Jannat House - practical information

How to get to Lamu?
Domestic flights from Nairobi are the easiest way. Also flights from Mombassa are available .
Normally it is less expensive to buy tickets all the way to Lamu from your home country.
At the arrival of Nairobi international airport Kenya, you will have to bring the luggage
across the street for check-in at the domestic airport.
You can make any international and domestic flight reservations here.

Lamu has an airstrip on the neighbor island of Manda.
All of our guests will be met there and transported to the hotel by dhow (5 min.) by our staff.

Busses from Mombassa to Lamu are available, takes about 6 hours.
You can make a bus reservation here.
The busses to Lamu stops at mainland and then there will be dhow transports to Lamu (takes approximate 15 min),
and is included for our guests.

It could be combined with the night train from Nairobi to Mombasa. Always choose 1st class (includeds also brakfast and dinner).
The train leaves Nairobi at 19.00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and arrive in Mombasa at 8.30 am.
For return to Nairobi, the tran leaves Mombasa at 19.00 at Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, arrivng at 9.00 am.
Make a reservation for the train here.


Visa
Everybody must have visa, which could be purchased at the arrival of Nairobi international airport,
or prepaid at local embassy's. No photograph is needed.
A visa cost $50 for all people, adults and children, and they only accept cash in US$.
Get the form for VISA application here (in PDF) .
A card of entry will be given to you during most flight to Nairobi, but you can also get it here.

Malaria
The risk of getting malaria exists all over Africa, you are strongly recommended to
use malaria prophylaxes medicine. Also bring something to put on the skin in order to avoid the mosquito's.
Jannat house has mosquito nets in all rooms.
If you get malaria (often starts with stomach aches, fever and weakness),
go to a clinic at once to have a blood test, one is found nearby the hotel.
There are efficient drugs to treat malaria today, but it is important to get help as soon as possible!

Currency
Kenyan shillings are used, however, they could only be bought within Kenya.
100 KES are worth about 1,5 US$ (April 2006).
KCB (Kenya Common Bank) has an office in Lamu 5 min walk from the hotel open 9 am to 3 pm.
They accept VISA and MasterCard and they now also have an ATM.
Credit cards
Jannat House also accept these cards (VISA/Mastercard) for amounts more than 10$. We also charge 5% on the total amount.

Safe is available free in the hotel office.

Mobiles could be used in Lamu town

Telephone if available in the hotel office for normal fare. There are no telephones in the rooms.

Time
The local time is GMT (London time) +2

Climate
The climate on Lamu island is very mild tropic.
In winter time (November-March) the temperature is very comfortable about 30 degrees centigrade,
and practically no raining.
In summer time (July-September) it is a little bit warmer about 35 degrees, and still no rain.
However, the smoothing Indian ocean wind is always making the climate very tolerable.
The rain periods are between March-June and October-November, but in Lamu it is normally not raining very much per day.
During the rain periods, the temperature will be a little bit cooler, around 25 degrees.
By night time, the temperature falls to around 22 degrees.

Health care
There is a hospital in Lamu, and also many good clinics, one is just 5 min walk from the hotel, they also make house calls.
Always drink water from bottles only to avoid stomach infections.
Jannat House always use bottle water for rinsing vegetables and making ice.

Language
The Lamu people speak Swahili, English and some tribe languages, but Engslish could be used most of the time.
Also have a look on our short Swahili word list, or look up words in the dictionary.

Crime
There almost doesn't exist any crime in Lamu, however when in Nairobi or Mombasa you have to be very careful.

Shopping
Shopping in Lamu is very special, there are no big shopping houses, only small specialized shops, mostly along the main road and in Shela.
Typical shops hold: fabrics, cloth, art, and souvenirs. There is also a “Big shop” that sells candy, herbs, washing agents, nuts, tobacco etc.
It is very cheap to let the dressmaker/tailor make you all kind of cloth for you.
Always bring your own bathing suite and snorkelling equipment, they are probably not available in Lamu.

Arrival to Nairobi
Please see here for further information how to find the domestic flights

Homebound
Because most flights to Europe leave Nairobi by midnight, there will be some hours of waiting,
the plane from Lamu normally arrives in Nairobi in the afternoon around 4 pm.

Take advantage of our special offer making your last hours in Kenya more enjoyable;
visit the Stardust Salon! (Hair cut/wash etc, pedicure, manicure, massage…).
Besides the Salon you can have dinner and transports could be arranged.
Ask the staff to make a reservation.

You could also call a trusted taxi driver, who can take you to several places in Nairobi:
·        the home and museum of Karin Blixen, the Danish author who wrote Out of Africa
·        Ranger’s restaurant inside the Nairobi National Park. Fantastic environment and food
·        Carnivore restaurant, serves BBQ with normal beef, pork and chicken but no game meat any more.

Telephone number for a trusted taxi driver John is: +254 (721) 565484
The price to go to e.g. Karen Blixen museum is approximate 3000 KES for both directions,
and to the center of Nairobi approximate 2000 KES.

Other information
Please bring a flashlight, the electricity is sometimes down in Lamu.
Please be cautious with your luggage and yourself's in Nairobi!