Getting Around Kenya

The quick answer

Most visitors arrive at Nairobi’s main international airport, travel to the parks by road or by light aircraft from the city’s second airport, and reach the coast by air or by train. Within Nairobi, ride-hailing apps and pre-arranged transfers are the practical choices. Self-driving is possible and is not what we recommend for a first visit.

Nairobi has two airports and the difference matters

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handles international arrivals and most domestic jet services. Wilson Airport, on the other side of the city, is the base for the light aircraft that serve safari airstrips. A great many itineraries land at one and depart from the other on the same day, and the transfer between them crosses Nairobi — which is a real journey, not a hop. Build time for it, and expect your operator to have done so.

The railway to the coast

Kenya Railways operates the Madaraka Express passenger service between Nairobi and Mombasa on the standard gauge line. It is comfortable, considerably faster than the road, and popular enough that booking ahead matters. Kenya Railways also runs the Nairobi commuter network, a Mombasa commuter service, and a service toward Nanyuki in the direction of Mount Kenya.

The train is one of the more pleasant ways to travel in Kenya and one of the few where a visitor sees the country between the destinations rather than over it.

Flying between the parks

Light aircraft connect Nairobi with airstrips serving the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, the northern conservancies and the coast. Flying turns a full day of driving into under an hour, which is why most multi-park itineraries use it. The trade-offs are a strict soft-bag weight allowance, schedules that can shift, and small aircraft that some travelers would rather not be in.

Roads and road transfers

Main highways between the major towns are generally good. Park roads are not roads in the same sense — they are tracks, and in the long rains some become impassable. Journey times in Kenya are governed by surface and by traffic rather than by distance, so a map estimate will usually be optimistic.

Nairobi traffic is heavy and its timing is predictable enough to plan around; an elevated expressway crosses the city and shortens the airport run considerably at a toll.

Matatus and boda-bodas

Matatus are the shared minibuses that carry most of the country, run on fixed routes, and are frequently and elaborately decorated. They are cheap and they are how Kenya moves. They are also crowded, and their routes are learned rather than published, which makes them difficult for a short-stay visitor to use well.

Boda-bodas are motorcycle taxis, ubiquitous and fast through traffic. They carry a real injury risk and helmets are inconsistently available. We do not recommend them to visitors, and we would rather say so than leave it unsaid.

Ride-hailing and taxis

App-based ride-hailing works well in Nairobi and Mombasa, gives you a fare in advance, and removes the negotiation. Hotel taxis cost more and are reliable. Both are sensible; hailing an unmarked car on the street is not.

Common questions

Should I rent a car and drive myself?

You can. Kenya drives on the left, and the combination of unfamiliar road conventions, park tracks and city traffic makes it a demanding way to spend a first trip. A driver-guide also finds wildlife you would not.

Is the train better than flying to Mombasa?

Slower and much more interesting. If your schedule can absorb it, take it once.

How far in advance should I book internal flights?

As soon as the itinerary is fixed, particularly in the July–October peak, when seats on the Mara services genuinely run out.

Seeing it on a LABUSA Travel journey

Every transfer on our Kenyan itineraries is arranged and met, including the cross-city move between the two airports, which is the one most independent travelers underestimate.