Travel essentials. Updated November 2026. 4 min read.
You will land at JKIA tired, most likely around 11 in the morning or 11 at night, and meet three queues before you meet your driver: immigration, baggage and customs. With your documents ready, you can be through in about 40 minutes. Without them, it can take two hours.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (code NBO) is Kenya's main gateway, about 15 km from central Nairobi on Mombasa Road. International flights use Terminal 1, which is split into units 1A to 1E; most long-haul flights use 1A or 1E. Terminal 2 handles domestic low-cost flights. Assignments shift, so check your airline and the Kenya Airports Authority before you fly. Most safari flights leave from Wilson Airport across town, not from JKIA.
Before you land: the checklist
- Passport valid for at least six months after arrival, with a blank page.
- Approved eTA, printed and on your phone. There is no visa on arrival, and you cannot pay for the eTA at the airport.
- Confirmation of Kenya's inbound travel health insurance, about $44 plus fees at the time of writing, bought on eCitizen before your eTA.
- Yellow fever certificate, only if you are arriving from, or transited more than 12 hours in, a yellow fever risk country.
- Your hotel's address and your driver's phone number, written down in case your phone is flat.
- During regional disease outbreaks, a health declaration or screening may be added on arrival. Check the State Department's Kenya page the week you fly.
The arrival walk-through, in order
- Off the plane: follow the signs to immigration. If there is a health screening desk during an outbreak, it comes first.
- Immigration: there are lanes for Kenyan citizens, East African residents and eTA visitors. The officer takes your fingerprints and a photo. Queues peak in the early morning, when the overnight flights from Europe and the Gulf land together.
- Baggage: the carousels are just past immigration. Check your bag tags against the screens, as several flights often share a belt.
- Customs: walk through the green channel if you have nothing to declare. Drones must be declared and need permits, and undeclared ones are commonly confiscated. Duty-free allowances apply to alcohol and tobacco; check the current limits with the Kenya Revenue Authority if you are carrying more than a bottle or a carton.
- Plastic bags: Kenya banned plastic carrier bags in 2017, and duty-free bags can be taken from you here. Move your purchases into your luggage before you land.
- Arrivals hall: drivers with name boards wait just outside the doors. If you are traveling with us, ours will be there.
Money and SIM cards in the arrivals hall
Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom have counters in the arrivals hall. A tourist bundle of several gigabytes for 30 days costs about KSh 1,000 to 2,000, and you need your passport to register the SIM. Safaricom is the biggest network and runs M-Pesa. If your phone takes an eSIM, you can also set one up before you leave home.
Forex bureaus in the hall change dollars at rates slightly worse than in town, and KCB, Equity and Co-operative Bank ATMs give about KSh 30,000 to 40,000 per withdrawal. Take out enough for a day or two. Our money page explains cards, cash and how a visitor sets up M-Pesa.
Getting into town
| Option | Cost | Time | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| A driver with a name board | Included on our trips | 30 to 75 minutes | The easy answer after a long flight, with help for your bags |
| Uber, Bolt or Little | About $10 to $25 to Westlands or Karen | 30 to 75 minutes | Confirm the plate and the driver's name, sit in the back; the Expressway toll is added to the fare |
| Airport taxi desks | Fixed prices posted at the desk | 30 to 75 minutes | Agree the fare before you leave the desk |
Route matters more than distance. The Nairobi Expressway, a toll road that runs above Mombasa Road, skips the worst of the airport traffic into the city and on to Westlands. For Karen and Langata, drivers use the Expressway or the Southern Bypass. At rush hour, 7 to 9am and 5 to 8pm, expect the top of the time range.
Connecting to a safari flight at Wilson
Most fly-in safaris to the Mara, Amboseli and Samburu leave from Wilson Airport in Langata, 30 to 60 minutes from JKIA by road. Never book less than four hours between an international arrival and a Wilson departure: immigration, bags and Nairobi traffic all take time, and the small planes leave on schedule. The Kenya Airways nonstop from New York lands late in the morning, which works with an afternoon flight to the Mara if you go straight across town. Evening arrivals from the Gulf need a night in Nairobi first. For a domestic connection at JKIA itself, allow three hours.
Departing from JKIA
- Arrive three hours before an international flight. The first security scan is at the terminal door, before check-in, and that queue builds through the evening.
- The Kenya Airways nonstop to New York leaves at 11:25pm, so a last afternoon in Nairobi is easy. Leave for the airport early on a Friday, when traffic is at its worst.
- Spend your last shillings at duty free: Kenyan coffee and tea make good gifts. Lounges are open to eligible passengers.
- Empty your M-Pesa balance before you go, as it does not work abroad.
Sleeping near the airport
If you land late at night or fly out early, a hotel near the airport saves an hour of traffic each way, and on a very late arrival it can be the kinder choice before an early Wilson flight. Our Nairobi where-to-stay guide lists the airport-side options and compares them with Westlands and Karen.
