Towns and places. Updated November 2026. 4 min read.
Voi grew up around a water stop on the railway, and it still lives by the line: the old metre-gauge track, the new standard-gauge railway on its long concrete viaducts, and the lorries grinding between Nairobi and the port of Mombasa. Around it lies some of the biggest wild country in Kenya.
For travelers, Voi is three things: the main gate of Tsavo East National Park, a stop on the Madaraka Express train, and the halfway break on the drive between Nairobi and the coast. It is also the base for the green Taita Hills, one of Kenya's least visited corners, and for the private sanctuaries between Tsavo East and Tsavo West. Our Tsavo East park page covers the park itself, and our Tsavo stay guide compares the lodges; this page is about the town, the station and the country around it.
Getting there
| From | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | Madaraka Express inter-county train, which stops at Voi | About 4 hours |
| Nairobi | Road on the A109 Mombasa Road | About 5 to 6 hours |
| Mombasa | Madaraka Express from Miritini | About 1.5 to 2 hours |
| Mombasa | Road on the A109 | About 2.5 to 3 hours |
| Mtito Andei (Tsavo West gate) | Road north-west | About 1.5 hours |
| Taita Hills Sanctuary and Salt Lick | Road west via Mwatate | About 1 hour |
| Diani | Road via Mombasa | About 3.5 to 4 hours |
The train stop
The standard-gauge station sits outside town, a short drive from Voi Gate, so arrange your pick-up in advance; we meet every train our guests are on. The inter-county service between Nairobi and Mombasa stops here, while the faster express may not, so check which train you are booked on. Tickets are sold through Kenya Railways online, and at the time of writing a seat costs a fraction of a flight; fares change, so check the official site. Arrive 45 minutes to an hour early for security screening, keep bags small, and sit on the side the guard suggests: between Mtito Andei and Voi the line runs through Tsavo, and passengers often see elephants and giraffes from the window. Our Kenya by train itinerary builds a whole trip around this stop.
Tsavo East from Voi
Voi Gate opens straight into the southern part of Tsavo East, flat open country where the elephants are dusted red by the soil. From the gate it is a short drive to Voi Safari Lodge on its ridge above a waterhole, and a longer one to Mudanda Rock, the Aruba dam and the Galana River with Lugard Falls. Because the gate is so close, Voi works for an afternoon game drive straight off the train, followed by a full day in the park the next day.
The Taita Hills
Rising abruptly west of town, the Taita Hills are cool, green and steep, with small farms, granite peaks and patches of ancient cloud forest such as Ngangao. They are home to the Taita people and to birds found nowhere else on earth, among them the Taita thrush and the Taita apalis. Wundanyi, the hill town, is about an hour's drive up a winding road. Go for a forest walk with a local guide, a visit to the rock shelters where the Taita traditionally placed the skulls of their ancestors, and views back over the Tsavo plains.
Below the hills, the private Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is best known for Salt Lick Lodge, whose rooms stand on stilts above a waterhole, a 1970s design that still delivers elephants under your balcony at night. Beside Tsavo West, the community-run LUMO Conservancy offers walks and night drives that the national parks do not allow.
Railway, sisal and war graves
The Uganda Railway reached Voi in the late 1890s, and the town grew up around it. In the First World War, German forces in what is now Tanzania raided the line repeatedly, and Voi became a British base; a military railway was pushed from here toward Taveta and the front at Salaita Hill. The Commonwealth war cemetery in Voi holds graves from that campaign, and it is a quiet, well-kept place to stop for twenty minutes. On the road toward Mwatate and Taveta, long rows of sisal on the old estates are a reminder of the plantation economy that followed the railway. Our First World War page tells the fuller story, including the Carrier Corps porters who died in their tens of thousands.
Where to eat and stay
In town, Voi has fuel stations, banks, supermarkets and simple hotels and cafes serving Kenyan and Swahili food: pilau, chapati, beans, chai and grilled meat. It is the classic lunch stop on the Mombasa road. For the night, almost every visitor sleeps in or next to the park instead, in lodges and tented camps near Voi Gate that run from good value to comfortable; our Tsavo stay guide lists them with prices. If you want something different, stay at Salt Lick or in the Taita Hills.
How long to stay, and how it fits a trip
Two nights near Voi is the sweet spot: a game drive on arrival, a full day in Tsavo East and a morning drive before you move on. Voi is the natural safari for a coast holiday: from Diani or Mombasa it is the closest big park, and from Nairobi the train turns the transfer into part of the trip. You can also day-trip into Tsavo East from Mombasa, but it means about six hours of driving for a few hours in the park, so we recommend at least one night.
Why plan with us: Kenya Experience is Kenyan-led, with two U.S. companies behind it and Kenyan guides on the ground. You can pay in full or monthly with no deposit, and a specialist replies within two business days.
