Updated as of May 2019
Ticket Fee: 30 USD
Travel Time: 7 to 9 hrs. depending on traffic and number of people in line in the passport control
Travel Schedule: 7 am and 2 pm every day except on holidays
Border to cross: Namanga (2 hrs. away from the take-off point in Arusha)
Road Profile: Mostly concrete so not very bumpy
Bus operator used: Rainbow
Major Requirements: Visa to Kenya should be applied and paid for online at least 2 days before your intended departure. Alternatively, an East Africa tourist visa may be applied upon arrival. If you applied online and haven’t received the visa at the time of your travel, just print your application and payment receipt and present it at the border, they will accept this and release your visa.
1) It is best to book your ticket at least a day before your intended departure to guarantee your seat. Allot two days if crossing during peak season. Buses from Arusha to Nairobi leave twice a day, one at 7 am and another at 2 pm. The journey takes 7 to 9 hrs. including traffic and passport control processing times.
2) Go to the bus terminal, which is just about 4 km. away from town. You can hire a motorbike taxi to take you there for 1000 Tanzanian Shillings, just tell the driver to take you the terminal that leaves for Nairobi.
Bus from Arusha- Nairobi. It seems like only non-air conditioned buses are available for 30 USD, one way
Alternatively, you can book your tickets online and they also offer pick-up from your hotel or designated areas at an added cost but then the best seats would have been occupied so it’s still best to go to the terminal. Below are some companies to choose from:
Rainbow and Shuttle Car Hire
The Riverside Shuttle Bus
All Africa Shuttle and Tours
East Africa Shuttles
3) In 2 or 3 hrs, the bus will stop at the Namanga border in Tanzania. Get off the bus along with everyone else and fall in line in the Immigration Control of Tanzania. They will simply stamp out your passport and your good to go.
Immigration of Tanzania in crossing to Nairobi via Namanga border
4) At the exit, walk to the right towards the Kenyan Immigration side, which is about 100 meters away. You will walk through on what seems to be a deserted pathway but you would realize later on, that elsewhere in Africa is the same. Everyone else on the bus will go through the same drill so just remember the faces of your co-passengers and silently follow their lead. If you’re traveling solo, start a small chat with the person next to you so at least someone from the bus knows you exist and your chances of being left behind by the bus would be minimized. In my case, I always make sure the driver knows me.
5) You will recognize the Kenyan Immigration side by its national flag raised outside its small concrete building; not that there’s a lot of other buildings around. If you’re feeling lost or if you want to be super sure, just ask any bystanders you will come across and they will point you in the right direction.
Immigration of Kenya in Namanga border
6) Get in line in one of the immigration control windows and present your passport, along with the corresponding fees and requirements. If you intend to also visit Uganda and Rwanda, you should apply for the East Africa Tourist Visa to save on visa costs.
7) Once done, you will see the bus outside waiting for all the passengers and you’ll be back on the road in no time. Shortly after going through passport control, the bus should stop in a small souvenir and restaurant shop for toilet breaks and snacks. I suggest you wait for this stopover because the use of the toilet on the border requires payment.
8) About an hour before our arrival in the designated terminal, our bus stopped at a toll gate and we had to get off on the side of the road, go through security checks similar to those you have in the airport, and wait for the bus to pick us up on the other end of the toll gate. I find this useless as we could have left our bags in the bus to skip the security check. Nobody checked the bags so it seemed to be a total waste of time.
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Stop-over
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Security Check somewhere near Nairobi
9) Upon the arrival of your bus in Nairobi, there will be taxi drivers waiting. If you’re headed in town to your hotel, the cost for the ride would be 500 to 800 Kenyan shillings per taxi. Anything more than 1000 is a rip off unless you’re headed more than 10 kilometers away.
There’s also an option to take a Matatu (public bus) but of course, you don’t know where to get them. If anything, just try to look innocent and pretend that you will take Matatu instead because you cannot afford to pay what they’re charging you. That should convince the driver to agree to your price. That works for female travelers. If you have mobile data, take an Uber, that will the best option and you can pay by cash or card (pre-encoded in your Uber app)
TIP:
Have your Tanzanian Shillings/ USD/ Euro exchanged in Kenyan Shillings in the border especially if you’re taking the 2 pm bus because you will arrive late in Nairobi and money exchange shops would be close. You’re obviously a tourist and it’s not quite safe to be withdrawing money in the middle of the night with all your bags with you.
Have at least 1000 Kenyan shillings, which should be enough to pay for your taxi to the hotel (if in town). Acquire more shillings if you want to eat in a restaurant or grab some beers because some shops don’t accept credit cards.
Safe Travels!
ow to get from Arusha to Nairobi during time of Covid:
1. Driving by minibus from BIG LANDING bus station in Arusha to Namanga. Costs 6000 Tsh. Recommended is to check in at one of the guesthouses in Namanga, costing between 5000 and 12000 Tsh. Entering Kenya by walking down the hill not passing through immigration. Left side of KCB is the hospital, a bit hidden behind trees and bushes. Enter there and ask them to do a Covid testing. It costs nothing however a pocket money is expected. About 800 Kes. Officially they only do testing if you are a truck-driver. In the evening, respectively the next day you will get the result. If you have remaining days with your Tanzanian visa you just proceed entering Kenya presenting the Kenya immigration guys your hopefully negative test results. If you want a new tourist visa then pay 50 US $ at Kenyan immigration in Namanga and you will enjoy another 3 months of tourist pleasure in East Africa, allowing you to go anywhere in Kenya and Tanzania. Whether this game is also possible with Uganda is not clear yet. The covid test results (negative) are valid for 15 days. Whenever you enter Kenya again you must present this paper. As they tell at the border even within Kenya after 15 days testing must be done again, perhaps if you ignore no consequences will happen. Minibus from Namanga to Nairobi costs Kes 400. This is the situation as of November 2020.
How to get from Arusha to Nairobi during time of Covid:
1. Driving by minibus from BIG LANDING bus station in Arusha to Namanga. Costs 6000 Tsh. Recommended is to check in in one of the guesthouses in Namanga. Costing between 5000 and 12000 Tsh. Entering Kenya by walking down the hill not passing through immigration. Left side of KCB is the hospital a bit hidden behind trees and bushes. Enter there and ask them to do a Covid testing. It costs nothing however a pocket money is expected. About 800 Kes. Officially they only do testing if you are a truck-driver. In the evening, respectively the next day you will get the result. If you have remaining days with your Tanzanian visa you just proceed entering Kenya presenting the Kenya immigration guys your hopefully negative test results. If you want new tourist visa then pay 50 US $ at Kenyan immigration in Namanga and you will enjoy another 3 months of tourist pleasure in East Africa, allowing you to go anywhere in Kenya and Tanzania. Whether this game is also possible with Uganda is not clear yet. The covid test results (negative) are valid for 15 days. Whenever you enter Kenya again you must present this paper. As they tell at the border even within Kenya after 15 days testing must be done again, perhaps if you ignore no consequences will happen. Minibus from Namanga to Nairobi costs Kes 400. This is situation as of November 2020.
Asante Asana 🙂
Karibu Sana!