Namanga border crossing - Visa and onward travel

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barrovian
barrovian

I'll be spending a few weeks in Tanzania and Kenya during late June and early July and intend on crossing into Kenya by road at Namanga. Would be grateful if theres anyone who could give advice on a couple of things.

Firstly, is it possible to get a visa at the Namanga border crossing? If so, is it relatively straighforward or will it cause problems if we don't get one before we go? For a couple of reasons it could be a problem getting one before we go.

Secondly, we are hopefully looking at stoppoing a night or two somewhere on the way between Namanga and Nairobi. Anyone got any advice as to where we could stop? Not looking for anything special, just a local town or village where we can experience a bit of local life. We'll eventually be heading to Nairobi and getting picked up to be taken to Maji Moto, but don't want to head straight up to Nairobi as we've got a few nights there already after Maji Moto before heading home.

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christopher_haslett
christopher_haslett

Yes, you can get your visa on arrival at the Namanga crossing just as you would at the airport. The price depends on your nationality but it is US$50 for most Western countries. You can have up to 3 months but make sure to ask for the full 3 months if you need it. Ensure that the immigration officer writes "3 months" on the visa with his pen. From time to time, corrupt officers will try to accuse you of overstaying when you leave Kenya (it just happened to me). That is why the "3 months" needs to be clearly written.

Otherwise, no worries at all.

Re stopovers on the way, you may like Mt. Longido - it is a spectacular, 3,000 foot high monolith just 15 km before the border on the Tanzanian side. There is a village, also called Longido, at the base of the mountain that has one or two guesthouses. The community runs guided walks up the peak. It might be the kind of stopover you'd like. I didn't see anything really as interesting on the Kenyan side, not before Nairobi at least.

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christopher_haslett
christopher_haslett

Tried to answer your question but the mod-erator is back on duty. My reply may be delayed by a day. Sorry.

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barrovian
barrovian

Thanks for the reply. Will just geta visa at Namanga then, we'll probably only have around a week in Kenya so should be OK.

I've had a brief look at Longido, but will have a better look when I get chance. I had also looked at Kajiado in Kenya, there doesn't appear to be a lot there but thought it might be OK just for a night.

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anonymous
anonymous

Yes Mt Longido will be a fine spot to stop, even if you need to spend a night there, its fine, there are some hostels there.You can also get a local maasai guide who can take you around in the village. As for visa, just get to the boarder, you will simple get them.

All the best !

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katayo
katayo

You can get your visa at the Namanga border without problems only USD 50,
as for the stopover would also recommend Longido.

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