Nairobi Journals

Share Pictures & Reviews

Coaching It—Nairobi to Mombasa

A January 2007 trip to Nairobi by Harv_y

Quote: A helping hand with who to choose when travelling overland between Nairobi and Mombasa.

The Lottery of Pick-A-Coach -Any Coach

Story/Tip

Quote:

The coach is relatively warm and the night routes are usually the air-conditioned journeys between Nairobi and Mombasa (I may be wrong here but that is certainly how it appears), so I would recommend that you take a light jumper/cardigan and a light blanket if you intend to sleep, as the night can get rather cold on this rickety journey as the roads are not of a very high standard. I think someone described them as potholes with a bit of road here and there; a highly amusing but unfortunately unerringly accurate description of a major highway.

I first did this trip back in 2004 and made the mistake of going from Ugunja, Western Kenya, straight through to Mombasa in 24 hours. Don’t do this; if you do decide to do this journey from Western Kenya to Mombasa, take at least a day's rest in Nairobi. Despite appearances, there are several things to do apart from the obligatory souvenir buying.

Although Akamba were the cheapest and the safest for the NBO-MBA route, they are now severely challenged by MASH, who have prices around the same as Akamba but buses that are far more comfortable and have more than one pick-up point in Nairobi. There’s one on the main road near Mugoya which is convenient if you are staying at the Y.M.C.A. This happens to be great for my wife and I as we have our Kenya home here. Coast Bus also challenge Akamba for value for money but recently, according to my wife, they have been targeted by armed robbers, so although their coaches look great, I can't recommend them. Other companies to be considered for this tortuous journey are: 1) Rwanda and 2) Scandinavian. Isaiah, the brother-in-law that told us about them, said that they were okay.

Regarding Rwanda, it appears only Isaiah has travelled on them, but others would consider them, and having seen their coach on my last trip to Kenya, (Dec 2006-Jan 2007) I would too. The bus they use appears to be the same size as the bus Easy coach uses for its journeys on the Nairobi-Kisumu route.

As for Scandinavian—my wife calls them "kill me quick" and other members of the family swear by them while some swear at them—the consensus seems to fall 50/50 in favour and against. So here is my final suggestion for coaching it between Nairobi and Mombasa: if you can afford it, fly. The only reason we don’t is that relatives are spread out all over the country and flying everywhere isn’t possible and by using the coach we can afford to see several people each time I’m in Kenya.

As for who to use for the journey between Mombasa and Nairobi, my preferred options are now (and in this order): 1) MASH, 2)RWANDA, and until I’ve heard Coast Bus are now safe, 3)AKAMBA .

A final sentence of warning for the more daring or broke among you. You should also be aware that there are some companies that you shouldn’t use, and they are: 1)TAWFIQ, 2) BUSSCAR, (they managed to be involved in a major accident on a safe road with several fatalities), and according to my Kenyan relatives (read father-in-law), 3) FALCON COACHES, who have exceedingly rickety buses.

Finally I should point out there are several other companies who ply this profitable route and they are all as inconsistent as each other with similar points of view as before—usually 50/50 among those I know and I have heard both good and bad from people I've met travelling and conversations overheard.So to name just a couple more may be useful, and they are Mombasa Liners and Sunbird. I'll obviously have to leave the final choice to you and hope this helps, but if you do decide to travel in one of this myriad of choices, please leave a review because in Kenya things constantly change.

AND FINALLY (YES, REALLY)
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR TRAVELS Read Less