Getting around Kenya: transport and apps

The Mombasa train

• The Madaraka Express runs Nairobi to Mombasa in about 5 to 6 hours, three departures a day around 08:00, 15:00 and 22:00.
• Economy is about KES 1,500 and first class about KES 4,500.
• Book at metickets.krc.co.ke or at the station. It sells out in holiday season, and touts resell tickets at the door.
• Nairobi Terminus is at Syokimau, near the airport rather than in town - allow 45 minutes to reach it.
• It is the best value long-distance journey in the country and it crosses Tsavo, so sit on the right heading to the coast.

Safari, and what it actually costs

• Park fees dominate a Kenya budget. The Maasai Mara National Reserve charges non-residents USD 100 per person per day from January to June 2026 and USD 200 from July to December, and children pay half.
• The Mara Triangle, run separately, is USD 70 per adult per 24 hours, and the private conservancies around the reserve charge their own nightly conservancy fee.
• Kenya Wildlife Service parks are cashless. Gates take cards and mobile money, not notes, and a party arriving with only dollars gets turned around.
• A day in the Mara is a day, not 24 hours in most gates' reckoning, so a two-night stay usually means three days of fees. Ask your operator to price it in writing.
• Do not buy a safari from a tout in Nairobi. Book with a licensed operator, and check them against the Kenya Association of Tour Operators.

Roads and buses

• Do not drive at night outside the cities. Unlit trucks, potholes and livestock, and the FCDO says the same.
• Matatus are the minibus network: cheap, fast, decorated and driven accordingly. Locals use them and visitors mostly should not, especially with luggage.
• Long-distance coaches are a better bet. Modern Coast, Easy Coach and similar run the main routes with fixed seats and fixed times.
• Boda bodas - motorbike taxis - are the fastest way across Nairobi and the biggest single cause of trauma admissions. If you take one, take the helmet.
• Driving is on the left. An International Driving Permit is expected and a hired car with a driver costs little more than a self-drive.

Domestic flights

• Jambojet, Safarilink and AirKenya cover the safari circuit and the coast from Wilson Airport.
• Fares are reasonable and luggage limits are not: 15 kg in soft bags on light aircraft.
• Book flights and park fees together through your operator if you can, because gate payment fails at the worst moment.

Apps worth having

• Uber, Bolt and Little for rides in Nairobi and Mombasa.
• M-Pesa for everything else.
• Maps offline, since coverage disappears in the parks.
• Kenya Railways' ticket site for the Mombasa train.