means a series of small caves in one place. The county government allows visitors in for free. Please do tip the locals to help in maintaining the caves.
5. Water Cutting at The Equator
Kenya is among only 13 countries in the world that the equator and it passes through three places namely Maseno, Nyahururu and this place. We had a chance to ‘visit’ both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere and do an experiment to show how water oscillates clockwise in the North and anticlockwise in the south. There’s a bar right there so you can try out this experiment with a Tusker baridi. Excessive consumption is of course going to make you feel ‘round — round’ so enjoy moderately.
6. Impala Sanctuary
Kisumu City is the other place apart from Nairobi with wildlife around. If you’re looking for a family outing with kids do take a nature walk here and go around with a guide to give you fun facts about the flora and fauna in here. Impala Eco Lodge is right in here so you can drop by for lunch or drinks in the evening. They do have a ferry so if you have a group do speak them about a cruise and dinner at the restaurant. Accommodation is also available. All in all, great place for a picnic and a weekend getaway with your family. The sanctuary is also home to five campsites all with spectacular views of Lake Victoria. Bird watching, nature walks and glass bottomed boat rides compliment the activities availed at the sanctuary.
Park entry fee to Kisumu Impala Sanctuary is Ksh 215 and Ksh 125 for adults and children (citizens).
7. Dunga Hill Camp
Drop by for lunch, chill and vibe the entire afternoon as you sip your favourite drink solo or with friends then wait for the sun to go down. The breeze from the lake, views and the food plus well stocked bar.
8. Lwang’ni Beach
You cannot go to Kisumu and leave without eating fish from Lake Victoria. Lwang’ni Beach s one of the popular spots in Kisumu and you should definitely go experience the fish culture and eat local food. Other places to explore for fish are Hippo Point, Dunga Beach and Ogal Beach.
9. Ndere Island: “The Island of Serenity and Beauty”
The island has beautiful scenery with a distant view of Homa hills to the south, Mageta island to the East and the imagination of Kampala beyond south west horizon. The lake breeze will calm you. Please bring your picnic basket, food or a beer like this man and everything you’ll need. You’ll be accompanied by a KWS Ranger while on your excursion.
The park entry fee for citizens is Ksh 350 for an adult and 200 for a child. You’ll also need to arrange a boat transfer from the locals or use the luxury Marion’s lake cruises. If that sounds complex, we can arrange the entire trip. Reservations@turnup.travel
10. Kiboko Bay
Kiboko Bay adjacent to Dunga Fishing village is a great place to catch the breathtaking Kisumu sunset — one of the best we’ve seen. You can take a sundowner cruise, check out the hippos nearby and sail away with your friends. Big shout out to Uva Wines for serving us a taste of Portugal onboard.
11. Kisumu Nightlife
No IG Tour is complete without sampling what’s hot in the clubbing scene so for your entertainment, these are some of the places to check out during your pub crawl in Kisumu. Start with Aqua Bar at Acacia Premier for a polite evening or a sundowner cruise on Lake Victoria then hit up TLC, Signature, Barcadia, Roan Rooftop, Barcadia lounge and Club Da Place
We used Renault Cars powered by Vivo Energy for our trip to Kisumu. Here’s the line up
1. Sandero Stepway
2. Koleos
3. Logan
4. Kwid AMT
5. Flame Red Kadjar
6. Megane
7. Duster
For collaboration with Turnup in Motion Crew powered by Turnup.Travel drop us an email through reservations@turnup.travel
