Isiolo

Isiolo is a city in Kenya.

Isiolo is the "last stop" before travelling off the paved road to the towns of Marsabit and Moyale in northern Kenya. Isiolo is a safe place, and there are buses that take you to Moyale since the road was tarmacked.

Get in
There are buses & minivans from
 * Nanyuki (1 hour).
 * Meru (1 hour).
 * Nairobi (5½ hours)
 * Minivans to Nanyuki and Isiolo can be boarded in the River Road area of Nairobi. See the Nairobi section on Wikivoyage for more information.

See
Isiolo is prime for game conservation country. Safari operators guide visitors on tours of these lands to see the great cats; African ungulate species like giraffe, elephant, oryx; and even crocodiles.



Do
There is little to do in Isiolo proper outside of the reserves. The social life in the town revolves around drinking and chewing Miraa (qhat). There is a nightclub in town that plays mostly early 1990s techno-pop.

These are based in Nairobi, but offer safari tours of Samburu and possibly the other reserves:

Buy
Isiolo is a center for copper, brass, and aluminum jewelry-making and has a large market.



Eat
The |Saala Hotel has a full-service restaurant, offering options like goat soup, chicken kyiv, pan fish, and chicken tikka.

Sleep

 * Mocharo Lodge, near the main square.

Go next
The lorries to Moyale leave usually in the small hours of the night. If you tell the touts the night before, they will wake you as soon as the lorries arrive. A ride on top of a goods lorry to Moyale will cost around Ksh 1500, if you want to ride in the cabin (recommended) then you pay Ksh 2000-3000, although negotiations will start much higher. There are still certain dangers of being robbed on the road to Moyale, so be aware and keep your eyes open. The shifta (tribal robbers) on the other hand rarely attack foreigners, they are more into cattle theft. It makes sense not to flash expensive cameras and electronics while you are on the route.