How to Travel from Nairobi to Mombasa

To help us in answering questions on how to travel between Nairobi and Mombasa, we are honored to have Mr. Bakari with us today. Mr. Bakari has worked as a bus driver on the Nairobi to Mombasa route for quite a number of years. Before that, he had worked as a truck driver, plying the same Nairobi to Mombasa route. He has family and properties in both Nairobi and Mombasa, which means that he is a regular traveler between the two cities, even when he is off duty. We will be seeking to get from him hints on what the best way to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa is, how much it costs to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa, how long it takes to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa… and so on.

Welcome Bwana Bakari.

Thank you for hosting me.

Perhaps you can start by telling us what the distance between Nairobi and Mombasa is.

Well, to the best of my understanding, the distance between Nairobi and Mombasa is roughly 500 kilometers. But the people who have taken the trouble to actually measure the ground distance between the two cities tell us that the exact distance is 485 or 488 kilometers. So, give or take, it is roughly 500 kilometers especially when you consider that most people have to cover a little extra distance to get to their actual destinations, after arriving at  either Nairobi or Mombasa city centers.

Very well. What are the different ways in which a person can travel from Nairobi to Mombasa?

You have 3 options, when it comes to traveling between Nairobi and Mombasa. You can travel by road, by rail or by air. There was a time when the rail travel option wasn’t available (you know, the years between when the Nairobi-Mombasa passenger train service on the old meter gauge railway went under and when the new standard gauge railway was launched). But today, all three options are available – by road, by rail and by air.

Very good. Have you traveled by air from Nairobi to Mombasa?

Well, twice or thrice when there was need for me to move between the two cities urgently. But my mainstay has been road travel between Nairobi and Mombasa and I have made literally thousands of trips over the decades. I also made a few trips between Nairobi and Mombasa on the old meter gauge railways, third class coach, when I was a student many eons ago.

What does traveling from Nairobi to Mombasa by air entail?

Well, there are 4 steps in the process of traveling from Nairobi to Mombasa by air. 

The first step is to book the flight. Nowadays that should be very easy – what with all online booking systems and flight booking apps in place? So the first step is to book the flight. You need to do it in good time, because there are seasons when you find all flights between Nairobi and Mombasa fully booked. 

The second step is to travel to the airport in Nairobi on the day of your flight. Again, you need to ensure that you allocate adequate time for the travel, because at times, the roads leading to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi get congested and you may miss your flight. It is better to arrive too early at the airport and find things to keep you busy, rather than arriving too late and missing your flight... 

The third step is to board your flight between Nairobi and Mombasa. Being a domestic flight, the boarding process is not too hassle-some, though of course the usually thorough security screening will have to be there. The flight itself takes around 40 minutes, between the two cities. That may look like a small deal, but remember, if you were to travel between the two cities by road, it would have taken you at least 7 hours (and sometimes as much as 10 hours). 

The fourth step, upon arriving at Mombasa is to figure out how you will move from the Moi International Airport (which is found in Magongo, Mombasa West Mainland) to wherever you are going. You can hire one of the airport taxis, or you can organize for someone to pick you from the airport to wherever you are going. If you are a guest at a hotel in Mombasa, they may organize for your airport transfer.

Thank you, Mr Bakari. Now tell us what it costs to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa by air.

To the best of my understanding the airlines operating between Nairobi and Mombasa (just like the bus companies operating between the two cities) have variable fares, depending on the season. So you find that there is a season when, on a budget airline between Nairobi and Mombasa, you may pay as little as 4,500 shillings (45 us$) for one way ticket. Then there are other times when you find that the cheapest flight between Nairobi and Mombasa sets you back as much as 10,000 shillings (100 us$) one way. But on average, you should expect something between 7,000 and 10,000 ($70 and $100) for air travel between Nairobi and Mombasa. You can visit the various airlines' websites for exact figures.

What airlines operate between Nairobi and Mombasa?

