1

East Africa Shuttles can book the train for you, assuming 12th is either a Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

2

hi all,

You can buy tickets for the train yourself, probably much cheaper than through a service provider. Kaz, do you happen to know what East Africa Shuttles charges for each train ticket including the service charge? If you buy tickets at the train station (make sure you buy at least 2 days in advance) here are the prices as of September 2012....
1st Class Adult = 4405 KES (approx $52 US) - includes bedding, dinner & breakfast
1st Class Child = 2795 KES (approx $33 US) - includes bedding, dinner & breakfast

As for schedule, keep in mind the train only runs 3 days per week each direction as follows....
Nairobi to Mombasa: Mon, Wed, Fri
Mombasa to Nairobi: Tue, Thu, Sun

Looking at your intended dates, it looks like perhaps you could take the train on Wed Dec 12th but your return date might not work. This actually might not be a bad thing, seeing as the train takes about 15 hours each way with approx 30 stop/starts along the way. The train is a great experience and I highly recommend it but perhaps you want to fly or bus on the return?

In Mombasa, Hollar park was nice, Fort Jesus & The Old Town were fantastic, as were the beaches!! I also highly recommend New Palm Tree Hotel as a good balance between a nice stay and affordable.

Hope you have a great time!

3

Great thanks. I'm unable to buy the tickets two days before as I'll be in Tanzania until the 12th and was hoping to go same day. I think I will book flights for the return, thanks.

4

Also- any details about reputable bus companies, etc?

5

Hi,

Lots of excellent info on the train, including booking agents here

http://www.seat61.com/Kenya.htm#Nairobi to Mombassa by train

Decent bus companies doing the route are Modern Coast, Mash or Coast Bus. It takes around 8 hours, many people would counsel against doiing the journey by road but many locals do it every day as they can't afford to fly. There are always lots of bad accidents, often involving public transport, on Kenyan roads including this one. Traffic is bad leaving and approaching the cities at both ends

6

Of course it would be cheaper to buy the train tickets yourself, but if you can't, then you are going to need to pay someone else to do it for you.

However, if you are prepared to take a chance (and with your tight timescale, I think I'd rather be safe than sorry!) tickets can be bought from the station reservations office right up until the time of departure, not just two days ahead.

I've bought 1st class tickets mid-morning on the day of travel, and I've seen other tourists buying tickets (so most likely 1st or 2nd class) when I've turned up to board the train in the evening.

7

Thanks!
Kaz, so you would recommend I get someone to book it on my behalf beforehand? i think I would feel more comfortable doing that.

8

Kaz - do you happen to know what East Africa Shuttles charges for each ticket (including their fees)?

9

Their website will have all the info.