Getting about in Kenya can be thrilling, exciting, wondrous but never
boring! There are varying modes of transport depending where you want to
go to and the distance you travel and how quickly you want to get there.
Kenya
has three major international airports; Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Moi International Airport in Mombasa (MIA)
and Eldoret International Airport in Eldoret (EIA). The Wilson Airport
in Nairobi handles light aircraft and quite a number of schedule and
chartered domestic flights. There are about 250 airstrips located
country wide connecting all parts of Kenya to Nairobi. Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport handles major airlines such as Kenya Airways, KLM,
British Airways, Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airways, Emirates, Swiss Air,
South African Airlines, Egypt Air and Saudi Airlines among others.
Estimated flying time to Nairobi from:
Europe 8-10 hrs
North America 16 hrs
The
Gulf 4 hrs
The
Far East and Australia 16 hrs.
Mombasa 50 mins
Kenya has only one train service run by the Rift Valley Railways (Kenya)
Ltd. There are three classes in the train, 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd
class. The first two have self contained sleepers and have a restaurant
offering meals, alcohol and beverages. Prior reservation is required for
both classes. The third class has a shared washroom per coach. No prior
reservation is required. The train travels from Nairobi to Mombasa every
Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7pm and travels back from Mombasa to
Nairobi every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 7 pm.
There is a coastal ferry which takes commuters and vehicles from Mombasa
to the South Coast. This operates 24 hrs although during the night there
may be an hours wait between each crossing as they tend not to go if
there are not sufficient customers. Commuters travel free but there is a
small charge for vehicles depending on the size of the vehicle.
Kenya
has an extensive road network making the road the most used mode of
transport. Matatus (small vans and mini buses) are the most common
public form of transport serving all major cities and most upcountry
routes. Travel within the city is by the matatu and mini buses run by
well established companies and private individuals. Transport between
towns and cities are by well established bus companies. The buses leave
early morning, late afternoon and in the evening and require advance
booking. Private cars and tuktuks are also plentiful in the cities.
Renting or hiring a car is pretty easy in Kenya. It is a good and
convenient way of getting around the country at your own pace. There are
many car hire services in all major cities and towns and at all the
major airports. Don't forget you will need an international driving
permit obtained at certain major post offices in the UK.
If you
ever visit Malindi you will notice that there are a lot of bicycles
there, some of them are taxis; these are as well as the more usual form
of taxi that we are used to.
Major
international credit cards are accepted in Kenya and most Automated
Teller Machines (ATM's) accept international Visa and Mastercard credit
and debit cards. ATM's can be found at airports, bank branches, shopping
malls and petrol stations. Travelers cheques are probably the best and
safest way to take money with you to Kenya and most hotels and service
providoers accept them though your exchange rate will not be as high as
what you would get at a bank.
Currency can be exchanged in foreign exchange bureaus or banks. Banks in
Kenya operate between 9 am and 3pm weekdays and a Saturday morning. The
main currency accepted are US Dollars, Sterling Pounds and the Euro.
Local currency is the Kenyan shilling. If you exchange money here you
won't get a shilling note less than 200/=. 1,000/= is worth approx £8;
€9.5 or $13.5 depending on the exchange rate at the time.
If you would like to ask any question about travelling in Kenya or
anything else please don't hesitate to ask. Please contact Wilma at
Wilma@ekeasafaris.com or Emma
at info@ekeasafaris.com or
just fill in one of our enquiry forms and we will get back to you.
1 moja
2 mbili
3 tatu
4 nne
5 tano
6 sita
7 saba
8 nane
9 tisa
10 kumi
11 kumi na moja
12-19 kumi na (mbili, tatu, etc.)
20 ishirini
21-29 ishirini na (moja, mbili, etc.)
30 thelathini
40 arobaini
50 hamsini
60
sitini
70 sabini
80 themanini
90
tisini
100 mia moja
121 mia moja na ishirini na moja
1000 elfu moja
What time is it? Saa
ngapi?
three o'clock saa tisa
quarter past
na robo
half past
na nusu
quarter to
kasa robo
minutes
dakika
early
mapema
yesterday
jena
today
l eo
tomorrow
kesho
daytime
mchana
night-time
usiku
dawn alfajiri
morning asubuhi
Note that "ku" is the infinitive and generally separable.
to be able
(can) ku-weza
to be,
to become ku-wa
to bring ku-leta
to buy ku-nunua
to come kuja (irregular)
to come from ku-toka
to drink ku-nywa
to eat ku-la
to give ku-pa
to go kwenda (generally irregular)
to have ku-wa na
to hear ku-sikia
to know ku-jua
to like,
to love ku-penda
to look ku-tazama
to think ku-fikiri
to be tired ku-choka
to say,
to speak ku-sema
to see,
to meet ku-ona
to sleep ku-lala
to stay ku-kaa
to want ku-taka
yes ndiyo
no hapana
expensive ghali sana
cheap rahisi
right kulia
left kushoto
up juu
down chini
friend rafiki
Pardon Samahani
Where is? Wapi?
here hapa
when? lini?
now sasa
soon sasa hivi
why? kwa nini?
because kwa sababu
who? nini?
what? nani?
which? gani?/gapi?
true kweli
and/with na
or au
(it) is/
(they) are ni
I don't understand
Sifahamu/Sielewi
I don't speak Swahili Sisemi
kiswahili
How do you say in Swahili?
Unasemaje kwa kiswahili...?
Could you repeat that? Sema tena
Speak slowly Sema pole pole
I don't know Sijui
Where can I stay? Naweza kukaa wapi?
Can I stay here? Naweza kukaa hapa?
How much? Ngapi?
How much is...? Pesa ngapi...?
What price? Bei gani...?
I want... Nataka...
I don't want... Sitaki...
Come down a little
(in price) Punguza kidogo
Bring me... Nilete...
Where are you going? Nenda wapi?
I'm going to... Nenda...
When does it leave? Inaondoka lini?
When will we arrive? Tutafiki lini?
I want to get off here Nataka kushuka hap
Let's go (carry on, etc.) Twende
straight ahead Moja kwa moja
Excuse me (let me
through) Hebu
Full name: The Republic of Kenya
Population: 34.3 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Nairobi
Area: 582,646 sq km (224,961 sq miles)
Major languages: Swahili, English
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 48 years (men), 46 years
(women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Kenya shilling = 100 cents
Main exports: Tea, coffee, horticultural
products, petroleum products