The last time I checked, there was the national carrier, Kenya Airways, operating regular flights between Nairobi and Mombasa. There is also another airline known as Fly540 which has good flights between Nairobi and Mombasa. There is yet another one, known as Silverstone Airline which does run flights between Nairobi and Mombasa... As long as you are booking in good time, it is highly unlikely that you would miss a seat on a flight between Nairobi and Mombasa.

How much do airport transfers at Nairobi and Mombasa airports cost?

These can be slightly costly. The last time I checked, it was very hard to find a taxi charging anything less than 1,000 shillings from Jomo Kenyatta airport in Nairobi to any part of Nairobi city – even if you were seeking to be dropped at Kapa, just outside the airport! You could actually end up paying several thousand if you wish to travel from the airport to the far flung parts of the city. You easily find that what you spend on the transfer from the airport to wherever you are going is almost as much as what you spent on the flight between Nairobi and Mombasa! The same situation is replicated in Mombasa where, even if you want to be transferred from the Moi International Airport to, say, Magongo Kwa Hola or Migadini just across the road, you may find someone asking you to fork out 1,000 shillings! Thankfully for the Nairobi Airport, the last time I checked, there was a bus route to and from the airport (Route 34A if I am not wrong). If those buses are still in operation, you can take one (at as little as 80 shillings which is around $0.8) and get to save quite a bit of money. But that is only if you are a local streetwise fella and thus capable of figuring your way around upon being dropped by the bus wherever you will be dropped... 

The good thing with the airport taxis is that they are securer. They drop you exactly where you are going (at the doorstep) and they are numbered/registered, meaning that the chances of the taxi operator doing something to you is rather low.

Very well. Let’s now turn to road travel between Nairobi and Mombasa. What are the options?

Well, the most convenient way to travel between Nairobi and Mombasa by road would probably be by bus. There are more than a two dozen bus companies plying the 485-kilometer route between Nairobi and Mombasa. If you are well loaded and are seeking for some adventure, you can hire a car and drive yourself from Nairobi and Mombasa, though that is definitely not an adventure for the fainthearted. You could think of traveling from Nairobi to Mombasa by truck, but it is not entirely on the right side of the law and most truck drivers nowadays are wary of carrying passengers. There also used to be this arrangement where you could board a newspaper van (at say, Mlolongo in the Nairobi outskirts) and get dropped at Mombasa but I don’t if that system is still in place. In any case, it is probably not entirely on the right side of the law. Nowadays, I see ‘shuttle’ vans (like those belonging to the Naekana Sacco and those belonging to one of the Chania derivatives) and perhaps that is yet another way of traveling from Nairobi to Mombasa. If you coming from Mombasa to Nairobi, you would have yet another option of boarding a newly imported second hand ‘mtumba’ vehicle. Again, this may not be entirely on the right side of the law... 

So in the final analysis if you want a straightforward way to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa by road, the best thing would be to book yourself a seat on a bus.

What bus companies operate on the Nairobi to Mombasa route?

Quite a number, as I said earlier. You have the likes of Modern Coast, Coast Bus, Tahmeed and Dream(liner).  Then you have the likes of BusCar, Chania Genesis, Chania Executive and Chania Cool. There used to be 'Chania Special', but apparently, the buses went off road for one reason or another. Others are Simba, Randa Coach, Otange, 2NK, TSS, Mombasa Raha, Palmers Chania Kibwezi, Kathi no Kakoka, One Desire... among many others. Some, like Otange and Randa, serve the Western Kenya routes, but may still take Nairobi to Mombasa passengers if they happen to have vacant seats. Others like Kathi specialize in the Ukambani route, but they may occasionally have Nairobi to Mombasa coaches.

What does it cost to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa by bus?

The fare varies, depending on the specific bus you opt to board. It is also depends on the season when you are traveling. There are seasons when the bus fares go down considerably, and other seasons when the bus fares get hiked. You have to understand that this is a route where the fares are largely dependent on demand and supply mechanics.

