Kenyan currency

I phoned up the travel agents this morning and asked about buying currency. Here is what you would have to do:

• Ring them or go into the store (best to go with well known ones such as Lunn Poly, Thomas Cook, Thomson etc) and order the currency (it is not available over the counter)
  
• It would then come into the store within a week
• You pay for it when you collect it

Other things to note are:

• There is no commission when you get cash - however there is if you get travellers cheques
• But you have to watch out about the exchange rates. There is a base rate for Kenyan shillings verus the pound which can change every day. However in order to make money, the shops will no doubt charge you more. So for example the base rate might be 146 KSh to a pound but they might give you 140 for a pound. So you would have to shop around on that day in order to get the best rate.
  
• The best thing would be to get at least 10 pounds in Kenyan shillings and keep it safe I would say. If the majority of our money is going to be transferred in banks and people have cards then you can get more as you need it from ATM's. But a bit of money would probably be handy if you wanted to buy something upon arrival. If you don't want to however, then I'm sure it will probably be OK - we can find an ATM in the city.
  
• I'm not sure if there is a minimum you can order so be aware of that too.
  

Have fun getting currency!