Traveling to Kenya

Flying to Kenya

There are frequent direct and indirect flights to Kenya by numerous major airlines. The national airline is Kenya Airways (www.kenya-airways.com). Other airlines offering flights to Kenya include British Airways (www.ba.com) and Emirates (www.emirates.com). There are no significant seasonal factors affecting flight prices.

Air notes:

Kenya has two international airports. The main point of arrival is Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which receives the majority of scheduled international flights. Mombasa’s Moi International Airport (MBA) also receives some international scheduled flights, and is the main point of arrival for charter flights from Europe. Both are managed by the Kenya Airports Authority (www.kaa.go.ke).

Flight times:

To Nairobi: from London – 8 hours 30 minutes; New York – 17 hours (including stopover).

Departure tax:

Included in the air fare.

Airport guides

Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

Airport Code: NBO. Location: Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is located 16km (10 miles) to the southeast of central… Money: ATMs, banking facilities and currency exchange services are available in the terminal building.

Mombasa Moi International Airport

Airport Code: MBA. Location: Mombasa Moi International Airport is located approximately 10km (6 miles) west of central Mombasa… Money: There are ATMs and three banks in the terminals. The banks also offer foreign exchange services.

Driving to Kenya

The main international road crossings into Kenya are from Tanzania and Uganda. The main crossing points from Tanzania are at Lunga Lunga, south of Mombasa, and Namanga, on the road to Arusha. There are smaller posts at Isebania and Taveta. From Uganda there are crossing points at Busia and Malaba.

Heading to or from Tanzania, several companies run comfortable shuttle bus services between Nairobi, Arusha and Moshi. These are aimed at tourists who fly into Nairobi and are visiting the game parks in Tanzania’s northern circuit region from Arusha, or are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro from Moshi. The buses take about 5-6 hours in either direction, and drivers assist passengers with border procedures.

Many local bus companies ply the main routes between Nairobi and Mombasa and the major cities in northern Tanzania and Uganda. Most are quite unreliable and safety standards are not to western standards. For Tanzania, the pick of the crop is Dar Express, which connects Nairobi to Arusha, Moshi andDar es Salaam.