General Travel Information

Immigration

Visas are now required by almost all visitors to Kenya, including Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, Americans and Canadians, although citizens from a few smaller Commonwealth countries are exempt. Visas are valid for three months from the date of entry and can be obtained upon arrival a Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. The visa fee is US $ 50 for a single-entry and US $ 100 for multiple entries. Tourist visas can be extended for a further 3-month period, but seven-day transit visas (US $ 20) cannot.

Since Nairobi is a common gateway city to East Africa and the city centre is easy to get around, you can spend some time here picking up visa for other countries that you intend to visit. If you are going to do this you need to plan ahead of time and call the embassy to confirm. Most embassies will want you to pay visa fees in US dollars.

Health
Travel health depends on your pre-departure preparations, your daily health care while travelling and how you handle any medical problem that arises. While the potential dangers are frightening, in reality few travellers experience anything more than an upset stomach. If you stick to bottled water, are careful with what you eat and wash your hands before eating, you should be able to avoid most of the orally transmitted diseases. Always wash fruit and vegetables with bottled water before eating.

Malaria is now present across Kenya, even in Nairobi, and epidemics are common. Antimalarial drugs do not prevent you from being infected but kill the malaria parasites during a stage in their development and significantly reduce the risk of becoming very ill or dying. Apply insect repellent cream every evening and sleep under a treated mosquito net. These three should be able to minimize the risk of contracting malaria.

Pre-departure Planning
Immunizations: plan at least 6 weeks ahead for getting your vaccinations: some of them require more than one injection, while some vaccinations should not be given together. Note that some vaccinations should not be given during pregnancy or to people with allergies-discuss this with your doctor.

Currently, yellow fever is the only vaccine that is subject to international health regulations. You will need a yellow fever certificate if you are coming to Kenya from countries where the disease is endemic, or heading elsewhere after Kenya, which has yellow fever as well. In this case you have to get one before leaving your country.

Occasionally, travellers face bureaucratic problems at Kenya’s land borders regarding the need for a cholera vaccination, even though all countries have dropped it as a health requirement for travel. If you’re planning a cross-Africa trip it’s wise to get a cholera vaccination exemption certificate from a doctor. This is not necessary if you’re flying into Kenya.

Note: If you are taking any prescribed medicines, please ensure you have an adequate supply for the duration of your trip because it might be difficult and expensive to find the same medicine in East Africa. If wearing contact lenses, please remember that it will be dusty and you will need extra cleaning fluid.

Customs
There are strict laws against taking wildlife products out of Kenya. Export of products made from elephant, rhino and sea turtle are prohibited. The collection of coral is also not allowed. Ostrich eggs will also be confiscated unless you can prove you bought the egg from a certified ostrich farm. 

The usual regulations apply to items you can bring into the country - 50 cigars, 200 cigarettes, 250g of pipe tobacco, 1L of alcohol, 250ml of perfume and other personal items such as cameras, laptop computers and binoculars. Obscene publications are banned which may extend to some lad’s magazines. You are allowed to take up to KES 100,000 out of the country.

Clothing:
Informal, lightweight clothing is recommended. Mornings and evenings can be cool at altitude, so bring a sweater or cardigan. A hat is highly recommended due to the sun. On the Kenya coast, ladies are expected to dress modestly in public. To be nude or topless is not only illegal, but also affects the sensibilities of the Muslim community and the village people.
 

Money
Currency: The unit of currency is Kenyan shilling (KES), which is made up of 100 cents. Notes in circulation are KSh1000, 500, 200, 100, and 50, and there are also new copper coins of KSh40, 20, 10. 5 and 1 in circulation. Old (silver) coins are much bigger and heavier, and come in the denominations of KSh5 (seven sided) and KSh1. 50, 10 and 5 cent coins are now rare. Note that most public telephones in Kenya have been modified to accept only ‘copper’ coins.

Exchanging money: while most major currencies are accepted in Nairobi and Mombasa, once away from these two centres you’ll run into problems with currencies other than US dollars, pounds sterling and euros. Away from the coast, you will even struggle to change euros. It is advisable to carry US dollars. Traveller’s cheques are also accepted if they are in US dollars and British pounds.

The best places to change money are foreign exchange or ‘Forex’ bureaux, which can be found in Nairobi, Mombasa and other larger towns, and usually don’t charge commission. The rates differ for small bill (US $ 10) and large bill (US $ 100); the larger bills usually get better rates.

Banks also change money, but they charge large commissions and there’s a fee per travellers cheque, so you’re better off carrying larger denominations. The rates for the traveller’s cheques may be better than at the bureaux, and safer.

Time
Time in Kenya is GMT/UTC plus three (+3) hours year-round. You should also be aware of the concept of ‘Swahili time’, which perversely is six hours out of kilter with the rest of the world. Noon and midnight are 6 o’clock (saa sita) Swahili time and 7am and 7pm are 1 o’clock (saa moja). Just subtract six hours from whatever you are told; unfortunately Swahili doesn’t distinguish between am and p.m. You don’t come across this often unless you speak Swahili, but you still need to be prepared for it.

Climate
In general, the climate varies with altitude, but seldom falls below 24°C in the daytime and 10°C at night. There are two rainy seasons, between October and December (light rains) and March to early May (heavy rains).

Language

English is spoken and understood nearly everywhere since it is the official language. The national language is Swahili. Most hotels and lodges print their literature in French and German, and have multi-lingual staff.

Electricity

Kenya uses the 240V system. The power supply is usually reliable and uninterrupted in most places, although there are occasional failures. Power sockets are of the three-square-pin variety as used in the UK, although some older buildings have double round-pin sockets. Bring a universal adapter if you need to charge your phone or run other appliances.