At the Kenyan shops and flea markets you will find all kinds of items that will do a nice souvenir of your trip. Most of the items displayed at the tourist shops are industrially produced copies, but anyway they are decorative. But do not pay them as handcrafts.

The opening times for shops are from 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday to Friday, closing for lunch from 1 to 2 PM. On Saturdays, shops are open from 9 AM to 1:30 PM. The shops at the lodges usually have their opening times adapted to the times of the day at which guests stick around.

In general, prices of all articles for tourists are high. The best prices can be found at the airport shops and from the people at the parks gates, especially Maasai women at Sekenani Gate, Masai Mara (only for bracelets and other beadworks, the rest has no interest). Shops at some lodges and flea markets usually have reasonable prices as well. Prices are higher at hotels and stores in Nairobi, and above all, at the road dukas or curio shops. If you travel in a group with a driver you won't get away without calling at the dukas that pay a commission to the driver. Prices here are not simply high, rather sky high. Of course, bargaining is mandatory, but even so, save your money for the places mentioned above, where you will find the very same items at much lower prices. If the duka is located by a soda kiosk, the best way to make use of the stop is to have a fresh drink, or simply stretch your legs.

Wood carvings are the most popular objects. From the small animal wooden shapes, coarse and worthless but nice anyway, to the costly black ebony carvings of the Tanzanian makonde art, with prohibitive prices. Makonde has two main trends, the traditional one which represents human figures, daily labours or animals, and a modern trend specialising in abstract slender shapes. Concerning ebony, check its authenticity not to pay a pig in a poke, picaresque is in the air and sometimes ordinary wood is stained black with shoe polish. Ebony is heavier than fakes, but just in case ask the retailer to scratch the base of the carving with a knife to check that the wood is also black inside. Sellers use this same procedure to check the goods they buy. Don't forget to check that it is a single piece, sometimes stained wood carvings are mounted on ebony bases to pass the "scratch test".

Among the wood carvings, you will find some masks. In general, East African ethnic groups haven't cultured this art to an extent similar to Central and West African tribes. However, extensive tourism development in Kenya has allowed the spreading of other countries' masks through Kenyan retailers. Two good examples are the shop at Mount Kenya Safari Club and a store specialising in handcraft opposite to Mombasa Serena Beach hotel. In both cases, prices are high.

In some places you will find clay figures, mainly busts of tribal chiefs. The great detail they show makes them real portraits. Stone carvings are very frequent, specially representing animals and household. Malachite, turquoise, coral and soapstone are the most used materials. These stones are also used for jewellery. In all the shops you will find plenty of beadwork, including the typical Maasai bracelets and necklaces, made with coloured beads. Most of them are industrially produced. At the parks' gates in the Maasai Land, specially in Masai Mara and Amboseli, native women themselves offer their goods while you arrange the entry formalities with the rangers. Copper is the metal most commonly used for beadwork. If someone tries to sell elephant hair bracelets, you must know that all of them are fakes. If they were authentic they would be banned. If you are lucky enough, they will be made up of cow horns' splinters, stained and braided. If not, expect simple plastic. Formerly the fakes were manufactured with straw, reason why still some retailers attempt to proof their authenticity putting the bracelet over a flame. The ones sold today are equally fakes but at least they won't burn.

Dried and hardened gourds imitate those used by the Maasai to make the blood and milk mixture they drink. They are found everywhere, decorated or not, and make a nice ornament. In the rural areas of the Maasai Land it is possible to find some truly authentic ones. Kiondos are baskets made of braided sisal. They are very popular and almost a must for buying, mainly because they are helpful to store the rest of the souvenirs. Some baskets are made up of baobab bark.

Batiks are painted cloths for wall decoration. The more modest ones are monochrome and painted on cotton cloth. The most refined and expensive, only found at the Nairobi art galleries, are richly coloured and painted on silk. They usually represent animal and ethnic motifs, though a modernist trend is also present. Tribalware, such as spears, shields, wooden maces and swords, are always fakes. They are very nice even though, but do not pay as if they were authentic.

Cloths and tissues are beautiful and serve all uses, in addition to their original role which is covering the body. They are generally manufactured with cotton. Female kangas, richly printed, are composed of two pieces, one for covering the upper part of the body and the other one to roll around the waist. The best ones are found in Mombasa. Male kikois are rougher and consist of only one piece. Inland they are frequently printed with flashy reds and blues, while at the coast, specially in Lamu, there is a greater variety.

Books, maps and guides of all kinds may be purchased either at the hotels' and lodges' stores or at the bookshops in the large cities, always at relatively good prices. Nairobi bookshops are aligned along Kimathi, Wabera and Mama Ngina streets. Two outstanding ones are Nation Bookshop, in Kimathi st. next to New Stanley Hotel, and Prestige Books, in Mama Ngina st. Gold is mainly found at the coastal Hindu stores. It is used to manufacture all kinds of jewels of ethnic inspiration. Pieces are sold by weight according to the international gold market, meaning that prices are good.

The prices for all goods destined to tourists are extremely costly, as usual in many developing countries. Fortunately, the possibility of bargaining is always up.

This said, bargaining is very frequent in Kenya, mostly at the flea markets and curio shops, the famous road dukas. Start offering 50% of what you are willing to pay and do not look very enthusiastic. Set clearly your nationality, tell them you are not North American, and good luck. Throughout the world, as far as I have seen, North Americans are all supposed to be millionaires willing to spend lots of money on their souvenirs. And if you happen to be a North American, well,... What about your skills faking the Scottish accent?

Bartering or exchange is still a frequent kind of trading, mainly at the individual level, at the petrol stations or at the parks' gates, though you may find it also as part of bargaining at the road dukas. Almost everything can be exchanged, from ballpens, lighters, hats, bandanas or coins, to even old cellular phones.