In normal times there are 'classy/decent' buses like Modern Coast and Tahmeed, that charge slightly more, but then they offer a superb service. So you could find yourself paying anything between 1,500 and 2,000 ($15 to $20) for Modern Coast or Tahmeed fare between Nairobi and Mombasa. But having paid that, you would be guaranteed to be delivered to Mombasa as soon as possible, and in as comfortable a manner as possible. There are buses that charge lower fares, sometimes as little as 1,000 ($10) to 1,200 ($10) shillings, previously it used to dive as low as 800 ($8) – you know, the likes of One Desire, Palmers and so on. They are still decent buses, but they don’t pretend to operate at the same level as the likes of Modern Coast and Tahmeed. 

See, the like sof Modern Coast, Tahmeed and Coast Bus operate strictly scheduled services. If a Modern Coast bus is scheduled to leave Mombasa at 9.30, it departs at exactly that time. If a Tahmeed or Coast Bus coach is scheduled to arrive in Nairobi at 7 Pm, the operators will do everything they can to ensure that time (or at least something close to it). So that is where the difference arises. The mid-tier bus companies on the Nairobi to Mombasa route would include the likes of Chania Executive, Chania Genesis and Chania cool. In the final analysis, if all you are seeking is to be moved from Nairobi to Mombasa any bus will do. But if you are looking for a great deal of comfort, then you should go for the bus companies that promise that – you know, the likes of Modern Coast, Tahmeed and Coast Bus. If you are looking for cheap travel between Nairobi and Mombasa, you should go for the buses that promise that – you know, the likes of Palmers, One Desire, Kathi, the ocassional Rukagina Sacco bus… and so on. 

On the Nairobi to Mombasa route, there is something for everyone.

Do the buses operating between Nairobi and Mombasa stop on the way?

The trip between Nairobi and Mombasa is at least 485 kilometers. People surely need a break on the way. So even the express buses do stop over at Mutito Andei for refreshments. If you board a serious express bus, that may be the only stop on the way. 

But if you board a non-express bus, then you can be sure that it would stop numerous times on the way to pick passengers. Sometimes you end up spending hours during such passenger picking breaks. Like if a bus leaves the Mombasa bus terminus at Mwembe tayari, and then ends up spending 20 minutes picking passengers at Changamwe on the Western Mainland. The bus then proceeds for brief stops at Kwa Jomvu, Miritini and Mazeras, before having another major 20 minute passenger picking stop at Mariakani. The same bus proceeds to have other brief stopovers at Samburu, Taru, Meli Kubwa, Makina, Manyatta and Maungu before having a major 40-minute stopover at Voi to wait for passengers. Then the bus covers the Tsavo stretch without stopovers, until Mtito Andei where there is the customary 20-30 minute stop for passengers to refresh themselves. The bus will then proceed to have stop-overs (to drop and pick) passengers at Kibwezi, Makindu and Emali as well as the small towns in between like Thange, Manyanga, Kiunduani and Mbui Nzau. On the final stretch, the bus has stopovers at Sultan Hamud, Salama, Malili, Machakos junction, Athiriver, Mlolongo, Cabanas and GM before finally sauntering into Nairobi… so when you look at the time spent on the stopovers, plus the time spend in the actual travel between Nairobi and Mombasa, you find that you have spent a total of 12 or 13 hours on the road...

Whoa. Let’s now turn to rail travel between Nairobi and Mombasa. Tell us about it.

Nowadays, rail travel between Nairobi and Mombasa is through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). There are two SGR trains you can use: the inter-county SGR train and the Express SGR train. The Intercounty SGR train departs in the morning, around 7ish in the morning, whereas the Express SGR train between Nairobi and Mombasa departs in the afternoon, around 2ish.  Traveling between Nairobi and Mombasa by train has 4 key steps. 

There is the step of booking the train – which you can do online, through the phone or by presenting yourself in person at the station. 

The second step is to get to the train station in good time on the day of your Nairobi Mombasa trip. The third step is to board the train, as per the instructions you will be given. 

And the fourth step, upon getting to Mombasa, is to figure out how you will get from the Mombasa SGR terminus at Miritini to wherever you are going.

How much does it cost to travel by SGR from Nairobi to Mombasa?

Well, the last time I checked, the economy class SGR fare from Nairobi to Mombasa was 1,000 shillings, whereas the first class SGR fare from Nairobi to Mombasa was 3,000 shillings.

What are the benefits of traveling first class from Nairobi to Mombasa by SGR?

Personally, I have never traveled first class SGR from Nairobi to Mombasa. But someone I spoke to who has done so told me that the main advantage is in terms of comfort. So you find that there is more legroom in the first class SGR coach between Nairobi and Mombasa. You also find that it is 'exclusive'. Like if you are a boss, you know that you are unlikely to bump into your employee traveling in the same coach as you. You know, there are individuals who value such things…

Now tell us about the alternative ways of traveling between Nairobi and Mombasa.

I don’t know if I had already told you something about the possibility of using your own car to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa. It is a long and tiring drive. But anyway, if that is the path you wish to take, you just need to ensure that the car is well serviced, then fuel it adequately. If it does 10 kilometers per liter, you’d need around 50 liters to deliver you to Mombasa… so you do the math. There is also the aspect of hiring a car and using it to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa. Some car hire companies may have reservations about this kind of deal. But if you find one that is willing to give you the car for this kind of trip, then you can hire it at, say, 2,000 per day for the duration of your trip to Mombasa (say 1 or 2 days), your stay in Mombasa and your trip from Mombasa. So, you hire the car for, say, 1 week, then you fuel it and then you drive from Nairobi to Mombasa. 

I also mentioned about the possibility of traveling from Nairobi to Mombasa by truck. Perhaps this can make sense if you have some cargo that you are ferrying from Nairobi to Mombasa, and you can’t get it to fit into a bus’ rack or undercarriage. So perhaps you go to a place like Athi-River (KMC junction stage) or Machakos Junction stage and try to stop a truck there and negotiate a deal with the operators. Those outskirts stages (Mlolongo, KMC athiriver stage and Machakos Junction stage) can also be useful if you are trying to travel between Nairobi and Mombasa by a newspaper van or on someone’s car – like if you can find someone who is willing to take passengers. 

Nowadays though, those alternative travels don’t make much sense as there are cheaper buses. You may find a truck charging you 700-800 bob between Athiriver KMC stage and Mombasa, yet you could travel more conveniently on a bus at 900 to 1,000 shillings. Those alternative travel plans can nonetheless be very useful if you are trying to travel between Nairobi and Mombasa on a day when there is ‘jam’ (that is, for instance, on a school opening day when all buses come full).

What are some of the interesting towns on the Nairobi to Mombasa road?

All highway towns on the Nairobi to Mombasa route are vibrant and enticing in their own ways. From Nairobi, the first major town you encounter is Mlolongo. Others on the Machakos county stretch of the highway are Athiriver, Machakos Junction/Kyumbi and Malili. On the Makueni County stretch of the highway, you have towns like Salama, Sultan Hamud, Emali, Makindu, Kibwezi, Mutito Andei and ManEaters (alongside other minor centers in between). On the Taita Taveta stretch of the highway, you will find Manyani, Ndii, Voi, Maungu, Msharinyi, Manyatta and Bachuma Gate. Then on the Kwale County stretch of the highway, you find towns like Makina (Macknon Road), Meli Kubwa, Taru, Samburu and Maji ya Chumvi. On the Kilifi County stretch of the highway, you find towns like Mariakani, Uwanja wa Ndege and Mazeras. On the Mombasa stretch of the highway, you find the city neighborhoods of Bonje, Miritini,Jomvu, Mikindani (you miss those three if you enter Mombasa through the Southern Bypass via Port Reitz) Changamwe, Kibarani, Shimanzi, Makande, Makupa, Saba Saba and Majengo all the way to the Mwembe Tayari Mombasa bus terminus.